I miss many things about living in the Pacific Northwest—among them, the region’s music scene and Portland’s equidistance from mountains and beach. Mostly though, I miss the IPAs. The India pale ale is celebrated, if not worshipped, in this lush region that produces some of the world’s most sought-after hops and some of the most sought-after IPAs. This beer style is omnipresent in Washington and Oregon, and—according to several of the region’s prominent brewers—it is evolving in aroma and flavor.
More Hops Forward
“The Northwest IPA of ten years ago is certainly different from what we might think of as a quintessential Northwest IPA today,” says James McDermet, the head brewer at Fremont Brewing in Seattle, Washington. “Classic Northwest IPA fits very well into the American-style IPA category and focuses on American hops characteristics like big juicy citrus in the aroma and flavor that is often balanced by some sweet, caramel malt character.”
The general trend in Northwest IPAs, according to McDermet, has been a move away from the caramel malty character and a focus on a drier, more hops-forward beer. “For our IPA, we try to maintain some malt sweetness to keep the beer from being too bracingly bitter and keep the beer more balanced while focusing on Northwest hops aroma and flavor as much as we can,” says McDermet. “This is not too far away from the West Coast style—both focus on big hops aromas and flavors. The only real difference might be how dry the beer is and the perceived bitterness level. I think of West Coast IPAs as a bit more bracingly bitter, but it’s likely just due to the lack of malt character and low residual sweetness.”