Archive for May, 2009

BJCP 9: Taints & Flaws 2 + Belgian Strong Ales

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

We had yet another round with evil Miller Lites this past week. Again, we got to try the horrible flavors that may inhabit your beers that I discussed in my last BJCP post. We finally received our sensory kit from BJCP partner, Siebel Institute. The kit included additional flavors to the previous session’s nastiness; isolations of Acetaldehyde, Almond, Butyric, Mercaptan, etc. Some of the flavors were described as “sewer-like,” “Farm/Barnyard,” “Soapy/Fatty/Goaty,” “Cheesy/Old Hops/Sweaty Socks.” My favorite descriptor is “goaty.” How would you even know what goaty smells or tastes like?

Les lined up all 24 flavors in doctored Miller Lite in a random order numbered from 1 to 24, and it was our job to attach the corresponding number to the flaw on a sheet. I was suffering worse than usual from my normal seasonal allergies, and I only got four right. Pretty bad. I hope when we take the exam in August that I am not suffering similarly.

Next we tasted Belgian Strong Ales, as presented by CSI member Greg Thompson. (more…)

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in BJCP, Geek-Out | 2 Comments »

Beer Apps

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Having the good fortune to be an iPhone owner, I was directed by my BJCP class president to check out the BJCP style guide app. But without a link, I simply searched iTunes for BJCP and not only did the app I was interested in come up, but a couple others appeared too.

The BJCP style guide app is exactly the same as the paper or PDF version available at bjcp.org. It’s searchable, which comes in handy while you’re out and about, trying a beer and doing your best to narrow down what style it might be, or maybe trying to come up with a classic example of a style to compare to the one you’re drinking. Or maybe you’re wondering if you should be tasting butterscotch notes in a Stella? A quick search, and you’ll know for sure.

Yeah, it’s a bit of overkill but if you’re taking the BJCP course, and you own an iPhone it’s free, so why not download it as a study aid? (more…)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in BJCP, Geek-Out, Measurement | No Comments »

American Craft Beer Week

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

Probably should’ve posted this on Sunday, but you can still catch the last two days of American Craft Beer Week at Max’s on Broadway Saturday the 16th, and Sunday the 17th. I stopped by on Tuesday with a couple people from BJCP class, and got to taste some pretty interesting beers. The oak-aged Clipper City Peg Leg Imperial Porter was pretty awesome. And I also checked it out briefly Friday, and got to taste some excellent beers by Stone, Smuttynose, and Lagunitas.

The gist of the event — at Max’s anyway — is that a brewery rep shows up, brings a couple kegs of a beer they want to show off and we — the public — get to taste them at a discounted price. Pretty awesome, actually.

Tags: ,
Posted in Brewing, Industry | 2 Comments »

BJCP 8: Flaws & Taints + Strong Ales

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Sunday’s class involved some nastiness. As part of our training, Les doctored a number of Miller Lites with various chemicals and extracts that we then had to taste in order to become familiar with the specific flavors, odors, and mouthfeels associated with them. Les specifically said that this week’s tainted beers were significantly jacked up, mainly so we could become familiar with the flavors, aromas/odors, and moutfeels associated with them. We also tasted some flawed homebrews presented by MALT member Jeff Heneks, and my fellow Wootowner, Dave Bradley.

FOAM member Bill Heverly presented our tasters.

Of course we started with “Guess that beer,” and tried Kona’s Longboard Lager. I guessed lager but didn’t quite get the style. We also tried Wee Beast, which was a Scottish Ale. (more…)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in BJCP, Brew History, Geek-Out, How do I do that?, Science | 1 Comment »

Mexican St. Patty’s Day

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Today is May the 5th, and I am posting specifically to complain about the fact that as it is celebrated in the U.S. Cinco De Mayo is nothing more than a marketing tool for beer importers. One can make the same argument about St. Patrick’s Day. Most Mexican beer is either basically macrobrew like Miller, Bud etc, or it has deep Germanic roots, and was brought into being by Teutonic immigrants of the late 19th Century. So it’s not particularly Mexican either.

I’d suggest trying Pulqué — a Mexican cactus beer — but good luck finding it in the States.

Mexicans outside of Puebla and it’s surrounding communities don’t really celebrate the holiday, which is NOT Mexican Independence Day — a major Mexican holiday that falls on September 16th. Cinco De Mayo actually commemorates the unlikely victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla.

Anyway, drink your Corona — with lime if you must —  shoot your Curevo, sip some Margaritas, and patronize a Mexican eatery. Or you could try a Negra Modelo — which is actually a Vienna Lager — find a joint that serves authentic Molé Poblano, and think about how nice it is that we live in a country with such a diverse populace.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Brew History | 1 Comment »

May 2nd: National Homebrew Day

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Tomorrow is National Homebrew Day, a “holiday” that was announced before Congress in 1988 and has been celebrated subsequently every first Saturday in May since. The day is also referred to as “Big Brew.”

The basic gist of the whole thing is that homebrew clubs choose a recipe and get together to brew in either one batch or many of the same style. The American Homebrewer’s Association develops two recipes for clubs to choose from.

This year, AHA suggests a saison or a brown ale. Wootown showed mild dissent and is doing the “Back River Brown” that the club president developed for AHA’s annual conference when it was in Baltimore in 2005. Other locations, such as Maryland Homebrew, are also holding events. Check one out if you can.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Brewing | No Comments »