We all love hops. Why is it that breweries use the same Malt Base and do minor hop changes to half of their top beers? All of a sudden, that crap beer became a BA 250. Is it good quality beer or did they figure out how to use grains properly?
Big production breweries will have stocked a base malt in large silos. They stock a crytal malt and maybe a malt like Vienna or Munich in smaller silos. Roast malts may come in bags. The malt grist bill would be the base malt, maybe some Munich, some Crystal, and then X bags of roasted malt. It comes down to inventory, streamlined production, and elimination of mistakes from grabbing the wrong malt. It is a production thing.
To answer the OP's question, indirectly, IMO too many beer lovers focus on the hops and not the malt (even when it comes to hoppy beers). Using food as an analogy, hops are like the seasoning and malt is like the underlying dish. Yes, proper or improper seasoning can make a dish either great or bad. But even the best use of seasoning can't save a dish that is otherwise cooked incorrectly. Making beer from malt, at least well, is not as easy as many perceive it to be. Slight variances in malt usage can drastically change the character of a beer. A similar branded malt from different maltsters can vary widely in character. The process of making the beer from the malt can impact the flavor. The water used and how it is treated have a huge impact.
It has nothing to do what you don't know about but are trying to speak with some certain authority upon. It is because hop heads tend to reflect the more fickle regards of beer drinking.
I'm assuming the beers in the top 250 you're referring to are IPAs or DIPAs. Where the IBUs often approach 100. Not easy to even notice the malt in those. But I agree with others that I'd like to see more of a focus on the malt and balance.
Horses for courses. I know one local brewer who is outstanding for traditional beer swears by Thos Fawcett's Maris Otter ("I wouldn't use any other if it were half the price" ; a few miles away another renowned brewster opts for blander malts for her more hop accented offerings.
The only reason I'll ever gripe about an old IPA is not so much that the hop aroma has faded, but b/c the base malt is that much more prevalent, and i cant stand that caramel flavor. I'm not even sure if I'm correctly identifying the cause and the flavor, and always wanted to ask but didnt want to feel like a god damn idiot.
“Why is it that breweries use the same Malt Base…” For commercial reasons. They negotiate bulk discounts from the malt suppliers. For the popular craft beers of APA/IPA/DIPA the preferred malt for many (most?) commercial craft breweries is a ‘basic’ North American two-row malt. Those breweries then use a number of differing hops varieties and varying hop schedules to make their different beer brands. A few breweries will ‘spice up’ some of their beer brands by augmenting the North American two-row with other base malts. As was alluded to in a prior post: add a bit of Munich and/or Vienna to provide some malt character. Cheers!
Bulk discounts by the semi load of train car load. I toured a brewery a week ago, the guide said they got 2 semi truckloads a day. Cheaper than buying by the bag. It also helps to work with a supplier where you know the malt, and if there is an issue, you know who to call.
Since you specifically mention caramel flavor, I would suggest you research oxidation. Process and packaging impact how much oxygen is bottled along with your beer. It's why some breweries, lime SN, can put out a hoppy beer that holds up for months and some breweries can't make a hoppy beer hold up 3 weeks.
Thanks. This was many of the factors I thought could be contributing to this. Its hard to tell without someone giving me a beer and saying "this is oxidation, taste it." I seem to taste it all the time, even in beers by reputable brewers (i.e., Union Jack....as David Walker puts it, he likes Union Jack "aged 45 days, to let the malt catch up with the hops a bit"). So I'm not sure if this is just my subjective dislike of anything caramel, or an off flavor like oxidation (unless oxidation planned for as a flavor component).
Sounds like Crackerbarrel is not a big malt fan. I prefer an Ipa to have a heavy malt flavor. A barleywine is even better.
OK, if you say so. And you know this how? Half? Sounds like a WAG to me, but ok I'll play along... What is the problem here exactly? From crap to BA 250, am I failing to see the problem? Crap? Really? Find another non problem to whine about. In the mean time don't fret about the brewers art. It seems to be a bit above you in my opinion. Breweries are not about to change the base malt they have selected on a whim. It is much more complex than changing socks. It is called a BASE MALT for a good reason you know. Cheers.
I recently tried Hop Stoopid for the first time. I think that's a great example of a DIPA (102 IBU) where the malts come through really nicely.
Somehow I still haven't tried that beer. Always think about buying it but never do. Will give it a shot though thanks for the tip.
Well changing the hops will certainly change the taste of the beer with the same grain bill. Most IPAs(if that's what you mean) use a 2 row base malt as 80% of the grain bill. If a tweak of the hops brings it up to a great beer, then great.
Well we all love hops in the fact that (almost) all beer have them as an ingredient. But how they are used across all styles of beer can be extremely different in quantity and variety. So it's not quite a blanket statement.
