All About Finish

I love my stouts to linger.

 

Pretty much this. I don't like resinous hop bombs that you can still taste an hour after you finish drinking them (I'm looking at you, Palate Wrecker), but I do enjoy a lingering bitterness from that style. I love stouts that hang around forever on the palate; anything less seems too watery to me. Bring on the 40-weight!

 

Generally speaking I like them to linger. The one exception are super hoppy bombs, especially if I do not recognize them as super hoppy beers. I remember when I first had Devil Dancer on a night out at a craft bar. Ordered that early on and that was really all I could taste for a lot of the night.

 

Style dependent

 

I can always appreciate a very dry ale, but in some instances it flattens depth or complexity in a brew.

A good example is the Maine Beer pale ales. They are always super clean and dry and yet retain distinct character. Yet there are other very clean pale ales that still miss a mark or two and mesh right into the background of forgettable brews. The same can be said for the heavy imperial lingers. It's all situational!