BJCP Scoresheets

Scoresheet Saturday: Sierra Nevada Otra Vez

Ron Unz 2 Comments

In this post, I’m sipping on one of my favorite summer beer styles, Gose. The Westbrook Gose is one of my all-time favorite summer beers. Lets see how the Otra Vez tastes and compared to the style guidelines in the BJCP.


Judge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: Sierra Nevada Beer Otra Vez
Category: 27 Historical Beer – Gose
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None

Aroma: 7/12

Moderate-low bread crust malt and wheat aroma. No hop aroma. Low levels of citrus and fruit. Moderate-low acidity which lends to a brightness to the aroma. No diacetyl. No coriander.

Appearance: 2/3

Sierra-Nevada-Orta-Vez-2Dark hay in color. Moderate haze, but ok for style. White head with large bubbles that quickly falls. Poor head retention.

Flavor: 12/20

Moderate-low bread and bread crust malt flavors. Bright citrus up front with hints of lemons and watermelon. Moderate-lower bitterness with no hop flavor. Relatively clean fermentation. Beer is a little on the sweet balance, especially in the finish. Sweetness is slightly cloying. No coriander. Low levels of salt, but ok for style.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Medium body. Moderate-low carbonation. No astringency.

Overall Impression: 6/10

I really enjoy the flavors this beer has to offer. The citrus and watermelon-like flavors makes me think this might be better off in a fruit category. This beer is a little sweet for style and is slightly cloying. Mash lower, use some simple sugars, or increase the carbonation. Carbonation is already too low for style The beer also needs a larger more prominent coriander presence. I perceived no coriander. Solid summer ale.

TOTAL: 31/50

Comments: I really enjoyed this beer. Overall I think it’s a little too sweet and cloying for style. The coriander is an important component to a gose. The beer is labeled as a “gose-style” ale, so I was hoping to have a little more coriander. However, the beer is marketed to have pear cactus and grapefruit. I get a hint of citrus, but the pear fruit really comes across as a watermelon-like flavor which is excellent in this style of beer. If this beer was a little drier and/or higher carbonated and had a more coriander, it would have scored in the high 30s low 40s. Now if this were judged in category Fruit Beer (29A), then this beer would have also scored very well. The fruit character is almost perfect because it allows the base beer to shine while still being present.

Scoresheet Saturday: Biloxi Brewing Black Gold Coffee Stout

Jeremy Wickham Leave a comment

I do my best to support local wherever I may be. Living in Mississippi I do my best to support the current 13 craft brewers in the state. Biloxi Brewing was founded by four homebrewers down on the coast. Cheers to these guys for taking the plunge and starting up the brewery.

Judge: Jeremy Wickham
BJCP ID: F0651
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: Black Gold Coffee Stout
Category: 30A – Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer
Special Ingredients: Foreign Extra Stout aged on whole bean coffee
Bottle Inspection: Good
Comments: None

Aroma: 8/12

Moderately-high roasted grain, moderate dark chocolate, low vanilla and coffee notes, low caramel sweetness. img_8399.jpgVery low alcohol presence. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 3/3

Jet black with ruby highlights in the sunlight. Poured a tan, creamy head that has tight bubbles along the edge of the glass that is retaining very well. Opaque, hard to determine the clarity.

Flavor: 12/20

Highly roasted malts dominate the flavor. Moderate dark chocolate. Low green pepper notes, no hop bitterness. Very low coffee flavor present. Low caramel sweetness. A small hint of metal in the finish. Roasted grains are lingering in the finish and turns to a harsh bitterness til the very end. Finishes fairly dry. Alcohol flavors are low.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Medium bodied, moderately low carbonation, high astringency (from the high use of roasted malts), slight alcohol warming, medium creaminess.

Overall Impression: 6/10

If this were entered into just the Foreign Extra Stout category (16D) this would score a bit better. The coffee flavor seems to have dissipated and is difficult to pick up behind all of the roasted malts. The roasted harshness in the finish is a bit off putting and leaves the mouth feeling the roasty bitterness. There are some small things I would do to help this beer, first the metal flavors could come from your water profile, sparging with water hotter tha 170 degrees or from simply over sparging by extracting roasted tannins. So very close to being an excellent Foreign Extra.

TOTAL: 33/50

Comments: I’ve had this beer before and I don’t recall the dominating roasted flavor that I’m getting today. Is this because I am evaluating this beer and not just simply having a beer. Probably so, that tends to happen when you are judging beers unfortunately. I do try to not “judge” beers when I’m with others simply because that can take away from the fun of enjoying beers. I know had this beer 4-6 weeks ago and the coffee flavor was totally there. Maybe because this sat in my kegerator for a few weeks before today. Who knows? Go drink one and tell me what you think.

Cheers!

Scoresheet Saturday: Yalobusha Copperhead Amber Ale

Richard Bryant Leave a comment

Yalobusha Brewing in Water Valley, Mississippi is among the breweries of the recent Mississippi craft beer explosion. They came on the scene a couple of years ago along with several other up and coming breweries in the Magnolia State, and have been a welcome addition along with all the others.

One of my favorite Mississippi brews is Yalobusha’s Coperhead. Described by the brewery as a “unique copper colored ale with nutty toasted malt” and “amber ale.” When constructing a BJCP score sheet for it, I found it could be more fairly evaluated using the Red IPA style. The beer comes in at 65 IBU and 5.6% ABV. This is more in line with the Red IPA style than the American Amber Ale style, so I decided to use the guidelines for Red IPA.

Judge: Richard Bryant
Beer Name: Yalobusha Copperhead Amber Ale
Category: 21B Specialty IPA – Red IPA
Special Ingredients: None

Aroma: 9/12

Grainy sweet malt, light toasted bread with moderate piney hops. Low level of caramel aroma. Very low esters.

Appearance: 3/3

Copperhead Amber AleDeep copper color and clear with a large cream colored foamy head that last for the whole glass.

Flavor: 17/20

Balanced well toward the hop flavors and bitterness. Hop flavor is moderately high with a very piney note. Clean fermentation with a low caramel malt sweetness that is barely perceptible and a very low dark toast flavor. Finishes clean and dry with a lingering bitterness,

Mouthfeel: 3/5

Medium body with a moderately high carbonation. Slightly creamy due to the head and very slightly astringent.

Overall Impression: 7/10

Highly hopped and clean Red IPA. Somewhat dry. The hoppy balance tends to overpower the caramel and toast flavors that are relegated to the background. Overall a pleasant beer drinking experience especially for lovers of hoppier ambers. This beer sits on the fence between American Amber Ale and Red IPA coming in at 65 IBU and5.6% ABV it fits with Red IPA, but the drinking experience sits in the middle.

TOTAL: 39/50

Comments: This beer is one of those beers that are much more enjoyable to drink and enjoy than to try to evaluate. I really love to drink this beer after a day of work while cooking dinner or going through some other task. This score sheet goes to show how difficult it is to evaluate a beer you have already decided you like especially using the BJCP guidelines which were designed for homebrew competitions. Of course this beer is not a home brew, and has no reason to comply with the guidelines. In any case Copperhead is a very nice drinkable ale. Try it! You’ll like it!

Scoresheet Saturday: Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Tropical IPA

Ron Unz Leave a comment

In this post, I dabble with the newest Sierra Nevada Beer Camp beer. This year, Sierra Nevada is releasing a Tropical IPA with an ABV of 6.7%. This IPA features Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. Lets dive in and see how this beer compares to the BJCP style guideline as an American IPA.

25536879035_4da909400b_bJudge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Tropical IPA
Category: 21A – American IPA
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None

Aroma: 10/12

Moderate-high hop aroma with notes of orange, tangerine, pine, resin, with low levels of spice. Moderate-low malt sweetness with no distinct notes. No esters. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 3/3

Gold in color. Low haze, but ok for style. Off-white heat with small tight bubbles. Great head retention.

Flavor: 10/20

25418346022_f0be7054c8_bModerate toasty malt flavor with low levels of malt sweetness. Moderate-high dank, pine, resin, and spice hop flavors. Very high bitterness. Low levels of citrus in the finish. No esters or diacetyl. Balance is very hop forward. The finish is dry. The dryness and bitterness produces a very astringent character that lingers for a long time that is harsh, unpleasant, and . The hop flavor comes across as soapy. More citrus and fruity hop character comes through as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel: 3/5

Medium body. Medium carbonation. Moderate-high astringency that lingers for a long time and is unpleasant. No alcohol heat.

Overall Impression: 5/10

The initial toasty malt profile was exceptional but was quickly over run by hop bitterness. Beer was also fermented well. After two or three sips my palate was destroyed and the malt character was barely perceived. The biterness was astringent and unpleasant. Try experimenting with different hop varieties, back off on the bittering hops, or shift more of the bittering hops to later in the boil. Also, if using tap water, blend with some RO water as some ions and brewing salts can boost perceived bitterness/harshness. More citrus notes do come through as the beer warms, which is nice.

TOTAL: 31/50

Comments: I stopped drinking this beer 10 minutes ago and I can still taste the bitterness. If you like tongue shredding IPAs, this one will do the trick. Just don’t plan on drinking anything else the rest of the evening. The hop aroma is great and I really enjoyed the initial toasty malt character, but that flavor quickly got smashed by the hop bitterness and astringency. Sierra Nevada uses Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops, all of which have pretty prominent citrus/fruit character. For some reason I don’t get much citrus except in the finish and after the beer warms. Other reviews of this beer say the beer has an intense citrus and fruit character with a subdued bitterness. Maybe my palate is jacked today… well, it is now after finishing that beer.

Scoresheet Saturday: New Belgium Citradelic

Ron Unz Leave a comment

So, I thought it would it would be fun to add a weekly blog post called Scoresheet Saturday. The goal of these posts is to force us to spend more time studying for the BJCP proficiency exam by regularly writing score sheets and evaluating beers. My goal is to publish one or more score sheets every Saturday. I am hoping my other SFF cohorts join me on occasion in writing score sheets. These posts will also give us an opportunity to receive feedback from each other and other experienced judges. All three of us have scored high enough on the tasting exam to attempt taking the written proficiency exam. However, since we have taken our tasting exams, the BJCP has switched to the 2015 guidelines, so things have changed a bit in terms of judging. To be consistent with what we would experience during an exam or a judging session, we’ll keep to a 20 minute evaluation and writing period. I hope these posts will help you and us prepare for future BJCP exams.

25239356240_47577a21d2_bJudge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: New Belgium Citradelic
Category: 21A – American IPA
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None

Aroma: 8/12

Moderate hop aroma. Mostly notes of orange and a hint of lemon and tangerine. Moderate-low caramel malt sweetness with hints of toast. Very lower pear-like fruity esters. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 3/3

Deep gold in color. Slight off-white heat with tiny tight bubbles. Very clear. Good head retention.

25239356930_3bc25ac835_bFlavor: 14/20

Moderate orange, lemon, and tangerine hop flavor that gives the beer a boost of brightness. Moderate bitterness. Medium-low malt sweetness with low caramel and toasted bread notes. Very low fruity esters. Balance is slightly leaning toward the hops. Bitterness and tangerine fruitiness followings into the finish. Bitterness sticks around long into the finish, but is not unpleasant. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: 5/5

Medium body. Medium carbonation. No warmth. No creaminess. Low astringency.

Overall Impression: 7/10

Very tasty beer with solid citrus/american hop flavor. Very easy to drink IPA. The hop flavors and aroma are within style, but borderline on the upper end of the APA category. If the malt bill was a little smaller, I would consider this more of an APA. I would recommend increasing the hops near the end of boil and/or in the dry hop. Overall a very good beer.

TOTAL: 37/50

Comments: I really did enjoy this beer. I personally feel that this beer almost borders the line between styles. I’d consider the hop profile to be on the very low end of the spectrum for an IPA. I took a look at New Belgium’s website after writing my score sheet and saw they are using citra hopes (not a surprise based on the name) and tangerine peels. The tangerine notes add a bit of brightness I really enjoy. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a solid hoppy beer.

BJCP Scoresheet – Odell IPA

Ron Unz Leave a comment

OdellIPAEntry: 003
Judge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: Odell IPA
Category: 21A – American IPA
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None:

Aroma: 8/12

Moderate-low caramel malt sweetness. Moderate floral hop aroma with moderate-low citrus notes. No fruity esters. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 3/3

Depp gold in color. Very clear. Tan head with tiny tight bubbles. Good head retention.

Flavor: 15/20

Moderate-low caramel up front, slightly too high for style. Citrus and pine hop flavor, moderate. Moderate-high bitterness. Clean fermenation. No fruity esters. Malt is moderately sweet. Slightly cloying. Balance is a little on the sweet side. Bitterness and sweetness follow into the finish.

Mouthfeel: 3/5

Medium-full body. Medium carbonation. No warmth. Low astringency in the finish.

Overall Impression: 8/10

Hop flavor is appropriate for style. Hop aroma could be a little higher for style, increasing carbonation sightly should help. Residual sweetness is too high for style. The sweetness also leads to a body that is too full for style. Caramel flavor is also borderline high. Back off malt by 10%-20%. Overall a very good beer. Great hop flavor.

TOTAL: 37/50

BJCP Scoresheet – De Brabandere Petrus Oud Bruin

Ron Unz Leave a comment


19454445840_e413f3d35e_bEntry: 002
Judge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: De Brabandere Petrus Oud Bruin
Category: 23C – Oud Bruin
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None

Aroma: 9/12

Upfront sour aroma. Moderate notes of blackberries and dark cherries. Low malt sweetness. Sour notes are moderate-high. Malt aroma improves as the beer warms. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 3/3

Very dark ruby color. Very clear. Tan head with tiny bubbles. Great head retention.

Flavor: 17/20

Moderate-low bready malt flavor. Low caramel malt sweetness. No hop flavor. Low bitterness. Moderate-low tartness. Very bright. Moderate-low notes of plums, figs, and tart cherries.  Balance is semi-dry. Very low sweet fig flavor lingers into the finish. Fruit character intensifies as the beer warms. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: 5/5

Medium body. Medium-high carbonation. Some what tingles the tongue. No warmth. No astrongiency.

Overall Impression: 9/10

The malt aroma and flavors were a little low, especially in the aroma. The malt flavor was more prevalent and more appropriate to style. Sourness was more pronounced in the aroma and could very well be masking the malt aroma. Tartness level is perfect. Over all a very solid beer. Increase the malt every so slightly for both flavor and aroma.

TOTAL: 43/50


Comments: I am usually not a huge fan of oud bruin. I have always found them kind of ‘meh’. I have had both Liefmans’ version of the oud bruin and I was not impressed with them either. This is by far the best oud bruin I have ever had. I am very impressed with it. It has enough complexity in the aroma and flavor to compete with some of the other sour ales, such as flanders red.

BJCP Scoresheet – Westbrook Gose

Ron Unz 1 Comment


WestbrookGoseEntry: 001
Judge: Ron Unz
BJCP ID: F0711
Rank: Certified
Beer Name: Westbrook Gose
Category: 27 – Historical Beer: Gose
Special Ingredients: None
Bottle Inspection: Ok.
Comments: None

Aroma: 8/12

Moderate sour aroma. Low bread crust-like aroma. Low coriander. Low levels of floral notes. No hops. No esters. No diacetyl.

Appearance: 2/3

Hay in color. Hazy, but ok for style. White heat with large bubbles. Poor head retention.

Flavor: 14/20

Moderate-high sourness. Moderate-low levels of salt. Almost reminds me of salted buttermilk. Moderate-low bread and bread crust malt flavor. No hops. Low bitterness. Very low levels of coriander. Balance is dry. Sourness follows long into the finish. Sourness comes off like lemon juice.

Mouthfeel: 4/5

Moderate-low body. Moderate-high carbonation. Sourness make my jaw clench. Heartburn is also felt.

Overall Impression: 8/10

Great beer, but the sourness is almost too intense for the style. The sourness is so intense it is masking the malt and coriander. Back off a little on what ever method is used to sour. I would also like to see a bit more coriander in the flavor and aroma. It’s a little too low for style. Other wise, this is a great summer ale.

TOTAL: 36/50