Bitter evolution

Just as a fog-bound fisherman may drift miles without knowing it, a beer drinker’s flavor preferences can change over time as he floats through the haze of exploring beers, one by one, until, one day, he lands on an old favorite and discovers he’s arrived at a new sensory paradigm.

That’s what happened to me two weeks ago when I bought a six-pack of Anderson Valley Brewing Co.’s Hop Ottin’ IPA—a beer I remember drinking routinely in the early 2000s but which I’ve since gone perhaps a decade without trying. It did not taste at all like I remembered—or, at least, thought I remembered. It was malty and toffee-like in flavor, with just a faint hint of IPA bitterness. What happened?

My palate, it was clear, had drifted. This beer was first made in 1995, and at the time it was one of the big trendsetting IPAs. However, as time went by, and new breweries upped the ante on hop-loading and bitterness—and using new hop varieties—my tastes seemed to change.

To gauge how much things have changed over time, I went on an IPA spree the next day, buying a variety of old-school IPAs that many of us know, and which I hadn’t tasted in some time. Just as I suspected would be the case, each of them tasted subdued and less fruity than I prefer my IPAs today. Lagunitas’ flagship IPA was probably the most bitter of the bunch, followed by Marin Brewing Co.’s India Pale Ale—which I also found to be the fruitiest, though its grain character remained prominent, with some caramel and toast flavors. Ninkasi Brewing Co.’s Total Domination IPA had the elements we expect in the style—tropical fruit, pine, citrus and bitterness—but also a sweet and bready malt base that I believe many breweries today would try and bury with hop flavors.

I liked the beers—but not as much I once did. Actually, I’m not sure it’s accurate to say my palate has drifted. Rather, brewing styles have changed, and my taste buds have followed along.

In the case of IPAs, hops are the most obvious ingredient to toy with, and the clear thing to do for many breweries as the beer market became more competitive in the past six or seven years was to add more, and so went the trajectory. Beers became increasingly bitter while the added hops—often new varieties developed in recent years by Pacific Northwest breeding programs—showcased new flavors, often with over-the-top, dazzling tropical fruit notes.

Alcohol and sugar levels were elevated as well, to accompany and give balance to the hops. Many breweries began adding fruit to their IPAs—generally aromatic ones like citrus, pineapple, guava and various other tropical fruits that complement fruit-forward hop varieties.

Breweries—notably Stone Brewing Co. out of Escondido—launched campaigns to encourage customers to drink their IPAs as soon as they could to make sure they were getting the full experience of the hops, which fade quickly in a stored beer. There were also the session IPAs, in which brewers pulled way back on the malt and alcohol while keeping the hop profile loud and accentuated. And most recently we’ve experienced the hazy trend, with cloudy unfiltered IPAs that explode with fruit flavors and aromas.

All the while, those early craft IPAs remained as they were—humble landmarks that watched the IPA craze sail away but which, thankfully, remained as they were. Today, these classic, well-balanced beers—such as Sierra Nevada’s still popular Torpedo extra IPA—allow us the chance to retrace the evolution of craft beer and rediscover an old favorite along the way.