Are you a Hop Head?

I don't think it wrong for a brewery or brewpub to have a 100+IBU IIPA and perhaps a more balanced IPA on tap, but they should also balance it with some more balanced and malty beers to hit a range of styles.
Here is Cleveland IBUs don't appear to be following the west coast trend. Great Lakes IPA is not even regularly distributed but is considered a seasonal and it is a well balanced IPA not a hit you in the face IPA. When I got the sampler at Willoughby Brewing Company they didn't even include their IPA which was available.
Craig

There's also a difference between those who like a bitter beer and those who like an overpowering dose of hop flavor.

I like the bitter beers, just not when all I can taste is cascade etc. Tastes like bitter grapfruit mixed with pinesol.

Rook said:

I think that chart is way off. DFH's 60 Minute IPA is 1.060 OG, with 60IBUs. That puts it off the chart as far as hoppiness goes, but that beer is probably one of the most balanced IPAs that I've had, almost bordering on too sweet/malty for me.

Am I reading it wrong?
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Well, it's not that far off the charts...


Keep in mind that talking "hops" with this crowd is like talking chili peppers at a Mexican Food Convention.

The definition of "Extra" hoppy is certainly subjective. I don't rely on the chart for an absolute indicator of what I think the beer will taste like, but more of a relative reference when I’m cloning or adjusting a recipe.

As long as I can keep that “bullet” at the same location as I decrease or increase ingredients, I know I’m keeping the profile close to original.

Rook said:

I think that chart is way off. DFH's 60 Minute IPA is 1.060 OG, with 60IBUs. That puts it off the chart as far as hoppiness goes, but that beer is probably one of the most balanced IPAs that I've had, almost bordering on too sweet/malty for me.

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Also keep in mind this chart has no way of predicting how IBU will be perceived with FG. If you stop and think about it, a beer that finishes high will have the ability to stand up to much more hops. Probably lots of Crystal and a high mash, although I've never had it myself.

It all depends on the beer, sometimes the hops are overpowering. On the other hand, they can really add an interesting dynamic to a beer if done right. One of my favorites is Cascazilla by Ithaca Brewing Co. I am enjoying one right now!

Taste. Good taste. Strong good taste. I like to give me tastebuds something to grab onto. Goes with my food also! ...sometimes not to everybodys taste but at least it HAS taste, not bland.

I am a hophead and I have pushed the limits of hopping up IPA's. The thing that I have learned is that using the right combination of hops coupled with adding them at the right time to the boil are the keys to a really hoppy beer that is also a very balnced beer. Someone told me to use the 1 for 1 rule, 1.070 OG then 70 IBU's, 1.060 OG then 60 IBU's and so forth, that has worked out tremendously for me. Remember too, the law of diminishing returns, measured IBU's in a beer is a guestamite as best.

My hopping schedule:

First Wort Hop
60 min. Hop
30 min. Hop
0 min. Hop Steep
Dry Hop min. 7 days


Eastside.........

IBU's are bitterness units not so much aroma, flavor units. You can have a low IBU with a lot of hop aroma and flavor.

My last IPA I shot in around 48 IBUS for the boil, but I added 1 oz at flameout, then filtered wort through 1 oz, then dryhopped 2 oz for 7 days, then 1 oz in priming sugar for 10 min, then siphoned through hop back into bottling bucket.

Holy crap hop flavor.

I needed more malt (12 #'s and bad efficiency) and it would have been supperior to most IPA's I have had.

I cycle as to wanting hoppy beers or not and don't want hoppy beers all the time. For example, we had a bunch of sour beers in Denver (next big thing in micros IMHO) and they aren't hoppy. I love rich malty beers too. I think my preference is strong beers.

I'm not a fan of tongue-scraping bitterness. But I've discovered that hops have a lot of flavor potential besides just bitterness. I'm also amazed how different certain hops are from each other. I've found that I really enjoy IPAs with huge late additions. That being said-I still like malty beers as well. I'd hate to have to choose one or the other.

It looks like the vast majority of folks like hoppy beers. I wonder where it will go from here?

You know, even though my vote was for the 2nd choice ( love hops but some beers overdo it), I have found that my taste is more for the hop flavor than for the bitterness. Using biermuncher's chart, it seems beers that hug the line between Balanced and Slightly Malty are more of my staple choices. Yes, I occasionally want a bitter hoppy beer but usually just one and then I'm ready to go back to a more balanced beer.

I wonder if the "hophead" voters agree, they love the 100+ IBUs but only for one pint and then it's back to the more balanced or even malty brews....

Brewpastor said:

I cycle as to wanting hoppy beers or not and don't want hoppy beers all the time. For example, we had a bunch of sour beers in Denver (next big thing in micros IMHO) and they aren't hoppy. I love rich malty beers too. I think my preference is strong beers.

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I think I am on the upswing of a hop cycle...although I have been just brewing and wanting Hefe's lately.

As for the sour beers, you may be right. I personally like sour stuff.

Innit good when you can brew it how you want!:rockin:

the_bird said:

I love a really, really, hoppy beer (that bottle of Pliny in Dude's room was making me drool), but I can also really appreciate (and have been craving) a lot more malt-focused beers. I'd call myself more of a hophead than not, but it's not like I'm EXCLUSIVELY a hophead.

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I'd call myself this as well. The only styles that bore me are the ambers and the malty lagers. I'll still drink it, but I wouldn't enjoy it as much as a nice hoppy pale ale or IPA. I am trying to teach SWMBO the difference between bitter and hoppy, because I think there is a distinct difference.

RichBrewer said:

It looks like the vast majority of folks like hoppy beers. I wonder where it will go from here?

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I think we saw a good example where it is going from here. Notice how it seemed every great craft brewery has a sour beer now? Pay attention to the Russian Rivers and the New Belgiums...they are the catalysts for where craft brewing is going, IMHO.

I love the hops but figure I'll get sick of it at some point. To date, I've brewed some high and low IBU brews, so it has been balanced enough to keep hops alive in my heart. I recently got to a point where I was seriously craving an IPA, so I brewed one and saved another life...

God bless me!

Definitly a HOP HEAD I do like it when the aroma, flavor, and bitterness just reaches out of the glass and smacks me right in the buds. I enjoy most if not all types of beer but hop it up and I'm there.

I love some beers that are loaded with hops, and I hate some of them too. It's all about how the whole package is presented. Like music, art, food, etc. there is a fine line between something that works and something that doesn't.

Unfortunately, I do see a lot of breweries hop-loading in inappropriate ways... almost as if to cover up other shortcomings in the beer. And I see a lot of people loving it anyway--some just like the stuff, and some are just doing it out of bravado.

Not a hop head. I go for the malty goodness in beer. Some hops are okay, but I always lend to the malty side.

It seems that all home brewers I have met are hopheads. I feel in the minority for being a malthead. And I agree totally with everyone here about some styles getting overhopped. Its kinda annoying going to try a beer and the brewer has just hopped the pi** out of it.

Hops are the one genuinely unique ingredient in beer. Yeast is found in nearly every bread you'll eat. Malt is even an ingredient in my kid's cereal. Of course nearly everything contains water. That's why I like a beer that's nicely hopped; but not overly hopped. I have had a double IPA or two that were decent; but some brewers have jumped onto some sort of consumer bandwagon and created abortions thinking that's what will sell.

I think I turned into a hop head over the last few months, every time im at a micro I end up just drinking there IPA's. Guess its that time to brew my own.

I'm just now getting into the IPA scene, but with mixed feelings. there is a lot of overhopping going on from the standpoint of the ibu's not balancing out the malts and abv. Dogfish head 90 minute imp. ipa was the beer that turned me on to big ipa's . the ibu's are up there but it has the malt flavor to balance.

So in my opinion, i wont go for a high ibu beer unless it has the high abv which denotes a good malty presence........... i'm gonna get some dfh 90 min. today

At certain times I can enjoy it (usually after a few other beers or with certain foods) but in general I don't like hoppy beers. They usually just taste too grassy and bitter to me and I have to force myself to take the next sip.

Bulldog5874 said:

...So in my opinion, i wont go for a high ibu beer unless it has the high abv which denotes a good malty presence...

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I wanted the maltiness and high hop flavor, but wanted to get a 5% brew. My Maltese Falcon has about 15% Belgium Aromatic in the grain bill so I can get that up front malt and with an IBU of about 55, stay within the guidlines of bitterness.

It worked out very well and this has taken over my Nierra Sevada as a house (hoppy) favorite.

I like strong-tasting beers. Pretty much any kind of strong flavor is OK, but I generally prefer dark chocolate-ish flavors the most.

Not too big on the hops, myself. I like a nice and sweet malt flavor with some hops to balance it out, but still on the malty side. An Irish Red is the perfect beer for me.

However, I bought a 12'er of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (gasp! I know, I need to brew more - it was research, I promise!) - I had one and was disappointed because all I could taste was hop bitterness. However, after I worked on the rest of them over a week or 2 the hop bitterness began to fade while the 'grapefruit' flavor came to the forefront and I could taste a hint of malt, and I actually was enjoying them.

Does this mean I am becoming better at picking out the flavors (something I am not very good at) or is the bitterness growing on me?

I saw some DFH 60 the other day, maybe I'll be adventurous and give it a try...

I am sort of a hop head. I do enjoy some of the extreme beers like Pliny the Elder and Dogfishhead 60 Minute IPA. I even brew clones of these from time to time. However, I enjoy a wide variety of beers. I like thick, syrupy dopplebocks, British milds, belgian lambics, and most other styles.

I love the variety out there. The extreme hoppiness right now is just a passing fad like the infatuation with Cascade hops a few years ago. Imperial IPA's are here to stay, but the obsession with them by brewers will fade. Some other "extreme" will gain popularity in its place for awhile.

The emphasis on heavy hopping rates and "imperial" styles right now is primarily a part of the backlash against the bland, flavorless light American lagers that the marketing departments of the big three brewing companies have been trying to brainwash us into believing that are the only beers worth drinking. While these beers are quality brews in their own right, the emphasis on their production is driven by the accounting departments of those breweries not by the brewing departments. The light lagers are cheap to produce and the profit margins are high. The alcohol percentage is kept low so consumers will buy and drink more bottles/cans per drinking session, further driving sales up. The job of the marketing department is then to "educate" the public that these are the only types of beer we should like and drink. The brew scene in the U.S. is the laughing stock of the rest of the world. It has only been in the last few years since the beginning of the craft beer movement that we are starting to get some credibility back.

Back more on topic, we need all the varieties of beer. Diversity is what makes sampling beers an interesting, enjoyable adventure.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

I love hops. The more IPA's I drink the better they get. It was definitely an acquired taste though. The first IPA I had gave me the feeling of chewing on tree bark. But after time I have learned to love the bitterness.