What are your contrarian/"unpopular" beer opinions?

[Mainer]

I think pliney the elder is just another IPA.

I think Heady Topper is just another IPA.

 

[agrazela]

...Fruit in beer is like gummy bears in my mashed potatoes.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm........

 

[roadkizzle]

It's still just an idea - I need to figure out if durian will ferment well or if it's not going to work at all. However, I love a good, fresh durian and the flavor would meld well with a yeasty hefeweizen, so I'm trying to figure out how to make it happen.

My wife has really been trying to get me to make a durian beer... Please post your attempt when you do it.

 

[HopGobbler]

Fruit is for smoothies. Fruit in beer is like gummy bears in my mashed potatoes.

I love this analogy

 

[JonM]

Someone here in Brewtown tried durian beer a while back:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=369320

 

[Steveruch]

When I did the Stone tour the guide said something that made sense, Drink it till you like it.

Jeffry Stiengarten (not sure of the spelling) wrote in one of his books, "The Man Who Ate Everything", I think. That if you eat something you don't like at least three times you'll start to like it.

 

[r4dyce]

I think Heady Topper is just another IPA.

Yes!

 

[bajaedition]

I think the entire IPA field of craft beers has been muddied and beat to death by substandard IPAs released by every mothers son trying to cash in on the market, and most are really bad

 

[JKaranka]

Jeffry Stiengarten (not sure of the spelling) wrote in one of his books, "The Man Who Ate Everything", I think. That if you eat something you don't like at least three times you'll start to like it.

I gave sea urchin three goes and I still don't like it.

 

[r4dyce]

I gave sea urchin three goes and I still don't like it.

Important: did you take them out of the shells first? Ha

 

[FatDragon]

My wife has really been trying to get me to make a durian beer... Please post your attempt when you do it.

If and when...

Someone here in Brewtown tried durian beer a while back:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=369320

That provides some good information and encouragement - glad to know it didn't destroy the beer as I've been afraid it might. I'll probably add the durian in secondary and maybe split the batch so I don't lose an entire brewday if it turns out awful. If and when I make this happen, I'll be sure to share it with the peanut gallery.

 

[Bilsch]

I think the entire IPA field of craft beers has been muddied and beat to death by substandard IPAs released by every mothers son trying to cash in on the market, and most are really bad

I like this statement. However in my unpopular opinion, would expand it to read:

I think the entire field of craft beers has been muddied and beat to death by substandard beers released by every mothers son trying to cash in on the market, and most are really bad!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I would echo this sentiment.
Out of every ten new craft beers I try, I consider myself lucky if I find one that I would ever seek out to buy again.
Most are just nothing special/noteworthy, but many are downright bad.

 

[Turkeyshot]

Agree and disagree. Fruit can be stellar in some beer styles but some breweries will go way overboard trying to add exotic fruits that add virtually no flavor. Like a beer I tried with Buddha's hand fruit. Whole bunch of expensive imported fruit added to a simple blonde ale and you couldn't tell they added fruit at all. Total waste.

Same goes for Pineapple Sculpin. Adds nothing to the beer at all.

 

[burninator]

Fruit is for smoothies. Fruit in beer is like gummy bears in my mashed potatoes.

I'm not seeing the problem here.

 

[HopGobbler]

I think the entire IPA field of craft beers has been muddied and beat to death by substandard IPAs released by every mothers son trying to cash in on the market, and most are really bad

Totally agree, I've been seeing some really poor ones hitting the Pittsburgh market, it's definitely gotten out of contrl

 

[HopGobbler]

I think that NE IPA is the latest annoying fad and I don't get why people put oats in their beer to show how hazy it is

Don't hurt me...

 

[HopGobbler]

I like this statement. However in my unpopular opinion, would expand it to read:

I think the entire field of craft beers has been muddied and beat to death by substandard beers released by every mothers son trying to cash in on the market, and most are really bad!

Yes, this

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I think that NE IPA is the latest annoying fad and I don't get why people put oats in their beer to show how hazy it is

Don't hurt me...

This won't hurt...much...
I think the NEIPA is here to stay. Many of us prefer them over West Coast IPAs, which (here is a not-so-contrarian opinion) we are tired of, because we are burnt out on the trend of jamming more and more bittering hops to see just how extreme breweries can push the envelope of bitterness. NEIPAs are great for hopheads burnt out on ridiculous and excessive bitterness, and who like the other contributions of hops besides bitterness.

Also, while some add oats to their NEIPAs mistakenly thinking that's the thing that makes them hazy, most of us who brew them a fair amount know it isn't the oats that gives them persistent haze (oat haze is temporary), but oats may contribute to body and mouthfeel.

But while I do love a good NEIPA, I am a German lager guy at heart, and my contrarian opinion is that the proliferation of IPAs in the last 10 years is due in part to demand, but also in part to the fact that decent IPAs are super easy to brew. In fact they're almost impossible to screw up (but yes, some people still manage to). IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Want to see if a brewer is any good at the craft? Try his Pilsner/Kolsh/Helles.

Flame on!

 

[Mainer]

This won't hurt...much...
I think the NEIPA is here to stay. Many of us prefer them over West Coast IPAs, which (here is a not-so-contrarian opinion) we are tired of, because we are burnt out on the trend of jamming more and more bittering hops to see just how extreme breweries can push the envelope of bitterness. NEIPAs are great for hopheads burnt out on ridiculous and excessive bitterness, and who like the other contributions of hops besides bitterness.

Also, while some add oats to their NEIPAs mistakenly thinking that's the thing that makes them hazy, most of us who brew them a fair amount know it isn't the oats that gives them persistent haze (oat haze is temporary), but oats may contribute to body and mouthfeel.

But while I do love a good NEIPA, I am a German lager guy at heart, and my contrarian opinion is that the proliferation of IPAs in the last 10 years is due in part to demand, but also in part to the fact that decent IPAs are super easy to brew. In fact they're almost impossible to screw up (but yes, some people still manage to). IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Want to see if a brewer is any good at the craft? Try his Pilsner/Kolsh/Helles.

Flame on!

I think the NEIPA trend is less demand-driven and more supply-driven. There are so many small breweries popping up now that they don't have tons of space to age. Also, they're often really in debt on their high-startup-cost equipment, so they need to start making money ASAP. So what's an excuse to rush a beer to market? An artificial obsession with freshness. If you can cram it full of hops and haze and convince people they need to drink it within 2 weeks of brewing, you can start paying off your debt sooner.

Edit: That said, I enjoy a nice hazy IPA every now and again. I think they're here to stay, but I also think they're overrepresented in the market right now.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

I think the NEIPA trend is less demand-driven and more supply-driven. There are so many small breweries popping up now that they don't have tons of space to age. Also, they're often really in debt on their high-startup-cost equipment, so they need to start making money ASAP. So what's an excuse to rush a beer to market? An artificial obsession with freshness. If you can cram it full of hops and haze and convince people they need to drink it within 2 weeks of brewing, you can start paying off your debt sooner.

Edit: That said, I enjoy a nice hazy IPA every now and again. I think they're here to stay, but I also think they're overrepresented in the market right now.

I think there's a lot of truth to that.
And yes, they are overrepresented. And they are definitely not all created equal. There is a reason the "classics" (Alchemist, Treehouse, Hill Farmstead, Trillium) are the examples everyone points to - many of the imitators just aren't as special.

 

[cmac62]

I would echo this sentiment.
Out of every ten new craft beers I try, I consider myself lucky if I find one that I would ever seek out to buy again.
Most are just nothing special/noteworthy, but many are downright bad.

Right

 

[allanmorgan]

IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing.

Made me laugh! Totally agree.

 

[Bilsch]

But while I do love a good NEIPA, I am a German lager guy at heart, and my contrarian opinion is that the proliferation of IPAs in the last 10 years is due in part to demand, but also in part to the fact that decent IPAs are super easy to brew. In fact they're almost impossible to screw up (but yes, some people still manage to). IPAs are the Sesame Street of brewing. Want to see if a brewer is any good at the craft? Try his Pilsner/Kolsh/Helles.

Well said !

 

[stonebrewer]

I have not read this monster of a thread completely, so this has already been said I am sure: a beer's popularity is directly proportional to its rarity. Pliney The Elder is hard to get on the east coast, so it is highly desired there. Heady is hard to get even in VT so it is greatly desired. Bomb was, until recently hard to get anywhere but OK. All of these are GOOD beers made GREAT by their rarity. Interesting fact, I have been part of several blind taste tests where we picked a style, say IPA, and then had a bunch of brew nerds together to rate the beers in order. Before we revealed the results, folks talked about which beers they loved the most, some of which were in the tasting and they did not know it. People were shocked when they were told the results. Mostly, there was a correlation between rare beers and lower than expected ratings. I found that interesting. From this I gather that a beer's rarity is more important in the mind of a drinker that the actual taste they perceive! Have you had Westy? I have, many times. It was fantastic, delicious, orgasmic even. ABT 12? Really good but no Westy! Well, in a blind taste test, people found they liked the ABT better than the Westy! Your tastes, as a beer nerd, are affected more by your inability to purchase a beer that is highly rated by others than your taste buds dictate.

 

[FatDragon]

Have you had Westy? I have, many times. It was fantastic, delicious, orgasmic even. ABT 12? Really good but no Westy! Well, in a blind taste test, people found they liked the ABT better than the Westy! Your tastes, as a beer nerd, are affected more by your inability to purchase a beer that is highly rated by others than your taste buds dictate.

This always makes me wonder if I would even like Westvleteren 12 that much. I have had St. Bernardus ABT 12 and it fell pretty low on my list of Belgian Quads and their non-Trappist equivalents (Belgian dark strong ales).

 

[oylerck]

I have not read this monster of a thread completely, so this has already been said I am sure: a beer's popularity is directly proportional to its rarity. Pliney The Elder is hard to get on the east coast, so it is highly desired there. Heady is hard to get even in VT so it is greatly desired. Bomb was, until recently hard to get anywhere but OK. All of these are GOOD beers made GREAT by their rarity. Interesting fact, I have been part of several blind taste tests where we picked a style, say IPA, and then had a bunch of brew nerds together to rate the beers in order. Before we revealed the results, folks talked about which beers they loved the most, some of which were in the tasting and they did not know it. People were shocked when they were told the results. Mostly, there was a correlation between rare beers and lower than expected ratings. I found that interesting. From this I gather that a beer's rarity is more important in the mind of a drinker that the actual taste they perceive! Have you had Westy? I have, many times. It was fantastic, delicious, orgasmic even. ABT 12? Really good but no Westy! Well, in a blind taste test, people found they liked the ABT better than the Westy! Your tastes, as a beer nerd, are affected more by your inability to purchase a beer that is highly rated by others than your taste buds dictate.

Crawl out through the fallout, baby.

 

[Bilsch]

Your tastes, as a beer nerd, are affected more by your inability to purchase a beer that is highly rated by others than your taste buds dictate.

There is probably a lot of truth in that however personally when I'm in Munich, where there is enough helles to fill an Olympic swimming pool, I think it tastes even better.

I also don't get why people will cue up in rediculous long lines to get in certain night clubs where there isn't anything happening except perceived exclusivity. Humans.

 

[FatDragon]

There is probably a lot of truth in that however personally when I'm in Munich, where there is enough helles to fill an Olympic swimming pool, I think it tastes even better.

I also don't get why people will cue up in rediculous long lines to get in certain night clubs where there isn't anything happening except perceived exclusivity. Humans.

Ah, but going to Munich to get fresh Helles is already much higher-effort for most people than sourcing a can of Heady Topper or a bottle of Westy 12. Hell, I can easily get both of those IN CHINA (albeit in the $40-$100/each price range). Getting fresh Helles in Munich still requires traveling a third of the way around the world.

That said, a Helles in Munich is also eminently fresh and lacks all of the deterioration that occurs to beers when they travel, so it's actually a better beer. Scarcity bias, on the other hand, is only related to quality insofar as the quality of the beer leads to the scarcity, which isn't always the case.

Also, nightclubs are cesspits.

 

[Bilsch]

Coincidentally the one nightclub in the world I would line up for is in Germany. Berlin to be exact.