The Misunderstanding of the World's Best Beers

[Kennanwt5]

This post is an observation on how reputed world-class or world’s best beers may not live up to expectations. As a homebrewer, I am left often thinking, what separates the “world’s best” beers (according to BA.com) from my beers. I figured I needed to make a run at trying these reputed beers to improve my own brewing and give me something to strive for…. Or so I thought…

A few months back I tried the famed Pliny the Younger (PTY). Initial thoughts were “why the hell did I stand in line for this?” Besides being a measly 6oz pour, I thought the beer was a perfect example of “too much of a good thing” not being very good at all. In my opinion, it was just an exercise of how much hop complexity can I jam into one beer. That was really disappointing. Lacked balance all together. After words, I tried the toned-down version, Pliny the Elder, and thought that was the better of the bunch. After that tasting, I shared my thoughts with a fellow homebrewer who seemed to suggest that I was on the right thought track, and would not be disappointed if/ when I got the chance to try Heady Topper.

Well, that opportunity came this week when a fellow beer nerd traveled to VT for the 4th and brought me back 8 cans of HT. I prepared for the moment like I was going to read through my dad’s playboy for the first time when I was 12. I waited 3 days until the opportunity when my wife and kids were out of the house and I could prepare my pallet for ecstasy. I was under the impression that HT was the pinnacle, the brew born out of hundreds of years of brewing. I cracked the beer, and smelled…. Complex… but… something was familiar. It had a head similar to PTY. That put me off, as I immediately was concerned about what I might experience next. The first sip was good, then the bite. Hop explosion. I felt that there was soo much hop oil in the beer that it actually had a modest creamy feel to it. A lot of things people had said about it were true. Hop notes, various flavors etc. However, after finishing the can (maybe a little buzzed), I thought “is it me, or why would someone say this is the best beer in the world?” It had no balance! Then I had an epiphany. Maybe best beer in the world is not synonymous with most commercially viable beer in the world. I think I mistook the two. I know there are hop-heads out there, but I seriously doubt the average drinker of beers would say these double-IPAs are anything more than an experimentation in how far you can hop a beer. I mean that’s the concept right, leave enough residual sugar so I can “hopefully” balance that out with a ****-ton of hops. I think the outcome is closer to a Frankenstein than a Monet’. Thanks, but I’ll stick to 40-50 IBUs and OG’s closer to 1.055

That all said, I have learned a few things from this small escapade. 1) Don’t trust the internet. Ahha 2) There is a reason more neutral beers are the best-selling beers. 3) My beers are dam good, and I should be proud of it.


This is just my opinion, so please let me hear yours!

Cheers.

 

[Psylocide]

I'd be in a different camp.

Gimme dat hopsplosion.

I won't say that I don't enjoy a balanced beer for what it is, but I'll usually take the craziest, over-hopped, stupidly unbalanced beer over the former any day.

 

[drainbamage]

Don't forget, the scarcity is a big factor. Most of these beers driven by huge hype trains (Pliny, Heady, Zombie Dust, KBS) are also extremely hard to find. They don't distribute nationwide, and even where they do, they require lotteries and other methods to obtain them.

I felt kind of the same way when I had Dark Lord. It had been built up so much...even though I knew not to expect a religious experience, I still had the bar set pretty high. It was good, but nothing earth-shattering. Certainly not worth regularly going through the hassle to obtain it (nor the cost).

 

[Brew_G]

Hype and marketing help things become popular, too.

It's all about what one's taste buds want and what they'll allow you to enjoy.

 

[drainbamage]

The white whales can be good (and sometimes lead to fun stories about how you acquired them), but you can almost always find an equal (or better) alternative that doesn't require waiting in line all day or selling your first born child.

 

[Gameface]

I think the false notion is not that these extremely bitter/hoppy beers are the best in the world, but that there is that much difference between very good beer and great beer. I think, when it comes down to it, there probably isn't really "next level" beer. At some point excellent beer is just excellent beer.

And I think when people have these amazing beer drinking experiences it has just as much to do with them, the time, the place, the overall experience as it does with the beer itself.

So if you're sitting back and waiting to have a beer blow you mind chances are you'll be disappointed.

 

[Calichusetts]

Balance is a myth and plays no part in the majority of beers yet is always brought up in the IPA/DIPA conversation. Very strange.

You never hear this when people discuss Belgians, sours, barleywines, fest beers, etc.

 

[Psylocide]

Balance is a myth and plays no part in the majority of beers yet is always brought up in the IPA/DIPA conversation. Very strange.

You never hear this when people discus Belgians, sours, barleywines, fest beers, etc.

Awesome.

 

[Kharnynb]

It's a taste thing, but i guess these beers are the special ones in the overhopped, over the top ipa's, haven't had the chance to have them.

I have lucked into a yearly supply of westvleteren 8&12 thanks to a belgian friend that married a finnish girl who's parents live only 40 km from me and can vouch for the taste of those.

The 8 is probally one of the better dubbel/tripel style beers i've had, but not head and shoulders over.
The 12 is really something else and worth trying if you can get it for less than an arm and a leg.

 

[NateLTB]

I think the false notion is not that these extremely bitter/hoppy beers are the best in the world, but that there is that much difference between very good beer and great beer. I think, when it comes down to it, there probably isn't really "next level" beer. At some point excellent beer is just excellent beer.

And I think when people have these amazing beer drinking experiences it has just as much to do with them, the time, the place, the overall experience as it does with the beer itself.

So if you're sitting back and waiting to have a beer blow you mind chances are you'll be disappointed.

I agree with this right here 100%. I've had some really great beers and some of them I truly enjoyed (Heady, Pliny the Younger, Fou Foune) because of the experiences that went along with tasting them while others I found mediocre.

 

[billl]

The "best" beer probably isn't going to thrill you if you don't like the general style. If you don't want to be punched in the face by hops, don't order a pliny. It doesn't matter how artfully they punch you in the face if you don't enjoy being punched.

Overall, the "best" lists tend to be populated by extreme flavors. Those beers make big impacts and big impressions. Where that makes them "the best" really depends on your individual tastes.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Balance is a dangerous word to use. I think those DIPAs are balanced. They careful balance out a lack of malt with hops.

I had HT off draft. It was decent. But it needed more hops. Overall I think most of the west coast IPAs are better everday drinking. I'd drink PtE everyday if I had the $$$.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I've had several of these "overhyped" hop bombs and I still say that Flying Dog Double Dog is a champion without recognition.

I think another aspect is that of the second, or third, pour. After that first taste bud obliterating and tooth enamel etching pint all that hop bite mellows away and the beer comes into it's own "balance" for me. As such, the second and third pint are always better than the first and are more favorable memorable.

 

[ktblunden]

If your ideal hoppy beer is 40-50 ibu at 1.055 then you had no reason to expect PtY and Heady to impress you. Personally, I find PtY to be quite "balanced" (in this case I'm referring to the balance between bitterness, malt, and alcohol for the style), more so than PtE. I doubt I'll go to another Younger release since the line just gets worse every year and I don't go out of my way to find PtE. I'll drink Sculpin any day of the week, though, and I can easily find that in most stores around here.

 

[PrinceOfThePoint]

Hype is nonsense. I personally can't stand how much people want to talk about one beer being better than another. That's not how it works bro. There is not a good metric for determining what beer is "best," but everyone still does it. HT, PTE, Gandhi Bot, Fuzzy Baby Ducks, I think they all taste freakin delicious, but I make beers just as delicious all the time, and so can everyone else here.

Chasing beer is fun, many of us have done it, but in the end it is silly when you can BYO. Temperature control and kegs... that's about all you need to hit absolute home runs every time.

There is nothing better about what they produce compared to what we have the ability to produce.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

This post is an observation on how reputed world-class or world’s best beers may not live up to expectations.

My take on this is that when you're going to try the "best beers in the world", it's *REALLY* easy to let your expectations run wild.

And once you let your expectations run wild, can really claim that ANY beer could live up to those ridiculously-inflated expectations?

A world-class beer is a beer in which all the little things happen to come together just right. I think Pliny the Elder is a phenomenal and world-class beer, because when I drink it, it's profoundly satisfying and I can't even think of a single aspect of it that I'd change. But it's not mind-blowing. It's not full of flavors that no other IPA has. It's just a really ridiculously well-made IPA.

But if I let myself build up expectations to match the hype of Pliny the Elder, it probably would have been a disappointment.

 

[brewcat]

Take their lists with a huge grain of salt.

 

[Psylocide]

Take their lists with a huge grain of salt.

Wouldn't that make all of them a Gose then?

 

[Mexibilly]

Chasing beer is fun, many of us have done it, but in the end it is silly when you can BYO. Temperature control and kegs... that's about all you need to hit absolute home runs every time.

^^Eternal Truth^^

 

[iijakii]

I think Pliny The Elder is entirely mediocre. Could grab any random IPA off the shelf here and have something better and more pungent. Haven't had a chance to try Heady Topper.

Stone Ruination is still the best commercial IPA I've had in bottles.

My magical beer experience was first time I went to Cascade Barrel House here. The Bourbonic Plague* is such a fantastic beer. I've got a 2011 bottle I've been waiting to crack for something special. I fear I'll never open it now as I've already passed up a few worthy celebrations.

* "This blend of strong dark porters was aged in oak, wine and Bourbon barrels, then blended with a dark porter that had been brewed with vanilla beans and cinnamon. The blend was then aged an additional 14 months on dates." -- doesn't mention, but it's soured with lacto.

 

[Mismost]

I yam what I yam and that's a Sailor Man! Popeye

I like what I like and do not care if it is the "best in the world" or whatever the latest craze may be. Take Scotch...doesn't matter if is 80 year old single malt or a fresh bottle of Cutty Shark, I don't like it. Perhaps I just like my pallet being "under-developed", perhaps I just to drop my coin on what tastes good to me.

We can buy CBM all day long, don't like 'em. I want something different even if I have to make it myself. I will also say this....it's a rare man who will say anything bad about "the best" AFTER he has spent his coin on it...because he bought into the hype and now hopes it is true. I simply suggest that you make yourself the judge of what tastes best to YOU and you will win every time!

 

[Qhrumphf]

Balance is a moving target.

For a Scotch Ale or Doppelbock, balance means "not cloying". For a DIPA, balance often means "I think there might be some malt in there". After that, it's all personal opinion.

I haven't had Heady or PTY, but I've had Pliny the Elder, and I wasn't blown away. It was damned good, and I thought really well balanced. However, I'm also not a huge hop head. Nor a huge big beer fan, either. So my preference on "balance" is very much different than someone who may like big, hoppy beers.

I got my brick of Westy 12 in 2012 when it got its single US release, and it was great. But like Pliny, being really damned good and well made does not lifechanging make. Now, after a year and a half that beer was one of the best I've had, but still not lifechanging. And it's also one of the "world's best". Quite frankly, the ONLY brewery I've found to consistently live up to its hype is Cantillon, and that might be simply because I get it so rarely (usually twice a year, Zwanze Day and often around my birthday I'm able to score a bottle of Fou'Foune) that I anticipate the greatness and thus with bias perceive the greatness.

Point I'm trying to make is, white whale hunts are more hype than anything else. And the BA/RB rankings are a combination of scarcity-induced hype ("it's rare and coveted thus it must be good so I'll subconsciously percieve it as good"), groupthink, and a general bias (as already said) towards extreme flavors.

Meanwhile, my preferences for what I personally thing are the "best in the world" are often beers that many others will find boring and run of the mill (to me, you simply cannot beat a fresh, well rounded, well crafted ~3.5-4.5% English Bitter or Mild Ale).

 

[nDub]

I think Pliny The Elder is entirely mediocre. Could grab any random IPA off the shelf here and have something better and more pungent. Haven't had a chance to try Heady Topper.

Stone Ruination is still the best commercial IPA I've had in bottles.

My magical beer experience was first time I went to Cascade Barrel House here. The Bourbonic Plague* is such a fantastic beer. I've got a 2011 bottle I've been waiting to crack for something special. I fear I'll never open it now as I've already passed up a few worthy celebrations.

* "This blend of strong dark porters was aged in oak, wine and Bourbon barrels, then blended with a dark porter that had been brewed with vanilla beans and cinnamon. The blend was then aged an additional 14 months on dates." -- doesn't mention, but it's soured with lacto.

Cascade Barrel house is great. Probably my favorite spot that I've been to in Portland.

Have you tried Runiation 2.0. No improvement in my opinion.

I really like G'knight by Oscar Blues, probably the most resin-y beer I've had. No hype though.

 

[iijakii]

Cascade Barrel house is great. Probably my favorite spot that I've been to in Portland.

Have you tried Runiation 2.0. No improvement in my opinion.

I really like G'knight by Oscar Blues, probably the most resin-y beer I've had. No hype though.

When I first tried 2.0 I didn't see much difference. But if you try them side-side it really is quite a bit bolder.

I can't recall G'knight, I'll have to check it out.

 

[AK7007]

(O)nce you let your expectations run wild, can really claim that ANY beer could live up to those ridiculously-inflated expectations?

This. I recently sought out Sour in the Rye and was massively disappointed. Had I not hyped it up, I would have thought it was pretty good. The issue is that the "best beers in the world" end up being just pretty good when we expect them to be somehow a special cut above and better than other beers.

IPAs are a special kind of problem in this arena though - if you don't agree that such and such beer is the best thing ever to happen to humanity, people tell you it was because you didn't get a fresh enough one. Reality is, there are probably pretty significant batch to batch variations even at places like the Alchemist and Russian River - and uncontrolled variation is a big problem when you are making "the perfect IPA."

Another issue with IPA comparison is that people end up talking about things that aren't really comparable. I don't consider the cloudy/smooth Northeast IPAs to even be the same category as a sharp/clean West Coast IPAs, but people want to try and figure out which is best. Or debate which is better between a beer that focuses on tropical fruit vs another that focuses on pine. You end up talking about personal preference. One beer might be more technically sound, but if it doesn't fit the drinker's preference, you are out of luck.

To the OP, the best approach is to try a whole bunch of things and figure out what your personal best beers are and not worry about rating sites. Use the crowd to help explore in the future, but don't pretend that it makes you smarter than the crowd when you decide that Union Jack is better than Blind Pig - it just means you have different tastes. And that's a good thing that leads to the diversity in brewing that we love.

 

[troglodytes]

I really do think that HT is in the Top 10 beers I've had, and I think it all comes down to the experience drinking it. I love how crazy hopped it is, but its just sweet enough to not be overboard (for me, anyway). And the mouthfeel is something special that only a few other beers I've had could boast (Lawson's Sip of Sunshine and HF Excursions come to mind).

But I do completely see the point that hyped beer does not equal the best beer. If I could choose my absolute favorite it would be Founder's Backwoods Bastard. Not a sexy choice, and not a rare over hyped hop bomb from VT, but to me it is perfect.

I think objective scoring is needed to weed out the top 100-150 beers in the world, but from there, it becomes a completely subjective exercise.

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

Don't forget, the scarcity is a big factor. Most of these beers driven by huge hype trains (Pliny, Heady, Zombie Dust, KBS) are also extremely hard to find. They don't distribute nationwide, and even where they do, they require lotteries and other methods to obtain them.

Just so. Does anyone remember the enormous hype surrounding, of all things, Coors, back in the 1970s? It was big enough and trendy enough that a series of films (Smokey and The Bandit) was built on the premise of smuggling the stuff from the Rockies to the East Coast. There are fans who still talk of the Coors from before it went national as the best beer they'd ever tasted. Yet even by the general standards of the US beer scene in 1976, it was fizzy yellow dishwater with all the character of a soggy Pop-Tart. Totally insane.

 

[Cyclman]

I think the whole experience and your being a part of it, has sooo much to do with it.

I had Westy 12, it really blew my mind., I had to learn to make my own dark candi syrup after that, have a clone ageing right now.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad and Alagash Currieux were my "eye opening" extreme beers, with flavors that I didn't know existed in beer.

Left Hand Fade to Black, again, mind blown at the balance of malt, hops, peppers. It still AMAZES me how balanced that beer is, yet it is so strongly flavored.

I enjoy Pliny the Elder, but don't know if it is much greater than O'Dell Myrcenary, Dry Dock DIPA, or my latest fave, Stone Enjoy By 7-4-15.

I am sure that some of these beers have counterparts that are better, but since I was exposed to these, they have a special affection.

I think too much is put on extreme rarity, I actually kind of bristle at it. But I must say, I jumped to buy the Westy, and was thrilled it exceeded expectations.

 

[Wynne-R]

Balance is essential. It’s interesting that the topic is best beers and most of the discussion is on insanely over-hopped pales.

I was a BJCP judge for Imperial IPA this year. Pliny the Elder is the poster child for this style. Personally I’m loving the Ruination.

Flavor: Hop flavor is strong and complex, and can reflect the use of American, English and/or noble hop varieties. High to absurdly high hop bitterness, although the malt backbone will generally support the strong hop character and provide the best balance.

It’s possible that a hop bomb might win in a smaller competition, but given a choice, I think most judges would pick the one that has enough backbone to hold up the hops.

I think that eventually the pendulum will swing back re IPA, and people will increasingly ask, “Where’s the beer?”.

The best beers I’ve tasted were homebrews. One was an English Barleywine, the other was a Dubbel.
They both did ‘the ester dance’. That’s when the esters are so complex and lively that every sip is a little different.

Twice in 40 years, but it keeps me goin’.

 

[Iseneye]

Lower your expectations and you're all good. I can't imagine liking the top rated beers due to being too high in alcohol and too strong a hop flavour. Let's say I did like the styles then I'm sure I could brew something that is say 80-90% as good. I imagine the pinnacle brewers aren't making beers that are 3x or 4x better than what you can make or buy - it's the final 10% of awesomeness that they're achieving.