By The Steward

        If there is any lesson to be learned from the showdowns taking place in the IPA Challenge, it is the many splendored faces of great IPAs. The diversity of flavor, balance, finish and overall taste of the IPAs in this contest is enormous. I have my favorites, for sure, and many have lost. But the judges are without the knowledge I possess; and they have done a superb job in evaluating each mano a mano showdown and choosing the better IPA. At times it has been unanimous and apparently easy. Other times it has been a tussle, with the majority ruling. But most importantly, it has been an education as to how much diversity there is in a style. And that, of course, is what this movement is all about, diversity of flavor.
        So as we head to the fourth round, with eight mighty IPAs still in the running, let’s celebrate the reason we love all these beers, and the breweries that produce them. A style has been captured from the past and given a new, American face. And that is the face of creativity and daring. Of brewers having an idea and putting it forth in liquid form, and of beer lovers signaling their appreciation for that idea by continuing to sample the goods. Here’s to the IPA, a beer we can proudly hail as a quintessential example of the founding ideals from which our country was borne.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 12:29 pm and is filed under NIPAC Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.