The Most Overrated Type Of Beer, According To Experts
Pilsner, stout, tripel, amber ale, porter, sour ... the list goes on. There's a staggering number of different beer types that are tempting enough to send any determined beer connoisseur on a tasting mission (a beer bucket list, if you will). All beer is either a lager or an ale, explains Tapville Social. And with more than 100 styles and sub-styles to wrap your palate around, it's only natural to feel compelled to try as many as possible to find your favorites.
You may choose to go brewery hopping on the weekends, discovering new, frosty creations in the world of craft beer. There are always interesting and different flavor notes to experience. However, if your local craft brewery is only pumping out several versions of the same beer type, that can get boring quickly.
As far as over-hyped beer goes, this one will easily divide a room of beer buffs, as sides are drawn in an argument over whether or not its popularity in recent years is deserved. Some bartenders wish there were more variety in the market, wanting breweries to craft something better than mediocre and avoid getting lost in following the latest trends. That said, they won't usually refute the claim that all IPAs are bad, "but they still recognize that sometimes there's a disparity between quality and hype," explains Uproxx. One beer drinker on Reddit admits, "I find most IPAs to be simple (like, four notes on the palate), superfluously bitter, and only enjoyable under specific conditions."
Too many IPAs, not enough flavor
You knew this was coming, did you not? Many people consider IPAs to be overrated, mediocre, and over-hopped (per Reddit). (On the flip side, some will only drink an India Pale Ale, claiming the overly bitter taste is pleasing to their taste buds.) You've likely run into a few good IPAs on your quest to find the world's greatest beers, but surely they cannot all be that amazing, especially if breweries are over-saturated with them. With this in mind, one beer lover on Reddit asked, "Am I the only one who wants to pick from a variety of beer styles and not just ten thousand renditions of one single style?"
Historically speaking, the purpose of using an excessive amount of hops wasn't to enhance a beer's flavor; it was a preservation technique used when transporting it to India (per The Carolinian). So you can see how, to some, choosing an overly-hoppy IPA, as opposed to something more flavorful, isn't all that appealing.
When Thrillist rounded up a bunch of beer experts to ask about the most overrated beer style, more than a few voted for IPAs. John Thompson, writer for The Hops Local, stated that it's "easily" the most overrated, saying, "some brewers will just slap you in the face with hops." Great Beer Now writer Bryan Carey agreed with the IPAs' inflated status, believing that "a state of overkill has been reached and exceeded," as other beer styles are under-represented in the market.