Pale, Low+Medium ABV, Varying Yeast Character and Bitterness
International Pale Lager, German Pils, Munich Helles, Festbier, Belgian Blond Ale, Belgian Single, Weissbier
Heineken (Intl Pale), Trumer Pils, Warsteiner Pils, Oberdorfer Helles, Hafbräu Festbier, Leffe Blond, Westmalle Extra (Single), Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier
Leffe: tons of banana and clove on the nose in addition to pear drops/circus peanuts (similar notes on the palate). Heavier body and more residual sweetness on the palate compared to the other beers in this panel. Slightly darker gold color than the other beers and I could force alcohol warmth by taking a quick sip and exhaling quickly. Medium bitterness. On the bottle it says “vanilla and clove” notes (I would agree).
Westmalle Single: dramatically more attenuated and dry compared to the other beers in the panel. Low esters and medium/high amounts of peppery phenols. Low bitterness. Delicious.
Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier: tasted old and yucky, so I took it out of the panel after tasting. It had a wheat-gone-bad taste in addition to bubblegum/artificial banana esters and some clove phenols.
Trumer Pils: had a distinct hop-forward aroma that set it apart from the other Pils, Helles, and Heineken (seemed like tons of Saaz to me). Lots of bitterness on the palate and aftertaste.
Heineken vs Oberdorf Hell: this was the matchup that gave me trouble. I thought I detected the Cheerio/cereal/Pilsner malt aroma from both, and that’s usually my trick to pick out Helles or Pils. After taste testing, I confirmed the Cheerio/Pilsner malt aroma in the Heineken, but it wasn’t as strong as it was in the Helles and Pils. It helped to do a retronasal sip to dial that in. To my palate, the Helles borders on acetaldehyde/diacetyl with strong Cheerio/malt dust aroma/flavor, where the Heineken has the Cheerio character, but also a distinct minty/hyssop aroma and flavor from yeast that the Helles lacks (the mint/hyssop reminds me of Chimay Red).
Warsteiner Pils vs Hafbräu Festbier: this was also much harder than expected since the Festbier was much more bitter than I thought it would be. It had less perceived bitterness than the Pils, but it was pretty tricky to pick out since the Festbier has a higher ABV, therefore needing more bitterness to balance the malt sweetness. A couple things stuck out; most helpful was the heaviness on the palate from the Festbier. After swallowing, it lingers on the palate with more residual sweetness. It’s much heavier and less dry compared to the Pils. I could force a higher perception of bitterness by moving the beer all around my tongue (especially the sides) with both beers, and in doing so realized that the Pils had a higher level of bitterness that lingered longer and more strongly after swallowing compared to the Festbier.
