Are we reaching peak IPA?
Quick, name three beers you’ve had lately that couldn’t be described as “hoppy.”
Were you able to? The odds (and the market data) would say you couldn’t.
It’s easy to describe any significant market shift as a “revolution,” but the change in the craft-beer landscape over the last 10 years has been undeniably revolutionary, especially locally. Once only enjoyed by a few beer aficionados in the Pacific Northwest, hop-forward beers have crossed the country and are now intractable in New England. As a beer writer in the late 2000s, I used to struggle to convince craft-beer geeks that there were worthwhile IPAs to be found in this region. No longer.
Now wherever I go in the country I’m asked about Maine Beer Company’s Lunch, and Maine Beer Company’s Dinner (a double IPA) has people lining up every time a batch is released. Bissell Brothers draws a loyal crowd whenever they debut another hoppy brew — and their flagship ale, The Substance, certainly fits that bill. And several hoppy stand-outs have been released this year, including Sebago Brewing Company’s Whistle Punk Double IPA.
The Maine beer scene continues to swell with new small and medium-sized breweries. But instead of a proportional growth in the diversity of styles, we’re seeing a kind of convergence. Brewers are increasingly focusing on hoppy styles, often to the exclusion of others.
This can be attributed to several factors, including the education of craft-beer drinkers’ palates, the increased diversity and availability of hops, and the development of IPA spin-off styles (including the low-alcohol session IPA, the roasted malt-bearing black IPA, and strange hybrids that use unusual yeasts to create Belgian-style IPAs or those fermented with Brettanomyces).
The IPA growth in Maine is mirrored in national trends. A market research company (IRI) found that there are nearly 900 different IPA brands currently sold in U.S. supermarkets, an increase of more than 20 percent since 2014. While this certainly indicates that Americans have come to accept, if not expect, the taste of hops, questions remain.
How many hop-driven beers can one market support? And what happens when there are too many?
I recently stopped into my local beer store — Bootlegger’s, in Topsham — and walked to the back to grab a cold six pack from the coolers. I found myself dumbstruck, staring at about 12 feet of cooler space dedicated to mostly hoppy beers of many varieties. I was so overwhelmed that I retreated and grabbed something I knew well, rather than investigate all the new arrivals. If that’s happening to me, imagine what it feels like to be the average customer new to craft beer.
The second question has to do with quality. If there’s a strong market demand for IPAs, that means every brewery is practically required to have one. Even Boston Beer Company caved to this pressure, releasing their Rebel IPA series in an attempt to meet this demand. But if brewers are begrudgingly adding these styles to their lineup, it could lead to a flood of mediocre beers making it to market. This dilution makes it harder to find the stand-outs.
For those new to craft beer, IPAs can be hard to swallow. It takes awhile to warm your taste buds to their bitterness, and I often run into folks who need help finding beers on a tap list that “aren’t really hoppy.” As the IPA revolution rages, that’s becoming harder to do. Giving consumers a variety of entry points, whether that be through fruit beers, lighter beers, or other styles, is the smart way to convert and retain new craft-beer patrons.
Thankfully, there are Maine brewers that are crafting some fabulous styles outside the hoppy landscape. In May, Banded Horn Brewing released Wicked Bueno, a Mexican-style lager that’s great for the backyard on a hot day. For those interested in the yeast and wheat side of the scene, Gneiss Brewing offers a wonderful variety of German-style brews, including their flagship Weiss.
While I don’t think hoppy beers will ever stop dominating the craft-beer taste spectrum, I do think it’s wise to spread the love to other styles. It’s time to diversify the portfolio.
