A Brief Commentary on Your Personal Beer Palate

I recently got some more feedback from a reader who mentioned, “I feel like I would appreciate the review more if I was drinking the beer while I was reading it.” On the one hand, I am glad that my reviews provoke one's thirst for beer, however I cannot, in good conscience, recommend that my readers to this. Why, you ask? Put simply, drinking beer is an activity based largely in personal preference. My fear is that while drinking a beer and reading a review about it, one's personal opinion will be skewed too heavily by my words (if I can presume to be so influential) and they will not be able to form their own view of that particular beer.

What then should prospective (or current) beer drinkers do in order to form their own opinion of a beer such that they gain a great deal of satisfaction form drinking beer? My response to that will be, admittedly, slightly biased by the very fact that I am writing this blog but I truly believe people need beer education in order to be able to begin to think about what beer actually is and how, quite specifically, it tastes. In putting my opinions on beer out on the internet, I assure I am not trying to convince everyone that mine is the only opinion that matters. Therefore I urge you to read my beer reviews and other ramblings, then adapt what you have learned to how you want your beer experience to be.

To develop this point a little more, allow me to give you a little bit of context. Human taste is a very psychological construction and is thus susceptible to the power of suggestion. While there are some basic tastes that I think everyone's palate and then brain can sense in beer, such as hop bitterness, malty sweetness, and alcoholic taste, the more subtle tastes are often filled in based on one's personal experiences in the realm of food and drink. An example: many people (see left) claim to taste figs in imperial stouts and Belgian strong dark ales. I can't remember the last time I ate a fig so naturally, I cannot identify with this flavor. Rather, I describe this “dark fruit flavor” as grapes or dates. This is significant because many times people try to over-analyze the taste of their beer; they have heard so much propaganda or read so much literature about beer that they convince themselves that [such and such] flavor is surely present or they should be smelling [this and that] in their beer. I would remind people that drinking beer is supposed to be enjoyable and relaxing, not an analytical exercise; if you choose to discuss what you are tasting (which I endorse), do so on the basis of how you feel in the moment and not what you think you are supposed to taste.

On that note, go kick back and relax with your favorite beer and don't let anyone tell you how it should taste!

Beer Review: Heineken

It has been brought to my attention that many of the beer reviews on The IBU would benefit from some sort of contextual comparison. I understand that how a beer tastes is ENTIRELY subjective and that my palate could be vastly different than someone else's. Therefore, I have decided to review a very popular beer that, in my opinion, most beer drinkers have tried, Heineken!

Officially defined as a "Euro Pale Lager," Heineken is very similar to American "macro lagers" such as Budweiser and Coors. They are well known for their slightly-shorter-than-normal green bottles, an aspect that might be criticized in other beers, but which probably does not affect the taste too much. You will see why in a moment. The beer itself...

I got a Heineken on tap with my meal and it was served in smallish glass with the creamy head that you come to expect from their television commercials. The head dissipates after just a couple minutes leaving a soapy film on top of the golden straw-colored beer. Overall, it looks slightly more appealing than a bud or a light beer but only just.

The smell of the beer is not bad; I get a hint of sweetness and a little dose of  "funkiness." It is difficult to describe this note, though it does come up again in the taste. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that this is a beer from a keg and thus could possibly be different from bottled beer however I have had Heineken from a bottle several times and there does not seem to be a discernible difference.

Upfront, this beer is sweet. There is a slight bitterness that tempers the sweetness but there is a definite and prevailing grainy sweetness to this beer. Typical of mass-produced lager. Let's get back to the "funkiness" I mentioned earlier: if anyone has read my review of Blue Moon, what I am trying to describe is similar to the "musty" scent I described there. In my opinion it is not the most desirable of characteristics though it does seem like this is an intentional flavor and not a product of skunked beer (credit Beeradvocate) given that it is present in the keg beer I am reviewing (not to mention in cans as well).

I would say that the body of Heineken is a bit fuller than Budweiser or similar mass-produced lager but it is not by much. There is a somewhat creamy mouthfeel but, again, these qualities are outweighed by a general wateriness and light mouthfeel. The carbonation in Heineken is nice (read: not over-carbonated like many euro pale lagers), which I guess is a redeeming quality.

Given that the price of Heineken is in the range of some [actual] craft beers, I expect the taste to be much better than it is. I find little difference between this and your generic american lager but I also would not go so far as to say I would never drink it again; it is refreshing and could be a good deal if you catch it on sale.
Bottom line: if it has to be beer and this is the only offering, don't sulk... Heineken will suffice for a good compliment to your meal but it's simply not good enough to be on my shopping list.

Score: C-  2.25/5

Beer Review: Chimay Blue

I am writing this beer review from Barcelona, the most amazing city I've ever been to, but not particularly known for their craft beer scene. Perhaps an article will be coming soon about why that might be... but I digress. Chimay Blue; I have never tried a Trappist ale until now and I must say, with all the hype surrounding them, it better be good! Let's see if it was...

I drank this at my dorm in Barcelona with no real beer glassware to speak of so instead of the tulip that I would have poured it in back home, this beer gets the generic IKEA glass treatment! Even with the 12oz
tumbler, the head forms nicely though it doesn't stick around for very long. The deep amber hue of the beer is par for the course in terms of a Belgian strong dark ale (which is what this beer is). All in all definitely a great looking beer in keeping with what I've experienced with Belgian ales thus far.

The first whiff of this beer gave me a glimpse as to what this aforementioned hype was all about; intense bready aroma dominates here though you can smell a bit of fruitiness.

To put the taste in context, I have had a Belgian strong dark ale before (see my review of Unibroue's Maudite) but this is the real stuff; straight from Belgium. The first sip reveals a taste profile much like the smell; heavy bready malt taste and a jumbled dark fruit taste. The fruitiness reminds me a little like cranberry-grape juice but I can't be sure. Either way its pleasant but not exactly what I was expecting. Later sips reveal some bite to the fruit flavors, a little spiciness due to cloves maybe? No abrasive, jarring tastes here (still very flavorful).

This beer is smooth. Like Sean P-Diddy Combs smooth. Very easily to drink at 9% abv (which is unnoticeable by the way) and the carbonation is perfect.

I got a single 330ml bottle of this (hooray for the metric system!) for 2 euros (roundabout $2.68 with current conversion rates) which is quite a bit cheaper than a single back in the states. Would I get it again? Absolutely, worth every euro cent. Lots of bars here in Barcelona have bottles in stock for reasonable prices and the same can be said for respectable joints in the states which makes it an easy choice for a sipper when you're in the mood for something smooooth.

Score: A-  4.0/5

Beer Review: Troegs Hopback Amber

Troegs, a brewery out of Pennsylvania, makes some of the best "value" beers out there and Hopback Amber is really the centerpiece of their line of great beers. For some context, this is an "American Amber Ale" but it really tastes like a malt-forward IPA. I'll talk more about that in a second.

This beer pours a medium amber color with a thin head that turns into just a filament shortly after and sits on top for a while. Great looking beer!

The smell is all malt; thick caramel, bready notes dominate here with no real variation to speak of. The smell is pleasant, for sure, but nothing blows you away.

The taste is far more complex than the nose; on the tip of your tongue you get the taste of sweet malts that the nose prepared you for. There's some citrus flavors through the middle of the sip and then a big bite of hops on the back end. I'm not talking about some generic amber ale hop content, this beer's hop flavor is (as I alluded to before) much more like an IPA than anything. Very pleasing taste in every aspect; especially in the boldness of the flavors.

This beer has, I would say, below average carbonation in terms of amount of carbonation. This works well with the caramel flavor which might have been masked by the carbonation bite. Not a particularly heavy beer on the palate but feels reasonably substantial because of the bready malt presence.

At $8.99 + tax, this beer is a bargain for the taste you get. Even people adverse to hop bitterness, I think, will find this beer tasty by virtue of the blast of caramel malt you get when you first taste this beers

Score: A  4.25/5

Craft Beer Total Value Ranking

As you may be aware, the purpose of this blog is to educate people as to the merits of drinking well made, delicious beer, but with a focus on "value." Out of this philosophy was born a formula (driven by my borderline obsessive desire to quantify everything) to help determine which beers to buy when price is of importance. Here is the link to the google doc that contains the spreadsheet with my rankings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiX9C2t4i6JcdGNpTnFnZ3lTVDlmWkhUaE45SzVObGc#gid=0.

A few notes:

• Keep in mind that the Total Value Ranking is HUGELY subjective. In fact, as I will explain, the only objective parts of the formula are the price and the alcohol content. 
• While alcohol content is a part of the equation, and this may seem to promote "getting drunk," please consider a portion of my audience. That is, I want to reach out to people who use beer primarily as means to catch a buzz, but yearn for something more from their beer. Indeed for almost all beer drinkers, the alcohol itself is a rich and integral part of the drinking experience. 
• Remember, this is about getting the "most" for your dollar!

Here's how the final formula works:

1. I record the beer name, the price, how many 12oz beer equivalents you get for that price (6 pack=6 beers, 22oz Bomber=1.833 beers, etc.) and the abv of that beer.
2. Functions embedded in the cells for that beer's row then calculate the number of standard drinks you receive by purchase that particular pack, and subsequently, the price per drink.
3. I then record either my subjective rating for the beer (on a scale of 0-5) or the beeradvocate.com rating avg. This is then used to normalize the price per drink value for taste of the beer. 
4. When all these values are put into the spreadsheet or calculated, the beers are ranked based on Cost (price of the pack/bottle), Price/Drink, Normalized Price/Drink and Taste. 
5. The Total Value Rating is then calculated as a compilation of these 4 rankings. The final Ranking is weighted as follows: 20% Price, 25% Price/Drink, 35% Normalized Price/Drink and 20% Taste.

Hopefully you enjoy this; it is in no way meant to be the final word on craft beer but rather one man's opinion. It is also subject to change... often... as I tweak the rankings and the weighting system. Finally I plan on updating it frequently as I try new beers (the bold beers in the first column are ones that I haven't tried yet) and I may or may not open up the document for public editing. 

As always feel free to ask away if you have any questions, comments, compliments or criticisms!

Beer Review: Stone Enjoy By 9.21.12 IPA

This is a limited release, "small batch" beer by Stone, a company that normally is known for their high production volume and reach for a craft beer company. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of bottles at my local liquor store after visiting the downtown Binny's franchise and learning that they had sold out in a couple hours. The name seems to be an effort to place emphasis on the freshness of the beer; it is indeed meant to be drunk before 9.21.12 as you may have guessed.

This beer pours a clean, golden color with a thick, modest-in-size head. A steady stream of carbonation is visible pouring from the bottom of my tulip glass. Pretty standard for a DIPA... nothing to hint at any distinctive qualities.

The smell is where this beer starts to get interesting: awesomely complex for an IPA. Usually, even in "sweeter" IPAs, the hops really dominate the smell but in Stone's Enjoy By, there is a wonderful mix of citrus flavors fused with the Hops. Scent is thick; I can tell that this is going to be an intense beer flavor-wise. Easily one of the best smelling beers I've ever had.

The taste is complex. Right off the bat I get fruity notes; first sweet... some lemon, mango mix then bitter fruits... BIG grapefruit taste accompanied by orange rind. It is on the back end of the sip that you get hit by the hop flavor. While this doesn't pack the hop punch of Ruination (also by Stone), the sheer amount of juiciness and flavor in this beer MORE than makes up for the decreased bitterness (which I happen to love).

This beer continues to stand out in the mouthfeel. The thickness; dare I say "chewiness" reminds me of something like Founder's Double Trouble (to be reviewed in the near future) and that is a very, very good thing. Great fullness in the body of this beer which compliments the fruitiness that is on showcase. Maybe not the most drinkable beer in the world but beers this flavorful rarely are. A good amount of carbonation rounds this beer out.

For $6.99, I thought this was a great deal but maybe that was in light of my [unfortunate] trend towards buying more expensive bottles of beer lately. Bottom line, was easily one of the best beers I've ever tried and possibly my favorite. I'll give it a slightly unrepresentative grade flavor wise due to the higher cost per ounce of the 22oz bottle format but make no mistake... if you see this beer on the shelves, get it!

Score: A-  4.25/5

Beer Review: Red Stripe

Red Stripe is a beer that has gained popularity through advertisement over the years; because of this, the makers and distributors have been able to play it off as a beer superior to generic macro lagers. We'll see how it fares in a real world test in just a minute.

The beer pours a thin straw yellow color with quite a bit of carbonation. There's not head to speak of; even with a rather aggressive pour, only a few stray bubbles manage to make it to the surface. Overall a pretty generic looking beer. 

There's a sweet smell to Red Stripe; something akin to a corona or similar imported lager. Kind of musty but definitely syrupy. Not altogether off-putting, but not what I would call pleasing. 

Taste is sweet right off the bat. You get some bready/malty mix throughout the sip but not much else beyond that. Taste is funky; not quite your generic bud taste but almost like you took a bud and aged it. 

Soft drink consistency; drinks thin with a watery mouthfeel. I can deal with watery if there's some flavor to it but if you've read the previous paragraph you know my opinion on that. Not as thin as a light beer which is I guess a redeemable quality. 

You can find Red Stripe "Jamaican Lager" at your local store for around $7.99 but honestly, don't. There's not much that distinguishes Red Stripe from your corona-type varieties; some twists on the adjunct lager taste but basically its the same beer. The only thing keeping me from giving this beer an "F" is the slightly-better-than-light-beer mouthfeel. No other way to describe it other than a bad value. Want taste like this? Get a 30-pack of whatever macro is on sale.

Score: D-  1.5/5