Month: October 2013

Courtesy johnnypm41.blogspot.com

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Did we get a bad bottle? Nose in bottle is soapy, pepper, some sweet with some malt otherwise way in the background. Hops in nose? Ah, NO. Hint of corn: DMS, in nose, and butter: diacetyl.

Great clarity, at a golden srm of about 3 or 4. Great puckered pillow head that lasts and lasts. Nice legs.

Yes: I’m referring to THE BEER, perv!

Mouthfeel: pepper phenols, moderate body that lingers, few hops for style: little bitter, more fruity as in hint of orange and grapefruit. Slight corn: DMS, and butter: diacetyl. More corn, diacetyl is more a slight slickness.

Taste: an easy quaff and this might made a somewhat accurate Belgian with pepper phenols. It is not even an IPA. Imperial? Uh, NO. Pale malt is obvious base, no carmelization noticed. Almost honey-ish, but I think this is more just the pale malt. Hardly even an IPA. Slight corn in taste too: DMS.

BA: 63, RB: 15, 0 for style. Both listed as Minhas Brewery, rather than Rhinelander. This, according to Wiki, is basically the old Joseph Huber Brewery. As one reviewer wrote for BA: “they’re trying to slide under the craft radar through their affiliate breweries.”

I simply can’t even go with a 2 here. 2 would be too generous, IMO. They missed the style, they missed the intent of any brewer not to bottle defects and, less important but noted: I’m annoyed at the continual attempt to disguise bigger brewers as craft. This one has apparently worn several suits in an attempt to dress themselves out as craft. Doesn’t figure into the score but here: will be noted.

You know, Matt Brewing rebranded themselves as Saranac years ago, but I give them credit for many serious, respectful, successful attempts, and successes, at being craft-like. I respect that, and only use “like” to reference size of the brewery. Personally, if this is what it’s supposed to be like, I’d fire everyone who made the decision to let it out the door. If I were going to include all that in the score on this review I’d go below 0. But that wouldn’t be professional, and the professor might never let me write here again.

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

Written by Jerry Buckley for Professor Goodales and The Brew-Score

At our most recent home brewers’ outing, my editor: Ken Carman, asked me to write another article for his on line journal. When I protested that I was stymied as to any interesting topic I might bring to light, I was jostled into gear when Ken suggested I write about “whatever” it is that inspires me to brew my own quirky concoctions. I’m that guy in our homebrew group known for “doing something stupid” to each batch. And no, I never was very good at dot-to-dot, paint-by-numbers, or coloring inside the lines either for that matter. Continue reading “Outside the Lines”

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

The nose is VERY promising in the bottle. Apricot with a hint of pit floats up with also some sweet. Wheat behind that in the glass: a hint of white bread. The sweet is almost honey like, as in Orange Blossom.

SRM almost 1, very hazy. Head faded fast, almost none with tiny white bubbles. That’s odd for a wheat beer. Tiny, tiny bubbles cling desperately to sides of the glass.

Mouthfeel is sweet wheat with a semi-full feel provided by pleasant, soothing, wheat proteins. Sweet lingers on the roof of mouth and back of palate.

Flavor: wheat and hint of apricot. Apricot is more in nose, less in mouthfeel and far less in taste, but it is there. Balance is about right: the taste also may have faded for this has been around for quite a while in my “to try” collection, so I can’t use the lessened against it. It’s bready, kind of sweet white bread-like with apricot pit following in that part of the taste: almost like they left apricots with some pit in the dough when baking white bread.

I am not a wheat beer fan, but have to give it a 4, especially since this is an old bottle. It is impressive, for what it is. A simple, very pleasant, quaff that deserves the 4.

82 in BA, 32 on RB with a 62 on style. A Park City, Utah brewpub, who also brews, bottles and serves Polygamy Porter.

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”