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20-11-2011, 10:42
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http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4JrhXR_Ty8s/TsjIS1deRDI/AAAAAAAAB4I/Iq0V6cYAlRI/s320/hops.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4JrhXR_Ty8s/TsjIS1deRDI/AAAAAAAAB4I/Iq0V6cYAlRI/s1600/hops.jpg)
The day has come.


I didn't think it ever would.


I definitely didn't think it would be so soon...


I now think there is such a thing as using too many hops ina beer.


And there are breweries out there wasting perfectly good hopsin search of loopy lupulin levels.


I love hops. I love it when a beer uses lots of them. Butsome beers just use too many. These beers, otherwise perfectly excellent, arethick and tangy and overpowered with hops. They sting the tastebuds, blunt theenjoyment and they bring a wow that is on the shocked side of the reactionrather than the pleased side.


Hops are incredible little things. They make beer excitingwhether used liberally or with balance. And I want to be able to taste thehops. I want that hit of aroma, that quench at the end of the gulp, thatclinging bitter feeling that makes me want to drink more, but I don't want tofeel like I've just licked a hop sack or sucked on a handful of pellets. Thething is, when you use too many hops it just tastes too intense, too muddy,unclear. That’s what I don’t like. It’s great to use lots of hops but I want aclarity of flavour from them, not just an upper cut to the uvula.


Hops are aggressive in a way that malt can’t be. Malt can bebig and soft and cuddly whereas hops can be fighty and screamy. Skill from abrewer is finding a balance, even if that balance is weighed down on one sideor the other. Getting that balance right means I’ll drink more than half a pintof it or order another bottle of it.


I love hops but recently I've tasted too many beers whichuse too many hops.


Am I alone in thinking that hops are being wastedunnecessarily or have others find beers that are just too bitter to enjoy?


Hop photo from here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/deschutesbrewery/3860431253/in/photostream/).
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8717216232742676074-3661150088966499431?l=www.pencilandspoon.com


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