Lately I have had an ever increasing taste for extreme complexiousness (yeah I know the word is complexity but this is too extreme!), so much so that I have a hard time imagining drinking any kind of "simple" beer. I assume others may "suffer" from this affliction as well. Can anyone suggest something simple that might snap me back into reality?
You're not suffering anything. You're just seeing the light. Give me a ring when you start appreciating Old English 800 3.2 or Busch Light and then we'll talk.
Boston Lager. Or stop being a d-bag. "I have a hard time imagining drinking any kind of "simple" beer." Talk about first world problems.
Lol relax dude... breathe... I was at a hotel last night and the best thing they had was FW IPA, It tasted awesome! So did boston lager, SN PA, and even Blue Moon. I quarentee you snap out of it OP, when your forced to make do with what's available.
Slam back a case of bud light tonight to recalibrate. Then tomorrow crack an SNPA or something similar... it'll taste great.
I pretty much have a similar problem, when people ask what styles I like when I am done telling them I think to myself they are all big bold beers, DIPAs, RISs, BBAed beers, Barleywines, sours etc. I don't think I ever mention the lighter styles. I mean on occasion I will drink session style beers, like just last night I really liked Gumballhead, but more often than not, I want to be kicked in the face with flavor.
This is a problem with the American palate overall. We equate bigger with better. It's why every single list of "best beers" is dominated by those with the highest ABV or bigger, boldest flavor profile. It's why our food is simultaneously the sweetest and saltiest across the board. It's just the way it is.
ABV doesn't equate to flavor, I agree with that, take lambics and gueuze for instance, usually low in alcohol but packed to the brim with flavor. I don't think there is anything wrong with preferring more flavorful beers.
I have the same kind of problem. Mine kind of comes from the cost of good beer though. If I'm spending the amount of money that craft costs, I always want to try something new. And at this point in my beer drinking career "something new" usually equates to something complex. Occasionally I'll drink something kind of simple, like an IPA, but even then it has to be a bold IPA. I used to love Deschutes Inversion and Mirror Pond, SNPA, Full Sail Pale Ale, etc, etc but now they just make me go . For me, these days, "basic" beer would be a black IPA, which is still much more complex than a basic IPA. I'm with Hanzo though, if someone asks my favorite style my response is always imperial stouts, barrel-aged beers, etc. I love getting the most bang for my buck (and I don't mean ABV-wise). I like it when I can sit and sip and explore the flavors, the ins and outs and complexity. So I'm with you OP.
Complex does not equate to better beer. You can stick a turd and a handful of cheetos on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to make it more complex, but I'd prefer the plain version that tastes good.
Mix a cantillon lambic, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, and a really hoppy DIPA and see if you can handle the complexity
Hmmm, did he get fries at McDonald's and then go buy a Pepsi at, say, Taco Bell? If so, that reeks of complexion.
I am kind of the same way, but lately Boston Lager has been tasting delicious. Also, a session beer that is fantastic is Sun King Osiris Pale Ale at only 5.6% abv
I love when people know what fast food chain carries what popular soda brand. Warms my heart. It does.
This doesn't sound like a problem to me at all; if you want more complexity, there's nothing wrong with that, I would think that going for more Coors Lite would be a bigger problem.
I would highly disagree with this statement in general. Ever had Foie gras or mexican candy? I would argue that there are more additives in our food, but flavor wise I actually think American food is bland and tasteless in comparison to many other cultures. And that's ok, because I detest bland food. American beer until recently was in fact on average, VERY bland. The craft boom seemed to change that for the better, but if you ask me, in many regards, the ideas were actually borne from the love of foreign beer.
To me "simple" beer does equate "bland" beer. I also have started to enjoy stronger flavoured beers more often (RIS, barrel aged & strong Belgians in particular) but I still regularly enjoy simpler styles such as a Pislner , Pale Ale, Porter or Stout.
No but American Adjunct lagers which dominate the macro market IMO are bland beers! When you consider light beer is not brewed that way, and is american adjunct lager cut with more water, it speaks volumes. I am by no way defacing traditional style lagers or pilsners. I personally do not consider pale ales, porters or stouts, to even be simple beers!
I think you're somewhat missing the point of what he's saying. Most americans equate HFCS and salt with flavorful. An appreciator of food will like something like a delicate salad over pre-made salty french fries, but to the "average american" the salad is boring and the salt is "flavorful" He's saying the same thing goes for the american beer palate, which I agree with to some extent, though on the flip side many of those huge beers also offer serious complexity. As complex as a sour ale barrel-aged over fruit, coffee and cocoa nibs, dry hopped and bottle conditioned with maple syrup and brettanomyces? Maybe not. But maybe?
Our food is the sweetest because the AG companies make shitloads of corn syrup, and own/put it in everything.
You won't get an argument from me that the most of the mass produced North American lagers are quite bland. I found them bland before discovering craft beer. I used to not like beer because of that stuff.
And also that the owners of the GMo patents sue the shit out of farmers for all of their land if ANY of their plants are found on the property... even ones blown onto the property by the wind.... The other really nice part is that the gmo plants are modified to resist the chemicals (literally agent orange) that the corn companies also make and sell, so once you use the modified plants and the chemicals once, nothing else will grow on the land... except the modified plants. MAN, GIMME A BUD LIGHT.
