Had Arrogant Bastard for the first time

To this day I do not like AB, and I consider myself a hophead. The hop profile in that and Ruination are just too bitter for me to enjoy the flavors. I've never been one for the OMG PINE IPAs.

 

Your avatar says it all.

 

Don't worry about not liking a highly regarded beer. It's not a competition. You drink for your own enjoyment, not to live up to the expectations of others. You probably will appreciate AB more after you have been exposed to other hoppy beers, but if not, don't sweat it. There are so many styles of beer you could drink yourself silly and not get around to them all so just enjoy the ride and be willing to give it another try in the future. To Beer.

 

OP - if you really want to experience this stuff and see how radically your palate develops, take some notes on the beers you drink now, using a rating system like the one on this site, and write down your experience of whether you find them challenging or drinkable, enjoyable or too over-the-top. I suspect that within a year not only will you end up craving maximum hops and moderately high ABV beers (not to be a drunk, but because there's such an abundance of flavor) but that your opinions of many other beers will change massively.

I also suggest trying some good craft brew pilsners and less aggressive stuff for a while, and taking some notes on those as well, primarily because they're tasty, but secondarily because you will almost certainly end up hitting a point where you simply can't drink that stuff... like, where it HAS to be a bitter IPA for a while. I remember loving Lagunitas Pils, and then once I became a hop idiot, I thought it was awful for a while. I actually decided to quit hoppy beers for the better part of 3 months to try to reset. I focused on stouts and eventually they opened up to me, and now I can enjoy "normal beer" again. For now, anyway.

Take your time, and have fun. Try not to spend too much money. You're at a point where you don't have to stockpile... you can just buy a bottle of X when you want to try X. That's a good place to be... and a good place to stay.

 

This underscores a theme repeated throughout this thread. Your palate will change and evolve radically, the more (and more different) beers you try. I spent almost a year just ramping up to the point where I thought I was ready to rate and review beers on here with any degree of meaning or value, to myself or anyone else. Before that, I just tracked beers I'd tried using my own 1-100 ranking system, but then I found that even a few weeks later I couldn't remember what I liked or disliked about most of them. So taking detailed notes is great advice.

Some beers I have an instant reaction to (like/don't like), just like certain songs or movies. I revisit them months or more later, and have the exact same reaction. Other beers aren't like that. I tried a Ruination early in my beer career and thought it was just a bitter, tongue-scouring, palate-wrecking hop bomb. Tried it again not too long ago and I thought it was just a pretty solid, well-made IPA. The beer didn't change; my palate did.

 

Arrogant Bastard is smooth and easy drinking to most of us here.

 

Age it.

 

Hoppy IPAs will taste tame to you now.

 

At least that's how it feels when its going down!! It can also grow hair ON your chest!! :0

 

Well I like Hop Devil, but it's far from my favorite beer. Just repping a cool, local label. Give me some Double Trouble, Torpedo, Flower Power, and Union Jack.

 

A cat being lethargic has hairball problems? My cat is lethargic like all the time, and she throws up hairballs all the time.

 

What my palate said as I recall it in May 2010: Damn this is harsh

April 2011 on tap: Damn this is balanced

I wasn't sure if I had gotten the correct beer when I ordered it.

I also remember my first Two Hearted(also one of my first craft IPAs). I thought it was one of the most astringently bitter beers I had ever tasted. Now it is one of the most balanced and incredible IPAs I know.

 

What were the others?

 

Only took me 8 years having a passion for craft before I finally started truly enjoying sours... give it time and re-visit. Hoppy beers are a aquired taste, but once it happens...nothing else quite cuts it.

 

Arrogant bastard was the 3rd beer ever for me other than Bud/Cours/PBR/etc.

Had the same experience. Looking forward to trying it after I've developed as well.

Same experience for the Duchess too, good starter to see if you like Sours tho

 

AB...

and I thought they were talking Anheuser Busch...

It's not a race new beer drinker... but more importantly make up your own tastes... and take your time...

 

This was a real winner for me - reminded me of Devil Dancer initially because it had a meatiness to it - a very savory "umami" kinda beer. And I thought it was very complex - like there was a lot going on flavor-wise. I bought it voraciously for a time, but I must have reached my satiety-point for it, as I haven't picked one up in a while. It still ranks just outside of my top 20, but that's only because I've had so many damn good beers since.

 

Yep, they gave me the bottle (22 oz) and a glass, it was an odd glass for beer, it was one of those small glasses you would typically get a 'shooter' in so maybe the glass wasn't clean. That being said, too many other beers on my list to try before I give AB another chance.

 

I'm sure I would have been in the same place if I had tried AB early on in my craft beer discoveries. I do recall, however, having a similar experience with SN Pale Ale (the first beer I ever bought for myself after turning 21). I remember thinking "whoa! Waaaay too bitter". Now I take down Hopslam, Two-Hearted, Ruination, Torpedo, and the like with no problem