Raw tasting notes – Beer Camp!

Just wanting to get my raw notes into the blog from Beer Camp. The Barley Vine blog did a great job of writing this up, as did Ronnie Crocker over at Beer, TX – and I am in agreement with both of them.

Note, I didn’t start categorizing my notes into the normal BJCP style until a few beers in – hence the different approach:

Ommegang Hennepin

Saison. Kevin’s favorite, given high price of import saison. Very dry, a slightly wheatey finish. Some serious astringency at the front of the palate. I can see how this would be refreshing on a hot day, but I like my saison a bit grainer.

Lost Abbey Red Barn

Another Saison at 6.7%. Nice rich, full aroma of grains. Slightly off golden (a little orange) Get coriander in the nose and some citrus in the palate. Really liked this beer, one of my favorites of the tasting.

Lost Abbey Devotion

Belgian style golden ale. Aroma is funky and slightly cheesy. Flavor has an odd bitterness. Not a fan of this beer.

Southampton Grand Cru

Aroma: Molasses & brown sugar. Didn’t notice too much spice. A little bit of hop aroma perceptible.

Appearance: Orange tinted golden color. Low apparent carbonation.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Big and sweet. Very little hop bitterness/flavor. Deep, sweet aftertaste. Candy sugar? Adjuncts? Syrupy in the mouth.

Overall: OK beer. Very intense.

Ommegang 3 Philosophers

Been a long time since I had this beer. A blend of cherry, Belgian blonde and belgian dark.

Aroma: A lot of raisin. Some hint of acetone (nail polish remover)

Appearance: Nutty orange. Low apparent carbonation.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Some cherry, some raisin. All kinds of caramel flavors, lots of caramel malt/crystal malt sweetness.

Overall: Reasonable. A more flavorful Maredsous.

Ithaca Excelsior Brut

American sour ale finished with champagne yeast. Has corn in the mash (!)

Aroma: Leather, anise, sour aromas.

App: Cloudy, sandy/straw colored

Fl/MF: Apple flavors. Malt late in the palate, followed by a quick transition to sour and then dry.

Overall: Yum. Quite tasty, but lacks the complexity of a true lambic. Lotsa lactic acid! Champagne yeast really drys out the finish.

Weyerbacher Riserva

Raspberry sour beer

Aroma: Very fruity. Caramel aromas prevalent

Appearence: Cloudy brown. Low carbonation

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Amazingly barnyard-y. Nice complexity in malt profile. Hate the fruit.

Overall: Meh. A little thin. Makes me want a Flemish Red Ale.

Ommegang Rare VOS

Aroma: Cidery, some botanical aromas. A little sweet. Do I get cinnamon?

Appearance: Cloudy golden color.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: A little thin. Some nice earthy hop flavors.

Overall: Not bad. I might drink this again, but a little thin.

Stone 09.09.09

Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Aroma: Chocolate, berries, cloves and banana

Appearance: Mahogany

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Very dark and roasty flavors. Disparate hop bitterness – some at beginning, some at end, none in middle of flavor profile. Some chocolate. No banana or clove flavors.

Overall: Would love to have in 3 years time!

Three Floyds/DogfishHead Popskull

Aroma: Some florals, very mellow

Appearance: Deep brown. Low apparent carbonation.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Tastes like Palo Santo Marron. Nice roasted malt flavors. Dangerous – easy drinking. Thinner than I would have thought

Overall: Yum, but wouldn’t pay a lot for it.

DogfishHead Burton Baton

Foamed at open. Blend of oak aged IPA and 90″ IPA

Aroma: Dry. Floral hop

Appearance: Rose/orange colors

Flavor: Nice and floral hop flavors. Don’t get much oakiness

Overall: One of the better beers DFH makes. I dig this – a lot.

Stone 13th Anniversary

Aroma: Hoppy, nice malt aroma

Appearance: Orange, low head

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Very hoppy. Nice balance. This would age well.

Overall: Really like it. Have had on draft before, would like to have some to hold on to.

AleSmith Old Numbskull (2004)

Aroma: Alcoholic and only slightly hoppy

Appearance: Cloudy orange. Nice head retention for such an aged beer. Major yeast in suspension!

Flavor: Hop balance weighted toward citrus and grapefruit flavors. Tastes very much like DR 1

Overall: Could age longer for sure. Yum! (Second favorite beer)

Mayflower Porter

Aroma: Roasted, sweet malt. Nice and chocolatey

Appearance: Dark, ruby, nice.

Flavor: I like Duckrabbit better. A little dry, but OK

Overall: I wouldn’t go to great lengths for this beer, but tasty. Is my favorite style after all.

Troeg’s Java Head

Aroma: No coffee aroma.

Appearance: Dark, dark, dark

Flavor: Tastes like a milk stout. Very roasty. Quite thin, getting very little coffee flavor.

Overall: Meh. Just OK.

Southern Tier Moka

Aroma: Caramel, Sugar, some…mint (!)

Appearance: Dark and a little thin. Very little head.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Wow. Mint Chocolate chip ice cream comes to mind. Great balance … wow.

Overall: BEST BEER OF THE TASTING. CAN I GO TO THE BREWERY NOW PLEASE.

Southern Tier Iniquity

Aroma: A little nutmeg. Sweet. No hop aromas

Appearance: Deep nut brown. Decent head, carbonation normal for style

Flavor: I really dig this! Nice dark IPA. Good balance of roasted malt bitterness and simcoe (although this has debittered black malt, so I must be tasting some little bit of the black patent?)

Overall: Nice. An east coast dark IPA. Cool. @barleyvine will laugh at me for liking this beer 🙂

Smuttynose Imperial Stout

Aroma: Molasses. Malt syrup? Chocolate?

Appearance: Mahogany – deep dark color

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Nice hop bitterness, good balance of hopes in here. Moderate mouthefeel. Floral edge.

Overall: Tons of flavors. Love it.

Speedway Stout

Aroma: Roasty aromas. Some hop noticeable.

Appearance: Dark. Impenetrable.

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Amazingly bitter roast flavors. Decent hop balance. A little out of order.

Overall: OK, nothing to write home about.

Three Floyds Dark Lord (2008)

Aroma: Soy sauce, some hop aromas.

Appearance: Syrupy. Deep black, some brown on the margin of the head/beer interface

Flavor/Mouthfeel: Think, roasty and chocolaty. Lots of flavors – sweetness from caramel, sugar, malt and chocolate. Hop bitterness throughout. Nice explosion of all flavors on the back of the palate. A crazy good beer.

Overall: Very excited to taste this. Would like to try a vertical and see how this ages.