Scoresheet Saturday: Sierra Nevada Otra Vez

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

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!