Hyped Beers and Worthy Opponents

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by shebby, Dec 10, 2012.

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  1. shebby

    shebby Initiate (0) Feb 29, 2012 Utah

    I've been thinking about this recently and I'd love to hear your examples. A while back, I had my first Smuttynose Baltic Porter. It really blew me away for the style: rich, flavorful, excellent mouthfeel, everything I would want a porter to be. I'd never heard of this beer, but received it in a trade, and it left a lasting impression. I know it's the top ranked Baltic Porter on BA, but I don't hear a lot of love for it on the forums, or in beer talk in general. A couple weeks later, I was lucky enough to try Hill Farmstead's Everett porter. I'd heard lots (and lots) about Hill Farmstead and this particular beer on BA, and it was quite good. Surprisingly, though, I didn't find it better than the Smuttynose offering. I know they are two slightly different styles, but for all I'd heard about HF, I expected Everett to be in a class of its own. And if I'd never had the Smuttynose porter, I probably would have been more blown away. So let's hear it: have you ever been more impressed with a less heralded beer over a hyped beer of the same (ish) style? If so, has that slowed any attempts to track down the top beers, or do you chalk it up as an anomaly?
     
    #1 shebby, Dec 10, 2012
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  2. FUNKPhD

    FUNKPhD Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2010 Texas

    Yes, and yes, there's no need to go after what a bunch of BA mooks think are the best beers ever.:stuck_out_tongue:
     
    #2 FUNKPhD, Dec 10, 2012
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  3. kpodolanko

    kpodolanko Initiate (0) Dec 7, 2012 Texas

    Stone Enjoy By was a huge letdown. It was all hype to sell a bunch of beer fast.
     
    #3 kpodolanko, Dec 10, 2012
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  4. mintjellie

    mintjellie Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2005 Canada (ON)

    I know this doesn't answer you question, but this baltic porter is worth seeking out:
    http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11056/46644

     
    #4 mintjellie, Dec 10, 2012
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  5. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I don't understand why people continue to think that "everyone's preferences are different" is some kind of revelation. Of course there are times that the majority preference doesn't align with yours, it would be far more shocking if there weren't.
     
    #5 stupac2, Dec 10, 2012
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  6. Levitation

    Levitation Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2009 California

    the appeal of many wales is the spectacle of rarity. that's why you never see tastings with a dozen shelf beers and a spotlight on a single rare bottle; the emphasis is getting shitfaced on 20 wales, the last 15 of which could be swapped in with bud light poured down the gaping maw of the drunken advocate who can't tell the difference. obligatory photo of drinking from the bottle required.
     
    #6 Levitation, Dec 10, 2012
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  7. JulianB

    JulianB Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2012 South Carolina

    I know it's almost a contrarian cliche at this point to claim that Blind Pig is better than Pliny the Elder, but honest to goodness that's exactly how I felt drinking them both fresh on tap.
     
    #7 JulianB, Dec 10, 2012
  8. Goosey

    Goosey Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2012 Missouri

    I thought Werebacher Rapture was an excellent sour at a couple years old, and I had never heard of it. Many of us favored it over Parabola, Abyss, and others. I also thought that the Meddler was excellently made, and it really doesn't get much love as a sour either. Looking forward to see where it goes a couple years down the road. I have had many beer that have a meh rating, like maybe mid 80's that I thought were great, and a couple of highly rated beers that I didn't care for. The problem with these beer ratings is that everyone's tastes evolve over time, and the scores don't reflect those evolving opinions, but rather only your opinion of the beer on the day that you tried it.
     
    #8 Goosey, Dec 10, 2012
  9. fredmugs

    fredmugs Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2012 Indiana

    Never heard of Flower Power until a thread on here about East Coast IPAs. FP and Odell Myrcenary are near the top of my favprote IPAs.

    Last time I ordered online in addition to more Myrcenary I got a Mountain Standard. I thought Sublimely Self-Righteous was in a league by itself for Black IPAs but this may be better.
     
    #9 fredmugs, Dec 10, 2012
  10. BleepBloopBlap

    BleepBloopBlap Zealot (503) Aug 19, 2011 Massachusetts

    The majority of that Smutty big beer series is absolutely terrific (especially for the price). I really really liked this year's Scotch ale for one. Also, the imperial stout is a particularly slept-on giant.
     
    #10 BleepBloopBlap, Dec 10, 2012
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  11. Keithstone44

    Keithstone44 Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2011 Indiana

    FFF Dreadnaught can go toe-to-toe with any of the best DIPA's in the world
     
    #11 Keithstone44, Dec 10, 2012
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  12. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I will discuss the topic of “hype” later.

    The OP mentioned: “I know they are two slightly different styles, but for all I'd heard about HF, I expected Everett to be in a class of its own.”

    Well, I happen to think that Smuttynose Baltic Porter (Big Beer Series) is a more than slightly different beer style from Hill Farmstead Everett which is an American Porter. A Baltic Porter at 9.24% ABV is simply going to be a much bigger beer (hence the descriptor of Big Beer Series) than an American Porter. To use an old adage, this is more of an apples to oranges comparison that just comparing two slightly different styles. So, the OP has a preference for a bigger beer (Smuttynose Baltic Porter) than a smaller beer (Hill Farmstead Everett). Since this is BA, that is not a surprising thing. There is a ‘trend’ that a lot of BA’s like big, bold beers.

    The word “hype” gets used a lot on BA threads and that word means different things to different people.

    Smuttynose Baltic Porter has been reviewed 446 times and has a world class score of 95. Hill Farmstead Everett has been reviewed 188 times and has a world class score of 97. If you used a metric of number of reviews as a means to measure “hype” than Smuttynose Baltic Porter is hyped more than Hill Farmstead Everett.

    It seems to me that these two beers are both excellent beers which are both getting lots of love (hype?) on BA.

    Cheers!
     
    #12 JackHorzempa, Dec 10, 2012
  13. Dennoman

    Dennoman Initiate (0) Aug 20, 2011 Belgium

    I think De Cam Framboise is every bit as good as 3 Fonteinen Framboos, if not better. I'd have to do a side-by-side.
     
    #13 Dennoman, Dec 10, 2012
  14. rubicat

    rubicat Initiate (0) Nov 22, 2012 Ohio
    Trader

    Pliny the Elder is a little over-hyped IMO. I went through a lot of trouble to get some and, while it is definitely a good IIPA, it fell a little short of top of the list for me.

    There are definitely some IIPA's that I prefer over Pliny, like Dreadnaugt, Bodhi, and Heady Topper, to name a few.
     
    #14 rubicat, Dec 10, 2012
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  15. shebby

    shebby Initiate (0) Feb 29, 2012 Utah

    I don't think it's some kind of revelation, by any stretch. I simply think it's interesting that a beer that was unknown to me before stood up to a beer from one of the most applauded breweries on BA. I'm sure that happens quite a bit, actually, so that's why I'd like to hear more stories! If nothing else so that I can get away from the mentality of chasing the most hyped beers and ignoring other really good beers in the process.
     
    #15 shebby, Dec 10, 2012
  16. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    Good. Glad I missed it.
     
    #16 otispdriftwood, Dec 10, 2012
  17. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    To the OP and others who track down beer. Time for a math lesson. If there are over 2,000 breweries, and those breweries only brew 10 beers apiece, that's 20,000 different beers out there. Of course, you aren't going to be aware of all of them, unless your life is beer and nothing but beer.
     
    #17 otispdriftwood, Dec 10, 2012
  18. shebby

    shebby Initiate (0) Feb 29, 2012 Utah

    You are right, these are two different styles, which I mentioned. But it's not quite apple and oranges. To me, that would be comparing a Hill Farmstead porter with a Smuttynose stout, or something of similar vein. I would argue that the flavor profile of the two porters is fairly similar despite their style differences, which is why the Smuttynose jumped to mind as I drank the Everett. I had already forgotten that it was a Baltic Porter, but the flavor profile (in my opinion) was similar enough to recall it. But that's only my opinion, and others are totally free to disagree! I also saw that the Smuttynose porter had a lot more ratings, and I wouldn't venture to say that it's an underrated beer necessarily. You just don't hear much about it, perhaps because the supply/demand ratio isn't as skewed as it is for HF.
     
    #18 shebby, Dec 10, 2012
  19. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    My motivation for my post was threefold:

    · Smuttynose is most definitely a BIG beer at 9.24% ABV plus the extra complexity that is consistent with the Baltic Porter style
    · Smuttynose Baltic Porter certainly gets a lot of love (hype?) on BA: 446 reviews with an aggregate world class score of 95
    · BAs have a tendency to enjoy BIG beers and BIGGER beers would be a preference for many BAs

    I am of the opinion that it is inappropriate to compare a BIG beer like Smuttynose Baltic Porter to a ‘regular’ beer such as Hill Farmstead Everett.

    Cheers!
     
    #19 JackHorzempa, Dec 10, 2012
  20. jacob4999

    jacob4999 Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2008 Michigan

    Don't be..that beer is great IMO. Easily blows Pliny out of the water.

    If you like hop fruity IPA...seek it out.
     
    #20 jacob4999, Dec 10, 2012
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