Stouts that are way too bitter?

+ 1 in the "there's no such thing as a too-bitter Stout" camp. ISO. But you already knew that.

 

^ Same.
If it's going to err, I'd rather it'd be to the bitter side. I'll just take a little longer to drink it, whereas one that's too sweet might get dumped.

 

Agreed. I think cloying sweetness is much more of an issue with Imperial Stouts in the current beer landscape than overly bitter stouts.

 

I find it noteworthy that several BAs posted that the ‘issue’ is there are many Stouts that are too sweet. The majority of Stout beers I consume is homebrewed Stout (which is not too sweet) so I do not have extensive experience with commercial versions.

I wonder, is the new overall ‘trend’ for contemporary craft brewing to brew brands of beer that are less hoppy as regards bitterness? It sure seems that many (most?) of the IPA brands being produced these days are of the Juicy/Hazy type with lower IBUs. It really wasn’t all that long ago that one of the distinguishing features of a beer being an IPA was notable bitterness.

Are contemporary Stouts following a similar movement of lowering the bitterness?

Cheers!

 

I would say so. Most of these Imperial Stouts veer towards the pastry side of things. Some of these are done artfully and with balance, but some are way over the top

 

Some stouts are over roasted and it becomes acidic

Tonewood silent night 4% session stout was this way. Leave your mouth raw. Was tasty but far too acidic. Roasted too long

 

I always thought Expedition Stout was too bitter.

 

In both cases the more it tastes like something else other than beer, the better it sells? It may seem.

IPAs to fruit drinks
Stouts to dessert drinks

Agree to disagree on this one...It's funny I very much enjoy that beer and thought about mentioning in terms of how roasty it is. Cape May Honey Porter, for us locally, is another great roasty beer.

 

Any coffee stouts. Also, when the roast of the malt is too strong. Hate 'em.

 

Personally, the taste I object to in stouts is easily confounded with bitter. I do not like that overly charred flavor that makes me think of licking an ashtray - like you put coffee in the frying pan, burn it, then make over-extracted coffee. That nasty, acrid, ashy campfire charcoal thing.

The hop bitters balance the sweetness, but the key is balance for me.

Sweet and otherwise flavored stouts I do enjoy quite a bit when I am in the mood for them. Yes, they can go overboard pretty easily but I consider them a treat most times as long as the extra flavors make sense.

 

Well, that sure appears to be the situation to me.

The following may be a bit of a stark characterization but it appears that newer/younger craft beer drinkers prefer craft beer brands which are "something else other than beer"?

I have yet to drink a 'beer' that is labeled as being a "smoothie" (and I never will) but this beverage sure seems to be as non-beer as you can get?

I suppose I should set my timer to see how long before somebody comments that I should stop shouting at clouds?

Cheers!

 

Larry, do you often (frequently) experience acridness when drinking Stouts? Is this mostly a Stout with coffee flavoring thing? Do you employ any purchasing decision making strategies to avoid purchasing Stouts with acrid qualities?

Cheers!

 

I bought silent night the day it was canned drank same day. I did enjoy it but roof of my mouth felt harsh

 

I picked up a six pack of Deschutes Obsidian stout for the first time in years (to go alongside their delicious season Red Chair NWPA). For me Obsidian is enjoyable but I think I would like it with the IBUs turned down a bit so it would be more balanced. IBUs are listed at 55, 6.4% ABV.

 

I'm pretty sure they put Citra Hops in Beelzebub. I'd still like to try to see what that's like.

Old Rasputin is a bit too bitter for me when it's fresh, because of how prevalent the hops are. After 8 months in the fridge though, it's transforms into a beautiful stout.

Expedition is on the bitter side and I definitely have to be in the mood for it, buts it's a damn good brew.

 

That tends to ruin a beer for me, too. And this is certainly a dynamic that can happen: roasted malts and grains will drop the pH of even neutral water. If it effects the final product, however, I'd be more likely to blame the brewer for not compensating properly with their water's mineral profile.

Yet there are many examples where there's lots of roast presence but not that sour twangy quality.

 

I'm with you. The sweet milk chocolate and overly sweet pastry profiles in some stouts are a much bigger turn off for me than a sharp acrid roast malt presence. Different strokes and everyone's tastes are different though.

 

I haven't really noticed a pattern, Jack, and I guess I don't really make "informed" shopping decisions since I will try any beer once. Thinking on it a bit, I notice it more in unflavored stouts. The last one I remember it being very objectionable in was Forge from Foundation. When we visited after having the beer, I was chatting with the guys behind the counter and they said they didn't like that beer either for the sane reason <shrug>. My friend who used to run Goodfellows brewery and made an excellent stout (Townsman) said it was overuse or mishandling of one of the malts and hinted at black patent but wouldn't really tell me. Whatever it was, he had found a way to make a very nice stout with no harsh notes at all.

 

Yes, Black Patent Malt has a 'reputation' for providing tannins/astringency. There are a number of variables here:

• Black Patent Malt will vary upon the malting companies. I choose to purchase English products. Most recently from Bairds but previously from Crisp and Simpson's. I have no experience as regards US malting companies' Black Patent Malt.
• How much you use
• Method of mashing: some brewers prefer to cold mash with Black Patent Malt, some will only add the Black Patent Malt for the sparging process,...
• Etc.

I use a small amount of Black Patent Malt (1/4 lb.) when brewing my Oatmeal Stouts (5 gallon batch). I conduct a 'regular' mash but I give these beer 'extra' time in the bottle before drinking them (the tannins drop out during extended bottle conditioning?).

Cheers!

 

I personally love that beer but haven't had the pleasure of drinking it in a long long time. The past few times we've been up to Vermont it hasn't been available. They classify beelzebub as an american stout, I'd be curious to see how different it is from el jefe, which they classify as a black ipa. I'm not sure the stars will ever align for that side by side though.