The brewer and founder of a new farm brewery/hop farm in our area came to one of my clubs meetings recently. They have an AMAZING story, great packaging, and seemed like great guys overall. They are doing cool festivals, do a lot for their community, and have helped with legislative matters.
Then we tried their beer....
Every one of them (4 different beers) produced on a 7bbl system were extremely flawed. Acetaldehyde, fusels, lots of sulfur (?)...borderline offensive beer.
They said they would love feedback, but I didn't necessarily feel comfortable sitting back, twirling my imaginary mustache, and asking them about pitch rates and yeast viability. However I did ask them, "What yeast do you use in this beer", to which they both replied with quizzical looks. Mind you, there was an amber, an IPA, a bitter, and a stout. The reply was "one of the dry ones", but I'm not even sure they were fully confident in their answer.
Part of me was thinking of emailing them privately and suggesting they get some formal sensory analysis done (politely). I am awaiting my BJCP written exam grade, but am currently only a Provisional judge, so I'm not sure if that means me.
Thoughts from pro brewers? Homebrewers?