I may be a loner in this lol But I dont like Hoppy beers

I said the exact same thing a couple years ago OP. I am now the complete opposite. Malty beers are boring to me.

I have tasted many beer styles but i still haven't gotten used to the over hopped or the burnt taste of stouts ....Maybe some day i will learn to appreciate then

Was at a local beer club meeting this past weekend. Lots of different beers came out - sweet and malty, to downright bitter. Can't say I had a bad beer really. Can say there are beers that I would lean towards, but everyone has their own preferences.

Try the Stone IPA.Sweet malt flavor and delicious hop goodness.
I always feel like a ****** buying beer with a gargoyle on it though.

dstranger99 said:

I'll join you, Sierra Nevada is a hoppy beer and I hate it !!!!.............

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I don't even perceive the bitterness in Sierra Nevada pale ale anymore. It's like drinking water for a hop head.

+1 for balance

Yes, IPA is an inherently unbalanced style, but I gravitate towards (and brew) the more "balanced" IPAs. Then again, I like a beer that will leave me happy after one pint or seven, and anything in between.

I love hops.

Occasionally I find myself without an IPA on tap and it's like days without sun. I have profound, deep introspective sessions with my brewing self on how this happens, then vow to never let it happen again. But it does because I am weak and flawed.

I love hops, and I would marry them and have babies with them but they are elusive and won't settle down. But I'll accept this sinful life of promiscuity: it's better than no hops at all.

I had a box of newborn puppies. They didn't like hops. Poor little puppies. That was a while ago; then, they opened their eyes. They love hops now.

I've often considered retiring and wandering the country, planting hop rhizomes everywhere. I'd have newspaperboy sacks hanging from my shoulders, overflowing with prepubescent hop love. Johnny Hoppleseed.

I love hops.

passedpawn said:

I love hops.

Occasionally I find myself without an IPA on tap and it's like days without sun. I have profound, deep introspective sessions with my brewing self on how this happens, then vow to never let it happen again. But it does because I am weak and flawed.

I love hops, and I would marry them and have babies with them but they are elusive and won't settle down. But I'll accept this sinful life of promiscuity: it's better than no hops at all.

I had a box of newborn puppies. They didn't like hops. Poor little puppies. That was a while ago; then, they opened their eyes. They love hops now.

I've often considered retiring and wandering the country, planting hop rhizomes everywhere. I'd have newspaperboy sacks hanging from my shoulders, overflowing with prepubescent hop love. Johnny Hoppleseed.

I love hops.

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I....I, suddenly have a craving for HopSlam... What?

I used to hate hoppy beers too until I had Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. That is the one that taught me how to savor a hoppy beer.

Hmmmm May have to try Bigfoot

I'm the complete opposite of the O.P. I hate drinking anything sugary sweet. I think it all stems from a traumatic childhood. My father while I grew up always made boatloads of homade wine; still does at 67. So as a young adventurous boy little HopSpunge would tiptoe down to the basement and stuff a backpack full of red zinfindell. Off I would go over to a friends house, or into the fields to totally abuse sweet red wine with everyone. This went on for a long time. Sick as a dog many times. I think this helped develop my hatred of sweet liquids. Now, many many years later my love for hops I can not hide. I grow hops. I horde hops fearing another hop embargo. I stare at all of the hops in my feezer and fridge dailly. My house ale is like getting sand-blasted in the face with hops. Ending on a good note, I turned my dad into a hophead (he still likes wine also)................

I was not a hoppy fellow either till I learned about Oaking.. Neighbor had me try his IPA, held it up to my nose... hoppy smell (fine and good), took a big drink, very flavorful (always good) and swallowed ...... No bitter beer face, no terrible hoppy bitterness as it drops down the throathole...just the nice memmory of what was on your tounge. I asked him what did he do?? Oaked...

I have found this to be true with every hoppy beer I make now. Some oaking and suddenly, it's pretty good.

Oaking....nice .... I will try it for sure

I'm coming around to them but still don't go for the hopstreme brews.

Big_Cat said:

I don't understand the following in the high hops beer, its like drinking medicine that you are forced to drink. I like beers that have a malt or almost sweetness to it... A friend keeps telling me that beers high in Hops its what beer is suppose to be and I firmly disagree ... Can someone explain why is it so important to have high hop smells and taste? Just wondering

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I felt compelled to join this forum just so I could respond. The four main tastes that our buds can detect are salt, sweet, sour, and bitter. We humans, like most animals, have evolved to love the first two and hate the second two. It teaches us not to eat too much stuff that would probably kill us.

But some modicum of dissonance is necessary to make flavors, and life, interesting and delicious. That's why we love chocolate.

Although hops are a great preservative that allows beer to survive the journey to India, my beer doesn't have to travel that far. So I have no need to assault my senses with bitterness. Rich flavors can be found in better balanced beers.

Embrace and rejoice in the beer drinker you are!

Its all taste, I recently found I don't enjoy really hoppy beers as much as I thought. I pick up really hoppy beers here and there and thought I enjoyed them quite allot so much so that when I had the chance to grab a 1/6 barrel of Sierra Nevada Hoptimum I jumped on it . That was months ago and there is still a few pints in the keg, and at points its almost been a chore to drink . It's all personal taste and for me a little goes a long way with super hoppy beers.
On the other side of the coin I will happily quickly down a half barrel of Guiness (all be it not in one sitting) which might seem disgusting to some, its all taste.

BeerTheory said:

I felt compelled to join this forum just so I could respond. The four main tastes that our buds can detect are salt, sweet, sour, and bitter. We humans, like most animals, have evolved to love the first two and hate the second two. It teaches us not to eat too much stuff that would probably kill us.

But some modicum of dissonance is necessary to make flavors, and life, interesting and delicious. That's why we love chocolate.

Although hops are a great preservative that allows beer to survive the journey to India, my beer doesn't have to travel that far. So I have no need to assault my senses with bitterness. Rich flavors can be found in better balanced beers.

Embrace and rejoice in the beer drinker you are!

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Welcome to HBT BeerTheory. First Time I've ever seen "modicum of dissonance" in a first post.

Wow I had to bust out the dictionary.

I always had a preference for the maltier beer, but once I got on here it seemed like everyone was all talking about the 100 ibu and super hoppy beers. I tried one and couldnt finish it, way too bitter. I went back to my malt bombs and was happy. Last year I decided to brew a pale ale, using less bitter and more citrusy hops. it came in at around 35 ibus, not really hoppy but alot more than I was use too. I loved it. I have found quite a few ipa's that I like, not all of them have the dry mouth puckering bitterness. Alot or pretty citrusy and tasty. Its definatly something you have to work into.

I always wonder why those who love happy beers feel that others need to learn to love them. I also love the aroma of hops, I like scented candles, but I do not want to eat one.

I have been drinking beer for over 30 years and still like maltier brews. My first real beer was when I was stationed in Germany.

I appreciate others taste and let it go there. If you come to my house and want a happy beer, bring it with you, everything I brew is 25 ibu or less.

The beauty of brewing, is that you can design and brew the exact beers you like to drink. Most of the beer I brew I drink, so guess whose taste buds I am brewing for?

Hops and malt can be like politics and religion, everyone has their own beliefs and it may be best to not try to force them in others just respect one another.

I love both so, its the best of both worlds for me.

Hoppy, bitter IPAs are an acquired taste. Like Scotch, Gin, or Coffee. I used to hate IPAs, but now I love them. I still enjoy stouts, brown ales, sours, etc very much... but there's a special place heart for IPAs. There's nothing like a dry, crisp, highly drinkable, fragrant, fresh, clean, citrusy IPA.

And if you stick with it & drink them long enough, you'll find that your taste buds shift into preferring more bitterness vs. a ton of sweetness all the time.

billf2112 said:

I always wonder why those who love happy beers feel that others need to learn to love them.

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I think it's the opposite, about once a month someone starts a thread like this one stating, "I don't like IPA's." I can't recall a thread that has been started that say's "I don't like malty beers."

BeerTheory said:

The four main tastes that our buds can detect are salt, sweet, sour, and bitter.

That's why we love chocolate.

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You forgot umami, the 5th main taste. And chocolate contains phenylethylamine, the same chemical your brain releases when you fall in love. The fat in milk along with phenylethylamine also trigger an increase in dopamine in our brain making us happy and euphoric. Thought that would be cool to share. Welcome to HBT man, glad to have ya in board.

billf2112 said:

I always wonder why those who love happy beers feel that others need to learn to love them.

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Because some people feel the need to start threads declaring their dislike of hops. When I read those threads, I assume someone is either trying to be a beer hipster or hasn't tried a vary broad range of beers.

Im neither ... i simply posted to get opinions ...i am not a hipster (nothing wrong if are) and I've tasted a lot of styles of brew.

But have you tasted a lot of styles of IPAs?

They are wide and varried,,,try a Big Sky IPA, Deschutes Inversion, SN Torpedo, Green Flash, SA Lattitude. All taste vastly different, might find one that suits you.

Guys used to spit in their beer so others wouldn't drink it. Now we just throw in a little extra hops.

jwwbrennan said:

Guys used to spit in their beer so others wouldn't drink it. Now we just throw in a little extra hops.

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Hahahhahaha

jwwbrennan said:

Guys used to spit in their beer so others wouldn't drink it. Now we just throw in a little extra hops.

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(kind of OT)
I had a buddy from New Jersey, a long time ago in the Navy that would lick the rim of his glass before he left the table so nobody would drink his beer. He did this when he got up to go dancing, use the head or buy another round.

azmark said:

But have you tasted a lot of styles of IPAs?

They are wide and varried,,,try a Big Sky IPA, Deschutes Inversion, SN Torpedo, Green Flash, SA Lattitude. All taste vastly different, might find one that suits you.

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I've tried the latitude 48 from SA Also a couple of others since i do love the art of creating yumminest (if that's a word) in a brew but as of yet i haven't found one that has made me say "oh wow this is my favorite "

Big_Cat said:

I've tried the latitude 48 from SA Also a couple of others since i do love the art of creating yumminest (if that's a word) in a brew but as of yet i haven't found one that has made me say "oh wow this is my favorite "

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Then start with pale ales. Obviously your palate can't handle IPA's right now, so work your way up.

chalmer9 said:

Then start with pale ales. Obviously your palate can't handle IPA's right now, so work your way up.

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IMO jumping right to a super high IBU beer is why a lot of people don't like hoppy beers. I remember my first IPA (Lakefront IPA), it was way too bitter and I struggled to finish it. I ended up going back to the less hoppy beers and worked my way up the spectrum and gained a better appreciation for the more bitter/hoppy beer.