Real Beer Judging

To my 225 semi-regular readers (at least according to May counter statistics), I apologize for my recent lapse of posting. Shit happens.

June has been a good beer month thus far. Two weeks ago, I judged my second competition at the 2009 BUZZ OFF. I'll point out right here that any homebrew club worth its yeast has some silly beer-related acronym for a name. In this case we have the Brewers United for Zany Zymurgy - Zymurgy being the science of fermentation.

For a tangential bit of entertainment, here are a few of the best club names:

The Houston United Group of Zymurgists (THUGZ)
Wichita`s Only Real Tasty Suds (WORTS)
Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)
KROC (Keg Ran Out Club)

I judged and enjoyed Belgian Specialty (doesn't fit in any normal Belgian category) and Pilsners, with a Trappist-inspired barleywine being my favorite beer. The closest thing I can liken it to is Maredsous 10, which also happens to be a favorite of mine.

Also for the second time after judging a competition, I felt awful. It was like having a hangover without ever getting drunk or even catch a buzz. Over the 6 hours of judging, I sipped a total of about four beers while trying 22 different entries. Why did I do this again?

Anyways, on the topic of Belgian Specialty beers, I recently tried Captain Lawrence's Xtra Gold tripel. The beer was a delicious blend of American and Belgian brewing practices and ingredients.

Xtra Gold Tripel
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Tripel | 10.00% ABV

A- / 4.1
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

Picked up a 750 capped bottle at New Beer Distributors in the Bowery. I like it when labels tell the truth and this really does taste like an American-style tripel. It's more crisp (and fresh) with juicy citrus hops rounding out a more traditional spice and pepper malt and yeast flavor. Sometimes US brewers try to put their own American spin on a Belgian, but the beer just comes out too plain, this beer doesn't do any of that. It takes the best of both worlds making for a delicious and satisfying beer. I'll also note that fans of hoppy Belgian's should look to this beer.