Helles Bock (Maibock) & Amber Struggles

Tasting session 2

Beer 1 Choices: Munich Helles, International Pale Lager, Kölsch, Helles Bock

Beer 2 Choices: American Amber Ale, British Brown Ale, American Brown Ale, International Amber Lager

Score: 1/2

Beer 1 things to look for:

Munich Helles: lighter body, clean yeast profile, German malts and hops

International Pale Lager: lighter body, clean yeast profile, neutral malt and hop profile

Kölsch: lighter body, fruity esters

Helles Bock: bigger alcohol/heavier body, pronounced malt and hops

Notes:

Notes: Are there any fruity esters? If so, Kölsch is the answer as it is the only beer in the list that features esters. Is there detectable alcohol and a slightly heavy body? If so, Helles Bock is the only one on the list that fits that bill. Munich Helles is the smaller version of the Helles Bock- the same balance that leans ever so slightly toward malt sweetness, but brewed to a much lower ABV.

Munich Helles and International Pale Lager are very similar. Both are light in body, include a neutral yeast profile, and have a similar balance. I would look at the malt profile of each beer to try to tell the difference. Due to the Reinheitsgebot (if you want to call your beer a “beer” in Germany, it may only contain malted barley, yeast, hops, and water), the Helles will only feature barley. The international Pale Lager can have rice, corn, and other adjuncts in addition to malted barley that can give it a similar flavor profile to American Lagers.

However, I could sense a lot of alcohol right away when tasting this one, and Helles Bock it was. Correct!

Beer 2 things to look for:

American Amber Ale- clean yeast profile, hop bitterness/American hop character

British Brown Ale- fruity esters

American Brown Ale- clean yeast profile (or very low esters), low bitterness

International Amber Lager: clean yeast profile, subdued hop bitterness

Notes:

I did not detect fruity esters, so I eliminated British Brown. I detected noticeable hop character and bitterness, so I decided to pick between American Amber and American Brown and toss out International Amber Lager (IAL). In my brain, since the bitterness level seemed high, it had to be an American style. Since Ambers are more bitter than Browns, I picked American Amber. 

The correct answer was International Amber Lager. These beers are known to lean slightly bitter or slightly malty depending on the brewery, but the intensity of the hops and malt are lower than those in American Amber Ales. Aibita Amber is a lager, not an ale, so in theory it should have a lighter body than the American Amber. I wasn’t tasting the two side by side though, and since IALs and Amerian Ambers usually share a similar ABV range, I threw out that test. I’m eager to get a different example of IAL; I have a feeling that the American craft version isn’t the best representation of the style.