Category: Beer

Profiled by Ken Carman

What, did they have too much roasted barley in stock and decided to get rid of it? Don’t get me wrong: it’s by no means bad, it’s just that the balance is off. And I LOVE roasted barley. Personally I’d rather all stouts have at least a smidge. This is no smidge: it’s the focus, making what a Russian should have: some malt complexity not 2nd, 3rd or 4th fiddle: hardly any fiddling at all.

Slightest bitter, which is fine: provides balance, something this mostly lacks. Yet that bitter is blown away by roasted barley. They brought it right to the edge of astringent: not in itself inappropriate if it hadn’t become the star outshining all the rest. This sense hogs the stage, all the other performers must be so annoyed.

I really enjoyed it, but not the point.

Black as hell: obsidian. Closing in on light brown head. Great thick glass cling. No light shines through. Head lasts and lasts” pure pillow that really doesn’t want to stop caressing the glass.

Mouthfeel finishes with roasted barley. Hefty body. Medium carbonation that foams in mouth with just a hint of creaminess. Finishes just a tad dry.

This could be so much more. Fix the balance, pull back on roasted barley sense. I think I know now why Ommegang’s brews almost always seem to play it too safe, because every time I’ve had one where they obviously haven’t ‘played it safe’ they don’t seem to get it quite right.

4 ant BA and untappd.

3.8

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.”

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Profiled by Ken Carman

Two moments of pure honesty: I had this beer a while ago so I can’t be as specific as I should be. The other is I was judging it as I practiced to up my BJCP tasting score. I should have judged it lower since I judged it as if it had been entered as a regular IPA. But, dagnab it, it’s so flabupin good!

Yeah, I just made up a word. And it was fun doing it. Kind of like Fred Karm’s brewers kind of made up their own spin off of IPA. That’s a new thing at the BJCP: the just expanded the IPA category because there are so many versions. I hope this eventually becomes one.

What would have made it score lower? Well, it looked like murky lemonade crossed with a little orange juice: an orange-ish yellow, and no light shined through. There was a low bitter for an IPA and the fruitiness was yeast driven as well as hop, which I’m sure IPA purists would do a lot of the verbal version of barfing about.

The nose was about the same as the taste with hints of lemon, orange, peach. The taste and mouth feel: almost no bitter. The mouth feel was heavier than it actually was with suspended yeast hanging around in the finish/aftertaste because they had misbehaved during purist IPA school. I’m sure some of the biggie purists would want it expelled. It finished somewhat sweet.

Malt was no more than a background orchestra of hard to discern pale: still it supported it well. Balance well towards the fruit.

You know what? The purists can have their perfect IPAs. I like them too. But this is unique, and while ‘dank’ doth not apply, except the slightest horsey sense via, I would a assume, a hint of that side to brett, I also assume either this specific yeast is fruit dominate, or it has been fermented twice.

The head was an off white and pillow: didn’t last long, small bubble mostly.

So many IPAs these days do bitter and little more than bitter. They even do bitter quite well. But hops have flavor, guldern it, I want to taste them too, at least more than a little! Please brew this again. I could drink more than a pint or two.

No score on Rate Beer. 4.23 BA.

I can’t give it a super high score because I’m not sure what style they were shooting for, but I did score it well with a…

4.2

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.”

______________________________Beer HERE

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Our Judges: Ken and Millie Carman

 I am hoping to have at least a few editions of this. I already did this once using one of my regular columns. What I am hoping for here is to display just how different judge palates can be: even day to day and referring to one judge. However most editions will be two BJCP judges. Different beers will be judged: mostly commercial, however I may be able to sneak in at least a few homebrews. And I will endeavor to contact judges who might be interested in this project. Unlike a competition scores are NOT consensus, since the purpose is to show differences.
 For this edition we chose Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Things. Nothing on the can tells us what style IPA it is, but we both agreed New England IPA.
 Millie and I are both Certified. Continue reading “Counterpoint: Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing”

 Oh, God: if I answer this wrong David Houseman might excommunicate me from the church of the holy beer judges: the BJCP. Would Mike Dixon prematurely desecrate my grave? Gordon Strong stop taking my obscene phone calls? (And he enjoyed them SO much.)
 But I must ask, “Is balance over rated?” Like when the winter slumber-er who hibernates is rudely awaken, don’t bite my digital head off yet… bear… with me.

Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: Balance?”

Profiled by Ken Carman

I am so disappointed,and not just with this.Last Anchor I got was Foghorn and each and every bottle’s contents were phenol-laced: rubber hose. This quaff might be called phenolic too, but I actually think the balance may be off: ginger and/or clove in a fairly light old ale base that’snot all that “old.”

Not sure aging would help.

I believe it to be ginger and reminds me of ginger ale with a dark color. it could almost be food coloring as much as it contributes to taste. High side medium carbonation with a definite carbonic bite.

Deep tan pillow head, black as hell with some deep red highlights peeking through, this has alight aroma of spices.

We bought a magnum for Christmas and had so much it became somewhat annoying. We usedhalf of it for cooking. We have better quaffs we have brewed ourselves. A simplistic quaff for a season that cries out for fireplace sipping complexity.

3.84 on BA,

3.2

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.”

___________________________Beer HERE

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Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

Black as hell amber head/lite brown pillow with a few big bubbles. The nose has a hint of coffee, some lactose sense and darker malts. The flavor is caramel mixed with dark chocolate. Hops not noticed except a slight bitter in the background. Coffee also dominants, but not out of balance. Medium body. Tad dry but some residual sweet too! Quite the dance, a well performed brew-based ballet. Low carbonation in the mouthfeel, but firm. This was rates very high everywhere I looked. Rate Beer had it at 100 twice!

4.4

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.”

_________________________________Beer HERE

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