"Non-hoppy" beers?

[DogHair]

Scotch ale, English mild, ESB, stout, the list is long. Big hoppy beers are trendy but not the majority. Most beers incorporate hops but in varying degrees. A walk down any well stocked beer aisle offers many options.

[eelhc]

Is it any truth to the fact that IPAs (India Pale Ales) were ales brewed for the the British troops in India and hopped up so it would last the boat trip to India? Seems to me that IPAs have become real popular here in the states but is there such a beer in the UK? All I recall from being in London is one orders a Ale, Lager or Bitter.

[Walter Sobchak]

Stout, Porter, Nut Brown, ESB, Hefeweizen, ... lots of options. Go grab yourself a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and join the dark side.

BINGO!

The dark side's where it's at, and you can never go wrong with Sam Smith's offerings. Their Nutbrown, Oatmeal Stout, and Taddy Porter are all great.

I've been drinking a lot of Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout this summer because it's been on special for a great price at a local store. It's grown on me.

and let me just say that I'm tired of people questioning why I drink "winter" beers in the summer!

I actually enjoy hop-monsters, but I believe I have developed some kind of sensitivity to hops. I get headaches and sometimes full-on migraines after only a few swallows of IPA. No problems with Stouts, Wheats, and Porters, though.

[j_fro]

The finest "not hoppy" beers are the work of diligent monkish hands. I suggest trying Westmalle Dubbel. Fairly widely distributed and runs about 5 bucks for a standard size bottle at most shops. I work in a beer related industry and have tried nearly every style in the BJCP. To me, this is the finest. YMMV.

[Devilpup]

I'm not much of beer person but Boulevard unfiltered wheat is pretty good.

[JPDyson]

The finest "not hoppy" beers are the work of diligent monkish hands.

Listen to this man. Particularly, them Belgian monks know what they're doing.

[RailroadMan]

Also, an old English ale is good in the summer ie Hobgoblin or Old Speckled Hen.

[almueller]

I went to our local Good Ta Go store and got a mix a six. The fella behind the bar was very helpful. He let me taste a triple IPA, which tasted just like champagne, and I liked it very much. But he didn't have any more of those in stock until next week. So far, I tried a Fort Collins Chocolate Stout, a Kona Koko Brown, and Sam Smith Nut Brown, but wouldn't buy any of those again. They did not appeal to me. Thanks for all the additional suggestions. I will keep on trying them until I find something that works and will let you know how "The Quest" is going.

[RailroadMan]

Wow. Really surprised you didn't like the SS Nut Brown. Kona Pipeline Porter is another great beer. Also, it is getting close to the harvest season and Oktobefest-style marzen lagers are being released. Try anything labeled Oktoberfest except New Belgium's Hoptoberfest.

[nrv216]

If you are looking for something low on hoppiness and aren't digging the dark beers go with some Hefeweizens or Wheat beers as someone else mentioned. One craft wheat beer that I enjoy that I have been hard-pressed to find anyone who actually DISLIKES is Three Floyds- Gumballhead. Give it a shot and let us know what you think. It is my firm belief that there is a beer out there for everyone.

Also, once you start developing a pallette for one kind you usually end up liking them all after a while. I used to HATE IPAs but, after smelling fresh hops and sampling them some more I love them! Same thing with Russian imperial stouts.

nrv216

[badgerstate]

There is hop bitterness, that back of the throat harsh feeling. Then hop flavor, harder to define because different varieties have different flavor, Last hop aromas, which tend to be floral or herbal.

For most beers success is in the balance of hops / bitterness and malt / sweetness. The balance is very much affected by temperature. The colder a beer is the more its malt sweetness if suppressed making it taste too bitter. Compare the sweetness profile of a warm soda vs a cold one. If a beer seems over the top, try to let it warm up a bit. The balance may be restored. If allowed to warm too much, the bad taste of most yellow factory beers becomes apparent.

[almueller]

I tried a Vanilla Porter last night and a Kalamzoo Stout this evening. These were better. I would have really liked the stout, except it had licorice added in the brewing process and I don't care for licorice generally. But I thought the stout had a nice smooth finish. I have a Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout, a Dirty Bast*rd Scottish Ale, and a Milk Stout left. Then I plan to get a mix-a-six with some of the recommendations I received above. Thanks for all the help so far!

[markmc]

There is hop bitterness, that back of the throat harsh feeling. Then hop flavor, harder to define because different varieties have different flavor, Last hop aromas, which tend to be floral or herbal.

For most beers success is in the balance of hops / bitterness and malt / sweetness. The balance is very much affected by temperature. The colder a beer is the more its malt sweetness if suppressed making it taste too bitter. Compare the sweetness profile of a warm soda vs a cold one. If a beer seems over the top, try to let it warm up a bit. The balance may be restored. If allowed to warm too much, the bad taste of most yellow factory beers becomes apparent.

This is great advice. Coors has blue mountains on their cans because cold numbs your taste buds, therefore you can't taste what it really tastes like. Most decent beer tastes better warmer than a Coors Light. You can find charts online with temps guidelines for styles. A rough guess is the darker the beer, the warmer it should be served. The difference is pretty amazing when the balance is restored. If you like stout, IMHO there is nothing better than the malty sweetness of a Guinness when the temp is right. Too much cold absolutely kills the taste and makes it bitter.

[YetiDave]

Wheat beers, trappist ales, stout, mild, porter, bitter, a lot of lagers I wouldn't consider particularly hoppy.. As said before - steer away from IPA and you should be alright

[awsmith4]

If you tried a Triple IPA and liked it I have news for you, you may actually like hoppy beers. My wife has always hated beer. She said it was all nasty and bitter. I homebrew and when I first started she smelled the malt and exclaimed how bad it stunk. She said "That is the beer taste I hate!". Fast foward to a day I was brewing an IPA that was quite hoppy, she walks by and says "Wow that smells amazing!". Curious I force feed her the IPA I was drinking at the time and low and behold she loved it. In fact she loves the hoppiest of beers because they don't remind her of her vision of beer.

My point in this is that it may not be the hops you don't like. It could be lager yeast, it could be malt, it could be a type of hops. My recommendation is to do exactly as you are doing and buy mix a sixes to see what you like. Furthermore try and find a beer bar that offers sample flights. Once you find a beer that is to your liking make a note of that style and try others in that category. Another tip, just like wine, beer should not be drank from the bottle. Pour it in a glass, I like oversized wine glasses or snifters. The nose of a good brew can add a lot to the experience.

Last, as a few have already mentioned, try some Belgian brews. Especially Trappist Belgian Quads (see my avatar). These are some of the most unique beers on the planet and there is hardly a wine in the world I would prefer to this style of beer.

[almueller]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I will post later in the weekend to let folks know how the hunt goes.

[badgerstate]

Is it any truth to the fact that IPAs (India Pale Ales) were ales brewed for the the British troops in India and hopped up so it would last the boat trip to India? Seems to me that IPAs have become real popular here in the states but is there such a beer in the UK? All I recall from being in London is one orders a Ale, Lager or Bitter.

Yes and No. Around 1780 a London brewer names George Hodgson saw an opportunity. He negotiated a very good rate for shipping beer from London, close to the docks, to India on ships which had lots of empty space because they mostly brought goods BACK from India. In order to make the beer more biologically stable they loaded it with hops. The beta acids in hops are anti- bacterial. He called it "India Ale". Hodgeson did very well and had a near monopoly on beer to India. To break the monopoly the East India Trading Company worked with brewers from Burton on Trent to ship beer th India.

The India ale was so heavily hopped that it was not even drinkable until it was a year old or more, and the hop bitterness had evolved and softened. Skimming over many facts, folks back in Britain learned about India Ale and brewers began to brew it for the home market, only using less hops. By the late 19th century it had been replaced by less aggressive pale ales and bitters. The craft beer movement in the US essentially revived the style and it is once again brewed in the UK too. In the UK beer is taxed on its alcoholic content, so modern Brit IPA is much lower in alcohol (also a preservative) than the originals. Modern American IPAs have lots of hop bitterness, but virtually no age to them making them harsh and, according to British beer experts, nothing like the original. (summery from the CAMRA book "India Pale Ale")

[badgerstate]

This is great advice. Coors has blue mountains on their cans because cold numbs your taste buds, therefore you can't taste what it really tastes like. Most decent beer tastes better warmer than a Coors Light. You can find charts online with temps guidelines for styles. A rough guess is the darker the beer, the warmer it should be served. The difference is pretty amazing when the balance is restored. If you like stout, IMHO there is nothing better than the malty sweetness of a Guinness when the temp is right. Too much cold absolutely kills the taste and makes it bitter.

A German guy once told me, "We have a saying in Germany, "[wish I had written the German down]" The translation is "You can drink horse piss if you get it cold enough!"

[YetiDave]

Is it any truth to the fact that IPAs (India Pale Ales) were ales brewed for the the British troops in India and hopped up so it would last the boat trip to India? Seems to me that IPAs have become real popular here in the states but is there such a beer in the UK? All I recall from being in London is one orders a Ale, Lager or Bitter.

We do get a lot of IPA, however you need to know where to look for it. Craft beers are really kicking off over here and thankfully we're getting some really amazing beers, particularly IPA. In general though most 'normal' pubs won't sell it due to the way they're licensed - the majority of pubs and bars over here are leasehold, in other words the brewery owns them so they decide what gets sold and what doesn't. If you want real quality stuff you need to find a freehold

[bsimmons534]

I too do not like the "hoppy" beers. I have found many different dark beers to be excellent. My favorite is "Shiner Bohemian Black Lager". Pretty much anything by Shiner is a good beer, as none of them have a big "hoppy" taste. Another good one is Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale.