When did malt get a bad rep?

Think of it as an EQ mix.

If you had your car stereo just right, the bass might be on 8 and the treble on 9. Lets say you knock the treble all the way down to 3...you'd perceive it has having way too much bass. Whereas the same amount of bass sounds great with the right mix of treble.

Think of a malt bomb as an ipa that had its treble knocked down to 3. Not the bass' fault. But it will be uncomfortably all too present.

 

I used to not like IPAs at all. Now i am particular and really like whats considered hop water. (Even keel, Citra Session) i just had three Oktoberfests tonight and i enjoy balance but i guess its that dry bitterness that gets me at least. I also do not like anything sweet. I drink coffee black etc etc. Bitter is better for me. If im not the only one that feels this way, that is why.

 

I agree. Light and bitter has become my thing too. Hop water is a good way to put it. There's nothing wrong with sweet and malty either, I just want to know what I'm getting.

 

Maltiness is never a problem for me!

 

Malt is part of the recipe, you need it. I love low ibu brews that features the malt. But... I hate older ipas when the hop fades and the malt takes over. I have some Neshaminy Creek Blitzkrieg ipas that I hate, and they're fresh English style beers. They taste like 6 month old ipas that are old and stale. So depends on the style, I love Marzen style brews.

 

I like malt. I like hops. Depending on the style I expect and like a different balance of the two. If my IPA had a hop to malt balance of a Helles I'd be disappointed. If my doppelbock had a hop to malt balance of an American IPA I'd likewise be disappointed. It's not that malt is bad, or that hops are bad, it's that certain styles have certain expectations of the two in relation to each other. Other styles, such as APA, have a lot more wiggle room on the balance I'm expecting.

 

I like that term "hop water." A lot of trendy APAs and IPAs these days have, imo, a very watery middle, with no malt backbone at all, and sometimes even relatively little hop bitterness. Maine Beer Company's Peeper is one extreme example. An amazing nose, but the taste and mouthfeel is of watered-down fruit juice. There are plenty of beers that have tons of hops that are still well balanced, of course, but this trend of avoid-malt-at-all-costs, hop-water brews does seem to be out there in recent years.

 

Even a doppelbock can be too "malty" if it has a syrupy or cloying nature. But folks complaining that IIPA aren't malty enough are kinda like folks complaining that Rocky Road ice cream has nuts and marshmallows.

 

It's style dependent. A malty IPA is a flaw. A malty Vienna is not.

 

Funny, but I've definitely had DIPAs that would have benefited from a stronger malt presence. On the other hand, I've had DIPAs that could have toned it down a bit - at least I think that's what I'm picking up on when I have something like devil dancer and think, DAMN this is syrupy sweet.

 

Wowie, people have different tastes? WHO KNEW!

But for real, balance is important. Isn't HT known for its legendary balance?

 

I personally can't stand most malty IPAs. But some are great when done well. Typically rye ones

 

Careful you, beer isn't supposed to be "balanced", "nuanced", or "subtle".

 

I think a lot of IPA's can benefit from a little more of a malt backbone. Without it, that's when you start to head into "hop water" territory.

 

I'd be all for a new official "hop water" or "hop juice" IPA category, so I know which to avoid. I feel some of these have nice flavor but are too "dry" and would be improved by some malt balance. But enough people like them I guess.

 

Malt has a bad rap? That's it, I'm not buying any more beer made with malt.

 

IPA's are my favorite style. With that said, I prefer balanced IPA's by a large margin. I just kegged a Mosaic IIPA that is definitely malty and maybe a bit too far to that side but it's really good. It has a lot of tropical fruit aroma and flavor but also it's a bit "hot" which may add to the sweet side. My homebrewed IPS's that are balanced and may even lean to the malty side get the most positive feedback and are always in demand by friends and family. Would be interesting to see a list of IPA's that BAers would describe as balanced or lean to the malty side. Maybe needs it's own thread but it would help me learn more about my palate.

 

I take the term "malt Bomb" to be a good thing.

 

The "to each their own" maxim is kind of at odds with the "people who like a certain kind of beer are dumb" sentiment immediately preceding it, don't you think?

 

May be splitting hairs, but I don't think a doppelbock can be too 'malty'. If it's syrupy or cloying? It's under-attenuated - and that's a distinct flaw - but too much malt flavor? Not in a doppelbock. It's got to have enough hop bitterness to balance to a degree, but it's one of a handful of styles that is really 'all about the malt'. It's also where I've seen 'malt bomb' used more than anywhere else. Honestly? As far as I can remember, "malt bomb" sprang up as a counterpoint to the ever-more-widely-used "hop bomb". As DIPA surpassed IPA in popularity and "hop bombs" became things for The Geekery to seek out, the term was everywhere (and it was complimentary in usage).

There's always been a (seemingly smaller) subset of beer lovers who gravitate more toward the malty side of the equation. Doppelbocks, Dubbels, Quads, Barleywine... and 'malt bomb' came into usage - again as a favorable quality - among those who like such things.

Hop-lovers using 'malt bomb' as a way of saying a beer is flawed (e.g. for an old, flabby, stale IPA) is news to me.