Making A Whiskey Drinker Identify The Right Beer Hops, Total Success
We had a total success this week. It was totally unexpected and I would have frankly bet against us on this instance. One of our dear friends named Bryon, a financial planner in Houston, is not exactly a beer geek. He is a Scotch and Bourbon man through and through. He usually enjoys beers on hot days or if we entice him to sample ales at one of our dinners. He had never once tried to identify hop aromas in beer.
Sometimes Whole Foods carries it and sometimes not, but we were able to get several large bottles of a current favorite called The Wytchmaker (Witchmaker for the rest of us) from Jester King Brewery outside of Austin, Texas. The Wytchmaker is a Rye India Pale Ale and the alcohol (ABV) clocks in at about 6.5% or so, so it isn't so high that it rivals booze or wine and the ABV doesn't interfere with identifying the aromas.
Jester King lists its hops on this one... Cascade, Centennial, Falconer's Flight, and Warrior. I knew this, but Bryon did not. Two of these hops are in our Beer Tasting and Hops Appreciation Kit. Without boring you with endless detail, the game was simple... "Bryon, here is a beer you have seen me order and enjoy and here are ten small bottles full of hops. I want you to smell this beer and then taste this beer (the Wytchmaker) and then I want you to individually smell each of these raw hops containers. After that, tell me which one of the hops you think is in the Wytchmaker."
Simple enough. Bryon smelled and tasted the Wytchmaker (and said he knows why I order it now). He then started smelling the various hops. He even looked at the names expecting that the "Euro-sounding hops" might give it away. Saaz, a frown of no... Hallertauer, a frown of no... Another sip and smell of the beer... This went on for a couple of minutes with a few smirks of interest here and there after smelling the hops. At the end, the answer was a shock. Bryon said, "You know I prefer whiskey, but I think it is one of these two..." He had the Centennial and the Cascade hops pulled aside.
My response surprised him as much as his selections surprised me. You see, I never said that there was more than one variety of hops in the Wytchmaker. I said 'which one.' My response... "Bryon, Wytchmaker has both the Cascade and the Centennial hops in the beer." This was truly a total surprise.
I would have bet against Bryon and I would have bet against the kit this time. The Beer Tasting and Hop Appreciation Kit won and Bryon won.
-J.
"Don't just drink your beer. Taste your beer."
TASTEYOURBEER.COM
Sometimes Whole Foods carries it and sometimes not, but we were able to get several large bottles of a current favorite called The Wytchmaker (Witchmaker for the rest of us) from Jester King Brewery outside of Austin, Texas. The Wytchmaker is a Rye India Pale Ale and the alcohol (ABV) clocks in at about 6.5% or so, so it isn't so high that it rivals booze or wine and the ABV doesn't interfere with identifying the aromas.
Jester King lists its hops on this one... Cascade, Centennial, Falconer's Flight, and Warrior. I knew this, but Bryon did not. Two of these hops are in our Beer Tasting and Hops Appreciation Kit. Without boring you with endless detail, the game was simple... "Bryon, here is a beer you have seen me order and enjoy and here are ten small bottles full of hops. I want you to smell this beer and then taste this beer (the Wytchmaker) and then I want you to individually smell each of these raw hops containers. After that, tell me which one of the hops you think is in the Wytchmaker."
Simple enough. Bryon smelled and tasted the Wytchmaker (and said he knows why I order it now). He then started smelling the various hops. He even looked at the names expecting that the "Euro-sounding hops" might give it away. Saaz, a frown of no... Hallertauer, a frown of no... Another sip and smell of the beer... This went on for a couple of minutes with a few smirks of interest here and there after smelling the hops. At the end, the answer was a shock. Bryon said, "You know I prefer whiskey, but I think it is one of these two..." He had the Centennial and the Cascade hops pulled aside.
My response surprised him as much as his selections surprised me. You see, I never said that there was more than one variety of hops in the Wytchmaker. I said 'which one.' My response... "Bryon, Wytchmaker has both the Cascade and the Centennial hops in the beer." This was truly a total surprise.
I would have bet against Bryon and I would have bet against the kit this time. The Beer Tasting and Hop Appreciation Kit won and Bryon won.
-J.
"Don't just drink your beer. Taste your beer."
TASTEYOURBEER.COM
Posted by TasteYourBeer.com at 10/1/2011 7:21 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: beer tasting kit hop smelling identifying hops Jester King Witchmaker Wytchmaker Taste Your Beer
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: beer tasting kit hop smelling identifying hops Jester King Witchmaker Wytchmaker Taste Your Beer
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