Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2001 11:20 am
John,
Relax. I was just trying to ruffle your feathers a little. I certainly know that you guys understand your beers! I also give Cass a hard time every time he comes to Buffalo about his IPA-addiction - but it is all in fun!
A few notes though...
1. A "Hopback" is simply a tool used to remove hops from the boil. It is used in even the weakest-hopped lager styles.
2. The "Strong Bitter" style really isn't very bitter. Once upon a time, there were essentially two main types of draft beer in the UK - "bitter" and "mild"
In the strictest sense, a "bitter" is simply more bitter than a "mild" and vice versa. A bitter is a "hop-accented" beer, but not neccesarily a "hoppy beer." Pale Ales and IPAs are progeny of the bitter style. Originally, many considered "pale ale" to just be the bottled version of a "bitter." The "strong" in "strong bitter" is referring to alcohol content, not to bitterness.
In most brewer's portfolios today, the hop levels of their "hop-accented" beers go as follows - ordinary bitter < special/best bitter < strong bitter < extra-special bitter (ESB) < pale ale < IPA. In other words, a "bitter" will usually be less BITTER than a pale ale.
For a great summary of beer styles - go to http://www.mv.com/ipusers/slack/bjcp/style-index.html
Anyway - just to re-iterate. I didn't mean to hurt any feelings - I was just hoping for some lively responses - that's the fun of a discussion forum!
The most important thing is to be PASSIONATE about beer (no questions with you guys - sometimes I think it may be approaching a sickness). And - of course - drink what YOU like!
Cheers
_________________
Lyle Ostrow
Premier Gourmet
3465 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, NY 14217
tel:(716) 877-3574
email: premierbeer@adelphia.net
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-08-15 11:22 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-08-15 11:23 ]</font>
Relax. I was just trying to ruffle your feathers a little. I certainly know that you guys understand your beers! I also give Cass a hard time every time he comes to Buffalo about his IPA-addiction - but it is all in fun!
A few notes though...
1. A "Hopback" is simply a tool used to remove hops from the boil. It is used in even the weakest-hopped lager styles.
2. The "Strong Bitter" style really isn't very bitter. Once upon a time, there were essentially two main types of draft beer in the UK - "bitter" and "mild"
In the strictest sense, a "bitter" is simply more bitter than a "mild" and vice versa. A bitter is a "hop-accented" beer, but not neccesarily a "hoppy beer." Pale Ales and IPAs are progeny of the bitter style. Originally, many considered "pale ale" to just be the bottled version of a "bitter." The "strong" in "strong bitter" is referring to alcohol content, not to bitterness.
In most brewer's portfolios today, the hop levels of their "hop-accented" beers go as follows - ordinary bitter < special/best bitter < strong bitter < extra-special bitter (ESB) < pale ale < IPA. In other words, a "bitter" will usually be less BITTER than a pale ale.
For a great summary of beer styles - go to http://www.mv.com/ipusers/slack/bjcp/style-index.html
Anyway - just to re-iterate. I didn't mean to hurt any feelings - I was just hoping for some lively responses - that's the fun of a discussion forum!
The most important thing is to be PASSIONATE about beer (no questions with you guys - sometimes I think it may be approaching a sickness). And - of course - drink what YOU like!
Cheers
_________________
Lyle Ostrow
Premier Gourmet
3465 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, NY 14217
tel:(716) 877-3574
email: premierbeer@adelphia.net
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-08-15 11:22 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lyle on 2001-08-15 11:23 ]</font>