[erockrph]

The typical IPA I brew is about 5.5% ABV and 50-60 IBU. It may or may not be hazy. It may have no Crystal malt, or it may have 5-7% of any Cara malt from C-15 up to C-80. It generally has about one metric sh*t ton of late hops/dry hops. Is this an IPA, an APA, a Blond ale (if you've had Eureka from Tree House, you'll understand what I'm talking about), or something else? I call them IPA's and tell my friends that's what they are. I doubt many would qualify as an IPA in a competition, though.

In my book (which means nothing), if you added the crystal, it's an APA.  If not, an IPA.  But at 50-60 IBU's, it would be (has to be!) well out of Blonde Ale territory.  Though I get your point about Eureka.  Treehouse just doesn't seem to play by the same hop rules as everyone else.   

I do think a late addition of a metric s#!t ton of hops is fair game for both APA and IPA.  So...you aren't making anything that you specifically call an APA?

I come from a time when Crystal malt was allowed in IPA's  , so that's not a determining factor to me. And to that point, the only time I brew anything I call an APA is when I get nostalgic for APA's from 20-30 years ago from breweries that have long since gone away. They definitely have nothing close to the hopping rates that I use in my IPA's, or even most modern APA's.

[fredthecat]

The typical IPA I brew is about 5.5% ABV and 50-60 IBU. It may or may not be hazy. It may have no Crystal malt, or it may have 5-7% of any Cara malt from C-15 up to C-80. It generally has about one metric sh*t ton of late hops/dry hops. Is this an IPA, an APA, a Blond ale (if you've had Eureka from Tree House, you'll understand what I'm talking about), or something else? I call them IPA's and tell my friends that's what they are. I doubt many would qualify as an IPA in a competition, though.

In my book (which means nothing), if you added the crystal, it's an APA.  If not, an IPA.  But at 50-60 IBU's, it would be (has to be!) well out of Blonde Ale territory.  Though I get your point about Eureka.  Treehouse just doesn't seem to play by the same hop rules as everyone else.   

I do think a late addition of a metric s#!t ton of hops is fair game for both APA and IPA.  So...you aren't making anything that you specifically call an APA?

I come from a time when Crystal malt was allowed in IPA's  , so that's not a determining factor to me. And to that point, the only time I brew anything I call an APA is when I get nostalgic for APA's from 20-30 years ago from breweries that have long since gone away. They definitely have nothing close to the hopping rates that I use in my IPA's, or even most modern APA's.

it sounds crazy but when i use crystal malt in a beer now i feel that i notice it more, and get those flavours. as all humans, but me especially i really love the myriad of caramel flavours in something