So before Illinois and most of the rest of the country went into stay-at-home mode, a friend and I were presenting monthly BJCP workshops on sensory perceptions, beer evaluation and styles. Basically going through families of styles.
Since the st
ay-in-place orders, we've adjusted a little and have been doing a virtual BJCP tasting workshop every two weeks. Its different, folks aren't filling out scoresheets and we're not providing feedback on them, but the discussions have been full and good. Also, we've been using these as a way to support some small local breweries, by focusing on two of their beers each week.
I've been doing scoresheets ahead of time for the two beers we're tasting and then, after the workshop, posting them. Here's the scoresheet for a beer from the first workshop, Lo Rez Brewing's Daemon, a Belgian-style Golden Strong. And here is a scoresheet from our second workshop for Around the Bend's Villainous, an American IPA, and another for Burnt City's The Dankening, a New England IPA.
We have our third workshop scheduled for tonight, we've got 25 folks signed up, which is great. We're going to taste Dovetail Brewing's Grodziskie and Rauchdoppelbock - two smoked beers.
For the workshop two weeks ago, with the American IPA and NEIPA tasting, I also did a brief intro, five minutes summarizing the science behind the hopping, relevant to the distinctions between the two styles. I posted my notes online and also here on HomeBrewTalk.
These have been more fun than I anticipated, my expectations were pretty low. I've been shipping beer to some folks who live at a distance, including @Yooper Its been a nice mix of folks, from various homebrew clubs around the Chicago-area, some current BJCP judges, some prospective judges preparing for the exam, others who just want to develop their palate and probably some who are a little bored LOL. Its a little different than the virtual happy hours that many homebrew clubs and breweries are hosting - a little more focused and structured, perhaps. But we still try to keep it fun.
Here are links to Lo Rez Brewing, Around the Bend Beer Co., Burnt City Brewing, and Dovetail Brewery.
Since the st
I've been doing scoresheets ahead of time for the two beers we're tasting and then, after the workshop, posting them. Here's the scoresheet for a beer from the first workshop, Lo Rez Brewing's Daemon, a Belgian-style Golden Strong. And here is a scoresheet from our second workshop for Around the Bend's Villainous, an American IPA, and another for Burnt City's The Dankening, a New England IPA.
We have our third workshop scheduled for tonight, we've got 25 folks signed up, which is great. We're going to taste Dovetail Brewing's Grodziskie and Rauchdoppelbock - two smoked beers.
For the workshop two weeks ago, with the American IPA and NEIPA tasting, I also did a brief intro, five minutes summarizing the science behind the hopping, relevant to the distinctions between the two styles. I posted my notes online and also here on HomeBrewTalk.
These have been more fun than I anticipated, my expectations were pretty low. I've been shipping beer to some folks who live at a distance, including @Yooper Its been a nice mix of folks, from various homebrew clubs around the Chicago-area, some current BJCP judges, some prospective judges preparing for the exam, others who just want to develop their palate and probably some who are a little bored LOL. Its a little different than the virtual happy hours that many homebrew clubs and breweries are hosting - a little more focused and structured, perhaps. But we still try to keep it fun.
Here are links to Lo Rez Brewing, Around the Bend Beer Co., Burnt City Brewing, and Dovetail Brewery.
