Ten beers were served (in small portions), each identified to the crowd solely by a number. Every attendee filled out a score sheet ranking the following attributes of each beer on a scale of one to five: appearance, aroma, taste, and mouth feel. Those attributes were weighted 10 percent, 20 percent, 60 percent, and 10 percent respectively, and all the data was entered into a spreadsheet that ranked all the beers featured according to the preferences of the twenty-three people who completed score sheets. I’ll run through details of a few of these scores, but first some crucial disclaimers are needed.
The imperial stout style category is dominated by intensely-flavored beers that some might consider “palate-destroying.” Someone at my table commented that he believed the way folks were scoring the beers was affected by the order in which they were served, and I’m certain he’s right. That effect was mitigated by the fact that everyone received the beers in a different order—some received the “ten” beer first, some received “three” first, others received “seven” first, etc. If everyone had received the beers in the same order from “one” through “ten,” the last beer would’ve been doomed because everyone’s taste buds likely would have been worn out before sampling it.
In spite of the skill evident in the design of the event, it was impossible to taste every beer with a fresh palate. If you taste a milder beer shortly after tasting a more intense beer, the nuances of the milder beer will be lost on you. But comparing beers of the same style side-by-side is the greatest strength of a tasting like this. And although it goes without saying, I’ll say it anyway, “Taste is subjective.” In some cases, a particular beer’s scores ranged from two out of five by one person all the way to four and a half out of five by another person. Clearly those folks have different tastes in beer.
All that to say: while the scores from this event are certainly meaningful, if it were held again with the same people and the same beers, the outcome might be a bit different. I don’t think the last place beer could jump to first place or vice versa, but everything in between might shake out just a little differently. This event was fun and it will no doubt affect what beers the participants buy in the future, but take the results with a grain of salt.
Without further ado, the beer that achieved the highest average score among the twenty-three participants was brewed by none other than Birmingham’s own Good People Brewing Co., the famed Fatso. I must confess I did not expect that, and Fatso was not my own highest rated beer (it was third from the top for me). But when the tastes of a larger group were averaged out, the home team won the day in a tasting where no one knew it was a Good People beer as they rated it. Color me very impressed.
Something else that surprised me was the beer that ended up with the lowest overall score, Sweetwater Happy Ending. It tied for fourth in my scoring, but most people rated it very low. It stood out for its intense dry hop aroma, and that must have been jarring for many participants. I am of the opinion that every American-style ale can be improved by the use of more hops. That’s how American craft brewing really took off in the early days—by taking English beer styles and adding more hops. But in the context of so many complex stout beers, it looks like over-the-top dry-hopping didn’t win Sweetwater many points.
Clocking in at number two in the rankings was Bell’s Expedition Stout, a surprise only in that prior to the event I’d pegged it as a slight favorite for the top spot. It had the most robust bitterness and complex hop profile of any I tasted. And it was my own top rated beer in the blind tasting. My number two beer was Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout. It was remarkably complex and popping with dark fruit flavors.
One other surprise of the evening for several folks was Samuel Adams hitting the number three slot with their Imperial Stout. The sort of beer drinker interested in attending a blind imperial stout tasting is likely to view Samuel Adams as craft beer for the masses, not on the same level as the most elite names in craft brewing. But they really held their own and proved they can hang with the little guys in a style revered for its complexity.
Talks have already begun on the subject of when to hold the next blind tasting, and what style to feature. It’ll probably be two or three months from now, so go ahead and clear your calendar!
“Hopped Up” is a weekly brew review by Danner Kline, founder of Free the Hops and co-organizer of the annual Magic City Brewfest. Send your feedback to danner@freethehops.org
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