So I'm getting a little frustrated in my beer explorations recently. Maybe it's the lack of variety in these parts (harpoon ipa, ufo, cheap stuff, guinness, sam seasonal, maybe one or two others) but why do american beer makers seem to love smashing my face in with hops? I feel like every small brewery makes and IPA and maybe a wheat beer, and that's it. Is it like a chicken wing thing, as mentioned in another thread, where people see how hoppy they can make the beer to challenge people to drink it?
I understand that hops gives beer flavor, and I'm not necessarily asking for super-bland beer, but why kill any semblance of taste with massive quantities of bitterness? Why don't any american makers make a decent lager beer? Am I looking in the wrong places? Something like a spaten, lowenbrau, beck's, or other middle of the road not too bland not too dry lager? Am i just a hops-less pussy?
I feel like an idiot when I walk into a bar and the only thing that looks appealing is the lawn mower beers, since everything else is either super-dark, super-bitter, or super-sweet.
Is it the competition?
I understand that hops gives beer flavor, and I'm not necessarily asking for super-bland beer, but why kill any semblance of taste with massive quantities of bitterness? Why don't any american makers make a decent lager beer? Am I looking in the wrong places? Something like a spaten, lowenbrau, beck's, or other middle of the road not too bland not too dry lager? Am i just a hops-less pussy?
I feel like an idiot when I walk into a bar and the only thing that looks appealing is the lawn mower beers, since everything else is either super-dark, super-bitter, or super-sweet.
Is it the competition?
