If your name is Steve Antoch or James Golovich dont read this post...
The results from Randy Scorby are in. Randy is a BJCP Grand Master II and he is the BJCP Director of Education. I can say from personal experience that he is also a great guy to just have a beer with.
Munich Helles, 4A
Aroma: A quite prominent grainy, graham cracker like malt aroma up front. As it fades a light floral hop aroma emerges. The malt character continues to build as it warms and vents; and develops a light richness. A suggestion of diacetyl also develops but is not overly distracting. Otherwise clean fermentation, no esters or sulfur were noted. No DMS. (10/12)
Appearance: Light gold color with just a very light haziness to the clarity. The white head slowly dissipates and leaves a thin stand of fine bubbles on the beer. Good head retention. (2/3)
Flavor: Flavor follows aroma with a fairly prominent, rich grainy maltiness and very light diacetyl. A very light floral hop flavor emerges mid-palate along with a moderate hop bitterness. The hop bitterness lingers through the finish into the aftertaste and turns slightly biting and harsh. A touch of clean, sharp lactic sourness develops in the finish. A very light, pleasant residual sweetness emerges in the middle but dries out nicely to create a dry finish. The balance is to the malt character. (11/20)
Mouthfeel: Medium light body with moderate carbonation. No creaminess, astringency or alcohol is noted. Very smooth mouthfeel. Body is just a touch too light. (4/5)
Overall Impression: Overall, a very good example of style, finding the correct marriage of malt and hop character can be quite difficult in these softer lager styles. The malt flavor and aroma characteristics were spot on and the floral hop character was also appropriate for style. The body was just a touch light and needs to be increased to medium. The hop bitterness turns a bit harsh in the finish, and the diacetyl, although just perceptible, diminished the overall enjoyment along with the lactic sourness. Still, an enjoyable warm weather quencher. (6/10)
Total: 33/50
German Helles Exportbier, 5C
Aroma: A moderate but prominent grainy, slightly bready malt aroma initially, followed by a very light floral hop character. Clean fermentation, no sulfur or diacetyl. No DMS. A clean lager that showcases the malt character. (10/12)
Appearance: Medium gold color, with a very slightly hazy appearance. The white head leaves a thick stand of fine bubbles on the beer. Good head retention. (2/3)
Flavor: The moderate grainy malt sweetness is followed quickly by a light floral hop flavor, with the malt developing a light, pleasant breadiness as it warms. Moderate hop bitterness develops mid-palate, and grows as it lingers through the finish into the aftertaste. The bitterness falls short of harsh but is just a bit robust for style. The finish is lightly sweet although the hop bitterness lends some additional dryness. The balance is fairly even between the malt character and hop bitterness, but the bitterness wins the race. Clean lager fermentation profile. (14/20)
Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation. No creaminess, astringency or alcohol noted. Fairly smooth mouthfeel but lacks the expected crispness. (4/5)
Overall Impression: A very well made German Helles Exportbier. The malt character is well expressed and appropriate in character. The hop aroma and flavor are also appropriate in characteristics but would benefit from slightly higher levels to help provide more balance to the malt. The hop bitterness needs to be reduced; it was not harsh but it was just a touch high and tipped the balance. The finish lacked the expected crispness but not by much. A few minor tweaks would turn this into an excellent example of style. (7/10)
Total: 37/50
My takeaways from Randy's feedback, regarding the PROCESS PART are:
1. A protein rest might negatively effect a lower gravity beer more than a higher gravity beer.
2. The less there is to hide behind, the more that big charge of lactic pre-boil acidifying will show up.
3. My detection of diacetyl is not as good as I thought it was, so I'll be giving my light beers an extra couple days at the final 68F step, before crashing
All the remaining critiques appear to be recipe/style related. I'll be addressing those too, as that was a side benefit for me doing this test.
Thanks Randy!
Topic: Upcoming Rube Goldberg Brewday (Read 16421 times)
