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Beer Education

Introduction to Craft Beer Part 6 – IPAs

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When I first started to get into IPAs, I thought they were all going to be amazing but it turns out there is a huge spectrum in which you can have a variety of different flavors of IPA. At the low end, you have English style IPAs that represent how the beer was originally made. They tend to be closer to a pale ale and lower in alcohol. Then in the middle there are different styles depending on area of the US where the beer is brewed. Northwest style IPAs present serious pine flavors from the local varieties of hops and frequently are on the lighter end of the alcohol scale, sometimes as low as 5.5%.

Then there is the West Coast style which features heavy citrus and floral flavors with little emphasis on balancing the hop flavors with the malt flavors. This sometimes leads to delicious light colored brews that focus almost exclusively on bright hop flavors. West Coast IPAs typically hover around 6% alcohol with some approaching 7%. West Coast style IPAs also tend to be more bitter as well because the brewers are trying to push the envelope.

It is common to see the term American IPA. These frequently tend to be darker brews with a lot more toasty malt flavors balanced with the hops. For me this means I need to taste it before ordering a pint because I don’t care for very dark IPAs. Then you have the double and triple IPAs that have become especially popular in San Diego where the brew typically starts somewhere around 8% and goes up to 13 or 14% at the high extreme.

Double IPAs vary significantly between breweries with some focusing on the heavy malt character to balance the hops and others pushing all limits by presenting the most bitter brew possible with malt flavors that you can barely recognize. If you tend to prefer darker colored IPAs or lighter colored IPAs it helps to do some research before buying a six-pack because not all beers feature clear descriptions.

The other distinguishing thing in IPAs is the type of hops used. Flavors can vary widely depending on the variety of hops used. Learning specific types of hops is not easy but asking breweries about the hops in your favorite brews is the first step.

If you explore more, you might notice a lot of different labels thrown on IPAs such as Belgian IPA, Black IPA, Rye IPA, etc. Pay close attention as you order these and you might slowly start to recognize the way in which they are different. Typically a Belgian IPA is made with Belgian yeast and it has many of the distinct flavors of a Belgian style beer. Black IPAs tend to have a lot of roasted malts so they often come across like a hoppy version of a porter or stout. Rye IPAs tend to focus on the spicy flavors of rye as it interacts with the hops. It is a flavor that you will learn to recognize over time but is fairly hard to describe.

Local IPA favorites: Societe The Apprentice, Council Chazzam!, Pacific Bomboro, Alesmith IPA, Stone IPA, Ballast Point Sculpin, Saint Archer IPA, Rough Draft Southern Triangle, Helm’s Wicked as Sin, New English Humbly Legit IPA,

Local Double IPA favorites: Green Flash West Coast, Green Flash Green Bullet, Ballast Point Dorado, Stone Enjoy By IPA, Karl Strauss Tower 20, Saint Archer Double IPA, Rough Draft Hop Therapy, Alesmith Yulesmith,

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Education

Introduction to Craft Beer Part 5 – Porters and Stouts

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Properly differentiating between a porter and a stout is pretty difficult but they have some significant similarities that make them quite popular especially the way breweries in the US tend to make them. The one thing that generally identifies porters and stouts is their dark, almost black color.

The flavors can vary quite widely depending on what the brewers tend to focus on. One reason a lot of people love porters and stouts is that they tend to be on the sweeter side. It is common to see chocolate or coffee used to give flavor to these beers.

Most porters and stouts have some form of roasted malt that gives it a unique flavor. Sometimes oatmeal is used to create a silkier brew. You sometimes see these beers served “on Nitro.” This style of serving a beer works great with porters and stouts because the Nitrogen gas helps to make the beer appear creamier due to the much smaller bubbles it forms.

When ordering a porter or stout, pay close attention to the way it is described on the menu. If you don’t see a description, ask the bartender to describe the flavor so you can get an idea before ordering or ask for a small taste. I frequently will ask for a taste before ordering an unfamiliar beer because you don’t want to drink a full pint of something you don’t enjoy.

Porters and stouts vary widely in the alcohol percentage. Some go as low as 4.5-5.5% and many breweries make imperial or double porters or stouts that are around 8-9% with some especially strong brews hitting 12% or higher. Most imperial porters or stouts focus on chocolate or coffee flavors to help balance out the stronger alcohol content.

Imperial stouts and porters also tend to pour much thicker and are sometimes compared to motor oil because of how thick they can get. Other flavors that can be quite prominent in stronger porters and stouts are some plum and ripe fruit flavors from certain varieties of malts. You can always ask where a flavor in your favorite beer comes from if you are tasting it at the brewery.

Local Favorites: Green Flash Double Stout, Alesmith Speedway Stout, New English Zumbar Imperial Stout, Ballast Point Porter, Imperial Porter, and Imperial Stout, Council Brewing Imperial Oatmeal Stout, Rough Draft Vanilla Stout.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Tasting Room

Ironfire Brewing Temecula California

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Ironfire Brewing in Temecula has some wide distribution so you might see a bottle or two in the store in San Diego. I stopped by to visit the brewery while I was driving through and got to try some of the beers I might have skipped if I saw them in the stores. The specialty beers I got to try were very nice but you should be able to find two beers, the 51/50 IPA and 6 Killer Stout in bottles around town. Visiting the brewery has the added bonus of a super cute female bartender. If you do decide to visit, know that it is easy to miss because the sign you see from the street sounds like a winery.

Ironfire 01

There were too many beers on tap for me to try everything but I did get to try most of them. I had tastes of the 51/50 IPA, 6 Killer Stout, Vicious Disposition, India Pale Lager, Dead on Arrival Double IPA, and Double Chocolate Stout on Nitro. The lineup was quite impressive and I might be hooked forever on the 6 Killer Stout.

Taster flight at Ironfire.
Taster flight at Ironfire.

The 51/50 IPA is much more bitter than any other single IPA I have ever tried. It had a nice grapefruit and citrus flavor going. Though I enjoyed it I think it was a bit too bitter for the flavors it had. I love bitter brews but this was a bit much. The 6 Killer Stout is an explosion of coffee flavors and uses coffee from a local roaster. Though not too heavy on the alcohol, this beer has some serious coffee flavors. The coffee had nice nutty and chocolate flavors. I was so impressed that I left with 2 22oz bottles of the stout.

Tap list when I visited.
Tap list when I visited.

The Vicious Disposition is a stronger stout made with local avocado honey. This was a tasty beer that was very well-balanced, which is good because honey can sometimes become too much. Even if you haven’t enjoyed many honey beers, this one is still primarily a stout. The India Pale Lager was totally different than any I have ever tried. Not only is it not very bitter at all but it is also very light in color and body. It almost drinks like a light beer and yet it has plenty of grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors. The alcohol percentage hides very well here and you would never guess its percentage from drinking it.

Ironfire 04

The Dead on Arrival Double IPA was a solid double with plenty of floral and citrus flavors. I also got a lot of tropical fruit flavors from it. It seemed like it went a little too overboard with the mosac hops though because it had a light soapy finish. Finally I tried the double chocolate stout on Nitro. The guys I talked to at the bar told me they found this one to be too boozy. I have to agree. Though I did taste some chocolate at the back end, it was masked by a heavy boozy flavor that was a bit too much.

In the end, I would say there is a good reason why the 51/50 IPA and 6 Killer Stout are the big sellers because they are both fantastic. If you see either of them in stores down in San Diego, pick up a bottle if they sound like your kind of beer.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Education

Introduction to Craft Beers Part 4 – Wheat Beers and Amber Ales

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Wheat Beers

Also known as Belgian wits (like the mass-produced Blue Moon), wheat beers get their lighter flavors from wheat malts that don’t have the same dark flavors or coloring as the malts typically used in a pale ale or a porter or stout. This usually leads to a brighter flavor in the beer and, when mixed with a Belgian yeast, creates the flavors you are familiar with in a Belgian Wit. Some brewers will add lemon or citrus flavors to these as well to brighten them up.

Wheat beers are commonly unfiltered and also typically on the lighter alcohol content around 4.5%. Because of their lighter flavors wheat beers are not as common from craft breweries. Instead, many local breweries experiment with the style. Modern Times and Council Brewing both brew a hoppy wheat. They add a bunch of hops to a wheat beer to give it a citrus kick and some added flavor. These hoppy wheat varieties are still light in alcohol and just as refreshing.

Local Favorites: Karl Strauss Wheat, Ballast Point Wheat, Modern Times Hoppy Wheat, Council Hoppy Wheat.

 Amber Ales

The amber style of beer, sometimes known simply as a red ale, is best recognized by the reddish color of the beer when poured into a glass. While IPAs and pale ales are great for learning about the flavors of hops, ambers are great for learning about the flavors of malts. Malt flavors tend to be the primary draw and sometimes give a fruity flavor and other times a sweeter caramel flavor or a light roasted flavor.

Most ambers tend to be on the lighter side, around 4.5%, and it is pretty rare to see imperial red ales in San Diego. The term imperial as used here implies that the beer is around twice as strong as usual. These stronger red ales tend to add more hops to balance out the more intense flavors from the malts.

Local Favorites: Karl Strauss Red Trolley, Ballast Point Amber, Stone Levitation,
Local Imperial Reds:  Green Flash Hop Head Red, Alesmith My Bloody Valentine and Evil Dead Red, Ballast Point Tongue Buckler,

In the next part of this series I will explore the porter and stout beers.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Education

Introduction to Craft Beer Part 3 – What is a Pale Ale?

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One of the more common beer styles you see is the pale ale. Understanding this is important because IPAs are called India pale ales and are a stronger version of a pale ale. Most pale ales tend to be on the darker side and have a significant malt taste in the background. Malt flavors seen in pale ales tend to be more towards the bread and toast flavor. Frequently the toasty flavors come from roasting the malts themselves. Some lighter color pale ales use different varieties of malts that can give them a nice sweet finish while not overpowering the hops.

Pale ales can be made with many different types of hops but typically have less hops than other styles so that the flavors are not as intense or bitter. Many pale ales in San Diego focus on the pine and floral hops. To understand these flavors think of familiar smells. The beers taste pretty similar. Pale ales tend to be lighter in alcohol, somewhere around 4.5%, with some stronger extra pale ales closer to 5.5% or even 6%. Many higher alcohol pale ales tend to be lighter in color.

Local Favorites: Saint Archer Pale Ale, Green Flash Pale Ale, Karl Strauss Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Helm’s Pale Ale, Alesmith X Extra Pale.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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