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West Coast IPA vs East Coast IPA: What’s the Difference?

Thomas Short — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:05:17 +0000

Most beer drinkers can’t decide what an IPA actually is, let alone the difference between a West Coast and East Coast IPA. Typically, an India pale ale is a hoppy, bitter beer that has a higher ABV than most types of brews, and often is higher on IBUs (international bittering units). Easy. But having one type of IPA wasn’t enough. Nope, there needs to be even more types of the pale ale offshoots because…well, why not? Enter the West Coast IPA and East Coast IPA. When I say West Coast and East Coast, I’m talking about American coasts, so American-brewed beers. While IPAs are brewed all around the world, these specific styles hail from the USA (which is probably the best region in the world at producing IPAs). Both styles of IPA are technically India pale ales, but they are very different brews, further complicating the whole “what is an IPA” question. Since both types are relatively new (as in the last century), it’s hard to pin down exactly what they are. But I’ll give it my best shot. East Coast vs West Coast IPA: At a Glance Characteristic West Coast IPA East Coast IPA Appearance Crystal clear, golden Hazy, cloudy, murky Bitterness High bitterness, bold and dry Low to moderate bitterness, smooth Flavor profile Piney, resinous, citrus Juicy, tropical, fruity Hop timing Added during boil (hot-side) Dry-hopped after boil (cold-side) Common hops Cascade, Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Strata Malt bill 100% barley with a dry finish Oats and wheat that’s velvety, sweet Yeast character Clean and natural Complex and expressive Mouthfeel Light, crisp, dry Full, soft, silky Typical ABV 6–7.5% 6–8% Best for Bitter beer lovers Juice fans and haze boys Example beers Pliny the Elder, Stone IPA, Sculpin Heady Topper, Hazy Little Thing, Julius What Is a West Coast IPA? The West Coast IPA is known for being bitter. Over the past few decades, it almost feels like West Coast brewers have been competing to make the hoppiest, bitterest, alcoholiest brews the world has ever seen. Look at brewers like Sierra Nevada, Stone, and Lagunitas. These guys have been thriving off their IPAs, and many West Coast breweries that launched in the past decade opted to use an IPA as their flagship beer. It all comes back to West Coast taste. Something about super-bitter IPAs goes well with the West Coast. While the era of “all craft beers MUST be bitter” has passed, the West Coast IPA has carved out its niche. These bad boy IPAs are super bitter, suppress the sweet flavor of malts, and embrace the hop profile. While not every West Coast style is going to be the most bitter beer brewed, we can make a sort of generalization: bitter = West Coast. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Short Brews Beer Blog (@shortbrews) Where Did the West Coast IPA Come From? West Coast IPAs come from…the West Coast of the United States! In all seriousness, we can trace the origins of the West Coast IPA to Anchor Brewing, which was essentially the first real craft brewery in the nation. Anchor decided to turn up the hops in the brew, and local brewers followed suit and began experimenting with more hops. While early West Coast IPAs still had a huge malt profile, most modern-day West Coast IPAs lean hoppier, which, in this case, means bitter. What Hops Are Used in a West Coast IPA? There’s no “rule” on what hops need to be used in any IPA, but hop profiles make some hops superior for specific brews. For West Coast IPAs, it’s pretty common to see hops like Cascade, Simcoe, and Centennial. Other hops that brewers use include Chinook, Columbus, and sometimes fruitier hops like Amarillo or Citra. What Is an East Coast IPA? The East Coast IPA is a bit more complex than the West Coast variant. While the West Coast styles force the hops, East Coast IPAs look for the complex flavors that come from each ingredient in the beer, including the malt. This isn’t to say that East Coast IPAs aren’t hoppy – they very well can be. But the flavor sought in an East Coast IPA isn’t going to make your head explode with bitterness. You can find this type of complex flavor in the current fad: Hazy IPAs. Hazy IPAs are notable for their generally juicy flavor and hazy look (buzz words, baby!). These are going to be sweeter and less bitter than the western brethren. No, Hazy IPAs and East Coast IPAs aren’t the same, but we would have never had the hazy IPA without the rise of the classic East Coast IPA. That makes the Hazy IPA something of a son to the East Coast IPA. Or step-son? Someone who is like a son? One of those. Anyway, these are super popular in New England, and the flavor is starting to spread nationwide…just as people on the East Coast might want a West Coast-style India pale ale. As with West Coast, we can sort of generalize East Coast styles: juicy, non-bitter = East Coast. No, it isn’t perfect. Get over it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Short Brews Beer Blog (@shortbrews) Where Did the East Coast IPA Come From? East Coast IPAs come from the East Coast of the US, more specifically, the New England area (don’t worry, we’ll get there). I don’t know exactly what the first East Coast IPA was, but Heady Topper seems to be one of the earliest examples of an IPA that didn’t need to go full-throttle on bitter notes. Then, like a juicy avalanche, these beers swept across the region and then the country over the past few decades. What Hops Are Used in East Coast IPAs? Again, there are no rules when it comes to hop profiles and IPAs. However, because East Coast IPAs tend to have juicier flavors, they’re often brewed with hops with delicious aromatics, like Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy,

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What Is An IPA?

Thomas Short — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 15:57:07 +0000

The IPA is a type of beer that has skyrocketed in popularity inside craft brew and hipster circles. However, this doesn’t mean the beer is fancy, pretentious or not for you. The right IPA can be a true delight, and it might even become your new favorite type of beer. When you take apart what IPA stands for, you get a better idea of the beer. India Pale Ales (IPAs) are in the pale ale family of beers, except they tend to be a little hoppier than other ales. This typically means they’re more bitter in flavor, but flavor ranges from beer to beer. The IPA was first created roughly 200 years ago with the intention of being super-hoppy since it would preserve the beer longer. This was important since beer prepared in England rarely survived the long journey to India (hence the name). What Does An IPA Taste Like? The easiest way to find out the flavor of an IPA is by trying one (obviously), but if you want to sound like a beer connoisseur, there are a few words you can use to describe your hoppy beverage: Used in a sentence: “Wow, this beer is so hoppy. One could even say bitter, but not me because I drink beer.” Used in a sentence: “This is a juicy beer, now I don’t need to have my glass of juice before bed!” Used in a sentence: “This IPA is as hazy as pea soup.” If you need more terms to describe your IPA, check out the Beer Buzz Words list. Types of IPA Yes, there are different types of IPA just to keep things fun and interesting, along with other various sub-styles. Here are some highlights. West Coast IPA One big differentiation between IPAs is the East Coast/West Coast IPA style. The West Coast IPA generally leans more into the bitter side of hops and has a clear color. While not as popular as it once was, the West Coast IPA is still a beloved staple among craft brewers. East Coast IPA The East Coast IPA generally uses malty flavors to smooth out the IPA. This makes it a little hazier and juicier while also making it less bitter. While many people would call this “hoppier” than a West Coast IPA, that isn’t really the case. Both West Coast and East Coast IPAs use plenty of hops — the only difference is the types of hops used and what flavors are pulled from the hops. You’d be correct to call any type of IPA hoppy…except may Cold or Brut IPAs. Imperial IPA Imagine an IPA, but stronger. Bolder. More alcohol. You’ve just pictured the Imperial IPA. Often referred to as a double IPA, the Imperial IPA is just an IPA but turned to 11. Which would make a triple IPA and IPA turned to 12. Brut IPA To fly to close to sun. To be the Brut IPA. A fad that lasted about two weeks, Brut IPAs were a Frankenstein’s monster invention that saw the addition of amylase to a traditional IPA recipe. Much like Frankenstein’s monster, modern media portrayal doesn’t do the Brut IPA any justice. The monster could speak very well! And this beer speaks…sort of. Kudos if you ever find a Brut IPA on tap. Cold IPA The Cold IPA — perhaps the darling of the show right now — tends to closely follow a typical IPA recipe, albeit with some brewing processes lifted from lagers. A Cold IPA will use a lower temperature during fermenting, akin to lagers. This gives the Cold IPA a sort of hybrid lager/IPA feel. What’s the difference between a Cold IPA and IPL (India Pale Lager)? Who knows! Hazy IPA The belle of the ball. The Hazy IPA. The Hazy IPA is everything the Brut IPA wishes it could be. If you’ve ever been to a craft brewery, then you know what a Hazy IPA is. But what makes the Hazy IPA so hazy? That depends entirely on the brewer!

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Breakfast Beers and Coffee Stouts

Thomas Short — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 18:30:42 +0000

It was only a matter of time until beer tackled the most taboo meal for a drink: breakfast. Beer, as you’re well aware, goes best with things we closely associate with the afternoon or night, such as warm weather, dinner, bars, sporting events…the list goes on. But when was the last time you cracked a cold one at breakfast? Poured that Coors Light into your bowl of cereal? Put some milk stout into your coffee instead of creamer? Ya, I didn’t think so. Here’s the big news: your life is about to change. Sort of. Breakfast beers are on the rise, and by the year 2022 they’re going to be a balanced part of your breakfast. You know, since alcohol extends your life. I mean shortens it. Ugh. So, in order to prepare you for the future of breakfast, I’m going to talk about some of the different breakfast beers you’ll encounter in the wild. The Coffee Stout There’s nothing mysterious about coffee stouts. These are literally just stouts with coffee in them. Here’s something to keep in mind, however: not all coffee stouts actually use coffee. Malts, one of the main ingredients of beer, are roasted, much like coffee. And, much like coffee, the roasted flavor sticks out, and the aroma is roasty – like coffee. However, coffee can be added to a beer to change the flavor and aroma, while also adding a different consistency. In honesty, the difference between a coffee stout with real coffee and a fake phony coffee stout is night and day (in my opinion). What’s cooler is that your local craft brewers tend to use local coffee grounds. Win-win! The Breakfast Beer Such a vague term for such a vague idea. Breakfast beers are technically any beer you have with breakfast. But I’m going to redefine this term to in such a non-strict way that it’s bound to cause frustration and confusion. A while back I went to Great Notion and had a beer called Double Stack. It tasted like a liquid-gold version of chocolate chip pancakes, complete with the sweet syrup flavor and the feeling like you had way too many pancakes to eat. A perfect breakfast beer. I’ve also seen breakfast themed IPAs, usually loaded with lactose. Lactose is one of the types of yeast brewers use, and to be completely honest I don’t like the flavor. However, plenty of beer drinkers do, and that milky flavor in an IPA is perfectly suitable for breakfast. Another suitable breakfast IPA is something so juicy that it reminds you of orange juice. Yes, I’m talking about those hazy IPAs so thick with juice flavor that they can cure the common cold. These are perfectly suitable for breakfast since they don’t blow your palate into smithereens. Also, many hazy IPAs don’t use lactose. I suggest gunning for those ones. Pastry Stouts Now, dear reader, I need to bring up the most deceiving beer for breakfast delights: pastry stouts. A pastry stout is a stout so sweet that you would expect to have to chase the beer with a shot of insulin. They usually hit the 8-10% ABV range (so dangerous for so sweet), and I can shamelessly say that I absolutely love them. But, for the most part, pastry stouts do not belong with your breakfast. Pastry stouts are dessert. There are exceptions. I would say that the Double Stack from Great Notion is a pastry stout. However, the flavor profile allows it to pass as breakfast – sort of like how pancakes are breakfast but any other cake is dessert. “But Thomas, people eat pastries for breakfast.” Ya, well I’ve had cake for breakfast, but that doesn’t make it a breakfast food. No human in their right mind would consider eating a pastry for breakfast every single day. They’re basically the dessert of breakfast. The dessert. Dessert. Also, I would not recommend having a beer with breakfast every day. Why? Because it spoils the novelty. Beer is fun, but if you have one with breakfast every day, at some point it becomes a routine. You’ll get in a rut, and your breakfast beer will start to blend with your Wheaties and cantaloupe. So, there you have it. You’re now ready for the future of beer and, by default, your life. Go forth and enjoy the occasional breakfast beer, but please, PLEASE pay close attention to your palate.

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