Biggest 'upset' at 2012 World Beer Cup

Category 25: Kellerbier/Zwickelbier, 45 Entries

Gold: Ketterer Zwickel Pils, Familienbrauerei M. Ketterer, Hornberg, Germany
Silver: VIÆMILIA, Birrificio del Ducato, Roncole Verdi, Italy
Bronze: 5 O’Clock Shadow, Grand Teton Brewing Co., Victor, ID

Well it is good to see that Italy took at least one sigh.We will get there soon enough! Birrificio Del Ducato is one of my favorites, and I am surprise to see that Baladin did not make it.

 

Process is pretty much a joke in my eyes. I put no stock in it.

 

Biggest upset has to be that so many look at these events as some sort of legitimate Superbowl/ World Series/World Cup/Stanley Cup competition.
These sort of events are the very antithesis of beer enjoyment and advocacy.

 

IMO it inches away from the quintenssential american barrleywine a little more each year. Seems a lot more refined and less rough around the edges in the last 5 years or so that it had been in the past. Personally, even though it has seemed to change, I think its a better beer now.

 

Bullshit. With proper palate cleansers (like Carr's "Table Water" crackers), plenty of water, and a little bowl of coffee beans to clear the sinuses, it's not difficult to distinguish between 2-3 dozen IPAs or sours. Additionally, you're taking notes about each one as you're going along, and if it's a properly run competition they'll have stewards freshening up the samples if needed. I've judged dozens of comps (both homebrew and pro beer), and have seen first hand how incredibly sensitive some folk's palates can be, and how hard it can be to come to a consensus. Blind, consensus based rankings are a hell of a lot more trustworthy than the hype-based reviews on sites like this.

 

It's a bad thing to taste similar to Cointreau? Cointreau is effing delicious stuff. That makes me want to try Utopias even more, lol.

 

the biggest upset is that steel reserve actually won an award outside of, "favorite beer of hobo's".

 

Well, I call bullshit on your bullshit. I think you're deluding yourself. I think that all rankings are pretty much meaningless, but if you want to believe that some process can turn the subjective objective then feel free.

 

Biggest surprises I'd have to go with SN Ruthless Rye winning gold for Rye beer (I thought it was just ok and most others I talked to didn't think it was anything that tasty).

Also Leffe blonde taking a silver and Leffe Brown taking gold as a Belgian Dubbel really surprised me. I love both of them, but most of the BA community doesn't give them much love (probably just the InBev bias).

I was proud to see my local Heavy Seas Marzen get a silver. I've been pimping that beer on the board for a while now. Better than most German offerings of the style.

 

Redhook winnned a silver for their Nut Brown Ale was surprising. I didn't think that was a very good brown ale at all.

 

Frank Boon is regarded as the most consistent lambic producer in Belgium and has the biggest barrel store of any producer, upwards of a million liters. Boon is where most of the others look to for their lambic which is then used in house blends (I.E. 3 fonteinen). I'll agree that perhaps the Mariage Parfait line leaves something to be desired, but don't overlook Boon gueuze. If anything, take it for what it's worth. It's certainly not what you'd call extreme or mind-puckeringly sour, but its got lots of balance and is an incredibly affordable and accessible benchmark of the style.