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Brian started diving into the world of craft beer in 2004, tracking all of the beers he tasted online, with notes. He picked up homebrewing in 2008 and began judging in 2010. Taking pride in the opportunity to give feedback to brewers of all sorts, he has progressed through the BJCP, attaining the rank of Master in 2013. He formerly acted as an Associate Exam Director for the BJCP, as well as an exam administrator and proctor, and presently holds the rank of Grand Master IV, as well as Mead judge. To him, the most important aspect of judging is to know your limits and learn how to recognize them and expand them. To achieve that end, Brian has judged in over 100 competitions in 12 states and counting, including the Great American Beer Festival, and visits innumerable breweries. He also helps organize a few competitions each year, including the role of judge coordinator for the Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer (which you may know as FoBAB), the largest of its kind in the world.
While presented as a fruit beer, upon learning what the beer was, it really doesn't qualify under any BJCP category. That being said, I am judging based on overall enjoyability and representation of this outsider category.
The nose is big and fully about the grapefruit soda. The beer is... Read More
Cherry Bounce Berliner Weisse by Gnarly Barley Brewing Co. is being evaluated as a 29a Fruit Beer with 23a Berliner Weisse as the substyle and cherries as the fruit, per the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. It pours into the glass an attractive pinkish-red with faint orange at the edges and pillow... Read More
Broad Blade by Shovel Town Brewery is being evaluated as a 20B American Stout. I'm pretty excited about this one, as American Stout is one of my all-time favorite styles of beer.
Into the glass, it pours a deep brown-black with a dark tan head. Big and creamy on top. The beer is virtually... Read More
Floating Dock Light IPA by 3 Daughters Brewing is being judged as a 21B Specialty IPA-Session Strength IPA. This beer pours a pale gold in the glass with hints of amber and a billow off-white head. The nose initially is a bit grassy and vegetal, light citrus notes and faint sweet malt. It seems... Read More
Monk's Cafe Grand Cru by Brouwerij van Steenberge is being judged as a 23B Flanders Red Ale.
The beer pours a hazy deep brown-red. The nose on this is fantastic. Strong cherry notes with a faint acetic background note that stops short of vinegar. Bright acid pops out as well, along with... Read More
Vieux Bois by Bozeman Brewing Co. is being evaluated as a 23F-Fruit Lambic. In this instance, it is made with plums, though the variety of which is not declared. This is a style that is based in history through use of specific Belgian processes to achieve a complex, wine-like beverage. This one... Read More
