"Hoppiness" = Bitterness? (DIPA's)

I find most DIPAs above 8.5% to be cloying.

 

I will probably get blasted for this post but given that no two IPA's or DIPA's are brewed with the same type of hops and malt it's really hard to compare them. I think that the heavier malts tend to over shadow the hops in some cases and you can tell this as soon as the beer is poured by the color. I like the lighter malts and tend to go towards the blends using just one or two different types of hops. I think it was Hill's that did a single hop DIPA with just citra hops, it was wonderful.

 

People really shouldn't characterize a beer as "hoppy" because it could mean so many things: bitterness, grassy, floral, citrus, grapefruit, pineapple, tropical fruit, etc. etc.

 

The short answer: Hoppiness = Deliciousness

 

If you want hoppy as in bitter, then you want Stone Ruination or Green Flash Palate Wrecker. I think their names speak for themselves.

 

I did not like Sierra Nevada's "Hoptimum" either. I believe they made the mistake that many brewers make when going for a "hop attack" they load up the IBU's and remove the subtlety. You lose the citrus and floral flavors and are left with bitterness, (figuratively and literally). If you want to try a hoppy beer that does not shred your palate and maintains the subtlety of the hop flavors I can recommend a few.
"Hop Stoopid' by Lagunitas. 102 IBU's but does not shred your palate like 102 IBU's.
"Double Simcoe" by Wyerbacher
"Torpedo" by Sierra Nevada-still a bit of hop overload but not too much, think of it as Hoptimum light.
"Maximus" by Lagunitas
"Arrogant Bastard Ale" by Stone-Technically not an IPA but bitter
"Perpetual IPA" by Troegs. This is a palate shredder but all of the hop flavors are there.
Happy Drinking.

 

I almost forgot..."West Coast IPA" by Green Flash

 

I agree, these two are perfect examples of "unbalanced", (for lack of better words) bitter and aromatic IIPAs. Cheers!

 

I'm not sure if it has been said yet or not, but IBUs don't necessarily translate into a bitter taste. Many an Imperial Stout have a very high IBU level, but most don't tend to taste overly bitter, at least in my opinion.

 

since you asked, no

 

hop flavor and hop bitterness are 2 different things. i personally like a well made single ipa over a 2ipa due to the sweetness usually associated w the latter. but both have their place and sometime u want that syrupy hop juice and nothing else will do!

 

Whoa, really? I think Hoptimum is pretty damn bitter (100 IBUs after all). It does have a nice explosion of hop flavor as well.

To me, hoppy and bitter definitely aren't the same. Bitterness is usually not pleasant. Hoppiness is amazing. If an IPA uses too many bittering hops and little late addition hops, it sucks.. It's just a bitter mess. You want a balance of bitter and flavor hops (hoppiness). Any good IPA cannot have one without the other.. must be bitter (to some degree) and very hoppy.

To those who don't like DIPAs very much.. sorry, you're crazy... There are plenty of great DIPAs out there that aren't cloying. Then again, I have Bodhi, Chillwave, and Hop JuJu in my backyard... all of which are very hop forward and not cloying at all.

And for the comment someone had on high IBU stouts not tasting very bitter.. it is a perception. Stouts tend to be a little sweeter and help balance out the bitterness of the hops. I've had 100 IBU imperial stouts that taste less bitter than a 50 IBU IPA. There is a lot more flavor combinations going on in an imperial stout. Trust me, it is still bitter.

 

It isn't the rich malts that make AB taste more bitter than Stone IPA... I'd say it is more likely the lack of flavoring/aroma hops in AB and more late addition and dry hops in their IPA. The flavor and aroma hops will kill some of the bitterness. Same with Bigfoot, it just has a shit ton of bittering hops. I find Bigfoot to still be pretty damn bitter after 3+ years.

 

Bigfoot has finishing hops that are more than evident when fresh.
http://www-origin.cdn.sierranevada.com/beer/high-altitude/bigfoot-barleywine-style-ale

 

Go trade for some Surly Abrasive, you won't have a syrupy mess with that top notch DIPA.

 

Soon...

... soon ...

 

Arrogant Bastard is dry hopped with chinook; a woody, spicy hop; Stone IPA is dry hopped with chinook and centennial. We'll have to agree to disagree, I do think the rich malts play a huge part in making it drink more bitter. Like another poster said, Bigfoot is finished with a few C's, evident with fresh. Bigfoot is about 85 IBU if I recall correctly, and I'd guess that a reason you find it bitter aged is from the richness of the malt. Cheers!

Edit-
My second example, Stone Levitation vs. Go To IPA might be up your alley. Levitation is dry hopped with amarillo, Go To a few different hops, and both are nearly the same IBU.

 

Bigfoot is 90 IBU per the SN website above. They have a lab or three and know what it comes out as.

This last spring we did a vertical of 13 years with friends. Bigfoot does have bitterness, but when you get back 10+ years it is not bitter at all, really old ones are like a port wine. We had a 97, and friends who are not into beer said that was their favorite due to the port and sherry notes going on, and lack of bitterness.