We have a saying in the brewing community, "don't yuck someone else's yum." Everyone has different tastes. Let them enjoy it even if you don't. It's not hurting anyone. And that goes beyond beer
The problem with IPA's is not that people enjoy them or that brewers brew them and pubs stock them. The problem is that there's so many of them, all purporting to be slightly different, that it's pushing out other kinds of beer. The amount of times I have walked into a pub and there's somewhere between three and seven IPA's and I ask if they've got any stouts and the answer is, "We've got Guinness."
Part of that is seasonal. You're not going to get a stout in the summer, just like you're not going to get an Oktoberfest in the spring or a Shandy in the winter. Like you said about IPAs, there are so many variations, they've become a year round beer. Other year round beers are things like lagers and ales. Comparing a seasonal style to a year round beer isn't a fair comparison
If you can't find a stout on tap in the winter, you're going to the wrong breweries
I live in the UK. My experience has been that the selection of beers isn't that seasonal. Sure there will be guest beers in some pubs/chains but for example I can go to a Sam Smith's pub and they have four stouts year round plus a pretty good porter. Just a lot of people don't like to go to Sam Smith's pubs because the owner has... feelings about one thing and another.
So if I'm meeting friends usually there's something nearby that we're planning to do and in a great number of pubs the choice is Guinness or nothing.
I know people who love them, but I can’t for the life of me understand the semi recent popularity of sours. I’ve tried several and all I taste is old sock
Sour beers are a thing you will try the first time and hate initially, then a few days later you will think that sour was pretty good. This also assumes you get a good sour, and not something that's basically vinegar, which is harder than is should be.
Definitely not my experience, I tried several a while back from a few local breweries that made stuff I loved in the past and just did not care for anything about the flavor or taste, but I don’t have to drink them so enjoy. I’ll stick to the ESBs, pilsners, and IPAs
I'm not a brewer, but I'm assuming that the process is slightly different. Try a sour from a company that's known for making sours. There are a lot of very delicious ones out there.
Appreciate the advice, but I’ve been through many that were acclaimed by folks that love sours, just not to my pallet. Everyone else go nuts but I’m not interested, and there’s plenty of other beer out there I do like so I’m not missing out
That's definitely fair. I just know that whenever someone says, "I hate X type of beer," they typically mean they haven't had one that suits their palate yet.