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"DrJohn":2k6qgrz2 wrote: Sorry to trivialise this discussion (it's not a "Hooker" thread now!), but it reminds me of debates we used to have about music; whether something was rock, country, blues, pop etc. It is very hard to pin some music/beer down as being "true to style".

I tend to agree with Huey Lewis; "there is just 2 types of music, good and bad". Enjoy the brews![/quote:2k6qgrz2]

You see I agree up to a point. But broad categories are useful. If I said to you I really like John Lee Hooker (you see what I did there), and would love to listen to similar music, it would be good to know which general category he falls under.
Or if I go into the B&C with a hankering for some Hooker, and they're all out, I'd like to know what beers *broadly* fall under the same category that I might like to try.

Now, very precise categories (IPA/APA/IPA/IIPA/Punk/New Wave/Art Rock/New Wave of New Wave etc. etc.) are entirely unnecessary, but make for great drunken discussions!

I agree with you both actually! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

If you walked into the B&C and they were out of Hooker and you said you'd like something similar, I bet you'd get offered an IPA <!-- s:twisted: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt="" title="Twisted Evil" /><!-- s:twisted: -->

&amp;quot;Adeptus&amp;quot;:19ofwpmd wrote: I agree with you both actually! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

If you walked into the B&C and they were out of Hooker and you said you'd like something similar, I bet you'd get offered an IPA <!-- s:twisted: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_twisted.gif" alt="" title="Twisted Evil" /><!-- s:twisted: -->[/quote:19ofwpmd]
There's some other Irish Pale Ale?? <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

lol, if only! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Ok. Maybe I should have kept my (virtual) mouth shut. I thought the whole Irish Pale Ale was just a different take on the India Pale Ale thing, I realize now that I may have been mistaken. I was genuinely curious to see why it would have been considered an IPA when I thought it was more like Sierra Nevada than anything else. While I think some style pointers are very useful, I think everyone here agrees that, say lambics are vastly different to stouts and therefore should be labeled diffferently. I also think that the labeling and pigeon holing thing can get out of hand. Ratebeer, while a very useful site, I think makes too much of a distinction between what constitutes different styles. 3 different types of pilseners. My god. Anyway, feel free to continue talking about Galway Hooker ads. If you want, also feel free to completely ridicule everything I've said in this thread. I am something of an amateur.

&amp;quot;Wobbler&amp;quot;:gibts14k wrote: I was genuinely curious to see why it would have been considered an IPA when I thought it was more like Sierra Nevada than anything else.[/quote:gibts14k]

Sierra Nevada brew an IPA and pale ale

I would not be surprised if there was not some Irish brewer in the 19th century making pale ale

The whole pale ale IPA thing is a big mess, the English have reduce the alcohol/ hop strength, the America clam they make more of historical style along with interpretation. Now’s there argument that the historical version may not have been as hoppy, because the hops had much less IBU’s that what’s available these days, but know one on really know what they where. Furthermore due to the time travelling the IBU’s could be reduce the by up to 40%.