Looking for fruit
Tasting session 37
Beer 1 Choices: American Brown Ale, English Barleywine, American Barleywine, American Pale Ale
Beer 2 Choices: British Brown Ale, Schwarzbier, International Dark Lager, Munich Dunkel
Beer 3 Choices: Gueuze, Oud Bruin, Flanders Red Ale, Fruit Lambic
Beer 4 Choices: Scottish Export, Irish Red Ale, American Pale Ale, Strong Bitter
Score: 2/4
Beer 1 things to look for:
American Brown Ale: chocolate, clean yeast, US hops/bitterness
English Barleywine: esters, tons of malt, slightly lower bitterness than sweetness
American Barleywine: clean yeast, all the malt, all the hop bitterness
American Pale Ale: US hops/bitterness, clean yeast
Notes:
This beer had extremely high levels of intensity in the malt sweetness and hop bitterness department- way too high for an American Brown or Pale Ale. I’d expect an English Barleywine to be focused upon a rich/complex malt profile with fruity notes coming from yeast and/or malt. Hops provide flavor and aroma, but bitterness is overshadowed by malt sweetness. This provides balance to keep the beer from being cloying or syrupy. In this sample, hops were assertive and in-your-face, so I went with American Barleywine. Carmelly sweetness came close to matching hop intensity, but it was slightly overshadowed by dominating American hops. To my palate, drinking this beer was like turning on a song with headphones in without realizing you accidentally had the volume set to full blast.
Beer 2 things to look for:
British Brown Ale: esters, toffee, UK malt/hops
Schwarzbier: roast, clean yeast, lighter body
International Dark Lager: thin body, neutral profile, poor foam retention
Munich Dunkel: Maillard brownage, not roasted, clean yeast
Notes:
While International Dark Lagers may incorporate some roast, I wasn’t picking up any in this sample, so Schwarzbier was eliminated first. There wasn’t any yeast or hop character, nor the toffee/biscuity/nutty malt notes of a British Brown, so that was next to go. As I mentioned in my last blog, International Dark Lagers share a similar profile to Munich Dunkels, but they’re less rich and complex with poor foam retention and a thinner body. This beer had these traits: a watery body, quickly disappearing foam, and undeveloped malt richness. To my palate, it tasted like a toned down and bland version of a Dunkel, so I went with Intl Dark Lager.
Beer 3 things to look for:
Gueuze: leather/earthy, complex acidity
Oud Bruin: acetic/lactic, maltier Flanders Red
Flanders Red Ale: acetic/lactic acidity
Fruit Lambic: Gueuze+fruit
Notes:
I felt confident in eliminating Oud Bruin and Flanders Red due to the lack of dark fruit character and malt sweetness. In Belgium, these are considered the same style, but for this test, Oud Bruin is considered the maltier version of a Flanders Red. Regardless, there was a lack of malt sweetness both would have and the acidity went beyond the subtle white wine vinegar/plain Greek yogurt profile. I was also missing the fresh cherry/red currant notes standard for these styles.
There was some acetic/lactic acid character like there’d be in Flanders Red/Oud Bruin, but the leathery/damp soil/fresh rain aroma was screaming out Gueuze or Lambic. There was some fruitiness too, rhubarb and persimmon, but nothing bold like dominating like the Schaerbeek cherries you’d find in a Kriek (a type of Fruit Lambic). Since the fruitiness was quite subtle, I went with Gueuze. After the reveal, I went back and tasted for the Pinot grapes included in this beer, but even when trying to pick them out, I had a hard time as they blended in seamlessly and tastefully into the overall flavor profile. Yum.
Beer 4 things to look for:
Scottish Export: esters, residual sweetness
Irish Red Ale: caramel/toffee, thinner body, esters? diacetyl?
American Pale Ale: US hops/bitterness, clean yeast
Strong Bitter: caramel/toffee, bitterness, esters? diacetyl?
Notes:
My first impression of this beer was that it was heavy in diacetyl/butter character. After a taste test, I wasn’t getting upfront bitterness, so American Pale Ale was the first to go. There was a little bitterness though, but after a nose plug test and waiting after swallowing to observe lingering bitterness, I determined that hop presence wasn’t high enough for Strong Bitter either. I went with Irish Red because I was picking up toffee, lots of butter, a thin mouthfeel, and no fruitiness.
I was a little bummed to miss this one as I’ve gotten it correct before. I don’t remember the diacetyl being present at all though when I tried it the first time. According to our guidelines, diacetyl is allowable in Irish Red, but not Scottish Export. The beer was 4 months past the “best by” date on the bottom of the can, so that could have had something to do with it, although I’m not certain. It’s also entirely possible I just blew it, but I’m still lost for clues that could have led me to the right choice here.
