Scott Ickes
Grandmaster Brewer
I travel a lot on business. I spend 130 to 150 nights a year in hotels. This gives me opportunities to visit a multitude of brew pubs, et al. I find myself judging their beers in my mind. An example would be tonight.
I was at "The Ram" brewpub in Meridian, Idaho for dinner. The food was spectacular. The beer was good, and maybe even above average, but to me it was lacking. I found myself judging their beer. They have six different beers. I got the sampler, as is my practice at a brew pub that is new to me.
Blonde Ale - Clean and crisp, but it tasted weak to me. Just not much malt backbone to it. Maybe this is the style, as I haven't tried many Blondes, so I'm not an expert on the style.
Hefeweisen - A good example of the german hefe style with the banana and clove just right, but I prefer a more citrusy (C hops) flavor, so the Halletauer hops did nothing for me. It was "to style", so it was a well made beer. I just like my Hefe's with more complexity than this one.
Pale Ale - This one sucked. No malt backbone and the hops were almost non-existent. This was a loser all the way around.
IPA - Nice beer, and actually I liked it because it wasn't your typical west coast overhopped, in your face hop bomb. Living on the west coast has definitely altered my perception of IPA's. I used to think I was a hop head. Back in the 1980's and 1990's my IPA's scored 30-35 in brewing competitions and they were always getting dinged for being overhopped. I stopped brewing from 2000 to 2010 and when I started back into it, I find that my overhopped IPA's are now all the rage here on the west coast. The IPA's here in the Portland/Seattle area have so much in your face hops, that I have trouble drinking them now. I burp hops forever after one beer. I guess my tastes have changed. Because this version of an IPA at the "The Ram" wasn't so in your face, I loved it.
Amber Ale - This is one beer, that if I had brewed it, would never brew it again. No malt to speak of, watery, with an astrigent flavor. My thoughts were that the crystal malts were to0 high of a percentage of the grain bill and the Munich malt was too low.
Porter - Not bad. I little weak on the flavors that I look for in a porter. Some chocolate, but I look for more than just a chocolate background in a porter. It was a little sweet, which I liked, but it wasn't the sweet flavor I like. I like porters to have a chocolate/vanilla sweet taste to them. This one had a more crystal malt sweetness to it, which I don't like in a porter. It was also a little thin on the maltiness, but just barely.
So, I ask you, am I a beer snob for judging every new beer I try?
I was at "The Ram" brewpub in Meridian, Idaho for dinner. The food was spectacular. The beer was good, and maybe even above average, but to me it was lacking. I found myself judging their beer. They have six different beers. I got the sampler, as is my practice at a brew pub that is new to me.
Blonde Ale - Clean and crisp, but it tasted weak to me. Just not much malt backbone to it. Maybe this is the style, as I haven't tried many Blondes, so I'm not an expert on the style.
Hefeweisen - A good example of the german hefe style with the banana and clove just right, but I prefer a more citrusy (C hops) flavor, so the Halletauer hops did nothing for me. It was "to style", so it was a well made beer. I just like my Hefe's with more complexity than this one.
Pale Ale - This one sucked. No malt backbone and the hops were almost non-existent. This was a loser all the way around.
IPA - Nice beer, and actually I liked it because it wasn't your typical west coast overhopped, in your face hop bomb. Living on the west coast has definitely altered my perception of IPA's. I used to think I was a hop head. Back in the 1980's and 1990's my IPA's scored 30-35 in brewing competitions and they were always getting dinged for being overhopped. I stopped brewing from 2000 to 2010 and when I started back into it, I find that my overhopped IPA's are now all the rage here on the west coast. The IPA's here in the Portland/Seattle area have so much in your face hops, that I have trouble drinking them now. I burp hops forever after one beer. I guess my tastes have changed. Because this version of an IPA at the "The Ram" wasn't so in your face, I loved it.
Amber Ale - This is one beer, that if I had brewed it, would never brew it again. No malt to speak of, watery, with an astrigent flavor. My thoughts were that the crystal malts were to0 high of a percentage of the grain bill and the Munich malt was too low.
Porter - Not bad. I little weak on the flavors that I look for in a porter. Some chocolate, but I look for more than just a chocolate background in a porter. It was a little sweet, which I liked, but it wasn't the sweet flavor I like. I like porters to have a chocolate/vanilla sweet taste to them. This one had a more crystal malt sweetness to it, which I don't like in a porter. It was also a little thin on the maltiness, but just barely.
So, I ask you, am I a beer snob for judging every new beer I try?