Category: Beer

Profiled by Maria Devan

Jacks beer has what you might say is a soapy but authentic head for a pilsner and for a CAP and for an AAL. Slight haze, golden color. Pours uniform bubbles , a thick head that retains fantastically well. Then as it falls it becomes creamy . It clings and streaks the glass. Beautiful! The hops are fresh and vibrant on the nose. He is using Cluster and Hallertau Mittlefruh. Cluster is for bittering, the Hallertau for aroma and flavor. One of those hops is fruity and why do I think it’s the bittering hop?

The nose on this beer is floral and spicy with hops. No diacetyl, no fruity esters form yeast. The corn smells like earth, husky and a little bit golden. But corn smells like corn and so it’s not dms but there is a hint of it on the palate. Dms opens the finish of the pils with a few bubbles. This one has bright carbonation so I would say just a small bite.The six row malt gives breadiness to the nose but these hops are so forward! Hallertau are spicy and bold. They twinkle like their cousin Galena.

The taste is bold. The malt has a sharp definition because of the bittering hop. That’s even the fruity one. There is just a hint of that fruit on the nose and on the palate. It is a temptation that is not ever fully realized but does seem to captivate your attention. No diacetyl. Clean, crisp, dry finish with a strong and lingering bitterness. The six row malt gives firmness to the palate and the malt finishes creamy. That is why it is world class. Hops resonate in just the right place on the palate to tell you this beer is exciting. They twinkle with spice and dry herbal and linger in the finish as the malt is soft and round.

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.”

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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. That’s Maria in the middle. The other two are not, but they are lucky to have her as a friend.

Profiled by Maria Devan

Thirsty Dog is a darn good brewer that has a number of styles and all representing well. I fell in love with Siberian night. They make a shwarzbier, a miabock, a lager, a scotch ale, a wee heavy, and this their Rise of Mayan Dog a stout made with chocolate and honey!

This pours lightly but with rich colors. Almost no head at first then tan fizzy and thin. Brown and rich with excellent clarity. nose is fragrant with honey, big roasty malt, chocolate.

I am in love already.

Hop pepper, flower petals. Fudgy with caramel and nutty.

Mouthfeel is light and the beer flows sweetly. Sultry roast brings all kinds of chocolate, nuts and honey cleanly and briskly across the palate like a silken piece of chocolate cake. A mouthfeel masterpiece.

This beer was like a love potion filled with spice, tempting with honey that actually lightened the finish to show you herbal hop pepper and a few bubbles. Lingers dark with some clean bitterness and strong flavors. Deceptively light and like a bouquet of scents and textures.

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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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. That’s Maria in the middle. The other two are not, but they are lucky to have her as a friend.

First Round 2016 Nationals: Nashville @ Blackstone Brewery’s production facility

 There are many reasons many of the situations mentioned in this edition shouldn’t happen in a competition, but due to the very human nature of competitions readers need to be aware they can happen, and do happen.-kwc

 How many times have you received score sheets back from some competition and said, “What the &%$#?” While we can’t dismiss the possibility of poor judging, it’s far, far, far more likely there are other reasons including, well, the judges might be spot on with their assessments. Indeed, when you get conflicting comments it’s possible both judges are right. One judge may sense an issue with an entry and describe it one way, the other judge senses the same character but describes it differently. Or each judge senses some different issue and both may be a problem with the entry.
 You probably have heard many of the standard reasons for why judges aren’t “spot on:” last in flight, palate fatigue… both might be valid. While it should have no influence, being the last entry judged, or first, might have made a difference. Big high gravity flights can be tough towards the end. We do our best to pace ourselves, smaller samples… but judges are human.
 If judges have one problematic brew after another, and then what seems a phenomenal one, scores could get skewed. Dare I repeat, “Judges are human?” Continue reading “A Beer Judge’s Diary: The Balancing Act”

Profiled by Maria Devan

Pours yellow , hazy and with a creamy head of white foam. Very pale straw color. Slight haze does not detract. Soft color.

Nose is malty with a little toasty biscuit from the Vienna malt. The pils malt is breaddy and golden. The corn is earthy on the nose and pretty light. Mild with n a very light hop presence. Hops are earthy too and are cool to the background. Their perfume combines with the light corn scent and is not fruity but rather bright. Taste is malty and creamier than I expected but still tingles with carbonation. Light flavors all combine well with the Vienna malt to lend a dimension that the average aal does not have. It accents the hop in a way and brings the maltiness form the pils to the forefront even though corn was used. The corn is a little sweet but it’s refreshing because it’s not too much. Hops don’t really show too much on the nose just a dandelion type spice. I really like that. That has to be the magnum hop. On the palate the hops are soft and present but no real flavor. Their bitterness is a compliment. Excellent! carbonation is not biting. it has a small bite. Again perfect to expand flavors. Those softer bubbles rather than fizz will show you malt that is really there.

This is the light flavors of the all with a lot more body. The Vienna malt really brings the beer together so that the flavors are deep and mellow but fun. There is a little residual sweetness in the finish, no dms, no diacetyl, no fruity esters from yeast, no fruity or strong flavors from hops. Mild sulfur develops ont he nose and enhances the finish. Crisp, light hearted and a touch sweet with complimentary bitterness.

Really outstanding and I enjoyed drinking the entire sixer of this beer. I think this brewer stood up to the AAL and said ” we could make this style good.”

4.0

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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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY. That’s right Ithaca. Practically mid state. Lots of hills. Never been there? You should go… and buy Maria a beer while you’re there.An interesting beer. With a good fresh date. Do it. You’ll feel good about yourself afterwards.

Profiled by Maria Devan

The beer is 5% abv and uses for malt pilsner and pale malts. For hops the website says German “tettnag” – is that spelled wrong? Tettenang? Tettenanger? The hops are tettenang. The other hop they are using is listed as German mittlefruh. In my experience that is Hallertau mittlefruh or Hallertauer hops. See how the region then the hop variety is in the name, which denotes that these hops are specific to a region and that is because of the German language.

I am very excited about Ithaca brewing this beer. Cheers and Happy Two Beer Sunday!

The pour is yellow and a slight haze. A White head that falls fast and bubbles that rise are all over the glass. Thank you Kerry for this lovey new glass!

Nose is bready malt and lightly cool herbal hop. Spice and floral. These hops have a quality like earth and stemmy grass. There’s no fruity esters form yeast, no diacetyl, no dms on the nose. No fruit scent from hosp either. Nothing, no citrus. This is the noble hop at it’s very best. Soft sweet earth and a wonderful complexity all it’s own owing to terroir.

The taste is breaddy but softly with the addition of pale malt. The hop herbal is just forward. It’s actually the use of the pale malt that is showing me the juicy quality of these noble hops that are found in so many pale ale styles and with very different hops! Crisp clean and with only a the faintest trace of dms to usher in the crisp finish. Strong bitterness finishes the beer but it does not strip the flavors or the finish. It lingers bitter and clear.

Exemplary.

4.5

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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Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. That’s Maria in the middle. The other two are not, but they are lucky to have her as a friend.