"Perfectly balanced"

This thread is about to be 12 pages of people insisting their completely subjective opinions are the one true path to righteousness.

Most BAs specialize in dogma.

 

With a lot the beers I've seen referenced here as "balanced", you aren't going to get a lot of good answers.

 

Bitterness is definitely not tied directly to IBUs as I've had many in the 40-60 IBU range that were much more bitter and out of balance than many that were 80-100+ IBUs.

 

I prefer to view balance in context of the style of a specific beer. How you define balance will shift as the style changes. My interpretation of balance is based solely on my perception. IBUs, OG, FG, SG or whatever other units you want to use are great but they can often tell an incomplete story. What I want in a balanced beer is for the bitterness, hop flavor and malt flavor to appear in complementary fashion.

My go to beer is Two Hearted. I believe part of what makes the beer special is the balance. The malt flavor is clean and just subtly sweet. The citrusy, slightly floral hop flavor melds perfectly with the malt bill. There is just enough bitterness to provide a counterpoint without being assertive. All three piece work well together, you may argue that one may stand out more than another but each piece exists in the proper ratio to deliver the best product possible.

 

Aren’t most RIS like 100 IBU ?
40 IBU light bodied Belgian beer with only mainland EU hops can be more punishably bitter than any IIPA.

 

BU:GU

 

Balance is overrated.
Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Puts flame retardant suit on.

 

Not that it's my favorite or anything, nor am I saying its the best beer out there, but I think it's almost impossible to come up with a brew more perfectly balanced than trusty old Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Great malt backbone, balanced by the perfect amount of hop bitterness.

 

It is impossible for me to evaluate balance unless I am comparing beers side by side. If I am ranking beers side by side, I always prefer balance in my IPAs or DIPAs, but I would agree with what others have said, it is really a bit overrated with hoppy beers.

Two DIPAs that are really masterfully balanced are Dreadnaught and Sosus. And I thought Pliny was remarkably unbalanced, but I am just not the biggest fan of that beer in general.

 

Not a stupid question. Michael Jackson always maintained that "every beer must find its balance [of hops and malt]. A hoppy beer should not simply be harshly bitter; a malty beer should not simply be sticky sweet...."

Unfortunately these days U.S. "craft" brewing is in an adolescent rebellion stage, and its adherents seem to have lost all perspective on what "balanced" means. Just as intensity of flavor has come to be equated with complexity of flavor, having equal measure of intense flavor has come to be equated with "balance." And, perhaps worst of all, "balance" has come to be equated with boring.

 

I lean heavily to the hops side so I know that my opinion is weighted Heavily to that side. If I read a review of a beer that I have never tried and a lot of them refer to an IPA or DIPA as perfectly balanced I can ascertain that the beer may show too much malt for my taste, if the reviews say that the beer doesn't have enough malt backbone to balance out the hops then I know that is a beer I should try. I said all of that to say this, if I am asked my opinion on the first type I would never say it is too malty and I would never say that the 2nd is well balanced because I know my scale does not match up to the majority.

 

If I taste a beer and can't decide if the hops are more prominent or if the malt is more prominent, then it's a balanced beer. End of discussion.

 

Perfectly balanced IPA's arent in your face hoppy and have a really good malt presence. Stuff like Hop Devil, Racer 5, and Celebration 2013.

 

you know balance when you encounter it. That's all you need to now.

 

Exactly. Knock down a few nice ales without whistling backwards and suddenly look at your glass and exclaim, "where'd my beer go"?

 

I'm with you on Racer 5, but Celebration? Granted I haven't tried 2013, so I'm talking out of my ass.

Balance is not simply hop bitterness versus malty sweetness, as a few above have noted. One must also balance spices if they are present, roast versus sweetness, coffee versus chocolate, etc.

My example of severely imbalanced beers are conveniently those beers whose monikers out them: Green Flash Palate Wrecker and Stone Ruination, which are leading the trend towards brewing shitty (I)IPAs. IPA brewing is not a dicksizing contest to see who can make a beer with higher IBUs, bitterness, etc. Being able to enjoy (or perhaps more appropriately, claim to enjoy) an extremely bitter beer does not add any inches.

Perfect balance? Westvleteren 12. Rochefort 8. Beer Geek Brunch Weasel. Cable Car Kriek. Guinness Special Export Stout.

IPA wise? Probably Alpine's offerings. 19/10 O'Brien's Anniversary IPA comes to mind. Alpine Ale for a pale ale.

 

Kane head high is an IPA I found absurdly well balanced.

 

I've always found fresh Nugget Nectar to be perfectly balanced. Not in the sense that "oh look, it has hops...AND MALT TOO!!~", but in that every single flavor works perfectly together with one another. You could even say this so-called harmony is the X factor that turns a really good beer into a great one.

I don't know if you've had Black Albert before herrburgess (you probably have ), but if there's any proof that an extreme beer can be balanced to perfection, then Black Albert is the poster child of that ideology.