Boozy Belgian?
Tasting session 16
Beer 1 Choices: Munich Helles, German Pils, Witbier, Kölsch
Beer 2 Choices: Doppelbock, Weizenbock, Wee Heavy, Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Beer 3 Choices: Best Bitter, American Amber Ale, Vienna Lager, California Common
Score: 1/3
Beer 1 things to look for:
Munich Helles: leans malty in balance
German Pils: leans bitter in balance
Witbier: orange/coriander
Kölsch: esters/bitterness/T2N (papery/stale flavor)
Notes:
With this sample, I first crossed off Wit- no orange/coriander aroma/flavor and no Belgian yeast character. Kölsch can lean slightly bitter or slightly malty, but there are often fruity esters present that shouldn’t be in a Helles or Pils. Fruity yeast esters and nuances in Kölsch (especially imported Kölsch) can be very hard to detect though.
My first impression was that there was a prominent malt character in the balance, so I was leaning toward Helles. I got some bitterness, but it didn’t seem bitter enough to be a Pils, even when I waited after swallowing to see if the bitterness lingered in. I also wasn’t picking up any fruity esters that would suggest it may be Kölsch. However, after trying my other samples and coming back to this one, I noticed that the bitterness was much stronger this time around, especially after swallowing and waiting. That’s why I chose Pils, and I think I learned a new technique during this tasting.
I’m going to start using the “if I’m not sure right away, come back and try it again later” trick. I think it helped to have beers with different balances before returning to my sample. It seemed to refresh my palate and the nuances stuck out more. I misjudged the bitterness the first time around, but on my second go, it was clearly there. I’m eager to try this again and see if it helps.
Beer 2 things to look for:
Doppelbock: bready malt character, clean yeast
Weizenbock: Weizen yeast (clove and banana)
Wee Heavy: cherry/sherry
Belgian Dark Strong Ale: high carbonation, spicy yeast phenols
Notes:
I detected some booziness in the aroma and a taste test confirmed this, so I could get rid of Doppelbock. Doppelbocks can have some alcohol presence, but they shouldn’t be burney or boozey, and this was. It had lots of fruity esters like banana, but it was leaning more heavily toward dark fruits like figs and plums. This amount of dark fruit character wouldn’t be common in Weizenbock, so I eliminated that. Wee Heavy and Belgian Dark Strong (AKA Belgian Quad) share similar traits- dark fruity esters, high ABV, and some alcohol presence. Like most Belgian beer though, Quads finish relatively dry. There’s little sweetness in the finish, especially for the ABV range.
The sample was sweeter and boozier than I’d expect for a Quad, so I picked Wee heavy. I think this was a good miss though because the Quad used was an American made one. Most of the American made Quads I’ve tried finish heavier and sweeter than the classic Belgian examples. [Go try St. Bernardus 12, an excellent traditional Belgian Quad and be baffled- it’s wild. It’s 10% but drinks like it’s 6%.]
Beer 3 things to look for:
Best Bitter: malt/hop/yeast character
American Amber Ale: US hops/bitterness
Vienna Lager: clean yeast, a less bitter US Amber*
California Common: less bitter and more toasty US Amber
Notes:
I wasn’t detecting much toasty/caramel character in the sample, and it tasted kind of off, so I took a shot in the dark and picked Best Bitter. I bought this beer on a trip and travelled with it, so maybe something went wrong in that process.
To better prepare myself for next time, I learned after some research that American Amber Ales will have strong caramel character, whereas *Vienna Lager and California Common (a beer style that is almost impossible to find) are toasty but usually not caramel/toffee-like. Vienna Lager and California Common seem to have a similar balance in flavor and presentation, but slightly different hop and malt profiles.
