Battle of the Browns

Tasting session 27

Beer 1 Choices: Munich Helles, German Pils, American Light Lager, Kölsch

Beer 2 Choices: Munich Dunkel, British Brown Ale, American Brown Ale, International Dark Lager

Beer 3 Choices: Weizenbock, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Saison, Witbier

Beer 4 Choices: Weissbier, American Wheat Beer, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Saison

Score: 3/4

Beer 1 things to look for:

Munich Helles: clean yeast, not bitter, rich malt

German Pils: clean yeast, bitter

American Light Lager: clean yeast, neutral profile, not bitter

Kölsch: esters? bitter?

Notes:

This sample had very little foam action going on- not much head, body, or liveliness. When swirled, the tiny bubbles of foam disappeared quickly. Alarms going off for American Light Lager. The heavy use of adjuncts in the grain profile is a big reason the foam and body were lackluster. American Light Lagers use up to 40% corn or rice in their grist and only 60% malted barley. Foam and head retention rely heavily on protein content, and corn/rice doesn’t contribute adequate protein for foam retention. Compounds in hops also help foam keep its structure, so low hopping rates negatively affect head stability in US light lagers. I confirmed the thin/watery body, lack of bitterness, and neutral malt profile after a taste test, so I went with American Light Lager.

Beer 2 things to look for:

Munich Dunkel: Maillard richness, not bitter, clean yeast

British Brown Ale: esters, UK malt/hops

American Brown Ale: clean yeast, US hops, chocolate

International Dark Lager: neutral profile, thin body

Notes:

My first impression was that the depth of flavor was too high to be an international dark lager, which I’d expect to be more subdued in its malt character with a more watery mouthfeel/body. I eliminated that style first. I was picking up a lot of chocolatey notes, so I got rid of Dunkel next since those are usually more focused on Maillard/bready flavors rather than roasty/burnt/chocolate flavors. 

The showdown between US and UK Brown Ales usually comes down to yeast and hop character for me. If there are American hop characteristics like pine/cannabis/grapefruit and a lack of fruity esters, I would lean toward US Brown. Moreover, a heavy emphasis on chocolate notes would come across as more of an American interpretation. I’d expect a British Brown to focus on showcasing more nutty/toasty/toffee malt character, have expressive fruity esters coming from yeast, and have less hop character present in the balance. 

This beer struck me as being extremely chocolatey, which leans toward US Brown, but I wasn’t picking up a ton of US hop character. Since I wasn’t detecting the familiar expression of British yeast (esters producing notes of currants/marmalade/figs), I went with American Brown. It turns out that it was actually British Brown. I didn’t feel too bad about missing this one though. The beer, Cigar City Maduro, was classified as an American Brown Ale in the previous version of the beer style guidelines used for the exam. 

Compared to Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale (often considered the archetype of British Brown Ales), Maduro’s malt and yeast character come across as significantly less expressive to me. There is also no chocolate flavor/aroma in the Sam Smith’s, whereas Maduro’s flavor profile is dominated by chocolate. Cigar City uses a British yeast strain for Maduro, but it’s my guess that they ferment it colder to suppress the ester character (this is a common technique in American brewing). I’m not too bummed I missed this one; it doesn’t seem like Maduro fits well into the “British Brown” category.

Beer 3 things to look for:

Weizenbock: Weizen yeast (banana esters and clove phenols), Bock booze

Belgian Golden Strong Ale: high carbonation, esters, phenols, bitterness? booze?

Saison: lighter Belgian Golden Strong

Witbier: orange/coriander

 Notes:

Aroma gave away lots of banana esters and clove phenols, and although Weizenbock expresses these notes, Saison and Belgian Golden Strong can too. It was safe to eliminate Wit though. There was some detectable alcohol, and the body was a little heavier than I’d expect in a Saison, so I felt comfortable eliminating Saison. There wasn’t much other fruit or spice character going on outside of banana/clove, which Belgian Golden Strong usually has. Also, the hop character and carbonation/foam were at much lower levels than what I’d expect in a Golden Strong, so I went with Weizenbock. 

Beer 4 things to look for:

Weissbier: Weizen yeast, not bitter

American Wheat Beer: US hops/bitterness, orange/spice hop character?

Belgian Golden Strong Ale: high carbonation/attenuation, boozier Saison

Saison: high carbonation/attenuation, phenols, esters, bitter, test for Tank 7

 Notes:

The aroma gave away notes of grapefruit, pine, and orange zest. Right away, these American hop notes made it possible to eliminate Weissbier and Belgian Golden Strong. After taking a sip and letting the aggressive bitterness roll in, I knew I could eliminate American Wheat (which isn’t normally a bitter beer). Only Saison remained, which is a style that isn’t normally American hop forward, but the “American Saison” Tank 7 falls under “Saison” in our guidelines, so I knew it had to be that.