A recent observation by my friend and colleague Lew Bryson [http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2007/08/sam-adams-hallertau-imperial-pilsner.html] started me thinking again about a recurring theme in my own writing, that being balance in beer. The line that stimulate this reverie comes in the comments section following Lew's review of the Samuel Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner, a beer which, I hasten to add, I have not tasted at time of writing: "But this dude seems off on the "balanced throughout." This baby is anything but balanced. And it glories in that."
Can a beer be hoppy and balanced? Can it be unbalanced and still well-constructed? Is big and balanced the holy grail of so-called "extreme brewing"?
Yes, no and yes, says I. And I'll tell you why.
For me, at least, balance and assertiveness are two different animals. There exist many a beer that I find to be gloriously hoppy, filled with wonderfully bitter notes of pine. Or spice. Or citrus. Or a combination of the above and many other flavours besides. But that needn't mean they are out of balance, so long as the supporting cast of malt and alcohol and the myriad other flavours of fermentation show up for the ride. That's the beauty of the best of the double IPAs, in which unrepentant bitterness is supported by plentiful fruit, caramel and chocolate notes, a reasonable level of residual sugar and some backbone-strengthening alcohol. They're assertively hoppy, yes, but not unbalanced.
An unbalanced hoppy beer, on the other hand, is going to attack the sensitive sides of your mouth in the same fashion as will a slug of vinegar or intense blast of hot pepper, although obviously with different flavours. Some people love this sensation, the same way that certain people relish hotter and hotter hot sauces, which is why unbalanced hoppy beers persist. For me, however, pain is not a preferred part of my beer drinking experiences, so I tend to shy away from beers that lack balance.
Incidentally, it's not just hoppy beers that can be unbalanced. Malty ales and lagers may also show poor balance, which is why the adjective "cloying" shows up from time to time in tasting notes on everything from mainstream-styled lagers to Scotch ales. (And yes, there is a fan base for these beers, too.) In fact, just about any attribute in beer that can be positive, from spicing to bourbon barrel aging to Brettanomyces-spawned sourness, can also appear in unbalanced, and unappealing, form.
I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in my feelings. As much as balance is a difficult topic to address - defining what is and what is not balanced, within the context of the individuality of taste, is a bit like arbitrating what is and what is not good music - there is a definite preference for balanced beers among what might be called the Internet community of beer aficionados, from those who frequent Rate Beer and Beer Advocate to the crew of regulars at the Burgundian Babble Belt and the Real Beer Community. Throughout, the American brewers who attract the greatest all-around praise are those who pay the greatest attention to balance, from Port Brewing/Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur to Russian River's Vinnie Cilurzo to Rob Todd of Allagash Brewing. Almost without exception, they and the other "superstars" of craft brewing are indeed the ones making this thing called "balance" the holy grail of big beer.
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