Decoction Concoction

Tasting session 21

Beer 1 Choices: International Dark Lager, Munich Dunkel, American Brown Ale, British Brown Ale

Beer 2 Choices: Munich Helles, Witbier, Kölsch, American Lager

Beer 3 Choices: Saison, Belgian Blond Ale, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, American Wheat Beer

Score: 1/3

Beer 1 things to look for:

International Dark Lager: neutral/light body

Munich Dunkel: Millard brownage character, clean yeast, not bitter

American Brown Ale: US hops, clean yeast

British Brown Ale: esters, UK malt

Notes:

Something was off with this sample- it was sour with fruity character and some sort of earthy funk going on. I knew something was wrong, but I wanted to make a best guess. Due to the fruity character, I picked British Brown, since it’s the only one on the list that would exhibit upfront fruity notes. I’ve gotten bad Moose Drool in the past that exhibited yogurt-like tartness, so something must be going on with the handling/storage of these beers at my local stores. 

Beer 2 things to look for:

Munich Helles: malt forward, clean yeast

Witbier: orange/coriander/esters

Kölsch: esters, possible T2N (oxidized/papery), possible bitterness

American Lager: light body/neutral profile/not bitter/clean yeast

Notes:

A sniff test was enough to determine that this was not a Witbier (no fruity/spice character), and the malt presence was much richer and more characterful than I’d expect in an American Lager. A taste test confirmed this. After swallowing, bitterness lingered in, but not in a super bold way. My gut said that the malt character was very Helles-like, but the amount of bitterness made me doubt myself. 

I didn’t detect any esters, so that was a vote for Helles. There was for sure some noticeable hop bitterness, so that was a vote for Kölsch. There can be some bitterness/hop character in Helles, but it’s typically there to balance sweetness and remains more in the background. It tasted papery/oxidized (T2N), and that should have been a vote for Kölsch, but I told myself that an exported lager like Helles could also have some oxidation character (which I stand by). Discerning the malt profile differences between these beers can be really difficult, especially in a blind tasting setting like this. I ended up picking Helles because that was my initial gut reaction when I first tried it, primarily based upon the malt character. 

I learned a lot when trying to dissect this one in an attempt to figure out how to get it right in the future. I opened up a Reissdorf Kölsch and Paulaner Münchner Hell to get some more comparisons going. There were a couple interesting takeaways. If there is lingering bitterness in the finish or upfront bitterness in the balance, that’s indicative of a Kölsch, not Helles. This is what I will use as my main decider next time, especially since esters in these imported Kölsches can be so subtle/absent. 

Something really interesting that I observed was the difference in finish regarding the malt character. The Helles had a noticeably rounder/longer malt finish, whereas both of the Kölsches had a much drier/shorter finish. This distinction is kind of hard to understand without tasting them side by side, but the difference would be like tasting a piece of supermarket white bread vs a piece of homemade white bread. They have the same subtle bready theme and flavor, but one is richer and fuller. Why did I detect this in the Helles? My guess is decoction.

In beer making, before the kettle is boiled and hops get added, the malt is steeped in warm water to extract fermentable sugars. A traditional German and Czech technique during this process (called the mash) is called a decoction mash. Instead of simply raising the temperature of the mash to the next desired temperature rest, a portion of the mash gets removed, boiled, then added back into the main mash to raise the temperature. This creates a lot of melanoidins, the yummy brownage that occurs when brown bits are left at the bottom of the pan after searing protein. The Maillard character developed creates a deeper flavor and different mouthfeel that is often described as smoother/rounder/richer. This was on full display when trying the Kölsches next to the decocted Helles. While this was observable tasting the beers side-by-side, it may not be as easy when doing a blind tasting, so I think the bitterness test is still the best way to decide between the two. 

Beer 3 things to look for:

Saison: spicy phenols, bitterness, fruity esters

Belgian Blond Ale: phenols, esters, malt forward

Belgian Golden Strong Ale: high esters, phenols, dry, slight booze

American Wheat Beer: US hops, clean yeast, orange character?

 Notes:

Aroma revealed a lot here: it smelled just like a German Weissbier. Tons and tons of banana upfront, with some clovey spice in the background. The presence of yeast character eliminated American Wheat right away. Tasting it revealed the Belgian qualities: dry (not too sweet), noticeable bitterness (Weissbier isn’t very bitter), and strong carbonation. The dominating banana character and sweetness helped to eliminate Saison, which I’d expect to be more pepper-forward, dry, and bitter leaning. The fuller body, malt-forward balance, and lack of boozieness/bitterness sealed the deal for Belgian Blond.