Hoppiness Is an IPA
(FOR SOME)
IPA stands for India pale ale.
Hops are responsible for the large assortment of flavor profiles in IPAs. Van Pelt says that they can be bitter, floral, earthy, citrusy, piney and fruity.
Some examples of hops include Citra hops, which can taste like peach, apricot, passion fruit, lemon or melon, and Mosaic hops, which can taste grassy and earthy, like pine, spice, rose and floral blossoms. Mosaic hops can also have notes of blueberry, papaya, tangerine and sometimes bubble gum, according to Van Pelt. Idaho 7 hops are piney, tropical, fruity and floral in smell and taste, typically giving a mango or grapefruit flavor.
Van Pelt says a hazy IPA is a medium- to full-bodied IPA that evokes a “creamy mouthfeel.” It has high-intensity fruit flavors and is less bitter than the darker IPAs.
An imperial IPA is darker and more bitter than a traditionally brewed IPA, with an ABV of 7% or higher. It will show a strong profile of the hops it was brewed with, according to Van Pelt, and will create a warm feeling in a drinker’s mouth. Upon first taste, pine notes will hit the taste buds before citrus flavors and malt notes wait for their standing ovations.
A double IPA is brewed with double the ingredients to the portion of water of a traditional IPA. It has a lingering bitter taste, a toasty and malty flavor profile and some notes of caramel.
“I love doubles the most because they’re a lot cleaner, and you get to experience the hops fully,” Van Pelt says.
While there are more IPAs to try than listed above, Van Pelt says these are a good start when someone is developing their beer preferences.
Candace Houch, a bartender at WanderLinger, says her go-to IPAs to recommend on the job are the brewery’s 100 Day IPA, a West Coast IPA that is more bitter and has a 6.3% ABV, and Joose Caboose, a fruit-forward hazy IPA with a 6% ABV.
When Houch has a customer new to drinking craft beer, she says she will ask questions about what other kinds of beer or wine they like to drink and offer them a flight. If the customer has no idea what they like, Houch says she will include a dark beer, a light beer, a sour and an IPA in the flight so that the customer can try all the different types. Houch advises the customer to drink them in the order of light beers, IPAs, sours, and dark beers (she says sometimes, she will swap the order of sours and IPAs) so that their palate isn’t impacted by a dark beer right off the bat.
“If questioning them and talking it out with them isn’t working, I’m just going to give them a taste,” Houch says. “You can ask questions all day and dance that dance, but they will definitely know when they taste it.”