I appreciate and understand the desire to create the world’s hoppiest or most alcoholic beer. It’s like trying to build the world’s tallest building, or fit the most transistors on a computer chip. But is this truly excellent from an aesthetic point of view? Unless you’re Ayn Rand, you probably find the world’s tallest buildings quite ugly. Depth and complexity in beer comes first and foremost from the malt character. Hops are a great way to accentuate the flavors of beer, but they cannot stand on their own. To judge a beer based on its hops or alcohol alone is as crude as judging a woman by her bust. Most people know that women are not defined by their measurements. Likewise, beer should not be defined by its IBUs or ABVs. To do so is to slouch into beer depravity. These eloquent ramblings can be summed up thusly: Imperial IPAs are the Pornstars of Beer. Yes, it appears I’ve had my share. [ less ]

I appreciate and understand the desire to create the world’s hoppiest or most alcoholic beer. It’s like trying to build the world’s tallest building, or fit the most transistors on a computer chip. But is this truly excellent from an aesthetic point of view? Unless you’re Ayn Rand, you probably find the world’s tallest buildings quite ugly. Depth and complexity in beer comes first and foremost from the malt character. Hops are a great way to accentuate the flavors of beer, but they cannot...
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