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:
After trying a sip of this beer, I found the hop bitterness to be extremely aggressive. It reminded me of the double IPAs I had in college that were marketed as being bitter in a macho/you can't even handle these hops sort of way. With that I immediately eliminated Wee Heavy and Belgian Dark Strong Ale, as neither of those styles typically feature aggressive hop profiles. English Barleywines are known more for their malt character than their hop bitterness; however, English Barleywines do typically have high hopping rates as the bitterness is key to balance all of the malt sweetness. The intensity of hop bitterness in this beer though was extreme to the max (what’s more American than that?).
Turns out my theory was wrong- this was an English Barleywine from England. It wasn’t one of the typified examples noted in our exam guidelines, so maybe this just happens to be a more bitter example of the style. Which is totally fair and respectable. Or maybe I just blew it- but the English Barleywines I’ve had in the past like J.W. Lee’s Vintage Harvest Ale tasted nothing like this. J.W.’s was a showcase for malt and the bitterness was more of a balancer than main feature.
Beer 2 things to look for:
German Pils- hoppy/bitter, clean yeast profile
Munich Helles: German malt character, clean yeast, restrained bitterness
Kölsch- fruity esters
American Light Lager: neutral malt/yeast/hop profile
Notes:
I didn’t detect any fruity yeast esters, so I eliminated Kölsch first. I did detect some bitterness, and the malt character was deeper and more complex than that of American Light Lagers, so that was the next beer I eliminated. So it was the ol’ Helles vs Pils showdown. Both of these beers feature ingredients that have similar character- clean/neutral yeast profiles and German malt/hops. The big difference is the balance. The Pils leans bitter while the Helles leans slightly malty. I took a sip of the beer and waited. Sure enough the bitterness started to creep in a few seconds after swallowing, increasing for another few seconds before subsiding. Bitterness is interesting that way, it can build on the palate over time. Since I had that experience drinking this beer, I guessed German Pils and was correct.
