Best Bitter is the Best
Tasting session 22
Beer 1 Choices: Strong Bitter, Helles Bock, American Pale Ale, American Brown Ale
Beer 2 Choices: American Wheat Beer, Witbier, Weissbier, Belgian Blond Ale
Beer 3 Choices: Best Bitter, American Pale Ale, Vienna Lager, International Amber Lager
Beer 4 Choices: Festbier, Cream Ale, Witbier, Munich Helles
Score: 4/4
Beer 1 things to look for:
Strong Bitter: esters, UK malt/hops
Helles Bock: booze, malt forward, clean yeast
American Pale Ale: US hops, bitter, clean yeast
American Brown Ale: US hops, clean yeast, toasty/chocolate?
Notes:
A visual inspection didn’t give anything away, but the aroma had rich malty/toasty/bready notes that were indicative of Helles Bock. There wasn’t US hop character in the aroma, and a taste test confirmed this- that eliminated American Pale and American Brown. It wasn’t leaning very caramelly/chocolatey either, so that was another vote against American Brown. I also detected no UK hop, malt, or yeast character (allspice, earthiness, biscuits, orange marmalade), so I eliminated Strong Bitter. This beer had the alcohol presence that would suggest Helles Bock in addition to the toasty/Millard malt presence. Having a clean (neutral) yeast profile sealed the deal for Helles Bock.
Beer 2 things to look for:
American Wheat Beer: clean yeast, US hops, orange/spice?
Witbier: orange/coriander/esters
Weissbier: 4VG (clove)/isoamyl acetate (banana)
Belgian Blond Ale: phenols, esters, malt forward, high carbonation/head
Notes:
The aroma gave away a lot here: tons of banana with some clove/allspice. I suspected it was the familiar Weizen yeast smell, but Belgian Blond can have these characteristics as well, so I moved on to a taste test. I confirmed there were no US hop characteristics to suggest American Wheat nor upfront coriander/orange peel typical in a Wit. The visual/mouthfeel inspection for carbonation seemed too low to be Belgian, and it didn’t seem dry enough to be Belgian either. Also, as the sample warmed up, the Weizen yeast character seemed even more evident, so I went with Weissbier.
Beer 3 things to look for:
Best Bitter: fruity esters
American Pale Ale: clean yeast, US hops
Vienna Lager: German amber, clean yeast
International Amber Lager: light body/neutral/bitter?, clean yeast
Notes:
Another aroma giveaway! Right off the bat, I was pretty certain this had to be English: orange marmalade, freshly baked biscuits, dried hay, and nut brittle. A taste test confirmed these English hallmarks of flavor. To seal the deal, there wasn’t US hop character, and the fruity notes in the sample that came from the yeast esters eliminated both of the lagers. This beer was crazy delicious. I can’t wait to go to England!!
Beer 4 things to look for:
Festbier: clean yeast, heavier Helles
Cream Ale: US light lager flavor/corn?
Witbier: orange/coriander/esters
Munich Helles: malt forward, clean yeast
Notes:
The sniff test was only enough to eliminate Wit here- no yeast character and no orange/coriander. My gut told me Cream Ale based upon aroma, as it reminded me of the mild and neutral nature of an American Lager. A taste test confirmed this suspicion, but I kept hemming and hawing because while I could eliminate Festbier due to lack of malt richness, Helles can be quite subtle and light. I let the sample warm up a bit and did another taste test: extremely thin body, no detectable hop character, and not much malt flavor/complexity; so I went with Cream Ale.
