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1 hour and right now i m managing a solid 13 minute mile honestly i could care less about how fast i get done with the 5 miles i just need to say i really enjoy being outside for the hour before sunset and that i feel like i can justify my lifestyle better as i get my health back my goal is 150 miles in a month so i can t really skip a day but i like a challenge hence why i m diving headfirst with my eyes closed i m only peeking a little into this bjcp education so as not to stray too far from the general theme of this little blog class 2 was full of pilsners we actually sampled a few brews that i couldn t photograph the logos of because they were in growlers but you re on a computer i don t need to tell you what to do style 2a german pilsner pils for the example we sampled warsteiner premium verum my notes aroma some sulfur faint graininess sweet pils malt spicy floral noble hops fairly clean and crisp appearance straw yellow very pale and brilliantly clear persistent white head flavor crisp dry finish moderate maltiness slightly grainy clean mouthfeel medium light body medium high carbonation with a bit of a carbonic bite style 2b bohemian pilsener for the example we sampled pilsner urquell quick fact pilsner urquell was the original pilsner having been brewed since 1842 in bohemia great article here aroma rich complex malt faint doughy biscuity sweetness light buttery notes diacetyl appearance brilliant yellow pale gold dense creamy head flavor rounded bitterness and spizy saaz flavor amongst complex malts though bitterness doesn t linger balanced malt and hop aftertaste mouthfeel medium bodied medium carbonation minimal to no affect from initial diacetyl detection style 2c classic american pilsner for the example we sampled new belgium blue paddle apparently there are no classic examples in the classic american pilsner category but we were given blue paddle as an option for review and learning also many lighter beers can be brewed with adjucts unless reinheitsgebot is in effect corn gives beer a distinct grainy sweetness and rice creates a crisper more neutral character aroma light grainy sweetness with very faint maltiness moderate hop aroma no diacetyl somewhat fruity appearance clear yellow light gold bright clarity flavor moderate maltiness with little intensity due to adjuncts clean medium bitterness no coarse or harsh aftertaste mouthfeel medium body rich creamy mouthfeel medium carbonation we also learned more about filling out a scoresheet and were given good examples completely filled out using the adjectives along the side to note what is and is not present descriptive ability reasons for score etc and bad examples blank spaces few words no details given no suggestions etc we were given a beer to judge that we all thought was another homebrew like last time but which turned out to be left hand s polestar pilsner i did a much better job filling out the scoresheet this time around though i did need to reference the bjcp app a few times and i conferred with some of my neighbors not knowing what i was judging as is the norm in all judging situations here are the notes i took and the score i gave for polestar aroma light grainy pils malt character faint but clean flowery noble hops no fruity esters no diacetyl no sulfur crisp and dry on the nose 9 12 appearance clear straw yellow creamy long lasting white head active carbonation brilliant clarity 3 3 flavor initial crisp bitterness medium dry finish moderate maltiness with some grainy characteristics hop bitterness lingers into aftertaste but doesn t take away from the cleanliness of the beer no fruity esters no diacetyl no dms 17 20 mouthfeel medium body medium carbonation smooth and creamy with very light astringency at the end not slick or watery somewhat creamy as it warms no alcohol heat 4 5 overall impressions very nice example lingering hop bitterness was appropriate for style pleasant overall aroma appearance and mouthfeel were satisfying 8 10 total score 41 50 once we discussed everyone s scores in class we were handed a sheet with scores that it was given by master judges from the zymurgy publication i m happy to report that i managed to fit my score of 41 50 snugly between a few 43 50s and a 40 50 being that judging is so temperamental depending on everyone s individual palates and that the goal is to score a beer within 7 points of the average score i m on a good track right now share share on x opens in new window x share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email more share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr print opens in new window print like loading tags arizona arizona society of homebrewers ash az beer beer education bjcp bohemian pilsener bottles classic american pilsner craft beer german pilsner left hand polestar new belgium blue paddle pils pilsner pilsner urquell warsteiner premium verum 4 26 2013 beer 1 comment bjcp class 1 basics of judging style 1 light lager alright so i m terrible at this keeping a dedicated writing schedule thing but now i finally have a dedicated subject to write about that is on a dedicated schedule that i plan to keep mostly because i ve already paid 4 weeks in advance because it s a topic that i ve been meaning to explore and become better acquainted with thanks to the amazingness that is my local homebrew club i m currently enrolled in my first ever formal beer education the arizona society of homebrewers is hosting bjcp classes in preparation for the test to become a bjcp certified judge and it is being led by current bjcp members who are active within the club there are a lot of reasons to hate the state of arizona but the local beer scene is definitely not one of them the first class was a quick introduction to the art of judging how to fill out a beer scoresheet common phrases and words that are used learning the difference between mouthfeel and flavor and how to give improvements in the overall impression i haven t taken notes or studied since i ve been in school and it s been a while so this is going to require some actual work on my part which i m excited about but also a little overwhelmed by right now with work i m swamped it s beer dinner season everyone wants to do promotional pairings and tastings there are multiple festivals every weekend and i still have to do my actual job which is driving hundreds of miles a week to make sure everyone is happy and the beer is fresh add to that my commitments with leading az girls pint out participating with other local beer groups and trying to avoid eye contact with my increasingly disheveled house as i look for a new one beer is definitely time consuming and i can t really remember a time when my life wasn t consumed by beer oh wait that was 3 years ago as i ve been consuming beer it feels full but rewarding like a good beer and if you re looking for a good beer that is both filling and rewarding you should probably stay away from style 1 unless you plan on drinking a lot of it can i just preface this whole educational half of the post by saying that the 3 beers we sampled for style 1 are 3 beers i have never checked into untappd i m officially a snob unless i m shitfaced or high and both of these are highly unlikely at this point in my life it is doubtful that i will drink any light lagers willingly i ve just sipped on water even when they were offered to me for free in the past alas with judging comes ironically keeping an open mind and being able to recognize the style so i m retiring my get the hell outta dodge macros pants and pulling out my everyone s welcome yes even you macros shorts it s hot here to the point we united 1a lite american lager 1b standard american lager and 1c premium american lager together as just american lager for the example we sampled pabst blue ribbon i m still not positive which category it falls into as they re all fairly similar but i d guess 1b my notes aroma sweet corn grainy green apple estery no hops appearance bright straw yellow clear white frothy head with little persistence flavor sweet corn no hops crisp mouthfeel thin light slight carbonic bite style 1d munich helles for the example we sampled weihenstephaner original we were told that it would be wise to learn the difference between munich helles dortmunder and schwarzbier so if anyone wants to help out with my homework let me know my notes aroma grainy sweet minimal hops appearance pale gold clear creamy white head flavor grainy sweetness malty palate from what i m told are pils malts minimal bitterness in aftertaste clean mouthfeel medium body low carbonation no astringency fairly smooth style 1e dortmunder export for the example we used dortmunder original this is one style i have never heard of so i m obviously off to a fabulous start with this class my notes aroma sweet and grainy slight dms mild biscuit notes appearance deep gold clear with persistent white head flavor malty sweetness slightly bitter at finish smooth mouthfeel medium body low carbonation seems to coat the mouth we also filled out an official bjcp beer scoresheet and were taught how to complete it to the best of our abilities and told what we would need to work on to make it acceptable in official judging situations i am aware now that i need to get to know the official color guide and the appropriate descriptors while colorful adjectives are encouraged in many aspects of judging they should be based off of the original descriptor list if there is no dms or off flavors it must be written down alternately if there is off flavoring even if it was marked under the descriptor definitions section it must be written down the more you have to say about a beer the more you can make your case for your scoring and the more your score will be trusted and while i can write a lot when it comes to blog posts or telling stories i need a lot of work when it comes to filling out judging sheets luckily though when we filled one out for a homebrew as an example i was within 5 points of what the bjcp judges gave it there s hope for me yet share share on x opens in new window x share on pinterest opens in new window pinterest share on facebook opens in new window facebook email a link to a friend opens in new window email more share on reddit opens in new window reddit share on linkedin opens in new window linkedin share on tumblr opens in new window tumblr print opens in new window print like loading tags arizona society of homebrewers ash beer bjcp bottles cans dortmunder export light lager lite american lager munich helles pabst blue ribbon pbr premium american lager standar american lager weihenstephaner 4 16 2013 beer can 1 comment new glarus hop hearty and how i know i m from wisconsin cascade and east kent golding dry hopped light caramel backbone with soft bitter overtones that linger smells of hay currently i m in the process of house hunting not because i m going to be moving anytime soon but i want to be ready when i start looking for keeps right now we live in a condo in a great location save for the high school across the street but i don t want to be here forever and not all my needs are being met i have a few specifics in mind as i m searching through thousands of houses across multiple platforms and while i m willing to concede to certain things i dislike in order to make myself seem more flexible i can t help but feel like i should follow the sage advice of my younger brother if you aren t 100 in love with it don t settle you don t want to regret it basically this beer brought up a lot of very specific memories for me so settle in if you re planning on reading through to the end my younger brother is 21 he s engaged to his high school sweetheart he s almost done with his bachelor s degree in business administration and accounting from the university of wisconsin oshkosh with a gpa above 3 5 he s the refinishing department manager 2nd in command at our family s business an auto body shop that s been around for over 60 years and counting and he s being prepped to take over if our dad ever decides to retire not likely considering his dad the founder of the business literally worked there until the day before he died he owns his 3rd car a lexus he just bought his first house this past summer and adopted a great dane puppy he s extremely witty and sharp and knows just when to crack a smart joke or whip out consoling words of wisdom he s everything i could have ever hoped to get from a brother so when i called my brother up to ask him to review one of the houses i was looking at he asked me what i liked about it and what i didn t like about it well i really don t understand the trend where master bathrooms have the bathtub in the middle of the room separating the sinks who wants to take a bath in the middle of the bathroom also the yard is fake grass and half the size i expected it to be then don t put an offer on it if you don t like it 100 don t settle you shouldn t have to get used to or change something you don t like after you spend all that money you ll just regret it i went back through my list of pros cons and undecideds and applied them to locations i d like to live someday in the near future i grew up with chores what adult today didn t i can t say i enjoy doing most of them to this day but i do appreciate them and some i even miss like mowing the lawn both houses i lived in throughout adolescence were on half an acre or more and our cottage property was 75 grass 25 edifice i did a lot of mowing push mowers were the bane of my existence but when i was privileged to drive the riding mower i grabbed a cherry pepsi popped in my headphones cranked my cd walkman to the max and squealed out of the garage with gusto this was a mission one where none of my siblings would bother me for fear of the chore being passed to them and one where my parents would leave me be because at least something was getting done i learned to drive when i was 10 maybe younger but don t tell my mother the warm sweet smell of freshly cut grass drying in the sun mixed with the subtle whiffs of gasoline the damp cushion of the clippings sticking to my green bare feet and the renewed sound of the world after the the deafening roar of the engine died i could hear the birds warbling and the wind and the lake flies humming in the treetops i sighed and the life around me sighed things i want for my next house a yard with real grass lots of windows 2 000 sq ft 3 bedrooms 2 5 bathrooms 2 car garage a large open kitchen preferably with a big window behind the sink a view 25 acres or more a dog i want to mow the lawn again and sigh with the sounds of the world this time with a good beer that s how i know i m from wisconsin share share on x opens in new window x share on pinterest opens in new window 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