Looking on the bright side of the hop shortage

Both hops and barley prices are way up this year, and brewers are feeling the pinch; especially local craft brewers, and drinkers, who aren’t fond of adjuncts like corn or rice.

But I am hopeful the result, other than $5+ pints, will be some lighter, more complex beers.

I can appreciate the malty and bitter jolt of a powerfully hopped IPA on occasion, but local drinkers’ obsession with the style baffles me; if the bitterness stuns my tongue into numbness, how am I to taste anything besides the hops?

Give me a tart and sweet lambic, a strong roasty porter, a true European-style pilsner, an ale where the sweet bready malt doesn’t disappear behind the bitter flowery hops!