Hoppy beer is awful—or at least, its bitterness is ruining craft beer’s reputation. - Slate Magazine

wilwheaton:

section9:

sotheresthat:

YES. 

PREACH!

No. I’m sorry, but this is wrong.

Seven paragraphs into this poorly-researched article, the author says:

Let’s be clear: Not all craft beer is hoppy. There are many craft breweries that seek to create balanced, drinkable beers that aren’t very bitter at all, like Patrick Rue’s the Bruery in Placentia, Calif., and the Commons Brewery in Portland, Ore. Among the non-hoppy yet complex and delicious American craft beers available are Widmer’s hefeweizen, New Glarus’ cherry and raspberry beers, and Full Sail Brewing’s Session Lager (a beer specifically developed to serve as a refreshing counterpoint to overhopped beers). America’s independent breweries make beers to suit every palate, not just the ones that revel in bitterness.

Yeah, so the entire premise of the headline is disproven by the author, but somehow Slate thought this was still worth publishing. That’s lazy and should be an embarrassment for both writer and editor.

There are plenty of craft beers that aren’t hop-forward, like Mama’s Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues, Lagunitas PILS, and Coney Island Lager. There are literally dozens of browns, stouts, and wheat beers that feature malt and yeast instead of hops. The first craft beer I ever had, when I was in college and convinced that all beer was Budweiser was St. Rogue’s Red Ale, from Rogue brewing.

A more accurate and actually useful article might be headlined Think All Craft Beer Is Too Hoppy? Think Again.

I know that the only reason this got all the way to Wil Wheaton is that I posted a link to an article on a controversial subject, with a link-baiting headline, and offered no exposition on my part, but it still feels kind of awesome. 

And of course he’s right, there are a lot of craft beers that aren’t hoppy, but here’s my problem. I don’t live in a place with easy access to microbrews. I’m in a small town in a southern state, and not a lot of local independent brewers. I can’t just pop to the store and pick up a Mama’s Little Yella Pils or a Coney Island Lager. Most independent breweries do not have my local area on their distribution list. 

Craft beer is obviously on the rise in popularity in recent years, and so there are places locally who are trying to get into that scene. The problem is that most of what’s carried in those places is on the high end of hops. I don’t know if someone read that it’s what’s popular this season, if it’s what’s the easiest to get in stock, or if it’s what sells the best, but there is no denying that practically everything on tap in this town is really hoppy. 

That is very frustrating to me, as someone who isn’t a fan, and that’s where I was coming from with the blind link to that post. 

Obviously this is getting reblogged left right and center and people on both sides of the argument are fed up. Hooray the internet! But I happened to catch this response, and it’s probably what I should have said in the first place, so thanks for that.