I'm so sick of IPAs altogether. I'm a big fan of sours, which I guess some people find intolerable, but overall I'd just like more choices instead of everything either being mass-market (I mean like Bud or Coors by that) or else an IPA most places you go.
One of the biggest problems with hoppy beers is that they have a short shelf life (less than 90 days even when packaged well, much less when dissolved oxygen is present) but distribution issues and lack of education means that most IPAs are consumed past their prime.
I love IPA. It’s virtually all I ever drink, and yet I have no interest in fancying myself a connoisseur or going out of my way to try some new special IPA. It seems that most people assume that the former implies the latter.
Having brewed award-winning IPAs I would take issue with that statement but luckily there is much more to the craft beer world than IPAs. You mentioned you like sours but hops are often used to interesting effect in sours as well. Sour beer yeasts and bacteria actually interact with hop oils to create new flavors. It's fascinating stuff although still poorly understood. As an example this sour beer wiki has a fairly detailed article on using hops in sour beers. http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Hops
What I mean to say is, I'm sure they're different, but it's lost on me, because the hop flavor is just so overwhelming to me. I mean, I'm sure my sour-hating friends don't really appreciate the difference between a Rodenbach Grand Cru and a Cuvée des Jacobins either, even though they're quite different.
Don't nock it some of the best cider I have had has been the local scrumpy - smooth goes down easy but man what a kick -this is where Terry Pratchet got the idea for scumble.
I saw a few bars along the frontrange this last summer doing just that. 5 sours and 1 stout, all in tulips. It was hot, I got a sour, it was still beer.
One of the interesting effects of the backlash against IPA hegemony and over-saturation is the comeback of the pilsner. Probably better in summer. I'm thinking craft pilsners like Scrimshaw.
My favorite micro-brewery has started flavor-infusing most of their IPAs. They always are iteratively improving upon a standard double IPA as their flagship, but usually have 2-4 options for IPAs brewed with fruits, coffee, lactose, vanilla,, etc. They've done a great job of balancing popular appeal with making really good, really unique beers.
