What comes after "hophead?"

After being in the "hophead" stage of homebrewing, I've been wondering what comes next. To digress a bit, I think it is very common for homebrewers to enter a stage where they discover hops and how to make very hoppy beers and to become very anamored of making really hopped up brews.

In my case it happened when I moved to full boils and then to AG. Before that I made some extract batches that I really enjoyed, but none of them ever had very much hop bitterness, aroma or flavor.

Now that I've gotten a year's worth of full boil AG batches under my belt (both figuratively and literally-- you should see what's been happening to my wasteband size) I've been able to make some beers that really show off the characteristics that hops can provide.

I'm not tired of it yet (and I suspect that my brews will always tend to be hoppier than most commerical varieties), but I'm wondering-- is there a typical stage that many homebrewers move on to after their "hophead" stage?

Hop Jedi Master

I believe the rest of the Jedi Creed was

FYB leads to Homebrew
Homebrew leads to All Grain
Algrain leads to Hopiness

Some of us never escape hopheadedness. I haven't yet, and I hope that I never do.

Don't get me wrong, I don't overhop everything. I still enjoy malty beers as well, but my preference is strong bitterness, flavor and aroma, so that's what I brew mostly.

The price increase in hops has not been significant enough to deter me.

hopaholic?

I eat raw hops and keep threatening to cook with them.
I keep meaning to do a hop icecream.

Sour beers

The Randall?

http://www.dogfish.com/tangents/endeavours.htm?newsID=34

landhoney said:

Sour beers

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Sour is the new hoppy.

eh, I'm all about the malt; but sour is the new hoppy, good call olllllo.

Belgians..... I am moving from hophead to Belgians. Dubels, Triples, Wits, Bier de Garde, Saison, Farmhouse Ale, Belgian Pale Ales. Give me complex, spicy, malty, yeasty Belgians. After that, sour beers. Flanders Reds, Berliner Weise, etc.....
Oh and some where in there, I'll start doing Lagers. Bocks, Helles, Bohemian Pilsners....

I'll still keep an APA around, cause I like it for a nice house beer. But I think I just made my last IPA about a month ago for the foreseeable future.

I like balanced beers.

I need to taste a sour beer before I go off and brew one.

Yes, you will eventually go through the "*****in Threshold Shift"



Then I agree with landhoney and olllllo. Sour is the new hoppy!

EDIT: LOL, I guess *****in is a dirty word here at HBT.

I appreciate a nice hoppy beer, and I've brewed more than a few, but I love malt in all its varieties.

I'm in a long stage now where I'd rather have a flavorful beer that focuses on malt than one that hits me in the face with hop aroma and bitterness. There's just nothing surprising or interesting about hops for me anymore. Everyone does a hoppy beer. I *do* like the few beers I do find that manage to surprise me with hop characters, but more hoppiness does not equal tastier to me.

In the fantasy world where my usual brewing partner and I get disgustingly rich, quit our jobs, and open a brewpub, he will be in charge of the hoppy beers and I will do the malty ones. I do really a really good porter, ordinary bitter, Kolsh, etc., and he does really nice IPA, Rye IPA, DIPA, and so on.

I love hoppy beers, but I find myself brewing spiced beers much more often.

Although I haven't quite made it to all grain (next few months I hope) I did have a few of my extract beers the other night and inspired by the smell of my cascades, sucked on them like redman then smoked just a bit of them just to say that I had. I laughed at myself for a while.

Like many brewers, I got started trying to make the hoppiest beers I could. It was all consuming for awhile but soon I began to feel like the masses who drink BMC. You can't criticize people who like light american lager if all you will drink are the hoppiest pale ales.

I got into other beers through the brewclub I joined. Other members brought so many great beers to meetings, that I started brewing other things. Now, I mostly brew german lagers and ales ... altbiers, helles, bocks and viennas. There's always a pale ale on tap (its like running home to mama) but I'm glad I have gotten into other, more malt-focused beers.

Also, I have gotten into meads, pyments, cysers and ciders. While walking my dog around a near-by pond, I discovered a cache of wild blackberries and made wine.

Speaking of hop-headedness ... we all may be forced to try other styles given the hop shortage.

i went from light ales --> hoppy brews --> belgians --> everything

i really have no strict preference anymore. i drink something different every day.

TheJadedDog said:

eh, I'm all about the malt; but sour is the new hoppy, good call olllllo.

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Sorry ollllo, but credit where credit is due; that quote was a 'the_bird' original if I'm not mistaken. Don't worry, you're still my favorite mod olllllo. No offense bird, meet me in Philly sometime and we'll talk

I love love love the hops. But i am now going through a Pilsner phase as well. I find that i really enjoy a nice subtle Pilsner before drinking a Hop Bomb, so am now into those. Next phase, i think i am going to get into brewing scotch ales as i have really taken to that style as well.......

I'm a hophead, but I think the the batch of IPA that I'm drinking now will be my last for a while. With the hop shortage and subsequent increase in prices, I just can't justify pouring that much money into a batch of beer. Though I'm sure I'll give into temptation eventually and brew an IPA, and say wow I'm like the people that drive escalades and ***** about the price of gas.

I have a fairly bizarre range of tastes. My favorite beers are IPAs, Scottish ales, and Porters. One hoppy, one malty, and one roasty. Maybe that is why I don't burn out on hoppy beers because I am always keeping the others in the rotation.

When does the hophead stage START???? I've been brewing for well over ten years and I still hate an over- hopped beer. I won't go near an IPA.

I'm all about balanced beers, neither too hoppy nor too malty.

landhoney said:

Sorry ollllo, but credit where credit is due; that quote was a 'the_bird' original if I'm not mistaken. Don't worry, you're still my favorite mod olllllo. No offense bird, meet me in Philly sometime and we'll talk

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I am a king-maker.

That is all.

Bernie Brewer said:

When does the hophead stage START???? I've been brewing for well over ten years and I still hate an over- hopped beer. I won't go near an IPA.

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IPA's are underhopped, so, your perspective is backwards.

sour is the new hoppy

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Great! I've got some beers that used to be hoppy ...

Admittedly only brewing for one year but I started out as a hop lover, and still am to some extent, however, I find that I like maltier and more flavorful beers more now. I still reach instinctively for the Green Flash West Coast IPA as my go to beer but when I'm brewing I find that I like a little more body/taste.

I agree with others in that after hoppiness comes an affinity for balance and complexity. Working with grains to find just the right mouthfeels, roastiness, smoothness, and learning to use hops as a compliment to the malt you have chosen.

I am at the point where I have super hopped a few beers, now I am at the point where I am learning balance all along the gravity scale.

I keep both ends of the spectrum on hand at all times. I go with a dogfish 60/90/120 or a harpoon on one end and an Oktoberfest, Abita amber, or Long Trail at the other end. I like to think each one cleanses the palette for the next.

Bearcat Brewmeister said:

I have a fairly bizarre range of tastes. My favorite beers are IPAs, Scottish ales, and Porters. One hoppy, one malty, and one roasty. Maybe that is why I don't burn out on hoppy beers because I am always keeping the others in the rotation.

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I have a similarly wide range of tastes. From Malty Scottish and English Ales to Belgian strong Ales to over the top IPAs and roasty Stouts and porters. I love them all and try to have one of each style available at all times. Sours sound like they could be very interesting also but I not yet there as a brewer. I don't care for many lagers an haven't yet found a light colored beer I really like so I don't go there often.
Given that range I imagine I will always be brewing extra hoppy beers, just with very different ones in between.
Craig

Nice thread. I started off as a Hophead for sure, but am now enjoying the dark side with keen interest. BSDA's and Doppelbocks have become my beers of choice lately. Still love IPA's though. Have not brewed anything with candi sugar yet, but soon.

Racer 5 clone in botlle
Hop Rod Rye clone in secondary

I've always brewed a broad range of beers. So many people in my clubs do mega-hopping, that I don't bother. The last Hop Madness, one guy had an IPA with over 20 ounces of hops in it. In my hoppy ales, I use smaller amounts of multiple hops. My 3CPA uses five hops, but only three ounces total.

Belgians were hot last year.

McCall St. Brewer said:

After being in the "hophead" stage of homebrewing, I've been wondering what comes next.

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If you enjoy DogFishHead 120 Minute IPA, I would say you have surpassed the "hophead" stage and gone in to the sheer madness stage. But that's just me.