Are Ultra Hopped Beers Just a Fad?

[Amidared]

As much as I love heavily hopped IPAs I'm beginning to realise there is a limit to just how much hops not only do I appreciate but actually how much I can physically take. Recently I've noticed that when I drink my own heavily hopped IPAs and also some commercial IPAs with a good hop content that not only do I get really awful heartburn but I also get a headache while I'm actually drinking the beer, its as though I can feel a hangover coming on even after one or two beers.

Normally wheat beers are my beer of choice but enjoy most types, sours/Krieks/Lambics being the exception and I've never had such a problem when drinking Wheats or Lagers. I recognise now that although I like the taste of hops, there is a limit to just how 'hoppy' I can enjoy.

 

[nigelnorris]

I think so. Think back 20 years when the world was swamped with New World wines. Take French grapes, grow them in extreme heat with no terroir, just sunshine, then knock out the alcoholic jam that's produced. It all gets to be too much after a while so now nobody will touch them apart from weekenders wanting 15%+ abv to get max alcohol bang for their buck, and all the quality vintners are losing their trade and frantically trying to imitate the French styles.

I think that the big difference is that the New World beers are using locally created varieties of hops which the brewers will be less keen to abandon even if the bubble pops.

 

[Amidared]

Trends happen wherever there is marketing but I'm afraid in future I'll be concentrating more on 'balance' rather than any form of this or that forwardness. I cant say I got involved in the New World wine fad but I totally understand your point and that eventually it was just too much and the customers make the appropriate adjustments to their buying.

 

[Hoppyland]

I doubt it. For my tastes, this is a genuinely new style of beer. Well-made, I think that they have their place and are likely to keep it - even though the market share might diminish.
I'd struggle to say where "Ultra Hopped" begins, though. Presumably Brewdog's Punk IPA fits firmly here. But there are other very hop-forward citrussy beers that I like a lot. Maybe they wouldn't they count as "ultra" - dunno!!

By the way, I'd agree with Nigel about most Antipodean red wines I've had, but surely a good, dry NZ Sauvignon blanc could hold its head up anywhere. I suspect that a "fad" often tends to occur when something poor quality is marketed aggressively & then trumpeted by "foodie" journalists who may not have the remotest clue! A genuinely good product is far more likely to survive.

 

[Leon103]

It's just the beginning. They have been going strong in America for years

 

[Bodleigh Head]

Try bottling it and leaving it for at least six months to do its thing, preferably over the winter months, when left to condition correctly they turn into something absolutely stupendous.
Personally, I find American hops to be just a bit too much in your face, given the choice I stick to Goldings or Fuggles or perhaps a German hop according to availability.
see Clive La Pensee's books on IPA & Historical Brewing & Ron Pattinson's book on Vintage Brewing.

 

[nigelnorris]

By the way, I'd agree with Nigel about most Antipodean red wines I've had, but surely a good, dry NZ Sauvignon blanc could hold its head up anywhere.

I couldn't agree more and the Marlborough vineyards get more than their share of my wage packet.

The other side of that coin is to look at what the New World did to Chardonnay, they read that the French mature it in oak so what did they do? Oak it to the point that all you could taste was vanilla and pencil shavings. Once that fad wore off Chardonnay was dead for years, I've been in restaurants more than once and heard someone say 'any white but Chardonnay'. Just by association even the French couldn't shift it, even though theirs was an utterly different product from what California was shipping.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I hope not - It's a favourite style of mine. There arent a lot of super hoppy beers on the supermarket shelves and now you can buy begali(amongst others) to take away from 'spoons I have a great supply of these beers for when my own stock is depleted :grin:

 

[Grizzly299]

I wrote a short piece on IPA for my blog. Just some of my musings and concerns about the IPA trend.I'm only plugging it because it's relevant. Admins are welcome to remove if it's not allowed.

http://www.grizzlybrews.co.uk/articles/bro-do-you-even-ipa/

 

[dan125]

Trouble is they don't seem ultra-hoppy for very long as you build up a tolerance to the hoppiness.
A few years ago a Punk IPA seemed insanely hoppy - now it's just standard.

 

[Amidared]

Thats a great amount of intelligent responses considering I was just basically thinking out loud about my heartburn and headaches so thanks. :thumb:

As I stated in the o.p. I love my hoppy IPAs and I recognise that its revival, especially in the form of the AIPAs with the US hop varieties is a good thing and that they will be around now for as long as any other beer type. But not necessarily as popular as they are right now. I think the point I was asking or attempting to draw opinion on was the fact that by simply using too much, or rather out hopping the competitor, some beers are actually difficult to enjoy because of an imbalance of ingredients. I'm not sure I'm making my point very well here but what I'm trying to say is that I seem to have reached a point where some beers are simply too hoppy and make me feel ill,( I mean headache and heartburn, not nauseous) even though I do enjoy hoppy beers.

Admittedly I havent tried bottling my IPAs for six months, only my stout took that long to condition, and there is nothing wrong with my own brews, they are fine, as are the commercial brews I've tried such as the (mentioned in a few posts) Punk IPA and Circadian from Ringwood, but I was really trying to ponder on whether or not a trend can continue with brewers out hopping the next until it reaches a point where people actually find it all too much, as has been pointed out happened with the New World wines. We all know of the benefits of hops and enjoy its massive contribution to our hobby but could it be that there isnt enough discussion about the other side of hops, and that there could also be a downside to too much if thats possible ? As I say I've noticed a downside which is making me think more about balance in my future recipes, still use hops of course but in more complimentary measures so as not to overpower the rest of the ingredients.

 

[Amidared]

I wrote a short piece on IPA for my blog. Just some of my musings and concerns about the IPA trend.I'm only plugging it because it's relevant. Admins are welcome to remove if it's not allowed.

http://www.grizzlybrews.co.uk/articles/bro-do-you-even-ipa/

I like that Grizzly, and thanks because you touch partly on one of the points I'm pondering with your One hop, two hop, three hop, floor!

I'll bookmark the blog, nice one.

 

[Amidared]

Try bottling it and leaving it for at least six months to do its thing, preferably over the winter months, when left to condition correctly they turn into something absolutely stupendous.
Personally, I find American hops to be just a bit too much in your face, given the choice I stick to Goldings or Fuggles or perhaps a German hop according to availability.
see Clive La Pensee's books on IPA & Historical Brewing & Ron Pattinson's book on Vintage Brewing.

I have Ron Pattinson's book on Vintage Brewing and love it, there are some really decent and quirky recipes in there. I might well try an IPA again seeing as I love them so much but will definately approach the recipe from a slightly different angle and do as you suggest with a longish conditioning period.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Can't say I've had so many hops in a beer it's made me feel ill. Although one resin an evening is usually enough :whistle:

I do around 300g in 21 litres, but equally I've done two beers recently with no hops at all. Alternating between a hoppy & a hopless beer enhances an evening drinking IMO

 

[Amidared]

Can't say I've had so many hops in a beer it's made me feel ill. Although one resin an evening is usually enough :whistle:

I do around 300g in 21 litres, but equally I've done two beers recently with no hops at all. Alternating between a hoppy & a hopless beer enhances an evening drinking IMO

One resin an evening, hahahaa ok. What did you use for a bittering agent if any when you didnt use hops, and how'd it turn out?

 

[pms67]

Trouble is they don't seem ultra-hoppy for very long as you build up a tolerance to the hoppiness.
A few years ago a Punk IPA seemed insanely hoppy - now it's just standard.

Could not agree more,i tried Joker IPA from Williams Bros for the first time in ages and thought they had forgotten to add hops!!!
My palate must be destroyed 😉

 

[pms67]

Try bottling it and leaving it for at least six months to do its thing, preferably over the winter months, when left to condition correctly they turn into something absolutely stupendous.
Personally, I find American hops to be just a bit too much in your face, given the choice I stick to Goldings or Fuggles or perhaps a German hop according to availability.
see Clive La Pensee's books on IPA & Historical Brewing & Ron Pattinson's book on Vintage Brewing.

Sorry but I have to disagree, American hops are far superior to me,its a whole new world of flavour that British hops cannot get close to, although Jester is the current fav from theae shores

 

[Dutto]

I like the flavour that hops bring to a pint but I am still mindful that hops were originally added to beer to act as a preservative ...

http://zythophile.co.uk/2009/11/20/a-short-history-of-hops/

... so I can well understand how excessive amounts could cause heartburn and many other undesirable reactions.

Like so many things in life ...

"A little bit of what you like can be good for you,
but a lot of it can harm you!"
:thumb: :thumb:​

 

[peteplus1]

Horses for courses etc. I dont think it's a fad, many people enjoy the heavily hopped beers and more people are discovering the delights of ultra tasty beer. Me included. I used to buy randomly from the supermarket shelves, and whilst that selection is improving month on month, I go to my local specialist beer stockists for everything now. Still enjoy a pint of not heavily hopped beer in a pub occasionaly but out of preference Im seeking the big hop taste and aroma.

 

[MickDundee]

I like hop flavour and aroma a lot, but not the associated big bitterness you get with a lot of IPAs which I (probably incorrectly) feel are unbalanced. Of the most readily available, Punk IPA and Fourpure Session IPA probably have the best balance for me.