In article >,
enigma > wrote:

> Michael Siemon > wrote in
>
> .au:
>
> > Yeah; that's _good_! Beer is _supposed_ to be bitter. (Not the
> > standard American swill, to be sure -- as far as I can tell that
> > has nothing going for it at all, it's just deodorized
> > horse-****.) I'm not all that fond of many of the micro-brewery
> > IPA products -- too hoppy by far, in most cases.
>
> too hoppy?! IPA is *supposed* to be hoppy! hops is the preservative
> that allowed ale to survive shipping.
> granted most Americans want beer that tastes like the grains & hops
> walked through the boil with boots on...
> lee

Yes (on both counts). I enjoy the most typical English IPA brews.
And there are some of the American IPAs that are quite good, but
like many American products, there is this bizarre notion that if
something is good/essential, the way to get a name (and sales)
for _your_ version is to over-do it. There are, of course, some
good non-IPA micro-brews, but they don't "stand out" and so are
harder to find on pub lists.