Hops - the beginner's taste?

I don't think anyone can honestly answer whether or not most "new" craft beer geeks tend to like hops. Some do, some don't, some do right away, some do it gradually, some never at all. You obviously appreciate full-flavored and full-bodied beers and hops are your thing right now. Embrace it and enjoy it. We're living in a great time for the variety of hop-forward beers available. You'll probably want to eventually try as many different types of beer that you can, some bolder and some more subtle. And you'll probably learn to appreciate some near-perfectly crafted classic styles as much as bolder or hop-forward beers. You'll learn to enjoy different beers in different settings, different seasons, and paired with different food. Enjoy the journey.

 

Have one of these and thank me later...

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...Welcome to The Club, Cheers!​

 

One beer I still need to try but keep getting scared off by the price (and relative bottle size). One of these days!

As for the original post, for many hops is an acquired taste.You liking hops simply means you are amongst the group that dug them from the get go.

That said, there lots of great beers that don't focus on the hops that are anything but bland. Supplication supposedly being one of them (can't say directly as I never tried it).

 

I didn't like hoppy beers at first, and leaned more towards Belgians when I was really starting to get into craft beer about 6 years ago. But once I came around to hop bitterness, it did become a flavor obsession. Heck, now I'm brewing Triple IPA's for my own enjoyment!

Beers that are heavy handed in the hop department are usually very bitter and by having such an extreme flavor profile, they are not the most approachable for a newbie. However, hops are all the rage right now so that can tend to push people down the hop path sooner.

 

I'm a beer noob. I started out just trying everything. I then found the style I liked most was ipas - particularly the hoppy bitterness you speak of. As I continued trying everything, I noticed I also really liked sours. I feel like these are the extremes of the spectrum whereas stouts and porters are a lot more smooth and pils and bocks are too watery for my taste.

Everyone is different, but I'm finding that a lot of people stick to stouts or stick to ipas. I'm still trying different stuff and I'm sure my tastes will change.

 

I have been into craft for 2 years now, and in the beginning I was trying all of the IPAs and DIPAs I could find. Now I find myself preferring Belgian styles. My rating were mostly Imperial stout and DIPA/IPA on statistics. Now Belgian Strong pale/dark and Tripels are getting mighty close to overtaking them lol

 

I've had a shitload of beer, and all I want right now is a DFH 90.

 

When I first started getting into beer, (I mean REALLY getting into it) I was into stouts and porters, the heavier and darker the better. I thought at the time that if you can see light through it, it's not worth drinking. Gradually, I started getting into IPAs, again, hoppier the better.
After a while of drinking Double / Imperial IPAs, I started getting into the Belgian styles. These days, saisons and sessions beers are my general preference.
I still like big stouts (as long as they're well balanced) but with the expetion of HEady Topper, Pliny the Elder, and Stone's Ruination, I just don't like the double / imperials anymore.

After that Borg-block, I guess my point is, there's an evolution to every drinker's tastes. Some may go in different directions, or take longer, but tastes do change, and a day may come where you try the latest and greatest and not be impressed.

 

What IPAs are you gettin' in Canada, eh?

 

Yeah, after a while you come to appreciate the balance of some of those Belgian styles.

 

I'm not a huge hop head, but I will have an IPA when in the mood for one. Personally, I don't like when the beer is overly bitter because it will mask some of the other flavors I like from my tongue. I saw a thread on here a while ago when someone compared the tendency of putting more hops in beer to the increase of pure spice in hot sauce - where a hot sauce isn't good unless it blows your mouth up. I know everyone has their own personal tastes, but I hope that in the future, a 'good' beer isn't just judged by how bitter it is....that's just me

cheers

 

It seems to me that no matter what, every American brewery puts out an IPA. No matter where I go I can find IPAs but where are the Brown Ales, the Amber Ales, the Barleywines. the Saisons? I think the reason novice craft beer enthusiasts (like myself) get into the extreme hoppiness is because that's one of the biggest stories or "myths" in craft beer. One of the first definitions I learned was IBUs! After a time, you'll find your niche and develop your own set of tastes. The browns, ambers, barleys and saisons? That's where I've gone. I'm just falling into the world of sours.

The important thing to take from this drunken rant is that you'll develop your own tastes over time. Just try as much beer as possible!

 

Try some Boneshaker next time. Smashbomb and Devil's Pale Ale are both pretty meh in terms of hoppiness.

 

That's cuz it has a great balance between maltiness and hopiness, while still being flavor. And I believe that after we try all these extreme beers, it is a perfectly balanced one that we shall always crave. But as for me, my journey is not yet done, so I'm counting the days 'til Devil Dancer is released again

 

i used to think hops tasted like poison. then one day i tried a sierra nevada torpedo, and i was like, "oh wow- some of these characteristics kind of taste like a rose (floral)." and i was hooked. after that the hop flower became an obsession. I say try some torpedo- it's a good gateway. my obsession with hops has lead me on some good adventures and trades with other people.

try these:
Odell Myrcenary, Ithica flower power, Firestone Walker Union Jack, Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi.

They will set you free, brother.

 

Some people start of loving hop bitterness. Some people start off hating hop bitterness and never change. Some people start off hating hop bitterness and grow to love it. Doesn't seem to be any way to tell in advance.

But your complaint about "not enough hops" may well be a result of drinking lots of beers with lots of hop bitterness. Over time your taste buds adapt and can become at least partly insensitive to strong flavors if you get a lot of those flavors. So there is a good chance you've encountered what some call "the dreaded LTS (Lupulin Threshold Shift)" where your taste buds have been hit so hard and so often with so much hop bitterness that they've adapted and you don't taste the hops and the bitterness as much as you used to. Try not drinking, or only drinking non-bitter low hop beers for a week or two, and then go back to some of the beers you don't think have enough bitterness.

 

I love hoppy IPA's, I'm also getting into more BS Stouts and Porters. I tend to like crisp IPA's over most DIPA's which IMO tend to be a litle too sweet as the malt needed to balance out more hops dominate. Obviously a few like HT, Pliny, Pure Hoppiness, Hopsickle are the exceptions. It's a little tougher with the BA stuff much of what I like being seasonal, and the only BA Stout always available is Hoppin Frog Boris and it's expensive, a little too much so for casual drinking.

 

What a nice picture of you in your avatar! That's a Martin you're playing, no?