Our October meeting was generously hosted by the Huxford’s in Easton, where we gathered around a wonderful spread and shared plenty of homebrewed beverages. Much of the conversation revolved around SNERHC (with a post coming on that soon), which has been monopolizing much of the time of our generous volunteers and organizers, as well as the MLB Playoffs (which didn’t end well for any of our New York-supporting members).
The tasting portion of our meeting began with another sensory sample, this time focused on the papery/oxidized off-flavor. Andy C. generously brought a leftover keg of Hofbrau Original (Munich Helles) for us to dose and sample. Generally speaking, the meeting attendees did not notice a significant difference in the aroma – the group was fairly split on which sample was dosed! Once we began drinking… that was another story. The dosed sample seemed “duller, and drier” as one member noted. Overwhelmingly we were able to select the dosed sample, and most (if not all) preferred the untainted sample. In the end, we all agreed on one thing – Hofbrau Original is a wonderful beer, and having a keg on hand was a welcome addition to the meeting.
The theme of this meeting was German Beers, and we were graced with many wonderful offerings, both within this category and outside of it.
Tasting Notes:
- Altbier (7B) – Paul H.: a lot of fruitiness, more fruit than bread, malt is there but secondary to the fruity esters. Fruitcake, dried dark fruit. Caramel, brown bread. Resin/phenolic something like black pepper. Malt intensity lacking. Good color and clarity. Peppery, relatively high compared to where it should be. A touch roasty – style says no roast. No lingering malt. Roasty bitterness. Not much malt sweetness. Very dry finish. Astringent, relatively high compared to style. Not the most balanced, leans away from the style. Peppery seems to be a fermentation characteristic. 7/3/12/3/6 = 31 *From Paul: made last winter for inter club competition. Sat in carboy for too long and then in keg for many months.
- Marzen (6A) – Sean D.: something a touch vegetal, melon/banana. Bready, malt is there. Smells young? Not getting the yeasty aroma though. Maybe some caramel sweetness, which is inappropriate. Not particularly clear, not much head, but the color is right. Refreshingly dry finish. Really nice malt flavor. Doesn’t taste at all light it smells. Starts sweet, maybe fruity. Does come across sweet, but maybe lacking some bitterness? Needs more bubbles. A little off style but more drinkable than it suggests. 6/2/10/4/6 = 28 *From Sean: very young, stopped fermentation too soon.
- Dunkles Weissbier (10B) – Steve V.: more malty and phenolic, missing some of the banana/clove that you’d expect – maybe some clove. Something sharp in the aroma. Something plastic. Not balanced with the malt. No head. More than hazy. Murky. “That’s wrong. That’s surprisingly tart.” I see where the Brett is coming. [DID NOT SCORE] – *From Steve: Has been sitting in a keg since March, not good.
- Roggenbier (27) – Paul H.: sat all summer in the garage – brewed for the club competition and just sat around. Think it picked up some kind of infection. [DID NOT SCORE]
- American Blonde Ale (18A) – Huxfords: light bready malt. Lightly fruity, light caramel. Hitting all the notes. Light straw, head retention. Hitting the right notes. A light green apple flesh note, builds a little, comes across in the finish. Crisp flavor. Malt is lightly grainy, and a touch of light caramel. Needs some bubbles. A very good beer. If the acetaldehyde is there it’s not a huge barrier. 12/3/15/4/8 = 42
- Irish Extra Stout (15B) – Sean D.: mocha. More oohs than ahhs. Intense aroma – higher chocolate than typical. Coffee and chocolate. More brown than jet black. Not quite opaque. Rich. A little too light for the style maybe. Rich coffee, dark chocolate through the finish. Not quite full enough mouthfeel. More carb could help. Really nice. A great beer. 10/2/17/4/8 = 41 *From Sean: All malt-derived. Coffee malt, vanilla beans in the fermenter.
- New World Cider (C1A) – Huxfords: very clean. Cider guidelines stink… wouldn’t fit these apples. Smells wonderful. Very fresh apple smell. A little acetone, higher than you’d want. Lovely appearance. A lot smoother than expected from the aroma. Finish is pleasant. Nice tannic balance on the finish. 7/6/20/8 = 41
- Czech Amber Lager (3C) – pink grapefruit pith, grainy, toasty malt. Not getting the noble hop. Gorgeous. Finish is a little too much, too bitter, a little harsh. Aggressive bitterness. Thrall 6-row, extraction was much lower than expected, so balance is off. Malt flavor is just gorgeous. Could be off with a husky grain finish. Great mouthfeel. Too bitter for elegant. Not as bitter as an ex-wife. 7/3/14/5/7 = 36 *from Pierre: Originally tried to make a festbier. Used Thrall 6-row for the first time. This fit the style better.
