Parislytic

Went to The Frog and British Library yesterday to unwind after a long day at the library, and had a pint of their Parislytic. It's billed as a malty, hoppy English amber ale with a 5.2% alcohol content (I think they could work on their marketing a little). Frankly, I get the malty part, but the world hop shortage must still be taking its toll on craft beer producers in Europe because their "hoppiest" beer was anything but. It's one of my bi disappointments about beer in Paris, and honestly, most beer across Europe. Nobody has discovered quite the way the Americans have how sexy a strongly hopped amber or IPA can be for your palate. But then again, just as in most things, Americans have a capacity to innovate and break with tradition where Europeans still fear to treat. The tradition of craft beer in this part of the world is hundreds, even thousands of years old (although in the 18th century, the French were still throwing animal fat into their beers) so the process is by now ingrained. Regrettably in some cases.