Hop flavors limits? Better? Different? Future?

Polaris was extremely earthy when I used it. The beer reminded friends that tried it of mushrooms.

 

Well, I suck at science, but it seems to my untrained brain that I think vinous flavors could potentially emerge. We have lots of New Zealand hops that are giving off some of those flavors in limited amounts now, so I see no reason more "red grape" flavors could emerge as we have spicy, woody, earthy, and floral notes already used presently as sensory descriptors. Perhaps a more integrated profile could be on the horizon.

Oh, and this jack:

Was freaking outstanding, thank you.

 

Bourbon barrel flavor hops. Boom.

 

god i love beer.

 

Good point, I didn't think of that.

To be fair, Westvleteren 12 took a huge hit because the rating system was changed, not because the beer changed. Overnight it dropped out of the top 5.

And didn't Dark Lord have all types of contamination issues? I'm asking more than stating here, because I didn't follow those threads closely.

Sculpin is currently #4, but it's a bit unfair to compare something with 5000+ reviews to those with a few hundred, if that. Sculpin is another that took a huge hit when the "hads" were added. Not to mention, the beers above it have the advantage of not being exposed to widespread distribution. Quite frankly, I'm shocked it took this long to have it fall off in ratings due to all of the old Sculpin on the shelves.

Clearly there was a line in the sand with the newer "tropical fruit" IPAs such as Pliny and Heady. These types of beers are outpacing even the popular imperial stouts. Could someone come out with some new type of hops or combination of hops that is more flavorful then the current batch of super popular IPAs? Sure. But my gut instinct tells me we're maxed out in that department, and it will be a new style, twist on a style, or invention in engineering (see my original post) that are the next "big thing."

Or maybe more breweries will go back to focusing on the basics and increasing the amounts of hefeweizens as good as Weihenstephaner, or pilsners to topple Prima (I'm looking at you Jack's Abby).

 

Since they are cousins and they both have exploded in the hands of Americans in ways that much of the rest of the world is in awe of. The sky's the limit and hops cultivation is probably a few years behind marijuana cultivation as far as pushing the boundaries of what is "acceptable" for the palate. For the U.S. there are new terroirs being opened up for growing which will start becoming new players in the hop game. As we have seen with marijuana in the hands of a market that is taxable. We have a range of new ways which it is delivered. Hops will get the similar treatment, and that big beer with the face blast of hops is going to be even bigger.
This is something we're really good for. Our revering tradition in a way that is from the ground up and not ossified, or museum gloved.