Hopping mad - over hopped beers is the best beer?

[trustyrusty]

Hi Yesterday I tried an pirate life IPA and day before I tried a local brewery amber ale, admittedly it was called Hoppy Amber, tasted pretty much the same. Both beers really over hoppy IMHO and I know pirate life supposed one of the best ($6.50 can), but I found these beers very hoppy and I know an IPA is hoppy and I understand the hoppy thing but sometimes the finish is all hops and the after taste is, to be honest, unpleasant. Some say the hoppier the better but when drink a beer I want to be refreshed, I don't find that refreshing and I guess not a session beer. Seemingly when there are a lot of hops the price goes up, as it must be premium?

The question is to be the best are brewers trying to out hop each other. I have tried a few craft beers and adding a lot of hops seems to be the style. Personally not a big of a lot of hops, I dont mind the aroma and taste but when the finish is bitter at the end I don't like. I guess there will be arguments but I think the skill is extract the most flavour from grains and a balance of hops. I was wanting to try pirate life pale ale but there was none, is that hoppy too?

 

[Rocker1986]

Pirate Life pale ale when I tried it seemed to focus more on bitterness and less on hop flavor and aroma. It didn't really grab me, and I've brewed better pale ales (for my tastes anyway) here at home. The beer wasn't unbalanced however, it just could have used a bit more flavor/aroma. Maybe the keg mine came from was old? It was in a pub that would largely be full of megaswill drinkers so it probably didn't get poured that often. Maybe a fresher example would be better, if it was an old keg.

 

[manticle]

To be expected with ipa (especially aipa style) but there are many who are a bit over the 'hop the bejesus out of it' approach.

Plenty of of other beer out there though. Searching for it is a great journey.

 

[klangers]

I too grew a bit tired of the constant focus on hops.

Look out for some traditional lagers - Vienna lager, Munich, bocks etc. A lot more focus on the malt, and significantly less bitter.

 

[TheWiggman]

I completely know where you're coming from, at one level the industry seems a little overcome with the pissing contest of who can cram the most hops/ABV/IBU into a beer. Concepts like 'session IPA' and 'imperial xxxxx' irritate me. That said there are PLENTY of beers drinkers out there who crave loads of hops, which you would probably consider unbalanced. There's a market for it and whether you or I like it or not, there are drinkers searching for the beer with the biggest hop hit and these beers sell. Not like macro lagers, but they get breweries' names on the map. Personally I agree that there's not enough focus on making a balanced pale ale with hops, malt and yeast character all in balanced without one leaping in front of the other. It seems to be hops first, then make a stronger one with more hops and call it an IPA.
But like I said plenty of people love it (sure to be plenty of them posting below) and we all have different tastes .

 

[manticle]

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...rness_is_ruining_craft_beer_s_reputation.html

You might be interested in this old article

 

[Grott]

I sometimes wonder with craft "over-hoppy" beers being popular with a lot of folk is that they can now talk about a beer like a wine, ie these hops are......, grown on the left bank of the hill........, taste of grapefruit with subtle......etc.
Nothing wrong with that (I think) but in any event over hopped beers not my cup of tea.

 

[lespaul]

Having been in San Francisco recently, I was blown away by the amount of IPA's, where almost every house beer was an IPA.

I suppose if that's all you drink or if your exposure is mainly hopped beers, then i would guess your palate would probably adjust to it, and skew what you perceived as being "hoppy".

Its all relative, what you would see as being bitter is probably very balanced for others.

 

[Batz]

I think it all about tastes, everybody is different. Some of us like hot curry, chilli, whatever, it a bit much to say beers are too hoppy for you if you buy beers you expect to be hoppy.

Perhaps settle back with a nice pilsner instead. Or to be more serious an APA, not as hoppy as an IPA. Just in case you don't know your styles.

 

[mongey]

last 2 years the hoppier the better for me . got to admit I'm tiring of it a little now and am enjoying getting back into other more balanced styles .

on the pirate life the pale ale is def less hoppy/more balanced than the IPA. . I really like both . but I think the cans of the pale ale are a great drinking beer

 

[Dave70]

How it generally goes with me.

Drinks an IPA - Wow, those hops are awesome, I love a beer I can really taste.

Drinks a Pilsner - Wow, you can really taste the clean malt balance, why would you spoil it with a bunch of hops?

Drinks an APA - Wow, this is like the best of both worlds, probably my new favorite style.

Drinks a stout - Wow, I really love the coffee and chocolate notes, why dont I drink this more often?

Drinks a wheat - Wow, the clove and banana make a great change from regular beers, I think I brew fifty liters of it next time.

And so it goes...

 

[Rocker1986]

^ I'm like that too except that I can't stand wheat beers so I never drink them.

 

[Coodgee]

I can see what you mean but if you don't like beers focused on hops maybe an IPA is not for you. It's a bit like eating a vindaloo curry and saying food is too spicy these days. Plenty of other beers out there.