When one chooses to make beer, every aspect of beer from grain to glass must be examined and studied thoroughly. I have been to many a beerfest and had a few nights indulging in many varieties of beer, but all of the notes made were mental. Last night I put together for myself a collection of 10 beers, drank them all, and made detailed observations about them along the way, using the ASTMO model (appearance, smell, taste, mouthfeel, and overall impression). Each beer was poured into a Chimay goblet, which was super appropriate for the first beer, and still a fine choice for the others. I resisted from using numbers because numbers lie, and you also usually have to grade it against a style as well as "overall greatness", my quest for great beers runs independent of styles.
1. Orval, one of the trappist beers from belgium. no real style, 6.9% ABV
93/100 Beer advocate rating (the first being general consensus, the latter the founders of the site's score, both out of 100). bottle conditioned.
A- Hazy orange with a rocky head. bottle conditioned. High carbonation. good lacing. head dissipates to center but remains.
S-Fruity
T-good hop kick -- earthy/herbal (styrian goldings?). dry. fruity tang/sourness. Phenolics come across in the end.
M-High carbonation/bottle conditioned. light bodied. pleasant.
O-Solid beer. doesn't feel 6.9 ABV. Probably the most hoppy and "sour" a beer could be without sacrificing significantly in either. Belgian phenolics take a back seat to everything but still appear at the end. A lot of diff flavors but they work together and don't fight.
2.Southampton Public House Biere de Mars, Long Island, NY. Biere de garde/french farmhouse. 6.5 ABV. 87/89
A-clear light amber brown. little-no head.
S-Caramel and fruity notes dominate. no hop aroma.
T-first very sweet. finishes dry with a touch of bitterness. All hops are bittering. No late additions. Burnt caramel dominates by end.
M-"Average" mouthfeel -- standard carbonation, probably 75% attenuation. Sweetness can remain behind in your mouth.
O-good. great? maybe. Not a lot of examples of the style (though I have made two myself already). Seemes bitter for the color balance to style. Balanced well -- nothing dominates, malt focused.
3.Green Flash Brewing co Hop Head Red, San Diego, CA. Imperial Red Ale/American IPA. 7 ABV bottle conditioned. 85/NA
A-Definite red color. Slight haziness. poured big head which later dissipated.
S-Pouring let off a huge grass smell. Beer itself has a grass aroma with a hint of citrus.
T-Tart dry english yeast (ballantine?). hop flavor strong. Resins taste "light". lemony?
M-dry and highly carbed.
O-Decent. Yeast character overrides hop character though. Interesting take on an AM IPA/Imp Red Ale. Nugget Nectar >Hop Head Red. A lot of yeast remains in suspension.
4.Anchor Steam Beer, San Francisco, CA, California Common beer, 4.9 ABV 87/95
A-Amber color. Clear. Pours head which slowly dissipates. Good lacing.
S-Northern Brewer Hops and some yeast character.
T-good, but yuengling? Kind of like a maltier but less citrusy yuengling lager. more bitter though, weird. not AS yuengling like as Shiner Bock though.
M-full mouthfeel, average carbonation, lingering sweetness.
O-couldn't live up to hype.
5.21st Amendment Back in Black, San Francisco, CA, Black IPA, 6.8 ABV. 83/72
A-Black, good head, good lacing.
S-Immediate citrus off the pour. Citrus and pine resins upon close smell.
T-Roasty maltiness balanced well with piney hop flavors.
M-Immediate roast gives dry illusion to fuller mouthfeel. Average carbonation.
O-A burgeoning style. interestng combo of flavors. good balance.
6.Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, San Diego, CA, 6.8 ABV Am IPA, 91/96
A-Super Clear. Amber/red. No head
S-Faint american hop smell
T-Dry finish. Neutral American yeast. Almost all hops are bittering. Some hop flavor. Caramel notes. Earthy/piney hop notes.
M-dry finish. good carbonation
O-Ok, I dunno, nothing great.
7.Stone (collab) TBA, San Diego, CA, 7.1 ABV, Am Brown Ale, 85/NA
A-Dark brown. Slight clearness. Good head to start. Dissipates to center and leaves lacing behind.
S-balanced smell. Some Am hops. Some dark caramel malt.
T-Good balance, dryness up front. Roasty/caramel after then hop flavors. really not too hoppy.
O-Fun take on a strong brown ale. most hops in the aroma.
8.Stone IPA, San Diego, CA, 6.9 ABV
A-Dark golden to light amber color. No head.
S-Not much. slight slight hop notes.
T-Balance towards hops. Mostly grassy flavor. Slight slight sweetness.
O-Could use more aroma but otherwise a strong example of the regular American IPA style.
(as you can tell by this point, I am forgetting to record certain things. oh well).
9.Philadelphia Brewing Company Fleur de Lehigh, Philadelphia, PA, 4.5 ABV, Saison/french
A-Sweet. Light herbs.
S-Golden Amber color. Clearish. Good head at start. Dissipates fast (yes i mixed up Apperance and Smell, though A more clearly stands for Aroma to me, a mistake I only avoided up until this point)
T-Malt character (some, but light caramel) plus herbal character (mostly sage)
O-Light Phenolics, not much spicing, light herbs, decent balance
10. Sixpoint Apollo, Brooklyn, NY, somewhere around 4.5 ABV I think (didnt record), Krystalweizen
A-clear, light amber, good carbonation
S-Noth much. Slight german hops
T-Dry Hefe. Clove flavor
O-Not bad. Ok. Most Weizens are hefe so krystal is good.
--sober reaction, not trusting sixpoint with their hopping, i liked how this not highly hopped beer turned out maybe they have some other good beers after all. being a krystal, the yeast character was more subdued, but the clove was far more out in front to the almost non existent banana character that can also be present.
Overview -- Unless I have sharing partners, I do not think I will do a tasting of this magnitude again. I was really starting to leave stuff out at the end, I forgot about the mouthfeel category entirely. Apollo got like zero recognition, at least in the book, and I recall debating whether I should even crack that one open to start (had a shorter hesitation on Fleur de Lehigh). I did this to see what breweries are doing across the country (plus the store had Orval, I had to pick up Orval), since most of my usual beer selections are Philadelphia Area, if not East Coast in general. I also wanted to dig a little into the IPA category. I usually stay away since so many are usually just so overwhelmingly hoppy. These weren't, but I wonder how much freshness is a factor in this. I still think, however, if I were to ever do something like an IPA, it would be a black IPA or a red IPA (sexual tyrannosaurus might be considered as such). Only two of the beers were bottle conditioned. I wish more brewers would take the time to do that. I've had some personal issues dealing with clarity, having this ideal picture of "commercial clarity" in my head, and a lot of these beers were about as clear as mine, so I think I can chill on that front. Honestly this also gives me a bit more beer swagger, as I find my beers at least peering these, if not surpassing (and I still feel I have miles to go).
A few parting pictures
A look at the collection of vanquished (canquished?) beers. two were cans.
My last page of notes, on Sixpoint Apollo. Note how there is basically nothing written. Also I spilled something on the page. Still trying to figure out if it is beer or water.
-- Knuttel
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