So...is it skunked?

True, but a judge has had more than one maibock in his lifetime.

 

I have, Oktoberfests too -- the green bottle and light are no one's friend.

 

Another thing to keep in mind about HB Maibock is that it's a bit different than most Maibocks on the shelves -- darker, bigger in sweet malts than what is usual, so you ought to look for others in your quest for experience.

 

Back in the 80's we enjoyed Moosehead (yes, in green bottles) and we actually enjoyed the skunkiness. We found it quite compatible with a certain green leaf that we were fond of at the time.

We thought Moosehead was supposed to be skunky. I've evolved a long way since then, but it does bring back fond, yet foggy, memories.

 

Good point but beer you self skunk is better and you have your choice of beers to skunk!

 

No they don't. They just don't care that it gets exposed to UV light after packaging.

Because it sells better in clear or green bottles.

 

If it smells like a skunk and tastes like a skunk, its a skunk. End of story.

 

The fact that you like or dislike something is a profoundly personal matter, it is true for beer as it is true for music and many other things. Before I taste a beer I have never tried before, and I do go out of my way ... literally ... to find a new brew, I open my mind and I get ready to be amazed ... I get disappointed more frequently than not but I don´t need a judge or a magazine to tell me if I liked it or not. So, if you tried a malbock and you did not like it because to you it tasted skunked ... and there are a few out there... all I can suggest, as many have before, is to try another one ... heck try several and then make up your mind. I have been tasting beer for more than 40 years and I think I have learned a bit about styles and breweries and brands and .... but I will never even dream of judging a beer for anybody else but me. If I like it that is all there is to it, if others think that it is skunked or that it is too hoppy or not enough lacing or whatever ... that is alright by me. So, the question is not if the beer is skunked, the question is if you liked it ...

 

There are some with a blindness to a given compound. There have been studies done where the surprising result was that a fairly high %(30?) did not find it objectionable.

 

I had a bottle of Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux yesterday that was slightly skunked. The aroma was off, but it still tasted great. It's a problem with green bottles. I should have tried one of the bottles further back on the shelf.

 

I have been a bjcp judge for a long time and I think that this a really good question for a new judge. There are many judges that can not distinguish between lightstruck from green bottling and the slight match sulfer aroma that some young lagers exhibit. The fact that you are asking tells me that you will be a good judge.
HB Maibock should not smell like spring break corona. It is a greatbeer beer. Try another bottle and some other examples. Maibock is a wonderful style.

 

Have you ever read scoresheets from most judges??? The two are perfectly comparable.

 

One would hope, but one wouldn't be surprised if he/she didn't (From personal experience).

 

True, but if one is to become a judge, one needs to be able to recognize the flavor/aroma whether it is personally objectionable or not.

 

Great comparison to make the point. If HB Maibock is (truly) giving off a skunked character, it's been in the light too long.

 

I've been on panels with judges who can't discern the difference between roasted malt and toasted characters -- let alone DMS and skunk. That has more to do with experience and knowledge than any other factor.

Case in point -- judging smoked beers with judges who had never had any of the Bamberg beers -- and when I told them about bar-hopping thru Bamberg I suddenly became a celebrity ( ) -- and a couple of these guys were pro brewers!

 

You don't understand. Take diacetyl as an example, 20 to 25% of the population are blind to that due to genetics. Just like some are blind to certain colors. I know one National judge that is blind to diacetyl, another is blind to DMS. That is why there are at least 2 per judging panel.

Explain to me me why so many Ba raters love Samuel Smith's. That has diacetyl at a level I pick up in the nose, and I have a high threshold. Maybe if it is an addition of the blind and untrained?

 

Maybe, but I still maintain that if you can't discern it, you shouldn't be a beer judge. That would be like a color blind art critic. You don't have the ability to discriminate, so you shouldn't be judging the work.

 

You have to realize that we all have holes in our palates. That is why you want 2 or more judges. That is why larger production breweries run sensitivity tests on employees so that they can have a tasting panel that have the flaws covered. Those panels may include a fork truck driver as she/he might have a needed sensitivity to complete the panel. That is the how it works in the industry and judging. you can cling to your opinion if you must - Beehtoven was deaf when he composed and conducted the 9th. A complete hack, no?

 

"Spring break corona" is my new favorite descriptor for lightstruck beer aroma.