Progress with Doppelbock, more Kölsch Confusion

Tasting session 38

Beer 1 Choices: Märzen, Doppelbock, Wee Heavy, Belgian Dubbel

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

Beer 3 Choices: International Pale Lager, American Wheat Beer, Kölsch, Munich Helles

Beer 4 Choices: Wee Heavy, Doppelbock, Belgian Dark Strong Ale, Weizenbock

Score: 3/4

Beer 1 things to look for:

Märzen: toasty, clean yeast, low bitterness

Doppelbock: clean yeast, some bitterness, dry, Bock booze?

Wee Heavy: sweet, big body, not bitter, esters

Belgian Dubbel: phenols, esters, dry

Notes:

I didn’t detect any yeast character after a sniff test, and after tasting, I confirmed that there weren’t any phenols or esters, so I could eliminate Dubbel. The lack of esters, along with the lighter body/lack of residual sweetness, made me confident in eliminating Wee Heavy next. I thought that the body was too light to be a Doppelbock, and since there wasn’t much alcohol presence, I went with Märzen. The malt profile was also on point with what I’d expect- toasty, bready, and delicious.

Beer 2 things to look for:

American Brown Ale: chocolate, US hops/bitterness, clean yeast

British Brown Ale: UK malt/hops, esters? diacetyl?

Munich Dunkel: Maillard brownage, clean yeast

International Dark Lager: thin body, neutral profile, poor foam retention

Notes:

I detected a ton of fruity ester character on the nose- plums, dried currants, and fig jam. British Brown was the only style that would present this ester-forward character, but to be sure, I went in for a taste test. The sample had very low bitterness and a lot of fruit character. The yeast was balanced by a toffee/biscuity malt profile- very British indeed. Since none of the other styles use such expressive yeast and the malt tasted English, I went with British Brown. 

Beer 3 things to look for:

International Pale Lager: thin body, neutral profile, poor foam retention

American Wheat Beer: not that bitter, US hops/bitterness, spice? orange?

Kölsch: bitterness, esters?

Munich Helles: not bitter, round malt, clean yeast

 Notes:

The sample had almost no detectable hop aroma, flavor, or bitterness. That, in addition to a lack of wheat, spice, or orange character, made me confident in eliminating American Wheat. The beer had nice, thick foam that stuck around, and I wasn’t picking up any corn/rice on the nose or palate. In addition, mouthfeel was much fuller than I’d expect in an Intl Pale Lager, so that was next to go. I didn’t detect any strong esters from yeast, and since bitterness was extremely low, I went with Helles. 

I’m now strongly of the position that if they test us on Kölsch for this exam and put it up against styles like Pils, Helles, or Cream Ale, luck is going to have a lot to do with getting this right. The various brands of Kölsch differ so much in their balance/flavor profile, and depending on their freshness/handling, their character can fluctuate drastically. Früh Kölsch, the beer that was used in this panel, had very low detectable bitterness and ester character. It had a very similar balance to a Helles; malt-forward. In Köln, this beer presented similarly, but with pomme fruit esters like red apple or unripe pear. 

To my palate, Reissdorf Kölsch lacks upfront esters and is more malt driven with lower levels of bitterness, but enough to keep the balance from being sweet. I experienced the balance to be similar when trying it in Köln. I find Gaffel Kölsch has a similar flavor profile to Reissdorf, with the balance leaning toward malt rather than esters or bitterness. It was similar in Köln, but with some light pomme fruit esters. 

When I tried Sünner Kölsch, I was taken aback by how bitter it was- total hoppy German Pils vibes with little ester character. Mühlen Kölsch, on the other hand, was dominated by white wine grape esters and had low bitterness. I thought Sion Kölsch was similar to Gaffell and Reissdorf, with the balance being fairly equal amongst malt, hops, and yeast character. Päffgen Kölsch had very low bitterness and a bold challah dough malt flavor and aroma with subtle esters that fell in the background of malt flavor.  

There are a lot of variables at play with Kölsch. It’s a beer made with ale yeast but fermented at very low lager temperatures. Ale yeasts produce higher levels of esters during fermentation because of their genetics and higher fermenting temperatures; but at lower temperatures, ale yeast character is more subdued. To create an even cleaner flavor profile, Kölsch is usually cold conditioned (or “lagered”) for a month or so. Brewers play with these variables to create different balances for their beer and emphasize the characteristics they want to, be it esters, bitterness, or malt character (and the balance of these variables). 

If I got a sample with a ton of upfront esters like Mühlen, fair game. If I got a sample with no upfront esters though, I’m not sure the subtleties would be significant enough to differentiate. 

Beer 4 things to look for:

Wee Heavy: not bitter, sweet, heavy body, esters

Doppelbock: clean yeast, some bitterness, dry, Bock booze

Belgian Dark Strong Ale (AKA Belgian Quad): booze, esters, phenols, dry

Weizenbock: Weizen yeast (banana+clove), dry, not bitter

 Notes:

I finally got Doppelbock! There wasn’t any clove, allspice, or black pepper phenols on the nose, so I could eliminate Quad and Weizenbock after confirming with a taste test. This was my first time staring down Wee Heavy vs Doppelbock since doing my deep dive, so I was eager to put my new clues to the test. 

I’m happy with how it worked out, and getting to know these beers outside of the few sips I take for these panels made all the difference. The aroma gave me some confidence- I picked up deeply browned bread and even some wildflower character from the hops. I noticed there wasn’t any fruit hitting me in the face or the cherry liqueur aroma I sometimes get from Wee Heavy. On the palate, it was clean as a whistle. There was alcohol, yes, but it was dry and had a crisp mouthfeel and no lingering sweetness. It was a little bitter too, which I confirmed with a nose plug test, so I went with Doppelbock.