Malts vs Hops

[Kegstand]

Hey guys...still fairly new to the forum and I've learned alot about home brewing so far thanks to you guys. I still want to learn more about beer taste and the difference between malts and hops.

I think I know what each tastes like. I've recently had a Stone IPA that was really hoppy. Right now I am drinking Fat Tire. It doesn't have that same bite that the IPA had...which leads me to believe this beer is on the other end of the spectrum.

I was wondering if you guys could give a decent list of what is primarily hoppy beer and what is malty, and then maybe a list of beers that is fairly balanced.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

[munche]

You're on the right track with Malty vs. Hoppy. Fat Tire is a really malty beer, with a strong malt flavor, and Stone IPA is a good example of a very hoppy beer. Pale Ales will tend to be more balanced, try Stone or Firestone Double Barrell if you want to keep it sorta local up there.

There's a lot to it, different flavors for different malts and different hops as well...your Imperial IPA/Double IPA would be the extreme end of the hoppy spectrum, with a barleywine or an imperial stout the extreme end of the malty spectrum

 

[McGarnigle]

Be careful with barleywines, as some are pretty hoppy as well as malty. A doppelbock (such as Spaten Optimator) is a good example of a malty beer style that isn't hoppy.

 

[Hawk040]

Ok i have a question that goes with all this im just starting to home brew and i want to no if you can make a beer with all hops and no malt and still get a good taste

 

[biochemedic]

Ok i have a question that goes with all this im just starting to home brew and i want to no if you can make a beer with all hops and no malt and still get a good taste

No...

 

[sportscrazed2]

to me malty just means absence of hop flavors it that what it means to everyone else?

 

[Keefer]

to me malty just means absence of hop flavors it that what it means to everyone else?

Could also mean a thicker, stronger tasting beer. For example, using 8lbs of grains wouldn't be as "malty" as using 12lbs of grains for a five gallon batch, even if you used the same amount of hops.

 

[pj_rage]

I'm in a similar boat. I can clearly pick out hops, and starting to be able to even pick out different varieties just a tad (ones I've used), and I can taste malt when it tastes like I expect, but I have trouble placing other flavors (except spices and fruits).

Like a good belgian beer, say a tripel. They all sort of taste similar (in the way an IPA tastes like an IPA), but I can't place what it is. It's not any hop I've yet worked with (or similar to any even), and it's not like any malt I've done yet. So I don't really want to call it malty or hoppy. Is it the belgian yeast that is giving it that distinct flavor? Even other belgian beers have a similar taste (in that they taste more like other belgian beers than any other style I've tried). At this point, I just say that it "tastes belgian". Since I really like them anyway, I've bumped making a tripel pretty high up on my list. Once I've worked with the ingredients and tasted everything, I'm able to pick out contributing flavors a lot easier.

 

[iijakii]

to me malty just means absence of hop flavors it that what it means to everyone else?

I associate 'malty' with a sweeter taste. You can have a non-hop crazy APA for instance that is pretty crisp and clean tasting. Balanced, but not too malty or hoppy. Then you go to an Optimator for instance and you can just feel the crystal.