Beeritas Session 1: The Classics

Posted by Edmund in Beer, Featured Articles, Wine & Liquor | 0 comments

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m starting a new branch of the site, delving straight into the world of beer. I’ll be recruiting the help of Harvard Law’s very own beer drinking society, Beeritas, and posting notes of our tastings along with some beer history and process on a weekly or other-weekly basis.

Now, that may sound just a tad gimmicky. I mean, who really takes beer all that seriously? What’s the thrill of an ordinary, bottled white beer or a lager? Well, that’s exactly the stereotype that Beeritas is fighting—and they’re doing a damn good job of it, too.

On Tuesday, I finally got my first shot at a tasting (and after an excruciating day of classes, trust me, I needed a beer or two). We started off with something relatively easy for all the newcomers (i.e. people like me): the classics, an introduction to the major styles through easily accessible, common beers. I was surprised at the large selection of seven beers, mostly from America but with a sprinkling of some Belgium and England in there. Those beers really did run the gamut of styles, too, ranging from the whitest of whites to mesmerizingly coffee-black porters and stouts.

Even so, I was somewhat hesitant. Beers like Hoegaarden and Duvel are great, but I’ve had them in their home country, and I didn’t really notice all that much to them back then. Nothing in the selection was all that radical and innovative, and I didn’t expect anything to wow me. We were, after all, drinking the most basic of the basics.

I did, however, gain a newfound respect for the classics that you can only get from an in-depth analysis and an understanding of the beer-making process. That’s not to say the tasting was a history lesson—and if it were, I’m not sure how many people would want to participate. The sprinkling of facts and the side-by-side comparisons did, however, put even simple beers, like Hoegaarden, into a larger context that I think is necessary to really get a (slight) thrill out of something so simple.

Before I get onto the notes, I just want to extend my thanks to all the participants and organizers for both sharing so much information and creating such a memorable event. Most (student-run) tasting organizations tend to fall into one of two extremes: either they tend to be an excuse to simply party, or they take the process so seriously that they suck the whole life out of their participants. Beeritas manages to get it just right, combining the jovial spirit and casualness of a night out with the guys with just enough process and history.

That said, I’ve attached my notes and impressions of every beer in the tasting. Enjoy!

What I Tasted

1.  Hoegaarden White. Belgian White Beer. 4.90% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Notes:

Orange peel and coriander are the only ingredients that make a wheat beer into a white.

Impressions:

Smooth, easy to drink. A nice bit of bitterness hits you in the palate at the end, followed by a refreshing orange. The flavors are very subtle, but the beer does leave you with a lasting, easy finish.

3.0/5.0

2.  Brooklyn Lager. American Amber/Red Lager. 5.20% ABV.

Notes:

Four ingredients in beer: barley, hops, yeast, water. In most beers, the yeast floats on top, and the beer is fermented warm. In lagers, the yeast is on the bottom, and the beer is fermented cold. That fermentation gives lagers a crisp, clean flavor.

Impressions:

Nice, semi-dark, brown color, though a bit muddy. Floral sweetness in the aroma, though it’s a tad light. That aroma reminds me a bit of honeysuckle.

The taste is rather bitter, to the point that the beer doesn’t have much flavor—like leather, with a burnt overtone that’s too much for me.

1.0/5.0

3.  Whale’s Tale Pale Ale. American Pale Ale, done English-Style. 5.60% ABV.

Notes:

Pale Ale invented in England. The malt isn’t roasted over a wood fire (as is typical), so you don’t get the char you’d get from a wood fire. Very light in comparison to other beers. Not much residual or burnt sugar. Hoppier than others. Less caramel flavors.

Impressions:

Very little aroma at all. Nice dark-brown color, though. That color is less muddy than the last.

As for the taste, pale is really the right word. It’s clean, with a bit of bitterness, but not necessarily in a bad way. It’s also very smooth on the way down, with the bitterness only hitting you at the very end. It has a nice bit of frostiness that makes it very crisp, even though it’s actually hoppier than the last.

2.3/5.0

4.  Duvel Golden Ale. Belgian Gold. 8.5% ABV.

Notes:

Not pasteurized. Fermented three times: two times in vat (for an increase in the ABV) and once in bottle (for carbonation).

Impressions:

Little aroma. Beautiful blond color—light but with almost a honey shine to it. Very foamy and carbonated.

It’s very smooth, even though it has a nice bit of hoppiness that kicks in by the end. That bitterness picks up very gradually, leaving a very long, but subtle, impression on the palate. A very subtle honey is also present on the uptake. The carbonation is very refreshing.

4.0/5.0

5.  Mayflower Porter. English-style Porter. 5.50% ABV.

Notes:

In porters, the malt is roasted over fire so that it turns black, making porters very toasty and smoky.

Impressions:

It has a bit of nuts and bitter chocolate on the aroma, which is a bit light. The color is very dark, verging on black and reminding me of dark chocolate.

The taste is a bit too woody for me, though. The beer isn’t too bitter, coming in more with a very straight, direct flavor. A very big smokiness pervades the whole drink, too, and it can become a little overpowering. The beer tastes almost like a heavy char, but it also leaves you with a refreshing, lasting, smoky, hickory flavor on the palate. You can really taste the malt here.

2.5/5.0

6.  Fuel Cafe Stout. Coffee-Flavored Stout. 5.93% ABV.

Notes:

Stouts naturally have a coffee taste to them. Some of them are even infused with coffee or coffee beans, as is the case here.

Impressions:

Strong aroma (from the coffee). Wood, smoke, and coffee on the nose.

This beer manifests another beautiful black color that’s very sharp and aggressive. The taste is equally strong, though rather nice. The coffee is present throughout, infusing the whole taste with a roasted, toasty flavor that only picks up in intensity as you savor it. The length is a bit weak, but the flavor is strong regardless, with a lot of wood and chocolate coming through. In the end, the coffee can cling to the palate just a bit much. I do like the sweetness here, though. A good bit of fizz also helps to lighten the extremely strong flavor.

3.5/5.0. Probably a 4.0/5.0 if you like stouts.

7.    60-Minute Dogfishhead IPA. 6.0% ABV.

Notes:

IPA = Pale ale with extra hops. The name of this beer originates from the production process: Hops are added in constantly for 60 minutes, making this beer rather hoppy. The 90-minute and 120-minute Dogfishheads follow the same process.

Impressions:

Not much aroma, but just a little bit of an herby quality. Dirty blond color.

Very big and very flavorful in taste, though. You notice the hops immediately, as the bitterness hits you strongly and only intensifies until it leaves you with just a bit too much in the finish. There’s also a ton of carbonation, almost like that of a soda. Still, I enjoy the very intense, very refreshing blast of herbs on the palate, somewhat akin to parsley. Overall, the IPA can be a bit bland because of the overpowering hops, but it’s still huge on flavor.

2.5/5.0