Hey, Rich,

My question is about hoppiness in beer. What is it about certain beers that leaves a terrible finish in your mouth and have a nasty aroma to them? I notice it most in beers that say “generously hopped” or other things like that. However, a Dogfish Head IPA I bought said that on the label and it was a great brew. Am I blaming the wrong ingredient? I mostly like dark beer and mostly ales. Now, also realize that I haven’t traveled and been exposed to the variety that you have. I like the recommendations you make and will try to find some of those beers and give them a shot. Thanks for time. Glenn

The “Beers To You” Answer:

Dear Glenn,

You pose a very good question. First, let me begin by letting you know that the “terrible finish” you describe isn’t terrible to everyone. That taste is the residual bitterness imparted by hops that are boiled longer, specifically to release bittering compounds. Some bitterness is essential to balance out the natural residual sweetness in beer. Sometimes the brewer’s preference is to tilt the scale towards “bitter,” which is obviously the flavor you dislike. You are not blaming the wrong ingredient when you point the finger at hops, but as you have discovered, hops can also be your friend.

Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA definitely contains a large quantity of hops; in fact hops are added continuously during the 60-minute boiling process. The beer’s brewer, Sam Calagione, won’t tell us the quantity, dosages or even varieties of hop used. But we do know that in the end we have a very hoppy beer that is balanced; not too bitter, not too sweet. The quantity and dosage intervals are what make the difference here. Sam has obviously extracted most of the bitterness from later additions of hops, thereby softening the “hop bite” associated with most “uber-hoppy” pale ales.

As for the “nasty” aroma; I doubt that it’s hop aroma you are smelling, especially in lieu of the fact that you really like the very aromatic 60-minute IPA. Maybe you are buying stale beer. If it has a skunky smell, then the beer is what is often called “Light struck”, meaning that it has been overexposed to UV light. A chemical reaction takes place with the hop compounds resulting in the same “Pepe Le Pew” chemical that a skunk produces. Green bottles are notorious for this. Try a different shop and try to buy it cold and away from the windows!

Cheers! Rich

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