Over hopping

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gyllstromk

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Yes there can be too much of a good thing. I love hops but I am wondering what negative flavors arise when a beer is "overhopped". Is it truly a matter of taste, or are there distinct off-flavors from using too much hops without anything to balance them?
 
Ever drive by a field of wild weeds with the window down? Kinda like that. Just one man's opinion though.
 
My ex-BIL's new wife wanted to do something 'special' for her new husband. She decided to make a 'from scratch' lemon meringue pie. She used 12 lemons, zest and all.

My ex-BIL wanted to show his appreciation for her hard work and dedication to him. He took a bite, paused only a second and said 'it's good'. It was, in fact, inedible to anyone.

It is truly a matter of taste.

I like an ounce in 5 gallons, and while I may like a glass of 2 oz/5 gallons, a keg full of it might not be that desirable; but to someone else, 1 ounce is not enough.

No accounting for taste-it is subjective, and not quantifiably ascertainable.
 
if its a hop bomb....just sit on it.

hops are a natural preservative - look at what IPAs USED to be back in the day they would make a pale ale, jam it with Hops so that it would last for a voyage to india and other far away lands. they didn't just tap and drink....it mellowed out.

Ever have SN Torpedo? have save a bottle for a year later? TOTALLY different.

if you don't like hopy beer, let it sit.

My problem with beer these days its all about pumping it with hops and then people see it on the shelf and think that they should drink it right away. I personally like brown milds and stouts but I also like to make a hoppy IPA and let it sit in the keg/bottle FAR longer than your normal Hop-Head would ever consider letting it age.

my .02
 
There is no such thing as too many hops, except where the hop matter absorbs all you beer :D


Excessive hops early in the boil will result in an overly bitter beer. This is not a problem for big beers but for average IPAs with light body it can be overpowering. Excessive hops late can result in grassy aromas and flavors. I have not yet had one that was grassy enough to be a detriment. :D

Craig
 
I've had highly hopped beers that smelled and tasted like Pinesol, grapefruit juice, freshly-cut hay, Mr. Clean, tree bark and some that stripped the tartar off my teeth. None of them tasted remotely like beer.
 
I bought a 6-pack of Firestone/Walker Pale 31 at the insistance of a fellow homebrewer and couldn't taste the beer through the massive hop onslaught. I'm sure others like this flavor but not me.

This might be the subject of another thread but have you ever wondered just how many different beers are available commercially? What other beverage has so many variations?
 
I'm sure it is theoretically possible. I think it's like going the speed of light, if you do it, your reality changes.
 
This just may be the wuss in me, but the strongest micro brew IPA I thought was palatable enough to have more than one was the SweetWater 420. Some of the others were more like drinking grass and weeds or cleaning solution. It was a sensory bombardment.
 
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