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.
Stout, Porter, Nut Brown, ESB, Hefeweizen, ... lots of options. Go grab yourself a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout and join the dark side.
The finest "not hoppy" beers are the work of diligent monkish hands.
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.
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.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.
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 **** if you get it cold enough!"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.
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.