When did malt get a bad rep?

Does it get a bad rep or is it sometimes just taken for granted? Hops right now are like fussing over a beautiful lady, while malt is Dad getting another pair of socks for Christmas.

 

Uhhhhhm... never?

 

I'm with you on this one!

 

I've definitely seen it.

5 recent examples based on a quick search function of the forums:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/are-high-abv-beers-better-on-tap.350313/#post-4204579
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-drinking-now-1089.344236/page-5#post-4153330
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/huge-disappointment.307778/page-14#post-4123539
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/huge-disappointment.307778/page-12#post-4119672
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/trader-joes-beer.339568/#post-4110946

 

my only problem with malt is when there isn't the balance that everyone else has mentioned. Something that is very easy to mess up, but none of the good breweries really do.

 

Didn't say anyone was dumb. Drink what you like. Folks limiting the breadth of beer to such a narrow focus are limiting themselves but really missing on the breadth of a great body of options--the experience of what is out there.

If that is their thing-it is their own. Have no problem with that.

All good.

 

I only use malt bomb as a pejorative to describe hop forward beers that lack any hop character, usually due to age. It seems there's a very distinctive smell put off by beers that used to be hoppy. I enjoy malty beers that are supposed to be malty. Heck, I even enjoy hop forward beers that are malty if they taste good. Usually the formerly hoppy beers don't though.

 

No, it's just a lost art in brewing.

 

When I think "bad" malty this is exactly what I'm thinking. I love Marzen style brews, low ibu where the malt shines, but I've never had an IPA/ dipa that was fresh that I should ever consider bad malty. Now English style IPAs are a different story, some I like some I don't, but the ones I don't like I know are fresh are bad malty, drain pour bad. See Neshaminy Creek Blitzkrieg English Style Ipa.

 

When fuckboy hipsters joined the boys at the pub?

 

I'd argue that's because the demand is for extremes, almost exclusively. More hops, more barrels, more sour, more coffee, etc. That's what people clamor for, that's what gets made.

The beers people lose their shit over are all described as tasting like something else. Grapefruit, mango, passion fruit, apricot, dark chocolate, vanilla, milk chocolate, coffee...Balance isn't what people want these days, so why try to sell something that's balanced.

You lose muscles that don't get used.

 

I don't complain about my dopplebock's being malty... But I am disappointed when a beer that's supposed to be hoppy comes off malt-forward. I think this might be what you're hearing.

 

Yes it is.

 

Based upon my readings of BA threads, I am of the opinion that most BAs use the term of "malt bomb" the same way you do.

Cheers!

 

I bet that the number of instances of the word "malt" being used in a negative way outnumbers the instances of it's use in a positive way on this site... and if I'm right, it's a disgrace.

This thread collects some of the more annoying expressions... like "backbone," but "malty mess" takes the cake. Why "mess?" Are there a plethora of different malts being used in the beer that are jumbling it up? I think you probably just mean "not hoppy enough" and are looking for a nasty way to say it.

 

I take "malty mess" to mean overly malty and boozy, overwhelming any other tastes.....not sure if that is correct but it is my interpretation.

 

If I wanted bread, I will eat bread. I don't need to drink bread. Not a malt forward drinker here.

 

Bad rep is kinda harsh and should be reserved exclusively for macro lagers because they do get a bad rep. But the bottom line is that the beer is the same; people are different. Therefore there are going to be a lot of differing opinions about the same beer. If I'm trying a beer and I don't like it, I just say I don't like it. Period. And unless you are talking to a brewer who is making a beer exclusively for you, the reason you don't like it isn't really important.

 

Exactly how I feel about whiskey and wine barrel aged beer. If I want a whiskey or a wine, I'll have a whiskey or a wine.

 

But not all malt types give a bready flavor. The roasted malts used for Porters and Stouts give chocolate and coffee flavors, not bread.