Altbier and Bock Beer
Tasting session 18
Beer 1 Choices: Strong Bitter, Irish Red Alge, International Amber Lager, Altbier
Beer 2 Choices: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, Weizenbock, Wee Heavy, Dunkles Weissbier
Score: 2/2
Beer 1 things to look for:
Strong Bitter: fruity yeast esters, hop and yeast character
Irish Red Ale: malt forward, possible diacetyl/esters
International Amber Lager: clean yeast, possibly bitter, neutral character
Altbier: bitter, malty
Notes:
The sample had a delicious malt character reminiscent of bread crust, Maillard brownage, and toasted almonds. There was some noticeable bitterness, but it lacked yeast character, so I could eliminate Strong Bitter. It was also too bitter to be an Irish Red. The flavor presentation of Altbier and Intl Amber is similar: toasty, nutty, bordering on caramel but not too sweet, perceivable bitterness, and a lighter body. The big difference is the amount of richness/boldness.
These are relative terms, but I’d liken the comparison to Munich Helles vs American Lager. Both have a similar balance with low bitterness, a malt profile that’s not in your face, and a very light body with low sweetness. Tasting these side by side would reveal that the balances are similar, but the malt and hop character in the Helles is deeper, more characterful, and more complex than the American Lager. I only had the one sample though and wasn’t doing a side-by-side, so I had to ask myself: is the hop and malt presence rich and deep, or more neutral and subdued. The flavor was punchy and rich, so I picked Altbier.
Beer 2 things to look for:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale: spicy phenols, fruity esters, high carbonation, booze?
Weizenbock: Weizen yeast, booze/body, wheat
Wee Heavy: cherry/sherry/booze/body
Dunkles Weissbier: Weizen yeast, not bitter, wheat
Notes:
At first sniff, I had a suspicion it was Weizenbock or Dunkles Weissbier. The aroma was heavy on the wheat with the characteristic banana/clove yeast character typical for these beers. The presence of spice eliminated Wee Heavy, but Belgian Dark Strong (Belgian Quad) can have banana/clove (in addition to other fruits/spices).
The first sip revealed the sample to be a Bock beer. There’s a familiar alcohol character I’ve experienced in Bock beers that isn’t warming or boozy like you’d find in most high ABV beers. It’s a unique alcohol presence that is so well balanced by the other ingredients that it’s perceivable, but not in your face. This sample had that, so I chose Weizenbock. To back up my guess, the carbonation and dryness (lack of sweetness) was too low to be a Quad, and the alcohol presence eliminated Dunkles Weissbier.
