bitter beers preference

After reading through some posts here I came across one and people were talking about there IPAs and how great they were. I personally am not the biggest fan of the IPAs, although I do like some brands.

Recently myself and a few friends noticed that people who smoked like bitterer beer. Now I know that is a generalization but I was curious to know if anyone else had noticed the same pattern. I made a batch of stout not too long ago and accidently added way too much hops. I had a party and although a lot of people drank it, the two people that smoked came up to me and commented that they really liked the beer. Trend sustained....

Any thoughts?

Uh....

Haven't smoked regularly in more than a decade, and I love me some hops.

I don't know about your theory- I don't smoke (kind of a health nut) and I love bitter beers. I prefer a nice hoppy IPA over anything else, and I'm a fan of Arrogant Bastard. I don't know if there would be an IPA that I didn't like. I also like spicy foods, sour foods, hot sauces, etc, anything with a lot of flavor.

I would probably not like a stout with too many hops, though.

I'd definitely be on outlier to that theory, not that that disproves it. I've never been a smoker except for a few months as a kid, and I like bitter beers, black coffee, asparagus, etc.

don't smoke anything (legal), but I love hops!

Another non smoker (never smoked) that is a big fan of hoppy beers. The hoppier the better. I also love roasty stouts and porters, particularly imperial stouts, black coffee and espresso, spicy food, and 85% cocoa chocolate.
It appears there may be a generalization that hopheads like intense flavors, but any generalizations are always going to have exceptions.
Craig

I don't smoke either and love hops. IPA is my fav style.

Another non-smoker who loves IPAs here.

That said, I also appreciate other styles that don't emphasize hops.

Ah well

I knew I was going to get a lot of people that said they didn't smoke but liked a lot of hops. I guess what I am interested in is if people that smoke tend to like more hoppy beers. But so far there hasn't been any smokers who commented.

My theory was just that the type of people that can handle cigerette smoke (TO ME harsh and bitter) might have the same preference in beers.

Any smokers care to comment.

I've found that it's not necessarily smokers-but that some people are definitely 'bitter people'. It seems that if you like dark chocolate-you'll also like dry stouts and coffee. I'm one of those folks and SWMBO is not.

In terms of IPAs, I love them, but they have to have the full spectrum of that citrusy/floral aroma to go with the bitterness. Just straight IBUs don't really do it for me, you need aroma and flavor to go along with it. Kind of like hot sauces.

I am also curious if the people who love lots of hops would taste this:

http://whozoo.org/mac/Music/taster.htm

don't know if you guys have ever heard of this, but I tested myself and found it VERY digusting. My girlfriend didn't taste a thing.

Could be because smoking really dulls the palate. You need more intensity to come through. That all being said, I used to not like hoppy beers because I mistakingly assumed that hoppy meant bitter...which is not always the case. You can have a beer with tremendous hops aroma and flavor with a bitterness that is refreshing...vs. a beer that curls your eyelashes.

I am currently finding times when I enjoy a hoppy beer.

Oh, plus I don't smoke.

zoebisch01 said:

Could be because smoking really dulls the palate. You need more intensity to come through. That all being said, I used to not like hoppy beers because I mistakingly assumed that hoppy meant bitter...which is not always the case. You can have a beer with tremendous hops aroma and flavor with a bitterness that is refreshing...vs. a beer that curls your eyelashes.

I am currently finding times when I enjoy a hoppy beer.

Oh, plus I don't smoke.

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True true, I agree. And maybe I have been saying this wrong. It is the bitterness of the IPAs that I do not like....not the hop aroma and flavor.

So maybe it is not the quantity, but rather the length of the boil that the hops undergo that makes me not like it.

hmmm

I can corroborate this theory a bit with a short story...

My local brewpub dry hops each and every beer and as a recovering smoker, I get huge cravings for cigarettes on my drive from a visit, more so when I grab a pint of his IPA or a similarly hopped beer. Some, like today, are so severe that I actually break down and buy a pack on the way home. When I visit other brewpubs that don't use hops a liberally, I don't even get a hint of that craving.

Kinda weird, but I noticed this long before this thread started... I noticed that when I smoked regularly, my pallete was dulled significantly and hoppier beers, such as an IPA, had a much larger flavor profile to me than say a Wit for example.

Now that I don't smoke on a regular basis, I've learned to appreciate other styles soooo much more than ever as I can actually taste the more subtle flavors, not to mention I have a sense of smell again.

The correlation is: Cool people smoke and cool people like IPA's.
I used to smoke and I still love IPA's.

I'm a former smoker. I've also eaten jalepenos by the handful for years and go through 2 bottles of Shiracha chili sauce each month. And...I like hops.

I think it may be less that smokers like hops because they smoke, than certain people demand more flavor in every thing they do, and that may expand to the enjoyment of smoking.

Now the question is, do you think cigar smokers are hop heads???

I can take or leave a hoppy beers, some I really like others I do not. I used to smoke but have not in over a year. I do smoke cigars every once in a while, maybe once ever few months.

Hate to repeat something that has been said a couple times on this thread, but sense you're trying to get a feel of what smokers and nonsmokers like I will weigh in. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life and IPA is my favorite style. I do however like intense flavors in food such as hot wings so maybe you're onto something there, but I don't think there is a connection anywhere people just like what they like it isn't neccesarily connected anywhere.

I am a smoker. I like hot and spicy foods. I have developed a kinda sick deviant love for IPA's, but I prefer the aroma, flavor to the out right bitterness. So as "seemingly the only smoker" (must be time to quit to enjoy more beer). I think smoking actually trains you bud to require more stimulation. Some people already have the trait, some people aquire it through smoking. Most smokers I know prefer salty food to sweet.

Good luck with the govt. grant to figure this one out. Let me know if you want a test study, if there is free beer involved.

I like the aroma and flavor of IPA. The bitterness just kinda comes with the territory. I also don't particularly like malty beers. But that's been my taste before I started smoking, and continues to be now that I'm recently quit.

-D

Well I think it stands to reason (without saying really) that there are folks who do not smoke that like intense flavors. But at the same time there probably is a strong correlation between smokers and hoppy beers, but who really knows the exact reason...even a study might just add to the confusion. My theory is simply that in order to smoke and still enjoy food and drink you really need to push your levels of intensity beyond that of a non smoker (I did smoke a long time ago and it was this way with me).....

....that all being said....

....some people (such as myself) are intrigued by intense, exotic flavor experiences. The problem is I go on streaks (I am sure many of you experience this...esp chiliheads) where I have to keep upping the intensity to get the same effect/experience. I eventually peak and then move on to another flavor/experience that I am into atm. I go through this cycle continually with capsaicin. Chili upon chile until I am dowsing my food with it. I peak and then don't crave it for some time.

This is some good stuff. Thanks for all in the input!

I know plenty of people who smoke and will not touch a hoppy beer.

brewt00l said:

I know plenty of people who smoke and will not touch a hoppy beer.

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I was thinking the same thing. I've got some family members that have smoked for years and won't touch anything other than Coors Light.

I think it really all boils down to how your tongue is set up. My wife and I both smoke, and I LOVE IPA and APA (my APA is almost an IPA) but she cannot stand the IPA unless I "over malt it" for her. On to the taste more if not a smoker...... I quit for a little over a year, and tasted no differences. I enjoy the complex flavors of confit de canard, fine cheese, fine wine, homebrew, I grow 5 different peppers in my garden. Only type of food that just does not sit on my tongue very well is sweet.

Lil' Sparky said:

I was thinking the same thing. I've got some family members that have smoked for years and won't touch anything other than Coors Light.

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This is again another truth when drawing correlations...which is the reason why they are so deceptive. What I mean to say by this is that if you have 2 groups of people, one who smokes and the others who do not, it is likely that you can find people from either group who like hoppy beer. The real question is, is that does the people who are in the smoking group tend toward hoppy beer or not? The other big factor (or question really) is do the people who do drink hoppy beer is this because they have never tried to broaden their horizons, ie. never had anything but BMC faithfully?

If you took 30 smokers, and did a survey on wether they like hoppy beer or not you would need to be certain that they had tried several offerings of hoppy beer. Or better yet, give them a blind taste test.

Drunkensatyr said:

Only type of food that just does not sit on my tongue very well is sweet.

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I am pretty much the same way. I am not a big fan of sweet things, although I will eat sweet things on occasion. I lean towards balanced, malty beers though. I must say that I have been digging hoppier styles lately on occasion.

I think there are way too many uncontrolled variables at play here to be able to really concentrate on smoking. People just have different tastes. And I don't know that smoking is really all that related to personal tastes - I don't feel that smokers have some intrinsic desire for more flavor, but I do like the model that it deadens the senses so that more hop flavor is needed to really come through. I started smoking because I caught a wee buzz off those first cigarettes, then got hooked (before I quit a few years ago). I also feel like I love big bold flavors, but I don't think the two are related. I don't much care for IPA's that punch me in the mouth with hops - I think a good balance of flavors is much more important.

I'm rambling...sorry

Here's a web site that kind of answers your question as it states that smoking does indeed kill taste buds.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/taste_buds.html

All the tongue is capable of is tasting salty, sweet, bitter and sour. All other sensations associated with tastes arise from your sense of smell with the possible exception of "hot" which is actually a chemical burn and or physical burn from heat.

Like I mentioned yesterday some people have better hearing than others.
Some folks can see better that others. 20/20 is average vision not the perfect vision most people seem to think. Some people have a more sensitive sense of touch. Women in general are more sensitive to bitter tastes than men are. So I would suspect that some people have a stronger sense of taste for saltiness or sweetness or sourness as well.
And or just a stronger sense of taste in general.

Correlation does not imply Causation. =)

I really don't think the smoking makes a whole lot of difference, and I suspect given a suitable large sample, you'd find that born out.

-D

Llarian said:

Correlation does not imply Causation. =)

I really don't think the smoking makes a whole lot of difference, and I suspect given a suitable large sample, you'd find that born out.

-D

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Depends. I think there are so many factors to it that it is like most studies done. Like the one I saw on tooth plaque correlating to heart disease. Does that mean if you have plaque on your teeth you have heart disease? I would probably guess not...more likely there is an cause of the plaque which has a correlation between the two outcomes.

All I am saying, is from my own experience, that for the time I smoked my taste buds were so dull it wasn't funny. Thing is, I never realized it until I quit (and quite rapidly afterwards I might add) At the time my experience with beer (and specifically for this subject) hoppy beer, was limited. However, had I the opportunity to sample them I can imagine that I would have wanted them. But then again that could just be me .

Long and short I think you could find causal cases based on the deading of taste buds, but more than likely they will be minor. Like I said, a blind taste test with several levels of hoppy beers to smokers and see what you get...and even that may add to the confusion :fro:

Why am I writing books today...

brewt00l said:

I know plenty of people who smoke and will not touch a hoppy beer.

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I have friend that smokes like a stack and almost strictly drinks Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The guy brings like a case or more on board his yacht when we are sailing or racing just to make sure he doesn't run out, and that is on top of all the other beer the crew bring to the boat for Wednesday night beer can races. LOL.

-- Trev

zoebisch01 said:

Depends. I think there are so many factors to it that it is like most studies done. Like the one I saw on tooth plaque correlating to heart disease. Does that mean if you have plaque on your teeth you have heart disease? I would probably guess not...more likely there is an cause of the plaque which has a correlation between the two outcomes.

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That would be a logical model to explain the correlation, but you also need to be careful not to rule out other models without evidence. Like the possibility that there is some unknown factor that would make someone susceptible to both tooth plaque and heart disease, which would rule out plaque as causative. Without data for one or the other, you can't assume one over the other.

I've never had a cigarette between my lips, and I love hoppy beers. love love love.