A Quick Rant About IPA Day
I love IPAs. I especially love big bold Imperial/Double IPAs, but there is no damn need to have an IPA Day. IPAs are ubiquitous. You can’t swing an empty growler without hitting a new brewery’s IPA and for the most part, I am quite happy about that. It’s great that the growth of the craft beer movement is showing no signs of abating. I am also very happy that American’s palates are slowly but surely migrating from flavorless adjunct lagers to the far superior craft beer segment. All of the positive aspects aside, IPA Day is a really mindless exercise.
Someone will gnash their teeth, rend their garments, and cry at the sky that IPA Day is a way to get people to try new beer. Really? No, no it’s not. I know I like IPAs. I have friends that proclaim that IPAs are their favorite style of beer. Why do you think that we need to be convinced to drink an IPA? Do you really think that your Coors/Miller/PBR drinker is suddenly going to dive into and enjoy Pliny the Younger or a Green Flash IPA? At best, that person is going to be polite and say it isn’t to their liking and at worst, you have turned them off of craft beer.
Instead, I not so humbly suggest that we flip IPA Day on its head and have Different Beer Day instead. Hop heads could challenge their palates on the subtle nuances of a geuze. Belgian aficionados can explore the deep sweet depths of an imperial stout. One could step completely off of the reservation and try some mead. More importantly, we can introduce macrobrewery drinkers to gateway craft beers like Fat Tire (like I did with my step-father who is over 80 years old – it’s never too late to improve one’s palate) or Mama’s Little Yella Pils.
Stop reinforcing the norm. Buck the trend. Shift the bloody paradigm. Call it whatever you want, but for the love of all that is good with craft beer drink something different today.
Saúde!
It's 12 O' Clock Somewhere 
I agree wholeheartedly. I’m not a huge fan of IPAs (more of a wheat beer and lager guy), but a “try a new beer” day might even get me to try the bitter sludge that is stouts.
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Bitter stout? I think you’re drinking the wrong stuff. I would venture a guess that you are drinking dry stouts (think Guinness and Murphy’s). If you want to give stouts a whirl again, try a milk stout – creamy, smooth, and delicious.
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