You should search out the Darwin YouTube on it. It’s pretty funny–he can’t stop drinking it.
Pronounced bitterness, at least in foods and beverages other than certain stylized beers, is perceived by most people as unpleasant. IMO, unless you’re more into the style and taxonomy aspects, that also holds true with beer.
I know his channel but don’t like his reviews too much as they don’t match my preference for beer
Not sure if I agree as heavily bitter beers (not only IPAs) are well thought after by many beer drinkers. Also, there are many different bitter foods like bitter melon, dandelion greens, radicchio etc which in many cultures are well liked
Bitter foods are not generally popular with humans. The biological reason is that we’ve evolved to dislike bitter because many natural poisons taste that way. Of course, one can train oneself to tolerate the flavor, as you appear to have done completely with high-IBU beers.
Are any beers too bitter for you?
No but they can be quite unbalanced if they are very bitter depending on the overall profile
Obviously, there is the evolutionary adverse reaction to bitterness but it is also known that it is much more pronounced in children (for obvious reasons) and as you get older people tend to enjoy bitter flavor much more. I liked bitter foods long before I became interested in beer and so my “fondness” of bitter is really unrelated to “training through beer”
Pronounced or not, dislike of bitterness is extremely widespread. Even for those who like it, bitterness is more a counterpoint or condiment.
In the case of beer, high hop bitterness is a vestige of an outdated need for preservation. And a way to try to outdo another maker. Thankfully, hop bomb beers are on the wane.
You are obviously not following the current brewing trends. IPAs are getting hoppier and hoppier
Where I live, this fad has passed. There are still makers here bent on niche-ing in that direction, and some go to extremes, but Thank God it’s trending back toward some semblance of balance. I also see a trend here where places no longer publish the IBUs for fear of scaring people off–they’d rather give tastes of the super-fizzy/bitter IPAs than have patrons asking for replacements. Frankly, there are fewer high-IBU beers being carried.
But I know you like cans, so someone somewhere will be there to give you what you like…
I rarely see IBUs printed on cans for years now - IBUs are misleading as they don’t really correlate to the perceived overall bitterness of a beer as they only measure one component and often beers with a high IBU can be less bitter for beer drinkers than one with a lower IBU based on the overall grain bill.
Justice Ruth by Laughing Monk Brewery (San Francisco, CA) - DIPA
Very short blast of tangerine and orange fruits at the beginning before this IPA turns quite intensely piney and dank with notes of weed. Dry and very bitter finish which lasts a very long time. This DIPA becomes very one note with the strong dank flavors which pretty much takes over the beer
I was referring to boards amd lists in places that serve fresh beers on tap.
Knowing the IBU in advance is a good and helpful thing. As is knowing ABV, another measure that can be perceived imperfectly.
LOL, like 'til you brush the sweaters off your teeth the next morning.
Moony’s Ale by Another Moon Brewing (Germantown, NY) - Saison
Interesting saison which has a little bit more fruit character upfront (citrus, hints of peach) than normal before more expected spiciness and yeasty flavors come through. Good malt backbone with a dry, low bitterness finish. Really nice variation on a saison with an interesting, balanced interplay of fruit, spice and bready notes without each dominating.
Two Schulman’s Walk into a Brewery by Central Waters Brewing Company (Amherst, WI) - Imperial Stout
Complex imperial stout with notes of dark coffee, chocolate, raisin, bourbon, caramel and some malt. Drinks very smooth but with relatively high carbonation. The difference flavor components are nicely balanced and lead to good mix of sweet- and bitterness with some funky notes.
The Broken and the Dead by Marlowe Artisanal Ales (Manaroneck, NY) - American Brown Ale
Good brown ale which starts to go into porter area with its very dark color and strong coffee, caramel and toffee flavors. Low hoppiness overall with some light malt sweetness in the background. Dry, low-to-medium bitter finish.
Conehead by Zero Gravity Craft Brewery (Burlington, VT) - IPA
Citra-flavored IPA with citrus forward taste with some notes of peach and lychee. Some piney notes before a dry, medium bitter finish. Not a bad IPA but quite one dimensional and not in anyway unique to many other citra IPAs
Gather House by The Drowned Lands Brewery (Warwick, NY) - Wheat Beer
A light, but in a good way, wit beer which start with some bready, biscuity flavors that get taken over by peppery spices before some orange water, banana and coriander notes finish this refreshing and easily drinkable beer
Barrel Aged Christmas Bomb by Prairie Artisan Ales (Krebs, OK) - Imperial Stout
The barrel-aging really elevates the regular Christmas Bomb - it smoothes out the “edges” and makes this stout really stand outwith perfectly dialed in notes of chocolate, latte and spices with a faint alcohol burn in the finish. Great stout
Blood Orange, Lime & San Juan Sea Salt Gose by Fremont Brewing (Seattle, WA) - Fruited Gose
Excellent gose with just the right amount of blood orange and lime added so that there is some fruitiness but mainly sourness. The saltiness of goses helps to accentuate both flavor components - very drinkable gose
Koelsch by Enegren Brewing Company (Moorpark, CA) - Koelsch
Very good rendition of a koelsch with light malt backbone (bready, cracker) and refreshing floral notes mixed with some spices. Light sweetness in the background towards the end of the sip but never overpowering. Low bitterness finish.
