Weissing Up

Tasting session 34

Beer 1 Choices: Gueuze, Saison, Gose, Berliner Weisse

Beer 2 Choices: American Porter, Oatmeal Stout, English Porter, Foreign Extra Stout

Beer 3 Choices: American Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Schwarzbier

Beer 4 Choices: Festbier, German Pils, Munich Helles, American Lager

Score: 3/4

Beer 1 things to look for:

Gueuze: earthy/complex sourness

Saison: not sour

Gose: coriander, lactic acidity

Berliner Weisse: heavy lactic, no spice

Notes:

Hard one! A quick sniff and sip was enough to eliminate Saison- there was a lot of acidity happening. In a previous tasting, I chose Gueuze when it was actually Gose; I thought that was happening here. It smelled like a Gueuze with complex aromas from Brettanomyces yeast in addition to other acidity from Lactobacillus and/or other bugs. I thought the color was too pale and the sourness too strong/lingering for a Gueuze. When trying traditional Berliner Wiesse for this test, I usually experience overwhelming and lingering acidity, but this time it was at a moderate level. That led me to picking Gose as I convinced myself I was getting some coriander/spice. I’m not sure if I was confusing the spice for the complex yeast phenols, but my big mistake was forgetting Berliner Weisse can have Brett! 

Beer 2 things to look for:

American Porter: US hops/bitterness, clean yeast, roasty not burnt

Oatmeal Stout: soft mouthfeel, lower bitterness, esters?

English Porter: esters, roasty not burnt

Foreign Extra Stout: burnt, low hops, diacetyl? 

Notes:

I detected strong fruity esters on the nose, and a taste test confirmed this, so I eliminated American Porter first. The malt profile was roasty and not so much in the realm of burnt/espresso, so I eliminated Foreign Extra Stout next. Oatmeal Stout vs English Porter is very hard, especially considering that Oatmeal Stouts can be very ester-forward. The big difference to me is the amount of roast. Oatmeal Stouts are roastier whereas English Porters are toastier/nuttier with lower roast. Determining moderate roast from high roast in a blind tasting setting is hard though when you don’t have the two side-by-side. I had another sample in this panel (beer 3) that was in the realm of espresso, and after trying that beer and returning to this one, I felt confident that this was a porter and not a stout. 

Beer 3 things to look for:

American Stout: US hops/bitterness, clean yeast, burnt/roasty

Foreign Extra Stout: high roast/burnt, low hops, diacetyl?

Oatmeal Stout: soft mouthfeel, lower bitterness, higher roast, ester?

Schwarzbier: roasted but not burnt, light body

 Notes:

Butter bomb! On the nose, I picked up a lot of diacetyl- the compound responsible for the movie theatre popcorn butter flavor and aroma. Oatmeal Stouts allow for low levels of this compound, but it was overwhelming here. I wasn’t picking up any esters I’d look for in an Oatmeal Stout, American hops/hop bitterness I’d find in a US Stout, and the body was too heavy and malt too highly roasted for a Schwarzbier. 

Beer 4 things to look for:

Festbier: bigger Helles, toasty?

German Pils: bitter, round/full malt

Munich Helles: not bitter, round/full malt

American Lager: neutral/thin body, poor foam retention, adjunct taste (rice/corn)

 Notes:

After swirling, I noticed that the foam was made of tiny bubbles that fizzled away quickly; kind of like the carbonation in a soda. This made me think it was an American Lager right off the bat. A taste test confirmed the lack of bitterness, so I eliminated Pils first. Lack of hop presence and toasty/rich malt character made me confident in eliminating Festbier next. The aroma was suggestive of rice or some other adjunct, and a taste test confirmed this. The body was very thin, but it’s not like Helles is a very full-bodied beer, so I left the sample and came back to it later. When I returned, I decided that the taste reminded me of the American Lagers I used to buy in 30 packs in college- very highly carbonated, very light bodied, minimal malt/hop character, and very little foam. With that, I eliminated Helles and went with American Lager.