Oh For One

Tasting session 3

Beer Choices: Dunkles Weissbier, Doppelbock, Belgian Dark Strong Ale, Wee Heavy

Score: 0/1

Dunkles Weissbier: banana/clove yeast notes

Doppelbock: German malt character, clean yeast

Belgian Dark Strong Ale: phenols (spicy yeast notes), heavy esters, alcohol warmth

Wee Heavy: low esters, heavy body

Notes:

Is there the classic banana ester/clove phenol Weissbier yeast character? No, so that can be eliminated. It’s possible for Belgian Dark Strong Ale (BDSA) to have fruity esters and spicy phenols, but usually clove doesn’t dominate the aroma or flavor. Next up for Doppelbock- there was certainly some yeast character going on, so I eliminated that.

So it was between BDSA and Wee Heavy. The guidelines we follow for the Advanced Cicerone exam say that BDSAs may have subdued alcohol warmth, a dry mouthfeel, and not much residual sweetness. Wee Heavies are said to have prominent booziness, sweetness, and a dense mouthfeel. They say a “thick, chewy, somewhat creamy viscosity”. Side note: describing a beer as chewy seems strange to me, but who am I?

Before tasting beer, it’s common to let it warm up slightly before tasting. Aroma compounds are more volatile when warm, so it’s easier to pick up more aroma that way. After letting the sample sit, the booze really came out of the BDSA and the beer was quite warming. There was for sure fruit, but since the booziness was so prominent, I thought it had to be a Wee Heavy. Wrong.

As you’ll read if you check out more of my sessions, Wee Heavies have been and continue to be my achilles heel. I really hope I get one on my test and get it right.