MR.BEER® COMMUNITY

Palate Perfection Challenge - Wheat Showdown Week 1

This month, we're taking it from one extreme to another – that's how we roll – with the flip from last months IPA challenge to this month and the unique and intriguing Weissbier. Weissbier, or Hefeweizen, as we traditionally call it here in the US, is like the artsy, kinda nerdy, student with glasses and paint splattered overalls that you think is a geek but then all of a sudden she's gliding down the stairs in her tiny dress and her glossy hair, and it's like you're seeing her for the first time. Weissbier is not like all the other beers.  It seems a little weird at first, with all its fruitiness and weird hazy looking face. But then it walks into your fridge and pops open with a  beautiful hiss, and it's like the most beautiful girl in the world smiling at you. It stands in a league all its own with its own special yeast contributing those banana and clove flavors we all love so much and the special addition of the lovely wheat grain. And there's nothing wrong with being different.

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Palate Perfection Challenge - IPA Showdown Weeks 4 & 5

Welcome to Week 5 – the last week – of IPAs. Fitting that an extra big beer took an extra big month to fill. We're now on our 9th and 10th IPA palate perfecting beers. Isn't learning fun? So in this post we'll talk about our previous, and final, two showdowns. Next month: Hefeweizens. So all you non-hop heads out there, rejoice! Meanwhile, all us hop heads need a moment to savor the last four beers of the inaugural month of Mr.Beer's inspired and inspiring Palate Perfection Challenge. Let's meet the beers that will signify the end of an era. Or a month, at the very least.

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Palate Perfection Challenge - IPA Showdown Week 3

Welcome to Mr.Beer's Palate Perfection Challenge! All month long, we've been pitting IPAs against each other for an ultimate battle of wills. Our goal – besides drinking two great new beers each week – is to train our palates. Each month we'll focus on a different style, and through blog posts and podcasts, we will learn everything we can about the style and what we're supposed to be tasting for when drinking it. So don't be shy! Watch for the showdown challengers each week and then do yourself a favor and go pick both up and let them battle it out on the playing field in your mouth.

Last week was very exciting because so many of you voted! Stone Ruination IPA killed the competition, and we started to get the sneaking suspicion that maybe you're basing your voting on past tastings....?? If so, for shame!! The brilliance behind this game is that it gives you the opportunity to try two beers of the same style, side by side, and really listen to what your taste buds are telling you in order to pick out the subtle nuances in each. Let's train our palates! Who knows; it could lead to the dream career you've always wanted – the cicerone (Google it!!).

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IPA Showdown: Comparing Apples to...Different Colored Apples

So on to week three of the great palate perfection challenge and we've noticed something intriguing: for the third week in a row, the Mr.Beer staff votes are split almost right down the middle. Will yours be, too? That's certainly possible, because both of this week's IPAs were excellent examples of the style. Remember to tune in tomorrow to find out what they are so you can go pick up a bottle for your weekend tasting :). But right now let's look at what it is, exactly, that makes a beer an excellent example of its style.

It's all well and good to ask, “which do you like better?” But it's basically akin to a roll of the dice if you're not measuring your opinion against an industry standard. Which is where the BJCP style guidelines come in. BJCP stands for the Beer Judging Certification Program, and it serves as an island that the waves of public beer opinion can crash upon but cannot move.

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