American Beers = Overly Hopped

"Why's all this Indian food so spicy?"

 

There was a lot more going in music at that time then REM and hair metal, just like there is more going on in beer today then DIPA's.

 

Of course. But hair metal ruled the day...until REM came along.

 

Well as @MNAle pointed out early on, because it sells. But notice that lumping all into the same category of MOAR, you are also trivializing explorations made by some brewers of where those imaginary and/or man made boundaries are or might be. They are not all doing it "simply by adding more of things."

One of the hallmarks of creative people and work that they do is to try lots of things. But that exploration is not random or by just doing more. Sometimes it is by simplification as well. Advances are generally not made by just throwing more of something into a pot to see what emerges. But they do result from experimentation, etc.

I personally would greatly regret it if the Brewers who created German style Pils had refused to cross the boundaries and left us only with Pilseners coming out of Pilsen and consisting mostly of Saaz hops. I'd bet that we have such beers as the German style Pils because brewers wanted to do their own thing using their own hops in their own ways.

 

Have you found Feral Brewing's Hop Hog yet? Also if you find it the Little Creatures Pale Ale is not too far off the APAs you might find here in the US.

 

And there are those of us who think American beers are not overly hopped. It's an opinion based on taste and everybody has different tastes. Except some political groups but I can't go into that here.

 

IPAs are my main beer style, that said I rarely buy them. Why? because I don't like the dull average IPA's, as a matter of fact I can't stand them. What I have been indulging in is IPA's and DIPA'S from outside my market, I'm spoiled on those great Ohio brews from fat heads and NE brews like Trillium and Mastermind and also the big Vt 3. I guess I turned into an IPA snob after really seeing the greatness that is out there and what is possible. So I'll drink great IPAs where I can find them, but don't mind a cold BMC, or whatever. A quick add is the brews from Kane and Carton, outstanding.

 

I specifically didn't say "all of them," I said "(so) many of them."

And I agree about the importance of exploration -- especially as it relates to willingness to fail in the search for something truly new and unique. And certainly a handful of U.S. "craft" brewers have been able to (wildly) succeed in that search, with global brewing being much the better for their efforts.

What I imagine the OP bemoans are not so much the numerous "failures" that resulted from that experimentation, but rather the brewers (and the culture that rewards them) who continue to add *more* to "styles" that have been shown -- sometimes over the course of centuries of experimentation -- not to benefit by such heavy-handed tactics.

 

Well actually what you said was that he seemed not to care for brewers that did X, and since his is a blanket condemnation of all US brewers you seemed to be endorsing that.... apologies if I mis-read you.

But as one of his specific examples he provides Boulevard Tank 7. Which in no way is an IPA even though it is hopped with American hops. Furthermore, it is for me actually a beautiful example of how a style, loosely defined or not, can be enhanced or extended gracefully through a thoughtful use of one ingredient rather than another.

However, let suppose we agreed on a valid example of "simply" doing MOAR I'd still suggest that it exists now for much the same reason most US breweries produce Ales rather than lagers. It sells, and the throughput is faster so cash flow is better. But I'd guess as consumer sophistication increases such places will eventually be greatly reduced in number and their success rate will drop.

Meanwhile I'll continue to buy beers I enjoy and ignore the simply MOAR folks (which may be why I don't think there are so many out there as the OP seems to think, I don't find them often, let alone find them to be a pervasive problem).

 

Your first statement is only true for hop heads. Many of us enjoy hops, but prefer them in balance and don't like beers that are so overhopped that that taste/smell obliterates everything else. There are plenty of options when you're buying bottles for home consumption, but the situation at many beer bars is getting ridiculous. Many of them have 15+ craft taps but only a single pilsner or kolsch along with maybe a porter or traditional stout. The rest are super hoppy pales, IPA's, DIPA's, imperial stouts, etc. etc. It gets a little boring when the options for those who enjoy balanced beers are often very limited.

 

Plus, many of these beers are pushing old favorites off of the (limited) shelves in supermarkets and bottle shops. Kinda makes it hard to "just ignore them" doesn't it?

 

Most American beers aren't hoppy enough for me. I like to chew my beer.

 

Brewed an IPA yesterday....opening those packs of hops is just delightful to the nose. Dry hopped a pliny clone while I was at it....heavenly smells. Only bad part, gotta wait a little longer to enjoy the taste. Hop on!

 

Hoppy beers are filling the shelves because they taste great and demand is huge, but I too love a lower alcohol malt balanced beer as much, complaints of too much hop reminds me when people complained Starbucks coffee was burnt and too dark... Actually the French roast is still one of my favorites although I opt for local Strictly Organic French roast which is even better.Bring on the flavor!

 

I don't recall saying that I couldn't find normally-hopped beers, although they are certainly in the minority. I actually found a pils from VA on tap (at Capone's) that was actually subtle and well-balanced.

I was just offering support to the OP who voiced an opinion I found meaningful.

 

It's usually malts that give beer a chewy mouthfeel. Just sayin'.

 

Tank 7 sells and is one of my favorite beers. It is a pretty hoppy example of the style. However, look across the board what Boulevard makes, most aren't hop forward in the least. I see so many saisons, wild ales, imperial stouts out there now I was starting to think the other way. As many have said before if they weren't selling, the breweries wouldn't release them...