TBHC 8 - Virgin Free for All - Entry #7 Review Thread

[coldcrash1]

This is the place for your reviews for beer #7.

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

 

[Mugatu]

Alright, I'm a total noob so tell me to be quiet if you must. This one says #7 Grisette, but I don't see a distinct BJCP category for that. Are we to assume it's in the 25A Belgian Blond Ale or 25B Saison category? Or something totally different?

 

[coldcrash1]

Grisette is not in the BJCP style guide.

There are definitely some strong opinions as to what does/ does not constitute a Grisette, but when I drink this one I’ll be looking for something like a dry table strength Saison, could be a clean or mixed fermentation profile, with strong hop presence.

Here’s some reference: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Grisette

I’ll probably focus my scoring on the presence of any brewing flaws/ off flavors, and how likely I’d be to bang it again.

 

[Mugatu]

Thanks didn’t mean to be a BJCP boner

 

[dimensionx]

Entry #7 Grisette


Sorry for the shitty photo

I tried to reference the BJCP guidelines as a but the general takeaway is that almost every category is "Variable by base style" so...

Aroma 9/12
Clean and sweet aroma, mild lactic scent with notes of Sweetarts™ and hay. Nice and clean aroma, inviting.

Appearance 2/3
Subdued hiss on opening. Crystal clear, golden hue, with small bubbles that continue rising to the top minutes after opening. A small ring of lacing hanging on the edge. Could use a few more bubbles perhaps.

Flavor 16/20
Similar to the aroma, nice hint of sour character that adds but doesn't dominate. No real grain flavor which seems fine for the style and fits my personal tastes. Very quaffable and refreshing, could definitely down a few glasses of this in a sitting. Minus points for slight aftertaste of Cheerios™ that lingers a bit longer than I want it to.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Light and smooth, clean and slightly "wet" aftertaste.

Overall Impression 8/10
Loved it! Damn, I would drink the ever loving **** out of this every day of the week. The only minus for me was the Cheerios™ flavor that came through on the aftertaste and became more pronounced as it warmed. My mixed-fermentation sours often suffer from the same flavor so I can certainly sympathize/also recognize that it often clears up after a few more months in the bottle. I would also like to see where the Brett goes in a few months. Nice work!

39/50
--------

I did some googling and this seems like the culprit for the cereal flavor. I haven't read it all yet but plan to. My last mixed culture beer has so much THP it is basically undrinkable right now
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Tetrahydropyridine

 

[ShawDeuce221]

Aroma - musty, very funky, sweet malt, young spontaneous fermentation smell 6/12


Appearance - crystal clear, light light light, white head, hung around awhile 2/3


Flavor - same must that I get in the smell, funky hop character somewhat bitter in comparison to the malt bill. 9/20


Mouthfeel - light on mouthfeel, high carb which is great for the grisette style 4/5


Overall Impression - this isn’t hitting the spot with me. I’ve done some spontaneous fermentations in the past and this is what they smell and taste like when they are a few weeks/months old. Can’t say that this is what’s going on here but just speaking from my past experience. 5/10


26/50

 

[More Betterness]

#7:

Aroma: Slightly muted musty apricot and light clove, followed by light soapy and floral hop character. Slight medicinal phenolics initially, but dissipated after warming. 7/12

Appearance: Opaque straw colored body with a large pillowy head with fantastic retention. High carbonation. Rustic looking AF and I love it. 3/3

Flavor: Bitter lemon pith and florality. Not picking up any malt character to speak of. Get an offputting note of plastic/band aid on the finish and after the swallow that I typically associate with chlorophenols but also sometimes notice in younger beer with Brett B. Finishes astringent and harshly bitter with a touch of minerality. 7/20

Mouthfeel: High carbonation in a light+ body. Would have liked to see a bit more softness on the palate. 3/5

Overall Impression: See a lot of markers of the style but feel that a more execution on certain facets of the brew could have presented them in a better manner. Not sure what your water looked like but a little softer profile would have rounded things out and tempered the bitterness for my palate. Also, noticed some flavors and aromas that could be attributed to a younger beer with a Brett pitch, and if that is the case I imagine the positives of what was already there continuing to develop!

5/10

25/50

 

[dimensionx]

Entry 7 Grisette

Aroma: 3/12
Modified fruity bandaid, cider-like but it almost has a spiciness to it, possibly cloves.
Appearance: 3/3
Opens with a rambunctious hiss and a rollicking froth of foam that slowly receded into a lake of fuzz. Golden yellow, totally clear.
Flavor: 10/20
The smell carries over, seems like a fermentation flaw. I can taste the backbone of a nice beer here but it is mostly overwhelmed by the off-flavor. The good parts exhibit a nice malty sweetness balanced by just a hint of acid.
Mouthfeel: 3/3
Nice, light to medium body.
Overall: 4/10
I definitely see potential in this one but the off-flavor kills it. I’m not sure, but it might be ethyl acetate. Curious to know about the fermentation process and yeast used. Reminds me a little of a beer that I made where I racked to secondary and added a pitch of Lambicus.
23/50

 

[liquiddegenerate]

TB Comp #7

Aroma - bandaid, medicinal, sweet fruit 6/12
Appearance - Bright gold, fluffy white head that slowly dissipated 3/3
Flavor - Plastic, some lemon, chlorine, very bitter and medicinal 7/20
Mouthfeel - Medium body with a crisp finish 4/5
Overall Impression - I just couldn't get past the plastic, chlorine, very bitter flavor. I hate to be this harsh but this strikes me as a bad water issue, chlorine or chloramines. There's a guy in my local homebrew club that has this identical issue sporadically 3/10

Total - 23/50

 

[axeman91821]

Aroma- Some hay and golden cracker sweetness. Phenols that trend towards chlorine and medicinal, becoming more and more prominent as the beer warms. 7/12

Appearance- Goldenrod and crystal clear. Good head formation, white foam, and very solid retention. Very nice looking beer. 3/3

Flavor- A little bit of pleasant pale malt up front, but it's quickly overshadowed by medicinal, chlorine like phenols that clash with a mild hop bitterness. It's almost as if a little pool water got into an otherwise serviceable grisette. 7/20

Mouthfeel- Well attenuated, appropriate for the style. If I was going to nitpick, I might look for just a little more carbonation. 4/5

Overall- There are a few positive things here. I like what little malt character I do manage to get, and the body is almost perfect for the style. That said, everything else is completely overshadowed by the phenolic off flavors. I'm not sure if it's just a water issue, or if some of it is yeast/brett driven, but it runs roughshod over the rest of the beer. 3/10

(24/50)

 

[coldcrash1]

A: pours a crystal clear yellow w pillowy Snow White head. Very pretty beer. 3/3

A: strong aroma of chlorine. Subtle pineapple 6/12

T: chlorine and a sharp medicinal character dominate. I’m looking for some sign of any malt or hop character but the phenolic are so dominant it’s tough to get past them. 10/20

M: Light and dry, slightly slick. 3/5

O: 5/10. Appearance and body were the strong points. Unfortunately it seems like fermentation issues may have gotten the better of this one

T: 27/50