How you feel about these beers will depend on how you feel about the assertive flavor of American hops. Some of these beers seemed to be closer in style to American India Pale Ales, which can show intense hop bitterness rather than the stylistically preferred medium strength.

Right now, the American beer culture seems to be in love with the character of American hops. But I often find their intensity to be overbearing. They dominate other flavors and tend to homogenize styles that should be distinctive. It’s a little bit like oakiness in wine. American wine drinkers fell in love with oak flavors in the 1980s and ’90s, and many winemakers intensified their use of oak. But many consumers tired of these flavors, and pervasive oakiness has receded over time. I believe the same will happen with the ubiquitous hoppiness of American beers.

Hoppy as they may be, I can’t deny that we found many fine beers, none better than Stoudt’s Revel Red, which does not mince words, calling itself a Hoppy Ale. Yes, it was hoppy, but as with all our favorites, the malt character was apparent as well, beautifully integrated here in a lovely counterpoint with the hops. Sadly, Stoudt’s brews this beer seasonally, finishing just as spring starts. Clearly, the brewery needs convincing as to the category’s spring-worthiness.

Our No. 2 beer was the Lagunitas Censored, described as “Rich Copper Ale,” a more restrained beer than the Revel Red, but once again showing a gorgeous balance between malt and hop flavors. Why is it called Censored? According to the Lagunitas Web site, the federal government did not approve of the original name, Kronik, which it suggested was a reference to marijuana. “We slapped a ‘Censored’ sticker on it as a joke, and they accepted it,” the brewery said. “Whatever.”

Ithaca apparently had no such government issue with its Cascazilla Red Ale, a clear, complex and brisk brew. Nor did Rogue, with its Red Fox Amber Ale, our No. 4 beer, with its intertwining malt and hop flavors. The Rogue was the first among our top 10 to use the term “amber,” though it confuses the matter by throwing in “red” as well. Anderson Valley Brewing took a more straightforward approach with its Boont Amber Ale, our No. 5. It was sweetly malty and even slightly fruity with underlying hop bitterness.

I should note that our top three brews were among those in our tasting with higher levels of alcohol. Stoudt’s was at 6.2, Lagunitas at 6.75, Ithaca at a full 7.0. Rogue at 5.1 and Anderson Valley at 5.8 were a little more restrained. What does this mean? Only that I might be happier knocking back a few Red Foxes on a sunny afternoon to celebrate the start of baseball season than a few Cascazillas.

The beers we didn’t like tended to be overly shrill and out of balance with hop flavors, or to be simply anemic. Too much maltiness did not seem to be a problem.

Our tasting offered just a cross section of the many, many American craft beers that fall into this category. Clearly, even defined as Amber/Red, the designation covers a very wide range of flavors and styles. It pays to get to know the styles of the various producers, and to know your own tastes. When you invite Brother American Amber to the table, he brings along an extended family.