The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Focus

We've all had that friend who claimed to love his favorite brew so much that he could taste it anywhere. And, naturally, knowing that he's probably full of it, we've all wanted to put his taste buds to the test. But let's face it, there is something truly alluring about a blind beer taste test. The idea of pulling together a panel of tasters and pitting their taste buds against an array of beer is exciting, and what's more, it's a fun way to spend a Saturday night.

Blind taste tests are a great way to find out which beer you really like. The taste test provides the opportunity to taste many beers at one time, which makes it easier to pick out the ones you like than when they're tasted weeks or even months apart. But more to the point, when you taste a beer without knowing its brewery of origin, it removes any stereotypes you may hold about certain labels versus others and leaves you with nothing to judge but the beer itself. And that's the best part - it's just you and the beer.

Naturally, as your trusted inebriant sage, I couldn't recommend holding a beer taste test to you without trying it myself first. Over the past weekend, I assembled a panel of 5 senior editors and writers (all 21 years of age or older) from The Daily Campus and pitted their taste buds against 8 different brews.

The 8 brews were roughly broken up into three categories: the Freshman Mix (less expensive brews you're likely to find at a big party or in a freshman's mini-fridge), the Craft Brew Select (brews known for quality over quantity and that extra handmade-like-reputation) and, of course, Tim's Picks (that's me, in case you didn't read the byline).

In the Freshman Mix category was Budwieser, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Coors Light. For the Craft Brew Select, I gave my panelists Sam Adams Boston Lager, Saranac Black Forest and Anchor Steam Beer. As my special choices for Tim's Picks, I fielded Birra Moretti (one of the great things I discovered while studying abroad in Italy) and Blue Moon Belgian White (picked because it is oddly one of the most popular beers among the editors of the DC).



Budweiser:

Average 2 stars out of 5

This beer accounts for 51 percent of all beer sales in the United States. While many may criticize this brew as being a low quality, cheap beer, it has not always had this reputation. First marked in the 1870s, it was packaged and corked in Champagne bottles and designed to be a "very pale, fine beer." In the history of American beer, Budweiser is important because it was the first beer produced specifically to cater to the American palate. At the time Americans found the heavy ales and lagers imported from Europe to be unfit for the fast paced American life. What America needed was a lighter beer that could be drank easily, with some speed rather than being sipped over the course of an entire evening. And that is what Budweiser - the king of beers, Champagne of brews - delivered.

The panel had this to say about it: "Watery," "head dissipates quickly," "Bland, but goes down easy."



Pabst Blue Ribbon:

Average 1.8 stars out of 5

The Pabst brewery is one of the oldest brewing companies in the entire country, having been founded in September of 1844 by Phillip Best as "Best & Company Beer Brewery." In 1893 Pabst famously claimed to win a blue ribbon (which Anheuser-Busch contested) at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The ribbon was from arbitrary points assigned in evaluating the various displays that the brewers created for the exposition. There wasn't supposed to be a winner; it was just a showcase. And yet, both Anheuser-Busch and Pabst both claimed the blue ribbon. In the end, a friend of the Pabst family awarded a few extra points to the Pabst tally allowing them to continue to claim a blue ribbon "win."

The panel had this to say: "Doesn't have much flavor," "harsh taste," "smells like ass."



Coors Light:

Average 2.2 stars out of 5

This beer was oddly confused with Keystone Light by 4 of 5 panelists, with the fifth offering no guess. This brew's major contribution to the American beer tradition is being the first American brewery to market the all-aluminum can.

The panel had this to say: "Smells like there were no hops involved in the brewing of this beer," "vague watery taste," "looks like yellow water…"



Sam Adams Boston Lager: Average 3.4 stars out of 5

Since 1987, this beer has been the unofficial beer of the president of the United States, being served at the president's residence, Camp David, and on Air Force One. The Boston Beer Company single handedly revived a near dead kind of brewing - contract brewing. The basic concept is that in order to start a company, one needs capital. In order to start a brewery, one needs enough capital to hire highly skilled workers, buy all the brewing equipment and space to brew in, all the bottling equipment and storage space to age the beer in. The genius of what Jim Koch (founder of the Boston Beer Company) did was to cut all these costs by hiring breweries that were operating under capacity, a tactic that was once employed by Carl Conrad when he hired the Adolphus Busch to create Budweiser for him.

The panel had this to say: "Solid amber color and pleasant aroma," "not bitter, strong malty flavor," "lingers nicely."



Saranac Black Forest: Average 3.6 stars out of 5

This Bavarian style beer from Utica, NY comes from one of the few remaining great regional breweries in the United States. There were at one time many small regional breweries throughout the United States. But as the 20th century wore on, many of these were pushed out and closed down by the growing girth of corporate brewers like Anheuser-Busch and Coors.

The panel had this to say: "looks great, head sticks well, complex," "heavy," "hint of caramel or maybe chocolate."



Anchor Steam Beer:

Average 3.8 stars out of 5

This brew combines the history of a true American invention - steam beer - and one of the oldest breweries in San Francisco, which was converted into one of our nation's first craft breweries in the 1960s. Steam beer was invented in California during the gold rush. Unable to acquire coolers or refrigeration of any kind, brewers on the west coast resorted to building open topped tanks on their breweries that they could pump the hot wort into for cooling. This was absolutely necessary because they were using lager yeasts (yeast that works at a lower temperature) at higher ale yeast temperatures. Because of the cooling tanks on the roof, the breweries would always have steam rising from the roof, hence the name, steam beer.

The panel had this to say: "Pure amber," "nice bitter bite," "tastes better than it smells."



Birra Moretti:

Average 3 stars out of 5

This is one of the few beers made in Italy - a land with more grapes than people - and it goes great with pizza. There are mainly two beers brewed and marketed around Italy and both have virtually the same slogan. Birra Moretti is "quality and tradition," the other company's is "tradition and quality."

The panel had this to say: "smells terrible, but tastes amazing," "bye-bye head," "looks thin."



Blue Moon Belgian White: Average 4.6 stars out of 5

There was little doubt that this brew is the favorite beer of the panel, as it not only received the highest rating overall, but also was also recognized by 4 of 5 panelists with the fifth offering no guess.

The panel had this to say: "Tangy," "bright light taste, not filling," "I <3 Blue Moon."



Contact Timothy Bleasdale at Timothy.Bleasdale@UConn.edu.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools