I need hoppier and hoppier beers...

I've heard/read that once you start acquiring a taste for higher IBU beers your taste perception changes and beers that you once thought were super bitter no longer seem so. I think I may have reached this point. Since I've started homebrewing about a year ago, my appreciation for all the different beer styles has really increased and I have been trying many different beers (much to my enjoyment). I was never a BMC drinker, but never ventured much farther than Sam Adams and Bass. Until I started homebrewing, that is.

Anyways, I've had a number of beers recently that I have enjoyed tremendously, but thought each one would be more bitter. These have included Troegg's Hopback Amber, Clipper City's Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale, Blue Hills' IPA, and Mayflower's IPA. I did a little searching and based on info on the web these beers are in the 50ish IBU range. Even some of the homebrews I've made recently - an Altbier and a "hoppy" Red - do not seem as bitter as their 40-50 IBU estimate would suggest.

I made the mistake of ordering a Bass the other night while out to eat. It tasted like lightly flavored, brownish water. Last year, I tried a Stone Old Guardian and thought it's bitterness was way too intense - I could only really drink a few sips. I think I may need to revisit that and see what I think now.

No real questions I guess, just some observations. Thanks for reading

Yeah, that's just how it works unfortunately. I can't enjoy beers I used to enjoy 5 years ago for this very reason. Dead Guy Ale used to be one of my favorites but now I find it's hop profile lacking. Nothing wrong with that though, the more beers you try the more your palate develops. A few years ago I'm sure an Imperial Stout would've made me gag, but now it is probably my favorite style.

The slide into increasing hop tolerance doesn't necessarily last forever. 5 or 6 years ago I became a hardcore hophead. Almost every beer I made or bought was some sort of IPA. Then all of a sudden about two years ago, I noticed myself feeling burned a lot more often with IPAs. Sometimes, they were just too much. As of last year, I've nearly sworn them off entirely. I currently make the occasional bitter but have delved mostly into German styles like Kolsch, Hefeweizen, Alt, Dunkel, etc. Light hops and a solid but not overpowering malt presence are what I shoot for these days. That's just where my tastebuds are at now. Some IPAs I used to love are now beers I no longer especially care for.

On the plus side, if you do burnout on IPAs, your taste buds will re-grow.

It's called Lupulin Threshold Shift, enjoy it!

i've loved hops from the beginning and still do, but I've grown into an appreciation for other less hoppy beers since getting into homebrewing.

I hate hops and bitter beer.

<----- Look at my avatar!

I noticed the same thing, then started to appreciate well balanced beers like mirror pond over hop bombs like ruination

JOHN51277 said:

I hate hops and bitter beer.

<----- Look at my avatar!

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yes, you must hate hops, great moto by the way

America is only just re-discovering beer. Things will settle down over time, and eventually brew pretty much the same styles that have been proven in Europe over the last hundred years or so. Balance is the key, and once the playground has explored all the nice new exciting ideas, America will define it's own unique style. I doubt though, that it will feature too many hop bombs or malt monsters. Why do you think we have been stuck with BMC so long? In the end, the market will base itself on the middle ground.

One thing is for sure though, America is changing the norm, and in a good way. We are just not there yet.

I have developed a liking for the bitter stuff. BUT I still enjoy the "lighter" side as well. Actually I have found that I taste more in the beers at the other end of the hop scale.

I'll have to agree. It seems as I try more craft beers I long for bigger and more bitter beers. Just a few years ago I would have spit barleywine out but now I can't seem to get enough of these high bitterness brews!

Barley wine is bitter now? I'm outa here.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Barley wine is bitter now? I'm outa here.

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Avery's Hog Heaven is pretty bitter as Barleywine's go. It's one of my favorites!

I have evolved in a similar manner. I started out drinking what I now consider bland piss water (BMC). I wouldn't even enjoy a Sam Adams because it was way too hoppy for me. After my cousin had introduced me to homebrewing with some of his brews, I was on my way up the hoppiness scale. I am so glad I have developed a taste for hops, if I had only knew what I was missing.

I loved newcastle to NO end.....then I discovered IPA's....I hated them at first now I love them......I now like newcastle/malty beers again....

The cool thing about home brewing for me is having the ability to make any beer I can think of.....funny thing is once in a while I LOVE to have a bud light with mrs T's bloody mary mix....a tomato beer....call me crazy but being hispanic its a hard thing to kick....spicy stuff!

If you're still drinking your hops you're okay.... I've had to resort to serving them in a bowl with milk for breakfast. Nothing starts your day off better than a crispy bowl of Hop Flakes.

Some days I switch it up and use a good breakfast stout instead of milk...

Hmmm sounds like a cycle...Maybe the key to enjoying malty beers again is to speed up the cycle by drinking more beers!

I've experience the lupulin threshold shift and I think I'm a little burnt out on hops. I at least don't drink as many IPAs/IIPAs anyways and for some reason have come to hate Cascades. Once I thought Ruination was enamel remover and the last time I tried one I thought it was smooth and balanced. Lately I find myself drinking and brewing less hoppy beers and styles I used to have little interest in.

I'm a beer snob now.
I only drink red beer with red meat and white beer with white meat.

Lupulin threshold shift isn't permanent. If you try to force yourself to explore other kinds of less hoppy beers, it will make you really appreciate that IPA when you reach for one at a time when you're suffering from hops withdrawl.

I do firmly believe hops have some mild psychotropic effect that just makes you feel damn good. I was the same as all of you. Two years ago, I couldn't stand beers like old guardian. But now, I love it so much that I pour it over my cereal in the morning.

I am just hitting the need for hops. I just finished brewing my first IPA coming in at 74 IBU so not crazy but not light on the hops either. I have found myself craving the hop when before I always said I need a balanced beer.

In the end I like a balanced beer, but sometimes you need hoppy.


I was on a huge Belgian kick for awhile. I still love them but it am at least drinking other beers now.

Maybe I am getting off the Belgian style because I am almost through a Ommegang Hennipin clone I made. Takes a while to drink through a 5 gal keg of 8% abv. Belgian flavors by yourself.

So back on topic, after a few months of the same fruity, malty Belgianess I am ready for some hops!

I've gone through no such "evolution" tic. I never was a big BMC drinker drank Killians (I know it's BMC, but comparatively when you're 20 it's craft) and whiskey back when I was trying my best to become an alcoholic... you know college! I enjoy a dopplebock the same as an IPA. I simply look for good bier. I have to say my favorite IPAs are those with a nice balance, Hop Rod Rye and Victory come to mind. True drinkability is all about balance.

Schlante,
Phillip

It's not so much that I don't enjoy less bitter/hoppy beers - I love me a nice smooth malty beer as well - it's just that my tolerance (?) for bitter and hoppy has increased to the point where beers that I once thought were over-the-top with hops are I know think are quite tame and quaffable. I think it is probably similar to anything else that you acquire a taste for (e.g. coffee). Maybe I need to start drinking more Belgians - at this point I can't stand the stuff