Non-hoppy Beer Appreciation Thread

Mo' malt, please.

I prefer a porter to some mondo-hopped thing.

That said, I did like Six Point Resin. Go fig.

This was my favorite until they changed it to this. 

Beers with no discernable Hop aroma still have plenty of Hops in there.

As an Example,  many Belgian breweries use old,  stale Hops in their well-respected and Delicious recipes.

They are not going for "Hop Aromatics"  but rather a balance of Sweet / Bitter flavors in the product.

Beer without Hops would be sickly-sweet like "Ovaltine".

Also the Hops help prevent microbial spoilage in Beer.

I could blather on,  but 99% of every Beer you ever tasted has Hops as a main ingredient.

goses and sour beers are whats up with the cool kids these days

^^  sounds like I need to look for Jolly Pumpkin. Russian River makes outstanding sour beers and so does New Belgium.

Yeah, I prefer the darker, sweeter beers where the hops flavor does not dominate.

So what makes a Lambic Beer traditionally,  is the Wild Airborne Yeast let in through the sliding roof over the Fermentation tanks.

The Good strain is specific to the "Brabant region" of Belgium.

Really. I can't even make this shit up.

>>>>I'm currently sipping on a Narragansett Lager,

Hi Neighbor - Have a Gansett!

Aus Salzburg

Upslope Craft Lager is my go-to non-hop.

Half Full Brewing Company in Stamford CT puts out this gem. I love em, everything they make I can hang with which is never the case. The "Bright" is exceptionally crisp and drinkable.

I am a fan of dark beers, especially baltic porters, and even stouts that are kind of roasty and aren't flavored with peanut butter.  I am also a huge fan of saisons, but these days everyone is busy overly tarting up their "farmhouse ales" and saisons.  It must be hard to make a great tasting saison without putting a sour patch kid in it.  

Stouts and porters are my game - but I have never had a stout that was flavored with peanut butter. Sounds kinda' gross, actually.

>>>  I am also a huge fan of saisons, but these days everyone is busy overly tarting up their "farmhouse ales" and saisons.  It must be hard to make a great tasting saison without putting a sour patch kid in it. 

That’s one of many reasons Hill Farmstead is voted best brewery in the world every year. Among all of the innovative beers he makes, he makes several simple stellar saisons that you can grab regularly for $10 a bottle.  Generous price for the quality.

>>>>I am a fan of dark beers, especially baltic porters

Baltic porters are hands down my favorite style.  I was in Poland this past summer and was spoiled by the variety, quality, and price of their porters.  

>>>>everyone is busy overly tarting up their "farmhouse ales"

Ugh.  Fruity, yeasty, sour beers are just nasty IMHO.  Maybe its just that I have had so many bad homebrew mistakes that the stuff turns me off.

But back to the topic of non-hoppy lagers, only time I drink those is when I am in Central America and the Caribbean.   Its not that the sweltering heat of the tropics drives me a lighter brew, its just that you often can't find a proper ale in those parts (with the exception of the former British colonies like Belize and some of the Caribbean islands).   That being said Toña from Nicaragua isn't bad:

Ken

I'm going to Chile>Patagonia>Argentina in 31 days (but who's counting) any recommendations?

>>>>I'm going to Chile>Patagonia>Argentina in 31 days

Haven't been there yet, but going in March.   Zoner "Javs Corner" is an expat living in Santiago.  He offered some advice on the "Vacation" thread from a few weeks ago so you should check in with him. 

The monks outside of Munich know their shit. Hard to find here but they are distributed in the US now. Great place for a visit if you are ever in Bavaria. 

https://andechs.de/en/brewery/

The over hopped beer is just the latest in the line of food and drink that came from Americans slowly discovering things with a taste and then going overboard. When you think about where America was food and drink wise in the 50’s and 60’s everything was bland and tasteless. Folgers, Budweiser, White Zin, and Hershey’s Chocolate.  As Americans discovered taste they went overboard in the opposite direction. Pete’s coffee, Napa Cabernet, and IPA’s. All of those things are fun and have their place, but so many people think that bold means good when it just means bold.  

Modern Times' ICE...

killer lager.

One of the best deals in beer these days is a beer called "Black Boss".  It is a Polish baltic porter.  It is roasty toasty and 9.4%.  A .5 liter bottle costs $2.99.  Nothing fancy, but solid.  A little higher ABV than I usually go for but I can't pass up a good beer bargain.

>>>>"Black Boss".

Yes. A staple around here.

I am drinking this while getting ready for the Fleetwood Mac show:

'

All Fort Point beers are overpriced and underwhelming. For some reason the tech douchebags love to pay extra for that $12 a 6 pack swill in cans. 

That is all

>>6, any Porter recommendations? thx

Stone makes a great smoked porter - and while were talking smoked Porters, try Founders Burnside a smoked Brown Ale that drinks like a Porter. Founders regular Porter is solid as well. Four Quarters makes a great sea salt Baltic Porter. Ballast Point Victory at Sea - and hey, while we're talking west coast -  Anchor Steam makes a great Porter. My favorite is most likely Everett by Hill Farmstead (but I'm probably very biased to Vermont beers, so...)

^Sorry to interject,  but Smuttynose robust porter is very tasty.

I too like a well crafted Pils, and lager.  There is a reason most descriptions say "balanced hops". A pils takes longer to brew, no? I think there is a beer for most occasions.  And can we stop with the fruit beers and triple bocks? If I wanted to drink sherry I would. Nyeh so there.

>>A pils takes longer to brew, no?

Longer than an IPA, for sure. That's a big part of why there are so many IPAs out there - they are the easiest beer (ale) to brew and brew consistently.

Also -  IPAs are more forgiving about off-flavors. Generous amounts of hops often cover up minor mistakes in the flavor and bouquet.

Now, if you like coffee taste in your beer - believe it or not this is a nice coffee porter:

Brown Ales, Porters, Stouts and Dark Lagers are for me.

The List

 Grandpas 90+ Medals since 2013

>>2 bottles Rochefort 10 Trappist Ales

2 bottles Rochefort 8 Trappist Ales

2 bottles Rochefort 6 Trappist Ales

Rochefort is consistently on point. Love them.

And glad to see you tried the DD porter - not bad for $8.99 a sixer.