hoppier

Hoppier is a term used in beer tasting and brewing to describe a beer with a stronger hop character than a reference beer. It is the comparative form of hoppy, derived from hops, the flowers used to flavor and preserve beer. The word is qualitative and subjective, commonly found in reviews, brewing notes, and beer-centric discussions.

Brewers achieve hoppier character through a combination of methods. Increasing overall hop dosage, placing more hops late in the boil, or employing dry hopping can elevate hop aroma and flavor. Using high alpha-acid hop varieties or hop oils also enhances bitterness and aroma. The result is often a beer with more pronounced hop-derived notes such as citrus, pine, floral, or resinous aromas, and a more noticeable hop-driven bitterness. However, a beer can be hoppier in aroma without being significantly more bitter, depending on the balance of malt and the hop schedule.

Relation to beer styles and measurement. The term is frequently applied to IPAs and pale ales, but it can describe any beer that features hops prominently. Because hoppiness is subjective, the label "hoppier" is relative to a baseline beer and not a standardized metric. Bitterness is sometimes quantified by International Bitterness Units (IBU), but IBU does not fully capture aroma or flavor intensity, which are central to what many tasters mean by hoppier.

See also: hop, hoppy, dry hopping, hop-forward, IBU.