Trinity Brewing returns FOBAB Silver Medal

As Arte Johnson used to say... "Verrrry interesting"

 

There's something to be said about honesty and integrity in the craft beer world.

 

“Currently, our judging committee relies on the information provided by prospective judges to rate their experience and their specialties – each of the members of this particular panel were experienced and well respected in the industry, with specialization in Brett and sour beers...”

Yep, I've heard that one before.

And somehow they can't tell the difference between Brett and Lacto....

 

Props for owning up to his mistake.

And LOL at those "judges".

 

Maybe this is a stupid comment, but did he not have a label on the bottle the judges were tasting? That should have been a sure giveaway.

 

The category listed in the article says the beer was entered in the Wild/Brett category. "Wild" leaves the category pretty open and the beer that won the medal fits into it.

 

Not sure why anyone would here would make fun of the judges. Guarantee if I gave any of you a Crooked Stave brett in a blind lineup of 15 random sours, and told you they were all lacto, not a single person would cry foul. But hey...

 

Yes.

'Wild' isn't a specific term. If you take Beeradvocate as an authority (and forgive the punctuation error in their description), 'Wild' includes Lacto-:

Seems more like Mr. Yester of Trinity has a bone to pick, but he doesn't know with whom to pick it.

 

But the category was Wild/Brett, and there was zero Brett in the "winning" beer. how that can be seen as anything but an egregious mistake on the judges' part, I don't know.

 

Brettanomyces isn't always 'funk'. Another characteristic of Brett is a fruitiness. Hops in an IPA can also impart a fruitiness. Seems reasonable that with other wild yeast in an IPA, you wouldn't by taste know that there's no Brett.

 

I can see your point for certqin beers where, perhaps, the Brett character doesn't stand out enough to clearly distinguish it. But this beer was held up by the judges of a fairly major competition as an exemplar of the wild ale/Brett style.

 

curious if anyone at the fest noticed...

 

I don't believe labels are allowed because it could distinguish the beers when it's supposed to be completely blind.

Wild/Brett as in wild yeast.... Swing se Pliser is straight Saccharomyces.

Weird situation overall but I still think Jason is doing the stand-up thing. I'll still be enjoying his beers tonight when I go there for dinner

 

There is a wild/Brett and a wild/acidic category.

 

And to boot, brett can produce acidic flavors as well, albeit generally acetic, and not lactic...

http://www.brettanomycesproject.com...ntation/pure-culture-fermentation-discussion/

 

I think the Swing Se Pliser is 100% lactobacillus whereas the Easy Swinger is 100% brettanomyces.

 

Yes, Easy Swinger is all Brett, but Swing se Pliser (to the best of my knowledge) is still fermented with Saccharmyces and then soured with lacto.

 

The judges never see the bottle of the samples that are brought to them in a blind competition. Samples have an entry code.

 

Agreed. Plus there is what the barrel is contributing both in terms flavor and maybe some similar 'bug'. I am reminded of Anchorage Bitter Monk, and honestly couldn't separate where all of those crazy floral/fruity aspects come from, many of which are undoubtedly from the brett, others from the pitching yeast, others from the hops, others from the barrel.I bet this beer was pretty similar in nature, and the bashing of the judges seems a little over the top. This is not as clear cut case as it is being made out to be.

Again, I think that's overstated. All the judges are determining is the best beer at the table that also fits the qualifications for the category- no more than that. For a beer that seemingly has those qualities, they may very well have done that very thing.