We Asked A Cicerone: Here's How To Choose The Best Type Of IPA Beer For You

Despite their wide popularity, India pale ales (more commonly called IPAs) can be controversial among beer drinkers. With the rise of craft beer over the past few decades, IPAs became the all-stars with big name breweries all competing to see who could out-hop who. But while IPA devotees will swear by their double-hopped beers, many drinkers have been turned off by their excessive bitterness, or just come to resent how IPAs crowded out other types of beer. And while IPAs' dominance of craft beer has been waning, that bitter taste has lingered for a lot of people — and that's too bad, because IPAs actually come in a lot of different styles, plenty of which are not overly hoppy. So, even IPA skeptics should be willing to give them a second chance. 

And to help you with that, we asked master cicerone Rich Higgins (@maltyrich on Instagram), who is also a certified sommelier and former brewmaster, for his tips on picking out the best type of IPA for your own personal tastes. Higgins helpfully classifies IPA flavors into simple categories, telling us, "I divide IPAs into three parts: bitterness, sweetness, and aroma." He noted that if you are worried about IPAs being too bitter, there is actually a measurement to help guide you, explaining that "the bitterness is often expressed in IBUs (International Bitterness Units)." Higgins then broke down each category, saying, "below 20, you're unlikely to notice much bitterness. Between 20 and 35 is kinda medium-low, 35-45 is medium, above 45 is where beers get quite bitter."

Even with a numbered scale like IBUs to help, there's still a lot that's going to affect the taste of your IPA. Rich Higgins says, "IPAs are a balance of bitterness and sweetness," and the flavor of a beer can be tough to predict because "brewers rarely tell you how sweet and sturdy their beers are." He explained that those details can really change the experience, giving us the example that "A 50 IBU hazy IPA won't seem aggressively bitter because it's balanced with some residual sugar, proteins, and complex carbohydrates." Hazy IPAs are often a great place to start when tasting IPAs because they have more fruity and sweet flavors, and they show off just how unique different IPAs can be. Other IPA styles with more sweetness to them include milkshake IPAs and sour IPAs.

Higgins added that "finally, aroma is the most fun aspect of an IPA." And this is where there is no real substitute for trying a lot of different beers. IPAs can contain many flavors beyond bitter and sweet, being floral, piney, or earthy, too. Higgins says, "the more IPAs you taste, the more you'll notice yourself returning to the ones that are more citrusy, or more tropical, or more 'dank' (aromas of cannabis), or whatever complex combo of hop flavors you like best." There is enough diversity in the style that even the biggest IPA haters should find a bouquet that works for them.