Best Potential Beer

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by OldBrewer, Feb 12, 2016.

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  1. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    Great input from all! So far, important characteristics of a great beer include:

    - strong even head
    - crisp carbonation
    - pleasant color
    - aromatic nose
    - good taste
    - specific malt flavors and balance
    - specific hop varieties and balance
    - depends on style of beer
    - balance, depending on style
    - mouthfeel
    - aging of beer, depending on style
    - marketing influence
    - age of beer drinker
    - novelty attraction
    - peer pressure
    - no off flavors

    I hope I haven't missed any.

    I have to agree that the style of beer is perhaps one of the most important criteria. Most people generally prefer certain styles of beer over others. Also, the desirable characteristics are dependant on that particular style and can vary from style to style. Another important criteria, especially for the more undiscerning and less knowledgeable drinker, is marketing. For the homebrewer, this becomes much less of a factor because of the amount of effort and cost involved in brewing a beer that you really enjoy. Knowledge and experience also plays an important role in designing, and enjoying, great beers.
     
    #21 OldBrewer, Feb 13, 2016
  2. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    We do?
     
    #22 VikeMan, Feb 13, 2016
  3. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    quality ingredients, solid brewing processes, and a little luck/magic :slight_smile:
     
    #23 GreenKrusty101, Feb 13, 2016
    Lukass, inchrisin and OldBrewer like this.
  4. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    "We" as in many people in general. Not necessarily homebrewers :-)
     
    #24 OldBrewer, Feb 13, 2016
  5. AlHounos

    AlHounos Initiate (0) Nov 3, 2015 California

    Lightly sour, crisp, dry, fruity yet complex yeast character but not phenolic, loaded with tropical juicy hops.
    A kettle soured Brett IPA? I'm working on it.
     
    #25 AlHounos, Feb 13, 2016
  6. Dee_Lynn

    Dee_Lynn Initiate (0) Feb 10, 2016 Arkansas

    In response to and agreement with GormBrewHouse.
    Marketing and people's disposition to NOT change their attitudes (my opinion) seems to cloud the issue of how they say a beer tastes. The study below, done by American Association of Wine Economists was actually done on beer:

    Excerpts From: (empasis is mine)
    Code:
    https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1272940-aawe-wp165.html
    Marketing!

    Wine tasting seems to have had more debunking done on it than beer tasting. This article contains several references to such studies:

    Code:
    http://io9.gizmodo.com/wine-tasting-is-bullshit-heres-why-496098276
    I really found "Expert wine critics can't distinguish between red and white wines" to be very interesting.

    At the end I really liked this part:

    Not totally off topic.:wink:
     
    #26 Dee_Lynn, Feb 13, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2016
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  7. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Some of my favorite wild ales were hoppy.
     
    #27 SFACRKnight, Feb 13, 2016
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  8. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

    aromatic, rounded, juicily tropical, full bodied, oddly drinkable......and modestly bitter. I'm looking at you #Dogfish
     
    #28 psnydez86, Feb 14, 2016
  9. inchrisin

    inchrisin Pooh-Bah (2,013) Sep 25, 2008 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    I like when a beer is complex. A different taste from start to finish. Sours are great, heavily hopped beers are great, and so are dark fruit malts.
     
    #29 inchrisin, Feb 14, 2016
  10. AngryDutchman

    AngryDutchman Zealot (693) Aug 8, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Just know it when I taste it.
     
    #30 AngryDutchman, Feb 14, 2016
  11. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Independent of beer styles, I like balanced beers, in which sweetness, bitterness, and dryness (or perhaps crispness?) are all apparent in the experience. For example, when the beer first hits your tongue, you get bitterness, which can be welcome as long as it is not extreme and off-putting. As you swish it around your mouth, your sweetness receptors kick in and start to rub your neurons in a different way. As the liquid finds its way to the back of your mouth and you swallow it, the lingering alcohol and acidity cleanse away that sweetness before it becomes cloying, and you find yourself wanting another sip, where you search among the bitterness for the sweet reward, before once again it dissipates into mouth drying emptiness. The experience can be enhanced by aromas, whether they be bready, toasty, roasty aromas from the malt, the herbal and fruity aromas from the hops, and the esters and phenolics from the yeast. None of the elements can be so strong that you do not want to invite it back into your mouth. If the beer is well-balanced, the cyclical craving continues to the bottom of your glass.

    Bartender? <finger points towards empty glass>
     
    #31 pweis909, Feb 14, 2016
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  12. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (2,236) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    For the beer I was drinking in particular when I started this post yesterday.
    It took one days error during primary fermentation, and a lot other days of work to get it to become the best potential American Brown ale it could be. A dark sour / Flanders Brown.
     
    #32 MostlyNorwegian, Feb 14, 2016
  13. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    Updating the list of important characteristics of a great beer mentioned to date:

    - dependent on style
    - strong even head
    - crisp carbonation
    - pleasant color
    - aromatic nose
    - good taste, mouthfeel
    - specific malt flavors, character and balance
    - specific hop varieties, character and balance
    - specific yeast character
    - marketing influence
    - age of beer drinker
    - novelty attraction
    - peer pressure
    - no off flavors
    - quality ingredients
    - solid brewing process
    - luck/magic
    - overcoming unchanging attitudes grounded in tradition
    - complexity
    - balance between sweetness, bitterness and dryness
    - aging of beer
     
    #33 OldBrewer, Feb 14, 2016
  14. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    There are also some very personal qualities that constitute a great beer, that may differ significantly from one person to another. For example, I enjoy a lot of different beer styles, but if I was stuck on an island and only had the option of one beer style, it would definitely be a pilsner. Pilsners are not at all popular in North America, and it's almost impossible to find a good Pilsner here as a result, especially in Canada. So I enjoy the Czech and German pilsners.

    However, even though I enjoy them a lot (especialy Pilsner Urquell), I find a lot of them a little too bitter for my personal taste. So when I make my own, I style them on Czech or German Pilsners, but drop the IBU's a little. I also really enjoy the melanoidin taste in the decoction process, but would like it to come out a touch stronger. Thus I use less bittering hops and add a little melaoidin malt in my recipes.

    So, what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the presence a subtle particular taste - like melanoidin - can be a very important criteria for a great beer from a personal perspective, and have no value at all from someone else's perspective.

    I have never heard anyone else mention how much they enjoy the melanoidin taste in some beers, especially in well decocted pilsners. I'm almost addicted to that taste and can't imagine a good pilsner without it. I just love how it slides along the tongue from front to back, and then lingers at the middle and back long after the sip. To me, that's part of what constitutes a great beer. Of course, it has to be balanced. Only a touch too much, and the magic of its taste is gone.
     
    #34 OldBrewer, Feb 14, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2016
  15. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Truer words were never spoken.
    I have a Bohemian Pilsner fermenting right now that I brew every year. I like the malt backbone of this beer which is provided by the Moravian Pilsner Malt along with a touch of Vienna Malt. I suspect this beer would not have the level of melanoiden that you desire but for me the level of maltiness is absolutely perfect for my personal palate.

    The beauty of homebrewing is that each and every one of us can brew a beer that is perfectly suited to our unique preferences and our unique palates.

    I have posted a number of times in homebrewing threads my saying of: "Brew the beers you like and brew them the way you like." Feel free to add that to your list if you are so inclined.

    Cheers!
     
    #35 JackHorzempa, Feb 14, 2016
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  16. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    A beer that can be consumed frequently and be missed when it's gone.
     
    #36 Brew_Betty, Feb 14, 2016
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  17. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    The Vienna malt does contain some melanoidins, although not as much as Munich malt, and of course nowhere near as much as Melanoidin malt. However, it depends on the quantity of such malts added. My total grain bill (for Pilsners) usually contains about 2% melanoidin malt, or even a little less, which I find to be the "sweet spot" for my tastes. I also very much enjoy the maltiness of the Pilsner malt, although I've never tried the Moravian Pilsner Malt. Are you willing to share your recipe in the recipe section? I love Bohemian pilsners and would like to try your version (but perhaps with a little additional melanoidin malt, or Munich malt instead of Vienna malt).

    I totally agree, and will include it in the next update. I'm sure that everyone has tried a great beer and thought: "Excellent, but only if..." With Homebrewing, we can actually address the "only if's" and adjust to our own individual preferences.
     
    #37 OldBrewer, Feb 14, 2016
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