Thanks - will try one so that I can see what you're talking about

It'll probably be a Punk IPA.
From their website ....

Our scene-stealing flagship is an India Pale Ale that has become a byword for craft beer rebellion; synonymous with the insurgency against mass-produced, lowest common denominator beer. Punk IPA charges the barricades to fly its colours from the ramparts – full-on, full-flavour; at full-throttle.

Layered with new world hops to create an explosion of tropical fruit and an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee before a spiky bitter finish, this is transatlantic fusion running at the fences of lost empires.

Nothing will ever be the same again.

See what I mean about PR and marketing.

BrewDog is, for some reason, opening a US production facility here in Columbus. I really want them to just go back from whence they came. We have enough (actually good) craft beer here.

Beer nerds are trying to out hop and our sour each other. As with all nerds, pay no attention to them.

There are a lot of great craft brews. I prefer seasonals and I'm looking forward to the Marzens, pumpkins, and black ales/lagers that come out in the Fall.

[removed personal attack]

BTW, I happen to love hop bombs. I don't expect anyone else necessarily to, but it's a golden age indeed for me.

I too happen to love hop bombs. I'll drink other styles, but I do enjoy my hops.

I love super-hoppy beers. It's a matter of taste. It's not an objective reality that heavily hopped beers suck, that's your opinion. It's not marketing that is responsible for my opinion and IPAs have been around for a long time and aren't some newfangled invention. There are plenty of craft beers that aren't so hop-forward FYI, all you have to do is look without the pretense you are oozing.

Two Hearted Ale is the best beer, best drink and perhaps the best food in the world.

I base my opinion on drinking hundreds of craft beers and coming to the conclusion that most tasted the same and most tasted crap.
I like some hoppy beers but not crap hoppy beers of which there are many,brewed by novices who don't understand that less is more when it comes to brewing.
I also owned a bar for some years so know the odd thing or two about beer.
But I don't have any ironic facial hair so I suppose my opinion counts for nothing.:rolleyes:

I love the hops. Why so fervently oppose having options? Some may prefer sweeter taste of wheats, some the smokiness of porters, some the bright crisp taste of pils.

At the least, you've got options. How about living in a place -- most of the world, in fact -- where there is the same 5 beers offered everywhere, and they're all the same style, or minor variants on the same style of lager.

Has there been an absolute explosion of craft beers and beer styles in the last decade plus? sure

Are all of them necessary? not really

Is it a bad thing ? why would it be. nobody complaints about having thousands of wines on offer most of which require an exquisite palate to differentiate.


My beer 'experimentation' days are over. After probably 500+ different individual ones, i've lost the enthusiasm and novelty of trying new beers... but sure am glad breweries like Flying Dog , Dogfish head, and Bell's exist.

Others have consumed hundreds of craft beers and enjoyed them. It's personal preference and taste. Your opinion is just that: YOUR opinion.

agree, there are too many other styles that are being ignored.

See, I hate Two Hearted and most Bell's beer, thus illustrating the completely objective nature of craft beer tasting/enjoying. Saying things like "all craft beer sucks" or "IPAs are terrible" or "Chicago is the best craft beer city in the world" is like spitting into the wind.

Hops in craft beer has become a parallel to peat in single malts. A little is good, too much is revolting.

THANK YOU!

I drink what I like and don't pretend it isn't crap but I have a friend who will "Only drink local/ craft" beers and he pontificates about their grandness, raving about their superior quality. Really annoying.