Seth and Uncle Marvin

I met Seth and Uncle Marvin at the Brekenridge Brewery's Blake Street Pub today. Seth was in from Seattle and Uncle Marvin was local. They got a flight of the taster glasses of beer.

Seth is a beer guy, and despite living in the heart of Seattle (near Lake Washington) he likes balanced beers and lighter beers like hefeweizen's.

Uncle Marvin liked Brek's Agave Wheat. The Agave (cactus, I believe), gives it a nice tang. I turned Seth onto the Ballpark Brown (one of my favorites), but he was a Summer Bright (Lager) fan. I am more of a fan of Left Hand's Polestar Pilsner (also on tap as a guest beer at the Brek pub downtown). See my experience at this year's Craft Lager Festival.

I found it interesting that he thought that beer in Seattle was over hopped. I haven' t tried enough to make that determination, but I like balence in my beer. I expect someone from Seattle to be accostomed to the local styles and prefer them. I guess not.

I have found that I enjoy hoppier beers more now than ever, but I would never want them exclusively. More as a curiousity, or an occassional. I would rather have a traditional English Brown Ale, like the Ballpark at Brekenridge. Does knowledge of beer lead to a like/desire for hoppier beers, or just an acceptance of them?

I just don't think that they are the end all, be all, of the beer world. Where do you stand?