We like hops. No correction, we love hops. But do we love them too much?
After reading last week’s Slate article, we found ourselves backing into a corner, ashamed that we’ve become those people. The ones that push hoppy beers on our friends and barely notice when they have to choke them down. Apparently some say if you drink too many hops you literally can’t taste the flavor anymore.
We blame ourselves… and the craft beer industry, of course. They’ve given us great, hoppy beers for so long that we’re essentially immune to the intense flavor that comes with hops. Whether it’s a nice Dogfish Head 90 Minute or a coveted Pliny the Elder, we can’t get enough. But maybe that’s the issue, we’ve had too much.
Hops, as we’ve told you before, have a bitterness that’s meant to cut the sweet flavor of malt. There are many different kinds of hops and all add a different taste to the beer they’re brewed with. They give our beer the distinctive taste that we love and that makes well-brewed beers so easy to drink.
But some people don’t love the taste of beer like us. They gravitate towards the lighter pale ales or they do the unthinkable and opt for a Bud Light. So understandably they wouldn’t enjoy a strong IPA with bold hops flavoring.
We’re still going to stick with our hoppy IPAs and full porters but the lesson is learned. We can’t expect everyone to love craft beer as much as we do. Just because we’ve grown to love the taste of hops (or not be able to taste it at all anymore) doesn’t mean everybody can do the same.
Do you think there is truth to this? Is it possible we’ve had too many hops?
As a Brit coming to the States a couple of years ago, I was a little disappointed with the craft beers I tasted. I like the taste of hops, but many if the beers are just too hoppy. All I could taste was hops. You need to get the balance right. It’s like a curry with too much chili….if it’s too spicy, you just can’t taste anything apart from the spice.
Every once in a while I buy a beer hoping that one day I will find one I like, and each time it’s like Lewis Blacks schtick about candy corn. The instant I taste a beer I remember exactly why I don’t like beer.
Beer taste like beer, AND it’s too bitter.