Is West Coast style IPA excessively bitter?

schomberger · Post by **schomberger** » Mon May 27, 2013 8:33 pm

Just heard a new Mill Street radio ad today driving home from work that slagged West Coast style IPA for being "excessively" bitter. Of course, their new product avoids such extreme nastiness, so don't be alarmed! At lest that's what I inferred, but a got a chuckle out of it as I navigated the traffic.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Mon May 27, 2013 8:42 pm

Mill Street's radio ads are painful.

Seems to me like they are trying to cater to the craft beer newbies, so I don't consider myself (or many around here) to even be their target market.

saints_gambit · Post by **saints_gambit** » Tue May 28, 2013 12:45 am

Some of them are.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Tue May 28, 2013 9:43 am

I find good West coast IPAs to be really heavy in aromatic hops, not bittering hops.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Tue May 28, 2013 9:58 am

squeaky wrote:I find good West coast IPAs to be really heavy in aromatic hops, not bittering hops.

Exactly, should have elements of both.

Mike-KBCo · Post by **Mike-KBCo** » Tue May 28, 2013 11:20 am

I haven't heard the ad in question, but it strikes me as silly to complain about a certain style of beer that doesn't fit your individual preferences. What does "excessively hopped" mean, anyways? Were you expecting a pale ale and not an IPA? Or are we talking about enamel-melting, inappropriate for the style type of bitterness (of which there are very few if any examples in Ontario)?

Confused.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Tue May 28, 2013 11:26 am

Did they say which product they are talking about? Are they releasing a new IPA to the LCBO?

cratez · Post by **cratez** » Tue May 28, 2013 1:37 pm

Hmmm...after being thoroughly disappointed with two recent visits to "the brewpub" - which is so far behind the times it's barely worthy of that moniker IMO - I was gonna give them a second chance by checking out the new Beer Hall but I'll be sure to avoid the place now.

I haven't heard the ad yet but judging by the original post Mill Street is 1) going out of its way to reinforce macro beer stereotypes and misinform the drinking public by portraying a popular craft beer style (IPA/DIPA) and prominent beer flavour (hop bitterness) as undesirable; 2) willfully alienating hop heads to ostensibly attract beer newbs, oenophiles, and non-beer drinkers instead of educating the latter groups; 3) slagging a beer style that they've never been able to brew well instead of stepping up their game and actually making a decent WC IPA.

Pretty sad if you ask me. But then again if I had been brewing for 10+ years and never cracked above a 3.9 on Beer Advocate I'd probably be resentful of those annoying discerning beer geek tastes too.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Tue May 28, 2013 1:54 pm

cratez wrote:Hmmm...after being thoroughly disappointed with two recent visits to "the brewpub" - which is so far behind the times it's barely worthy of that moniker IMO - I was gonna give them a second chance by checking out the new Beer Hall but I'll be sure to avoid the place now.

I haven't heard the ad yet but judging by the original post Mill Street is 1) going out of its way to reinforce macro beer stereotypes and misinform the drinking public by portraying a popular craft beer style (IPA/DIPA) and prominent beer flavour (hop bitterness) as undesirable; 2) willfully alienating hop heads to ostensibly attract beer newbs, oenophiles, and non-beer drinkers when they could instead educate the latter groups; 3) slagging a beer style that they've never been able to brew well instead of stepping up their game and actually making a decent WC IPA.

Pretty sad if you ask me. But then again if I had been brewing for 10+ years and never cracked above a 3.9 on Beer Advocate I'd probably be resentful of those annoying discerning beer geek tastes too.

Well said.

schomberger · Post by **schomberger** » Tue May 28, 2013 5:48 pm

Well, I really wasn't listening to the ad until I heard the part about "without the excessive bitterness of WCIPA's", but I had to assume it was referring to a new, safe, ONT style IPA. Trust me, the tone of this ad was excessively pathetic, even by Mill St standards.

schomberger · Post by **schomberger** » Tue May 28, 2013 7:31 pm

Just checked their website, doesn't appear to be anything new....maybe the ad was for Tankhouse? I think it might also be something in a new sampler pack...

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue May 28, 2013 10:47 pm

If they continued to brew an impeccable Pale Ale (which on a good day Tankhouse used to be?) MS could qualify to comment on others' pale ales and IPAs.

I agree the Brew Pub is out of touch with the current reality.

velovampire · Post by **velovampire** » Tue May 28, 2013 11:11 pm

From their FB, regarding Curious Parrot in the summer sampler pack: "CURIOUS PARROT Summer Sampler Pack, coming to The LCBO this week! 5% & 45 IBU -
This is why we sometimes let our brewmaster out of the brewery! While on vacation Joel came across this distinctive style of golden ale brewed with loads of aroma hops for a strong pine/citrus scent but without the excessive bitterness of West Coast IPA’s. A bright white head on a burnished golden body makes this beer a thing of elegant beauty. Curious indeed..."

Anyone tried it? I tend not to buy the sampler packs for one or two possibly interesting beers and four that sit in the back of the fridge for when skids come over.

Tapsucker · Post by **Tapsucker** » Wed May 29, 2013 2:02 am

I can't comment, not having heard the ad, if indeed it even exists, but I deny being bitter or having an addiction to bitterness.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed May 29, 2013 7:06 am

velovampire wrote: Joel came across this distinctive style of golden ale brewed with loads of aroma hops for a strong pine/citrus scent but without the excessive bitterness of West Coast IPA’s. A bright white head on a burnished golden body makes this beer a thing of elegant beauty. Curious indeed..."

This sentence makes my brain hurt.