In search of a bigger, maybe hoppier, high

Today’s Wall Street Journal explains the “current flavor boom.”

“The more you taste something, the more you need to taste it,” says Mitchell Davis, vice president of the James Beard Foundation, a New York-based non-profit that works to preserve American culinary heritage. “You always need something spicier, something more, a bigger high.”

What does this tell us about bigger, bolder, more intense, hoppier beers?

Go read the story about how “bold is replacing boring.” Connect the dots. I’d love to join the conversation but we’re boarding a plane. Tomorrow I’ll be visiting a hop yard.

7 thoughts on “In search of a bigger, maybe hoppier, high”

  1. I LOVE big beers .. HUGE beers .. but those smaller ABV beers most definitely have a very important place in my fridge that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. I like where craft beer is going, but we can’t forget where we came from.

  2. Does the hopyard grow oversized hops? If not, then it may be a boring trip 😉

    I think the bigger, bolder attitude applies to people experiencing something new. After some time though, they grow bored of the escalating intensities and find something else.

    I’ve always been a hop-head. I probably always will be one. Lately though, I’m not in the search of another double IPA, but more in search of hoppy pilsners and bright session ales. I still want my hops, but not by the bucketful.

  3. Mario. Come visit. We have a small hopyard…but we do have a hop with doublet flowers. If you haven’t ever seen one,,they have a bunch of cones in a pile on one strig,,like a droup of grapes. And yes,,,we have a couple varieties that make cones bigger than your palm. Wonderful citrus flavors. Early Sept for harvest,,,Cya?

  4. The “current flavor boom” sounds like more synthetic flavors for all.

    I met some of the folks in the industry a few years ago and was told that most all flavors are created in a lab and are not extracted from plants or food. They had zero interest in concentrated flavors from plants and maintain the “status quo” regarding EAFUS and GRAS status of plants that could be used for flavorings. Besides, they make those flavors in a lab and have no reason to want natural products,,,or have farmers grow the plants so they could extract them.

    Kinda sad given that real flavors from real foods are stunning!

  5. Hey Mario,,back to cyberspace,,,hard drive crash was no fun. Saved the info with quality help. I lucked out.

    The “where” is Embudo, NM. 20 minutes south of Taos and 1hr north of Santa Fe on hwy 68.

    End of Aug into Sept is harvest time,,,we always have a good time harvesting and yacking around picking screens in the nice cold basement,,,come visit!

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