IPA's Aren't So Bad After All

I've always enjoyed beer ever since I was old enough to do so, and I was fairly open-minded to all the varieties and brands. Even Bud had its place beside pizza and wings. However, as the IPA's gained popularity, I shunned them as being bitter for the sake of being bitter, especially as the microbrewers seemed to keep cramming in more hops to gastronomical proportions. To me, the IPA wave was the product of newly minted beer snobs who were jealous of all the pomp and circumstance associated with wine snobs, and I was neither. Just give me a good stout or lager, thank you very much.

Over the years I gradually decreased my beer consumption to near zero because of carbs, but beer has recently re-entered the conversation here thanks to my brother-in-law (Mrs. Dr. Sunshine's brother) during his family's recent visit. Specifically, he likes the IPA's. We were discussing potential probiotic properties of beer, and I pointed out that beers for public consumption are likely pasteurized and hence would have no microbial magic. As luck would have it, there happens to be a great little microbrewery locally, and reportedly they do not pasteurize their beer. So I figured as long as I might get a little probiotic benefit, I would try their IPA. It was pretty good, and now I think I like IPA's. I will have to do some more digging, because I have no idea whether there are any live cultures in beer, but it sure would be nice if there was some redeeming quality other than taste. If I find anything I will let you know.

Anyway, keep an open mind and don't be afraid to circle back to try something you dismissed in the past. Tastes change over time. Cheers!