Quote:
Originally Posted by Saccopoo
I did a personal IPA taste testing this week, and Anderson Valley's Hop Ottin' IPA was the clear cut winner - at least for what my pallet prefers in an IPA.
The hops, while obviously noticeable as the style demands, was extremely well integrated into the ale, creating a very pleasant and enjoyable alternative to what is typically an over-hopped style that leads to single note obnoxiousness in the nose and on the pallet.
Typical American IPA's are reflective of the brash and raw nature of what the brewers think of this style. They tend to remind me of the incredibly over-oak chardonnay's that came out of California over the past two decades. An overall lack of finesse and layering permeate this beer style, particularly in the US, but the Hop Ottin' went against the typical brutish and raw offerings and provided detail, ambience and style.
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There are a lot of people that prefer the East Coast style of IPA to the abundantly-hoppy West Coast style IPA. It's fine to flat-out dislike the super-hoppy, unbalanced IPAs. But to say that they are one-note is indicative of one of two things: 1.) your palate specifically can't handle the hop bitterness at those high levels, so the nuances are lost to you (I know a few beer drinkers that I respect who have this particular palate sensitivity) or 2.) your palate just needs time to adjust.
The most complex IPAs are the ones that you might describe as "one-note." Some of the west coast IPAs do amazingly intricate things with lupulin. No one is going to say that Pliny the Elder or Alpine
Nelson (or Hell, even Midwest IPAs like Bell's
Two Hearted Ale) are one-note.