This Is My Blood: The Kragle

I had one of those moments today where everything just snaps into focus. I've nibbled around the edges of my IPA problem for a few days now, but today it hit me head on. I know what's wrong. The answer is really simple, and it's a little embarrassing that I felt the need to devote an entire week to figuring it out.

The answer is that the category of "IPA" in American brewing has two distinct styles. Hazy IPAs aren't just a variation of an IPA, they are a whole different thing. Hazy IPAs can also be known as New England IPAs. The other kind, American IPAs, are also known as West Coast IPAs, and are not hazy. It's not just a subtle difference. They are two completely different things. That's the answer. I don't like hazy/ New England IPAs, and I like American/West Coast IPAs.

The other difference between the two styles, besides the clarity of the beer, is how the hops are utilized. With hazy IPAs, the hops are mainly used toward the end of the process (dry hopped), and are used primarily for the purposes of creating an aroma. West Coast IPAs use hops too (obviously), but those hops are used toward the beginning or middle of the brewing process, and are there primarily to create bitterness in the beer. Hazy IPAs are thus more pungent and less bitter than West Coast IPAs.

And thus, someone like Pam, who doesn't like beers to be too bitter, is going to gravitate toward Hazy IPAs, but someone like me, who likes 'em bitter, is going to gravitate toward West Coast IPAs.

I was barking up the wrong tree as far as the types of hops used goes. I had originally thought that there might be a particular hop I didn't like, and that's what made me dislike certain IPAs and like other ones. Nope, it's as simple as the type of IPA each beer is.

This was confirmed today, when I drank Free Will's The Kragle, which is a West Coast IPA (it just said IPA on the label, which makes me think that West Coast IPAs are the default, and any hazy/NE IPAs are going to be labeled as such). It was not hazy. It was very bitter. It was a tasty treat.

(For the record, though, the hops are Citra, Simcoe, Calypso, and Columbus. I had thought Citra was giving me issues for a bit there, but I like this beer, and it has Citra, so kiss that theory goodbye. No, I don't think the type of hop makes all that much of a difference to me, at least not at this juncture.)

It took me till I read this short article to realize just how big the gap was between the two types of IPAs, and how important that gap was. And if you wanna know the straight truth, I think I was confused for so long because Tasting Beer doesn't mention the difference. Any guess as to why that is? Apparently "Hazy IPA" only became an official beer style in 2018, according to the American Brewers Association. And Tasting Beer's second edition was published... in 2017. Shit moves quickly in the beer world, I suppose.

We have a couple more IPAs before IPA Week is over, but the case is already closed. Fuck Hazy IPAs.

NOTES

BEER: The Kragle

STYLE: American IPA

ABV: 6.6%

BREWED BY: Free Will Brewing Co.

LOCATION: Perkasie, PA

PURCHASED AT: ABV on Richmond

PAIRED WITH: A Wit or Witowski

GRADE: 3.5 pukes out of 5

BEER COUNT: 212.5