Great Divide Brewery
Titan IPA

A (3 of 4): Dark copper, cloudy. Medium head goes away quick.

S (5 of 6): Strong floral hops. Very enticing.

T (18 of 25): Good citrus hop taste followed by some malts. My only criticism is the overly bitter taste (just slightly, mind you) at the tail end. Almost as good as Hop Stoopid above.

M (4 of 5): Decent weight with perhaps a bit too much carbonation (maybe this is a bias of mine).

O (7 of 10): This is really a very, very good IPA but I rank it just under Hop Stoopid so one point less. Again, I think I'm being overly critical but I suppose consistency has its merits. By the way, you would not know it's 7.1% ABV, at least by taste.

Total Score = 37 Very Good Worth trying!

Deschutes!

As an Oregonian, I'm a little of Oregon beer loyalist. Hops! We grow tons of them. Rogue is my favorite. Tom's I'm going to try your rating system on these crappy Chinese beers I have to drink here. An imported good beer here runs 5 dollars for a small bottle.

Just be careful to judge VERY critical, it's not like a school test where 65% is passing, here a 65% would be a middle of the road beer, not all that bad. I think 50% is right in the middle and isn't too bad, isn't that great. Getting past that mindset is hard to do!

Well darshevania I plan on doing some Full Sail beers next, love their business model and their product.

So Tom, would you say that a Coors is a 25 (total) as a baseline benchmark and that everything should go up or down from there? Just trying to get some guidance.

ahhhh, I would say that benchmark is based on the particular person. If YOU happen to just love Coors, then for you it would be higher than it would be for me. My personal feeling is Coors is a poor beer, certainly not the worst stuff out there but certainly not a middle of the road beer either (per MY personal tastes that is) I tend to think Coors, Bud, etc would fall at say a total of about 17-20, JUST barely making "fair" grade. so when breaking it down, EVERY beer can grab some "easy" points for it's color or nose and even a bad grade gains SOME points so to make 17 is somewhat easy if you gave even as few as 12 out of 25 for taste ...less than half! if you don't like a beers taste, then it should be reflected in the grade, 2 or 3 points isn't too harsh! Hell, 10 points isn't all that bad if you consider the grading scale.

I get the feeling this greatly overcomplicates the beer drinking experience...

danivon wrote:I get the feeling this greatly overcomplicates the beer drinking experience...

Well it's a different type of experience. The main thing I find interesting is the challenge of having to carefully reflect on the wide array of qualities in the experience and then try and describe it.

Even if you don't like rating beers, I hope you'll chime in with your knowledge of beer.

Neal Anderth wrote:

danivon wrote:I get the feeling this greatly overcomplicates the beer drinking experience...

Well it's a different type of experience. The main thing I find interesting is the challenge of having to carefully reflect on the wide array of qualities in the experience and then try and describe it.

Even if you don't like rating beers, I hope you'll chime in with your knowledge of beer.

Most beer drinking experiences focus on something else- like pool, poker, women (or men) and the occasional game of diplomacy. (If you've never tried f2f 'public' press only around a table with some beer, you should try it!) I'm going to try this rating system out this weekend. Just out of curiosity where does utility fit into all of this? Tsingtao might not be the best beer in the world, but it'll do most days here in China (btw imported Tsingtao is much different than domestic--- that is to say not as good, unless you are in Qingdao and get it from the factory).

Neal Anderth wrote:Well it's a different type of experience. The main thing I find interesting is the challenge of having to carefully reflect on the wide array of qualities in the experience and then try and describe it.

Yep, sure is. Don't get me wrong, I do compare beers, and when at a festival will rate them out of 10 because they usually ask people to nominate beers for awards.

But that's as far as I need to go, basically. If I like it, I like it. If I don't, I don't. I generally have an idea why, but I don't try and put a number to it all. Rather I look for another beer to try (or another pint of the same one).

The other thing is that I tend to drink beers in the pub, not at home, and that new beers I try tend to be on draught rather than in a bottle. I'm not getting a checklist out in the pub, everyone will think I'm a right nerd (I prefer for them to discover this over a longer period).

Even if you don't like rating beers, I hope you'll chime in with your knowledge of beer.

Best US brewer? Kona. Followed shortly behind by Anchor. My preferred 'style' is English IPA, although the less ridiculously hopped American IPAs are nice. We are getting quite a few 'American Style' IPAs brewed here, such as the Dark Star version (Dark Star are one of the best brewers in the UK, imo, with a diverse range of beers).

The rating is only for a change of pace and should be FUN. You should not be expected to do this or even think like this all the time! Enjoying yourself is always the priority. Speaking of ridiculously hopped American IPA's, I had one last night I will try to report on shortly and no way did I have this checklist with me but I did try to remember the different categories and keep them in mind and it did make my drinking experience a bit more interesting. I was with my wife and daughter and enjoying their company but silently in my head I would take moments here and there reflecting on the different beer characteristics, sort of like two things going on at the same time and I did like that! The "ridiculous" hoppy beers do tend to grow on you by the way, I am certainly not where SloTerp is on hoppy beer but it is certainly growing on me!

Style: American IPA
The American IPA is a different soul from the reincarnated IPA style. More flavorful than the withering English IPA, color can range from very pale golden to reddish amber. Hops are typically American with a big herbal and / or citric character, bitterness is high as well. Moderate to medium bodied with a balancing malt backbone.

Name of Beer: Lagunitas IPA
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co, Petaluma CA
Per manufacturer:
The recipe was formulated with malt and hops working together to balance it all out on your ‘buds so you can knock back more than one without wearing yourself out. Big on the aroma with a hoppy-sweet finish that’ll leave you wantin’ another sip. ABV: 6.2%

Poured from a draught at a local restaurant

A (4) 2
S (6) 4
T (25) 17
M (5) 4
O [b](10) [b]7
Score (50): ____34
Notes:
A Quite nice honey gold color, quite clear (though I prefer a slightly darker amber color in my beer IPA's simply do not get that dark) a nice 2 finger head that quickly settled and laced very nicely all the while.
S Hops are apparent from the flowery smell, floral mixed with a hint of citrus smell, quite nice but not like you may expect a non-IPA to smell like!
T The hops hit hard and early, very hoppy with a hint of pine, citrus and grassy tastes, maybe even slightly "bready" but VERY slight. The bitter start does tail off but still bitter at the end (but lesser so) while leaving little aftertaste.
M Slightly over carbonated but not too aggressive, feels light bodied and quite refreshing (this would make a real nice summer time beer to enjoy on my backyard deck). Very "clean" taste.
O Enjoyable, refreshing, light with a dry finish. My 20 ounce pour went back very fast, I can see this beinga good session beer where I could enjoy several at one sitting. But I warn those who do not like hops, this one is not for you! This is indeed an "American IPA" in that the hops are more pronounced than it's English cousins!

...Falls into the "very good" category for me and that seems quite right, in fact the score could fall a bit higher in this same category if the color and aroma had been a bit better (for my likes) but the taste is FAR more important than are color and smell but still, the rating seems to have worked well! Quite a good beer, easy to drink and depending on your love of hops you could most certainly rate it higher or lower!

Troegs Brewery Nugget Nectar
Style: Imperial Amber

A (4 of 4): A beautiful dark coppery/red beer. Pours clear with a nice head. Yes, it calls to you! It dissipated quickly but I'm beginning to think it's the glass I use - none of my beers retains its foam. [Edit] Just poured a second in the same glass - the head has retention. Must be some soap residue that makes the foam go away.

S (6 0f 6): Wow. Huge bouquet of flowery hops.

T (22 of 25): This is simply one of the best beers I've ever had (if not the best). Citrusy floral hops up front. Nicely balanced with some serious malts. Finish is less bitter than expected for all the hops and you never really taste the alcohol (7.5%). Taste lingers for a while.

M (5 of 5): Medium to medium-heavy and really sticks around (not in a bad way). Carbonation is spot on.

O (9 of 10): Too bad this beer is a seasonal for Troegs - I could drink this year round. If you run across it, it is a must try.

Total Score = 46 Outstanding I'm on my third (not all tonight) out of the six-pack I bought. Every time I drink another I actually like it even more. I can't rate this a perfect beer, otherwise whats the point in trying anything else, but it comes damn close. Tom, I owe you a debt of gratitude for mentioning this beer and being the impetus for seeking it out.

I didn't really drink until I was about 25. The beers I grew up knowing about way back then and before were old style stuff like Pabst and Bud. My granddad owned a bar and I thought the smell was just awful. I'm sure that was the smell of stale beer, but it took years to get over. To this day, I regret having traveled through England at a time (1973) when I did not like to drink beer.

After I moved to Minnesota back in 1975, some friends had me try one of those "light" beers, which I was able to handle for a few sips. It was awful, but it got me interested in the real stuff (I figured actual beer couldn't really be this bad). I bought one of Michael Jackson's beer books and I was soon off to the liquor store, working my way through their inventory. Living in Minnesota, I discovered a lot of pretty decent local and regional brews (Cold Spring, New Ulm, Shell's, Leinie's), as well as foreign stuff. I particularly came to enjoy British beers, especially the Samuel Smith beers. I still like them (esp Oatmeal Stout). The Craft Beer boom was just starting about that time, too. It is still fun trying all of new beers being produced. Still, these days Heaven is a carefully poured pint of Guinness at my local bar. And Hell is a badly-poured pint. But not Hell for me!
George

SloTerp ...you are welcome! Please remember who turned you on to Nugget Nectar! also remember this is a limited release beer and available only in February and March, it's going away real soon!

Ruffhaus8 ..Wow, I could not disagree more with most of what you said above! But it's not like I am saying you are wrong, it's all about personal tastes and ours are quite different! I love Sam Adams, it is always consistently good, very good actually (not my favorite but certainly always well received) Boston Lager is in no way over hopped, it is a Lager through and through, not real hoppy in the least. If you like Lagers, and you think Sam Adams is too hoppy, do yourself a favor and try Great Lakes Brewing companies "Eliot Ness". It's a Vienna Lager (You mention Mexican Beers, Dos Equis is also a Vienna Lager) very rich flavors, very malty and little hops, you may like it based on what you have stated ...give it a go, I had a few just yesterday and it is one of my absolute favorites!!!

The Public Ale
DC Brau Brewing Co.
American Pale Ale
On tap at Old Ebbitt's Grill (DC)

I'm not giving a full write up since I was with family and friends and not paying too much attention. Solid pale ale that went well with my food. What I noted most was the grapefruit in this one. Perhaps a little too bitter.

Randy,
When Lost Rhino first opened I sampled about six beers and was totally unimpressed. About four months ago I purchased a growler, one of their pale ales, that I thought it was pretty good but not great. I think they need to up their game a little bit more but I certainly saw improvement from when they opened. Always happy for an excuse to try some beer - I'll send you an email when an opportunity arises (or vice-versa).