TBHC 8 - Virgin Free for All - Entry #2 Review Thread

[coldcrash1]

Reviews for beer #2 go here.

Scoring should give consideration to how much you enjoy the beer, as well as the beer’s adherence to the declared style and the presence/ absence of any technical flaws. After all, this is a competition to showcase our brewing skill and ability, and adherence to prescribed parameters is a great way to showcase that. But what’s the point in brewing a technically perfect true to style beer if it’s not also enjoyable to drink?

Feel free to refer to the BJCP Scoresheet for guidance and descriptors.

And here’s a link to the BJCP style guidelines for anyone who wants to brush up on a given style.

For entries without any declared style, you can assume the brewer would like their beer to be judged 100% hedonistically.

50 total points

Aroma/12
Appearance/3
Flavor/20
Mouthfeel/5
Overall Impression/10

 

[ShawDeuce221]

Aroma - sweet malt, lightly toasted...toast, zero hop aroma, close to no yeast aroma, hint of booze 7/12


Appearance - medium thick creamy off white head. Dark copper to almost dark red hue beer 2/3


Flavor - very malt forward beer, no real sign of hops here, would only assume some bittering hops. A hint of butterscotch lingering on the back end. 13/20


Mouthfeel - medium body, medium carb 4/5


Overall - I don’t see many 14C beers on the shelf so I couldn’t say I’ve tried many. This is a good entry according to the style guidelines. Well done. 8/10


34/50

 

[Ziggy]

Aroma: hints of sweet raisins and buscuits upfront. A little bit of roasted malt. No hop aroma at all. I think im smelling a little bit of english ale esters. 7/12

Appearance: copper red, with a little bit of head. Slightly opaque. 2/3

Flavor: light sweetness upfront, mostly malt character. A little bit of caramel, and finishes dry. Not very complex, but i dont think its meant to be. 14/20

Mouthfeel: low carb, light body. 3/5

Overall: i honestly dont know how to compare this to others in the same style since its new for me but it seems to match the bjcp description fairly well. 7/10

33/50

 

[More Betterness]

Aroma: Toasted bread and light caramel malt on the nose. Not detecting any hop aroma to speak of. Very mild fruity esters as it warms. Very clean.

8/12

Appearance: Dark copper and slightly hazy body. Bone white head that fades to a thin sheet and a ring around the glass.

2/3

Flavor: Mild caramel sweetness with a crackery malt finish. Just a hint of fruity esters once again. Maybe a hint of honey as it warms. Again, not a ton of depth, but very clean with no glaring flaws. Honestly might believe you if you told me it was lagered.

12/20

Mouthfeel: Low-medium body with low carb.

3/5

Overall: Not super familiar with the style, but seemed to adhere to the guidelines pretty well. Just a clean, well executed beer that isn’t going to blow your doors off flavor wise, but is definitely very drinkable and free of any flaws. Nice work!

7/10

32/50

 

[coldcrash1]

Appearance: pours a hazy medium amber with one finger creamy white head. 2/3


Aroma: Fruity esters, minerally. Boddingtons yeast profile. Light bready malt. 10/12


Taste: not the malt bomb I anticipated, but that just goes to show my limited exposure to this style. Very crushable. This is drinking like an Ordinary Bitter, with a honeylike sweetness and bready/ saltine malt character and just enough bitterness on the finish to tease the next sip. 15/20


Mouthfeel: Light and creamy with a minerally dry finish. 4/5


Overall: My first experience with this style, and I’m sold. Hangs very close to the style guide descriptions, and I felt like the aroma, taste and mouthfeel worked very well together to make this a very sessionable beer. Please send me a case please! 9/10

Total: 40/50

 

[liquiddegenerate]

Aroma - Malt, malt, malt and a faint fruit smell from yeast or hops. 7/12


Appearance - Amber in color, fairly clear, thin white head that vanished quickly 2/3


Flavor - toasted bread, slight caramel sweetness, some earthy, spicy hop flavor on the back end. 16/20


Mouthfeel - Low carb, medium body 4/5


Overall - Very good beer brewed to style. Reminiscent of an English bitter. Really nice flavors from a presumably low ABV beer. 8/10


37/50

 

[dimensionx]

Aroma 8/12
Clean malt flavor and not much else, a little bit oxidized and maybe a hint of sweet crystal cutting through. No noticeable hop presence.

Appearance 3/3
Golden amber with a very slight haze, mild carbonation.

Flavor 14/20
Easy drinking, clean malt flavor that isn't nearly as heavy as I was expecting. Very slight hint of noble hops but almost imperceptible. Some crystal/carmel/butterscotch that adds a bit more depth to the overall flavor.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Medium bodied with a ring of bubbles that faded fast, mellow carb.

Overall Impression 6/10
Definitely brewed to style and easy to drink for a malt dominated beer (not always something I like). Interesting style that I'm not familiar with at all, glad I got to try it.
35/50