2beerguys beer blog

Balance, but not in the OM sense of the word

So I’m sitting here drinking a Smuttynose IPA, watching the Celtics, and it got me thinking about balance. The C’s are down 32-13 right now, mostly because they’re not playing balanced basketball. But balance play an equally important part in a successful beer. According to our friend Ignace, the measure of a quality beer lies in its balance. It’s ability to provide equal parts of hop bite, malt smoothness, and subtle alcohol if it’s a higher alcohol beer. In the most typical of circumstances, a balanced beer is certainly welcome, and a quality, balanced beer will hardly ever take criticism from me. But sometimes, I’m just in the mood for something completely unbalanced. Unbalanced carries many negative connotations, but it’s a relative term in the realm of beer. The Smutty IPA is unbalanced in all senses of the word. There is hardly any malt backbone; instead a heavy dose of hop bitterness that is very welcome. I’ve written a similar piece before about the Boulder Beer Mojo IPA, but the Smutty IPA takes unbalanced to new heights. Make no mistake, this is not a negative piece about the beer. In fact, this is a glowing review for the beer, because it fits into a niche that is left open by many of those other quality, balanced beers. Sometimes, you’re just in the mood for a really solid, over the top hoppy beer, and that isn’t possible if there are a bunch of malts knocking at the door. So, balance in most things is good, but sometimes, unbalanced is good, and in this case, it’s perfect. Smutty IPA is unbalanced to the point of perfection when you’re looking for some nice, sharp hop bite without any of those pesky malts mucking up the taste.