Yeah Ayinger and Delirium are about all I drink anymore. Maybe some Samuel Smiths every once in a while. Pretty bad but I’m completely turned off by American beers anymore. Beer is just yet another thing we’ve taken from Europe and absolutely bastardized it beyond belief. See pizzas, bagels, and chocolate for other examples.
I agree to an extent, but the IPA thing is dear to me. When I was first able to drink or close enough that people would buy for me haha, there wasn't much of a craft movement in the US. So I tried all the "imports" and whatever I could find -- I have a collector's mentality so I tried any style and from any country. I wasn't an IPA fan at first, because no one is. No one wants that much hops. But Sierra Nevada was big and I lived in the Bay Area so I liked that the pale ale was different. Tasted like pine cones or something. At some point hoppiness became a contest and I was confused for a while. The first time I had Pliny the Elder was on tap at the Toronado, a king of beer bars, and I had to sip it because it was way too much for me. Many moons later it's like a perfect IPA to me.
The palate adapts and if you get there, great, if not no big deal. Over the years I have found that the less sweetness the better. I like it big and hoppy, but I like it bitter so if there's too much malt I'm out. Beer is way too huge but shit, good for beer and for the brewers who've turned their passion into millions.
Even IPAs I love don't taste the same every time I have them, and I don't mean to say it's the batch, it can be from the same 4 or 6 pack and my palate might love it one night and be meh another. So I think I know why some people hate IPAs haha.