How to Fix the IPA

[FiddlersGreen87]

Let me start this thread with a disclaimer. I have a lot still to learn about brewing, beer styles, history, and plenty more. However, I'm hoping this can help start a discussion that could help me lead to "fixing" the IPA for me.

I have the general belief that my people my age (22-28) have embraced this silly mentality that more hops make better beer. This is a general speculation and I've not done anything to back this up, it is just my perception.

Either way, the point I'm getting at is I want to like IPAs. I do generally like the flavor of the beer. What turns me off about IPAs is the after taste. That filmy "cat **** in the mouth morning after a night of drinking" taste that remains is what keeps me from enjoying them.

My question is, does anyone know what causes this? I think the two most likely causes could be the hops or the yeast. However my inexperience with tinkering with recipes makes this purely speculation. This specific distaste for IPA has been the driving reason I've never brewed one, because the thought of trying to get through an entire 5 gallons is daunting to me because I can enjoy one, but after that I'm looking for anything to switch to. Thoughts?

 

[inkman15]

Have you experimented with trying many different commercial IPA's? Maybe you just haven't found a hop combination that you like. I used to HATE IPA's but as I gradually tried different ones, I found myself craving them and now I drink a lot of them.

I think it's really about developing a taste for them. It's a style that doesn't exactly lend itself to "easy drinking" but once you get the taste for it, you'll crave it. In fact, I just brewed my first IPA last week!

 

[bzwyatt]

I have never tasted anything I'd describe as cat piss, and I've never put anything in my moutht that smelled like cat piss, so I don't know what flavor some people are talking about.

I've had some IPAs that are kinda nasty though. I think some have been skunky, and I think some hops aren't my favorite. I think harsh bitterness can taste like this too... it is almost an element of mouthfeel, rather than just a flavor/aroma. I also think I've gotten stale/old hops before, and they don't make great beer.

Use just a little hops for bittering, and use a lot of fresh hops at the end of the boil. Make sure they're fresh. You should get a refreshing, crisp bitterness with lots of hop flavor and not too much straight and harsh bitterness.

In general.

 

[krackin]

It isn't always "more hops" as it is hops you like. For me C hops really rock for warm and hot weather IPA and ginger beer quaffing as well as other ales. Cold weather seems to lend to other hops IMHO.

 

[KPaul]

I've never thought an IPA left a bad taste in my mouth like what you've described. I've had some that I didn't care for, but it wasn't because they were an IPA, I just didn't like the way those particular examples tasted.

I'm a huge IPA fan and drink DIPA's almost exclusively. I don't even think I had to acquire a taste for them, I liked them from the start. I can appreciate other beers, but I don't prefer them. IPA's just may not be the beer for you and your taste buds. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[hunter_le five]

Fortunately there are a lot of IPAs out there to choose from. Unfortunately a lot of them suck (imho only).

(Again imho only) good IPAs are the ones where there is a balance/harmony with the various hop types/additions, between each other as well as the malt profile. The sucky ones just taste like a lazy brewer threw in hops indiscriminately and gratuitously and made a hop tea. That's the "more hops = better beer" mentality you described, with little regard to how they play together.

I'm not an "IPA guy", but I do appreciate a good IPA from time to time. The key is to try a lot of commercial examples and see which hop combinations you like and in what proportions, while weeding out what you don't like.

I definitely don't like beers that just taste like I'm eating a grapefruit or chewing on a hop cone (or god forbid, chugging cat piss). I like complex, balanced flavors in my IPA. Unfortunately a lot of the let's-see-how-many-IBUs-we-can-get-in-here-because-I'm-overcompensating-for-something IPAs tend to be the former and not the latter.

 

[j1n]

I love IPAs, its prob one of my fav styles. That said there are some i dont like and its due to the hops used. I would never describe any IPA as "cat piss" though. What commercial IPAs have you tried?

 

[LLBeanJ]

I used to HATE IPA's but as I gradually tried different ones, I found myself craving them and now I drink a lot of them.

I think it's really about developing a taste for them. It's a style that doesn't exactly lend itself to "easy drinking" but once you get the taste for it, you'll crave it. In fact, I just brewed my first IPA last week!

This ^

Describes my experience exactly. Not that long ago I couldn't stand IPAs, but over the last 8-10 months I made a conscious effort to try as many as I could and before long I was really enjoying them, to the point that I'd say IPA is one of my favorite styles. There's even a forum post around here somewhere in which I professed that I would never brew one. Turns out I was wrong. Brewed my second one last week and will be brewing many more in the future.

 

[NickTheGreat]

You either don't worry about what your buddies drink, or just start drinking more IPA's until you develop a sort of Stockholm Syndrome

 

[FiddlersGreen87]

You either don't worry about what your buddies drink, or just start drinking more IPA's until you develop a sort of Stockholm Syndrome

Hahaha. Well let me clarify. Cat piss is not what I was referring to. IPA leaves me with an after taste/cotton mouth feeling that resembles the morning after several beers. My friends and I always joked when you woke up that felt like a cat $h!t in your mouth over night, which was what I was referring to.

Like I said, I actually do like the flavor of IPAs. It's that lingering after taste that gets me. I'd love to figure out why many Hefeweizens finish cleanly (franzikhaner comes to mind) while the IPA leaves that residual after taste.

Maybe it's just something I do need to acquire more of a taste for, but being that I love Porters, Stouts, Hefes, Wheats, etc, I dunno how long this might take lol.

 

[day_trippr]

So, just how old are your taste buds?

Working on a theory...

Cheers!

 

[bzwyatt]

Sweetness and fat are simple flavors, immediately and quickly detected by our taste buds. It is in our biology to seek out these flavors because they were signs of nutrient-rich foods. Bitter and sour were signs of poison. They're complex and not quickly detected, so bitterness builds as you drink a beer, and lingers afterwards.

It's just the evolution of our senses.

 

[grittanomyces]

You remember when you first had a sip of your dad's beer as a kid, and it was terribly bitter and awful, because it was foreign to your taste buds. Now that same beer would probably taste like water.

There are very few people who have a natural taste for really hoppy beer (though surprisingly most of those I've met who claim they did were female). For most its an acquired taste, and over time you even build a tolerance, hence why some want it hoppier and hoppier. I wish I could go back to the days when IPAs didn't taste like crap after a month old when the hops fade.

Doesn't mean you can't speed that process by drinking a lot of IPAs, but its a taste you will have to acquire before you can break through and really get the effect of the bitterness and flavor. Sierra Nevada pale was the stepping stone for me.

 

[FiddlersGreen87]

So, just how old are your taste buds?

Working on a theory...

Cheers!

Not sure what kind of answer you're looking for? I'm 27, been trying every beer I can get my hands on for probably 8 years now. Let me know if that's not the type of answer you were looking for.

I guess it's possible to develop a taste for the beer, but my whole thought process is that it isn't the taste of the beer that I don't like. It's the finish. I guess that could be due to the sugar which would make sense as a possible source.

 

[kombat]

I have never tasted anything I'd describe as cat piss, and I've never put anything in my moutht that smelled like cat piss, so I don't know what flavor some people are talking about.

Brew a Citra SMaSH. You'll see.

 

[plankbr]

Try my Fresh Squeezed IPA recipe. It clocks in at only 52.5 IBUs and is probably the best IPA I've drank and made.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/fresh-squeezed-ipa-deschutes-inspired-470557/

 

[bobbrews]

The opening question can be answered in two words:

Hop Tannins

That slick mouthfeel (mostly found in high alcohol, fuller body, Imperial IPAs) that leaves a bitter, oily aftertaste on your tongue. When you are new to IPAs, the effect these tannins can have on an undiscerning palate is compounded. Do some research on some of the top-rated, readily available best IPAs. Drink those over the course of several weeks and then report back.

 

[FiddlersGreen87]

Thanks Bobbrews. I'm always down to try new beer, so I'll gladly take you up on this. I appreciate the answer as well. That'll at least give a starting point for my own research.

It sounds like we're on the same page by your description, although a little more P-C than mine.

Plank if I can get to a point where I can enjoy an entire 6 pack of IPA, I'll give your recipe a try. Until then I can't see myself putting the work in that I could put the same work into making something I love.

 

[KeninMN]

Chinook has been described as imparting the dreaded cat piss flavor, as documented in this very interesting article:

http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dry-hopped-bud-light.html?m=1

 

[inkman15]

Brew a Citra SMaSH. You'll see.

Really? I just bottled one and I really don't get the "cat piss" thing. I also have two cats, so I'm quite familiar!

 

[J343MY]

There are very few people who have a natural taste for really hoppy beer (though surprisingly most of those I've met who claim they did were female). For most its an acquired taste, and over time you even build a tolerance, hence why some want it hoppier and hoppier. I wish I could go back to the days when IPAs didn't taste like crap after a month old when the hops fade.

I really don't think its the hoppiness thats the issue, but the bitterness that often accompanies hoppy beers. Make a juicy, citrusy beer with low bitterness, hardly anybody wouldn't love that.

 

[grittanomyces]

I really don't think its the hoppiness thats the issue, but the bitterness that often accompanies hoppy beers. Make a juicy, citrusy beer with low bitterness, hardly anybody wouldn't love that.

Makes sense. For some it's the bitterness that's off-putting, some don't mind the bitterness but don't really care for the hoppy flavor. Some don't like either, but no doubt it's a taste that can be acquired.

Have you tried many of Lagunitas beers? They still have some IBUs, but tend to finish very smooth comparatively, while still busting with great flavor profiles. To me a good balance of flavoring hops to bittering is as important as good malt balance. Too many brewers just think that if you make it bitter, hopheads will like it, not so...

If that's still too much, there are good pales on the market to work up to them, maybe even some hoppy reds would work too. Unless you're just set on liking them quick, then there's nothing wrong with working up to them and getting your palate acquainted to the bitterness and bite. It doesn't make you any less of a beer geek. Plenty of experienced drinkers don't ever prefer IPAs.

 

[ong]

My favorite style to brew is essentially a very hoppy pale ale. About 5-6% ABV, only about 50-60 IBUs, but nearly all of them through late additions or hop steeps. Plenty of dry hopping as well. So it's a session beer, not powerfully bitter, but very hops dominated, like an IPA. This might also be called a session IPA. It reminds me very much of a big glass of citrus juice.


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