IPA Reconciliation
Beer Bros test their tasting skills on 3 (well, 4) NC IPAs.
BEER U
Ben Marmaduke
7/28/20252 min read
Since my very first post here was about my troubled relationship with IPAs I have spent some time —as promised — learning about and drinking more North Carolina IPAs. So, it was time for me to call on one of my Beer Bro and impress him with my newfound knowledge while having some fun!
The Beers
There are many IPA styles (24 in the most recent US Open Beer Championship) but there are three major styles you will see at just about any taproom or brewpub:
West Coast IPA – highly hopped, strong bitterness, pine and citrus flavors common, no noticeable malt character
Hazy/New England IPA (NEIPA) – Juicy, tropical fruit notes, hazy, softer, less bitter
American IPA – Similar to West Coast but a little less bitter, with a noticeable malt backbone.
Here is a deeper dive explaining the difference between these three IPA styles.
We had NC craft examples of each of these three styles in our taste test:
West Coast – Highland Brewing – “AVL West Coast IPA” - 6.5% ABV, 65 IBU, unfiltered
NEIPA – Southern Pines Brewing – “Giggle Switch NEIPA” – 7.2% ABV, 34 IBU
American IPA – R&D Brewing – “Seven Saturdays” – 6.2% ABV, 60 IBU
“Ringer” IPA – Wicked Weed – “Pernicious” (West Coast IPA) – 7.3% ABV, 70 IBU
The Blind Tate Test
My Beer Bro, Bill, is not necessarily a craft beer fanatic, but he likes craft beers and IPAs. After a quick IPA tutorial, I poured out the three NC IPAs and let Bill taste them and give his impressions. Then we blindfolded him and handed him random glasses to taste and guess which beer he was drinking. After two tastings, we sprung the news on him that we had added a 4th “ringer” IPA. Now he had a duplicate of one of the IPA styles to identify!
So how did Bill do? Watch the video to find out!
Conclusions
It was really hard to tell if R&D’s Seven Saturdays fit into the technical definition (of the Brewer’s Association – see link above) of an “American IPA.” In retrospect, it was more like a West Coast IPA. This highlighted the fact that the definitions are pretty murky. What I learned from this was to trust my taste buds more so than the terminology. Some brewers provide detailed descriptions of their beers and some don’t, and some of the beer tasting social media apps provide information that is inconsistent at best. Drink the beer! Make your own judgments! Enjoy them!
One final word – The NC Beer Explorer is beginning to enjoy IPAs again! I have enjoyed some very innovative ones at Atomic Clock and Tobacco Wood and I enjoyed all the ones used in this taste test. Stay tuned for future chapters of my IPA reconciliation Tour!