There is the wonderful – if somewhat tragic – story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who refused to surrender after World War II ended and spent the next 29 years in the Philippines jungle.
Onoda hid until 1974 because he didn’t believe that the war had actually ended (which happened in the Pacific Theater in August 1945). But his former commanding officer was finally able to convince him three decades later. Onoda said that as a young soldier, he got cut off from his troops but vowed to obey the command he had received earlier to never surrender.
I mention this not only because it’s a fabulous story, but because it serves as a perfect intro to my column’s focus today: Beer opinion wars, and specifically IPA enemies.
Somewhere back in the 2000s, IPAs started to dominate the craft beer world. They had become increasingly popular before then, but at some point they even started outpacing the always-popular stouts. Like anything that is elevated by the zeitgeist of whatever age you might be considering, the IPA boom drew considerable backlash.
Traditionalists felt that many if not most IPAs were too unbalanced or lacked complexity. Others complained that the use of copious hops was a bit of legerdemain that served to hide flaws in the beers. Some just didn’t like super-hoppy flavor profiles as a matter of their personal palates.
These protests all had some validity, and I had a few friends (three come to mind) who aired their anti-IPA views to me regularly.
But guess what? They all now like, if not love, plenty of IPAs.
Of course, in the craft beer world, the only thing more plentiful than brews are opinions about brews, and I still occasionally see some wag kvetching about how there are too many IPAs or most of them aren’t that good or blah blah blah, etc.
Well excuse me, Mr, Onoda, but the war is over. It has been for quite a while.
That’s not to say all IPAs are great or that people shouldn’t drink other styles. That would be ridiculous. But it’s pretty clear that the India Pale Ale category is so extremely popular that maybe it’s time to let this particular issue go as far as complaining about it.
The main whinge more recently has been that IPAs have crowded out other styles. But come on, are people trying to legitimately claim that they can’t find a wide enough variety in today’s diverse craft beer marketplace? Maybe folks who live in less beer-savvy locales have a minor gripe, or maybe their local brewpub doesn’t make their favored style. But that’s a local issue to take up with the locals.
So if you find yourself complaining about the glut of IPAs (or any beer style), maybe come out of the jungle and see the light. It’s a big beautiful craft beer world we live in.
Cheers.
August 22, 2020
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Beer Nut: Anti-IPA soldiers should surrender - masslive.com
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