Beer Tasting Notes

On September 22nd, 2007, I got together with several of my friends (Eve Phillips, Jocelyn Joy Berl, Travis Kalanick, Nathan Schmidt, and Alan Keefer) and with the inspiration of my brother Chris Weekly we tasted a number of beers and rated them, along with commentary. They’re ranked here from top scoring to bottom scoring as averaged by all six individual scores. All scores are on a scale of 10.

Boddington’s (7.6)

– smooth, creamy, balanced

– i love it, wow

– it’s got “twang”

– clean finish, doesn’t linger

– quickly drinkable, goes down fast

– classically styled

Smithwick’s (7.1)

– very full-bodied, smooth beer

– mature, nothing up front, everything on the back end

– the trojan horse of beers

– almost “woodsy” not quite “floury”

Hen’s Tooth (6.6)

– malty musky

– bitter, sour, strong, “leather and coffee”

– could drink some amount of it

St. Peter’s Golden Ale (6.5)

– hoppy head, barley ass

– a little honeyed

– burnt toast, lingering

– a long finish

– citrusy like a bitter orange

St. Peter’s English Ale (6.0)

– hoppy, tart, smooth/subtle

– bready, easy to drink

Murphy’s Irish Red [in glass] (5.8)

– lacking in personality

– “the guy with pec implants”

– not at all what i would expect from an “irish red”,

this is an “irish pink”

– “almost great…but it misses”

– got a little “snap” to it

– sourdoughy, herby, tart, “sunny like a picnic”

– good picnic beer, cheerful / inoffensive

– “let’s play some volleyball”

Hobgoblin [wychwood brewery] (5.0)

– fruity, citrusy, “early bitterball”, a “clean exit”

– “this is almost a fruit juice”

– heavy, but doesn’t stick around

– wouldn’t want to drink a lot of it, “4 oz and i’m done”

Killian’s (5.0)

– transition beer from “not beer to beer”

– musty, “horsey”, “hay, urine, and dust”

– sparkly, not a lot of taste, bland

– “would not call in the morning”

– “meh”

– olivey

– a “bar beer”, “not a gourmet beer”

– velvety, soft, a little fruity / apple juice

Miller Lite (3.8)

– “club soda redone as beer”

– “it’s really nothing”

– inoffensive, simple

– watery

– “an inch and a half of roots showing”

– “trailer trash beer”

Belhaven “Wee Heavy” (3.4)

– nice color

– “something is wrong with this beer”

– eve WINCED – bitter & chocolatey “like a triple boch”

– rancid chocolate

– “it smells of feet…and not my feet”

– “over the top on every category”

– “italian chimay”

– strong attitude

– sweet, bitter, sour vanilla with chocolate

– “bridge and tunnel”