Month: November 2012

Written by Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay, Salt City and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: Judging Mead

Last episode of The Brew Biz this beer judge offered up his diary of a competition in Mississippi. In that “episode” I ended up as one of three judges at the Mead table, two of us Certified. There are more than a few judges I have met who feel Meads and Ciders shouldn’t even be in a beer competition. I disagree, but as a brewer of Braggots, I admit I have my own partisan mash tun dipped into the debate. Most judges I know welcome the addition of Ciders/Cysers, Pyments, Hydromels, Melomels, Braggots (Yes!) and Meads. However, most of us are not all that comfortable judging them.

Some of the best ways to educate judges about their duties would be the BJCP test, supplemental reading and studying BJCP testing information provided on site… the order where one should start from having been reversed in that list. Yes, taking the test itself is an “education” of sorts. If for no other reason it can help encourage you to learn more and judge more. The more you judge, the more you learn, and that applies to Mead too.

While this has been an education for me, my regular readers know I have been rather critical of some aspects of the program in the past. While many of these aspects have changed, it’s still been an adventure discovering just how wrong I was, occasionally. And an adventure discovering how right I have been: occasionally. You, the reader, might be the best judge, I suppose. Judging that for myself would be as unfair, and as unethical, as judging my own entry in a competition.

But, more than anything, it has been an “adventure” discovering how helpful the education leading up to the test and, yes, the test itself, are. It helps us focus: better assess all the categories and to judge well, encourage us to judge more frequently.
Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

If this really is “imperial,” as claimed, it is well hidden.

This is probably one of the best pumpkin ales I have ever had. You have a great background of caramelized malt: in nose, mouthfeel and taste, although taste is more malt, nose is more spice, mouthfeel the slick sense of pumpkin essence. Spice is allspice-like, ginger, cinnamon: all you would expect. The balance is damn near perfect.

Nice head, mostly pillow. Color: 2-3 srm. Clarity: a light gold. excellent. Mouthfeel: a chewy pumpkin, I suspect they used some real pumpkin, though my guess is not tons. It can really screw up a mash.

Dominant spice: ginger and nutmeg.

Mouthfeel: sweet, spicy/pumpkin pie with caramelized malt giving very solid support.
There’s a sweet aftertaste that could be cloying, but they backed off enough to avoid. Hint of slick, but not diacetyl: pumpkin.

What’s nice about this is they went overboard with nothing. the hit the balance just right.

All I can say is: buy this damn beer.

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Word of advice: wax seal is fine, but make damn sure the consumer can get to the bloody cap, OK?

Sweet malt sense to the mouthfeel with darker malts that provide a nice medium body: probably caramel with brown malt-like sense.

The aroma is a hint of Allspice, cinnamon. Sweet nose: tad sugary malt sense. Appearance Stout black with some highlights on the edge of the glass and rock head that holds. Brown malt like complexity that has a sweet sense with a hint of spice. That’s the best aspect of this beer.

This is everything is should be, just needs more of what it should be. Be more aggressive! Honestly? Boring, otherwise. As a real kick your tail hefty malt, spice laden, abv push, brooding dark, complex, malt wonder, it would be sought out by beer geeks everywhere.

“Strong Ale?” Not really, SweetWater. More of a Brown Ale. Not bad for that.

You wimped out, SweetWater.