Are you a Hop Head?

[Rook]

Jeepsn Beer, I agree with you 100% on DFH 120. Some friends of ours brought over a 120 for us all 4 to split, 3oz each. No one could finish their portion. It was sickly sweet and disgusting.

I like DFH 60 minute, Racer 5 IPA, Stone IPA, Deschutes Inversion IPA, Deschutes Hop Henge, and Lagunitas IPA, but these beers are very well balanced for the hop flavors they give, DFH 120 wasn't balanced, it was an assault on my palate.

 

[zoebisch01]

That chart is great! I've saved it and I'll be using when I formulate beers.

Ever since I saw that thing, I have been using it and it works very very well.

 

[brewt00l]

Opinions? Do you like or dislike where the hoppiness levels are going in craft/ home brews?

One trend that I have been noticing more than just "IBU creep" lately is the use of nontraditional new hop varieties in traditional recipes at a lot of brewpubs and some craft brewers. There is a brewpub in the next state over that has simcoe in almost every single beer.....Brown ale, dubbel, schwartzbier, scotch ale, oatmeal stout, pilsner and a bunch more all have simcoe in the recipe.

 

[zoebisch01]

Eventually, this trend should reverse, but it might kill craft brewing first by driving out variety.

Yeah, hopefully. I have a problem with breweries that everything is waaay overbittered. Drives me nuts because, what exactly sets each brew apart then?

Bitterness is a very influential component in the brew for sure. I'd say most of my very best brews have been coming in around 10-15 IBU, save for the Pils ,Oktoberfest and APA (which are somewhere in the 20's depending). I have an IPA slated, but it won't be with citrus hops.

 

[zoebisch01]

One trend that I have been noticing more than just "IBU creep" lately is the use of nontraditional new hop varieties in traditional recipes at a lot of brewpubs and some craft brewers. There is a brewpub in the next state over that has simcoe in almost every single beer.....Brown ale, dubbel, schwartzbier, scotch ale, oatmeal stout, pilsner and a bunch more all have simcoe in the recipe.

Once you get on the more IBU wagon, it will be hard to correct. If a head brewer gets on that wagon, forget about it. I liken the experience to what chiliheads (yes guilty of that) go through. I have found I 'self correct' once I peak at a tremendous amount of heat I go back to little or no hot food. I could very easily see this happening with IBU.

One thing I stand by is when I make a recipe and it hits the mark...I DO NOT CHANGE IT. It would be just way to easy to start f00king around, but experience as a teacher has told me to let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[brewt00l]

Once you get on the more IBU wagon, it will be hard to correct. If a head brewer gets on that wagon, forget about it. I liken the experience to what chiliheads (yes guilty of that) go through. I have found I 'self correct' once I peak at a tremendous amount of heat I go back to little or no hot food. I could very easily see this happening with IBU.

One thing I stand by is when I make a recipe and it hits the mark...I DO NOT CHANGE IT. It would be just way to easy to start f00king around, but experience as a teacher has told me to let sleeping dogs lie.

I know exactly what you mean with the chiliheads..been there too.

Beyond just IBU you have a flavor profile issue with those beers. Using a hop with a unique flavor like simcoe just doesn't fit with some of these beers. Heck, experimentation is one thing but just dumping something like simcoe in every beer you make goes past creativity and into excess IMHO.

 

[Thalon]

I enjoy a good amount of hops as much as barely any. They are each their own different styles. I still consider myself relatively new in this hobby (as compared to some of you) and still trying to get the intended hop flavor/aroma profile for each recipe kit downpat.

 

[Yooper]

If I had to choose only one type of beer to have, it'd be an IPA. I can drink a nice malty beer and enjoy it, but I love hops. I'm not so crazy about the flowery and/or piney flavored hops, but I still like them. As for the rest of the hops, bring 'em on!

 

[CBBaron]

I enjoy a "smack you in the face" glass of hoppy goodness. However I also enjoy a "thick as molasses and twice as black" glass of imperial stout, and a wonderfully malty double bock, and a spicy fruity Belgian Strong, and even a refreshing Mild.
So bring on the hops, but save room in the fridge for malty and roasty and other beverages also.

Craig

 

[RichBrewer]

It looks to me that breweries are right on track. So far 80 percent who answered the poll chose the top two answers.

Here's to 100 IBUs!

 

[CBBaron]

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

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

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.

 

[BierMuncher]

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?
...

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.

 

[zoebisch01]

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.

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.

 

[pawlow05]

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!

 

[dibby33]

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.

 

[Eastside Brewer]

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.........

 

[poetic_entropy]

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.

 

[Brewpastor]

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.

 

[BrewDey]

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.

 

[RichBrewer]

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

 

[LouT]

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....

 

[zoebisch01]

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 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.

 

[Orfy]

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

 

[Dude]

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.

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.

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

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.

 

[knipknup]

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!

 

[kenaibrew]

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.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

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.

 

[FatMonsters]

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.

 

[Erbium:YAG]

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.