Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub, near Newberry, Michigan
Lark Carlyle Ludlow, owner
How does someone judge a good beer?
Lots of flavor and body, hopped just right, a beautiful amber color to
relax and enjoy alone or makes a great pairing with a variety of foods.
Of your selection of beers, which is your favorite and why?
Falls Tannin (American Red).
Like wine or anything we taste, our chemistry dictates
what is good; but we can cultivate that taste! Some prefer a light
colored, hoppy, bodied beer while other enjoy a darker, hoppier amber
or stout. Different styles of beer complement food in their own way. A
blond lager (Lumberjack Lager) is perfect with a fresh catch of Lake
Superior whitefish.
Thirsty Pagan Brewing, Superior, Wisconsin
Steve Knauss, owner
How do you judge a good beer?
Usually, a good beer is the one I am in the mood for. If it’s a hot
day, a cold day, the afternoon, the evening, or with a meal . . . these
variables really play a part in the beer I would consider good, or good
to have in my hand. Some basic criteria I use in general would be; how
does the beer look? Is it clear, hazy? Does it have a good head on it?
But in general, a good beer is one you want to finish and order another.
What do you look for in a beer?
I look forward to drinking a local beer from a local brewery. I look
for a beer to get close to the guidelines of the style the beer is
representing. If a beer is a pale ale, I would hope to find those
characteristics that make up a pale ale. If I am ordering a stout,
lambic, light ale, bock, imperial porter, a wheat beer or a lager, I
would expect the beer to somewhere close to what the guidelines say
about each style.
Which beer is your favorite at Thirsty Pagan?
I honestly really like all of them. No kidding. All of the beer we have
on tap I really like. I might drink more of one than the other, but
again, that comes back to the mood I am in.
South Shore Brewery, Ashland, Wisconsin
Bo Belanger, owner/head brewmaster
How do you judge a good beer?
I most definitely will be assessing any flaws that are caused by poor
brewing techniques. These are mainly off flavors from microbial
infections, bad brewhouse and storage practices.
What do you look for in a beer?
Now this is much more subjective. I always like to know what style the
brewer has used as a reference. I look for balance . . . sweetness from
the grains and other additions versus the bittering additions. Color
and aroma are important as well as we “taste” with our eyes and noses
first.
Of the many different types of beer you make, which one is your favorite?
Way too hard to answer! I am very fond of lagers, mainly of the Pilsner
style and hoppy ales. But our seasonal beers are one of a kind and that
makes them very attractive as well!
Lake Superior Brewing Company, Duluth, Minnesota
Dale Kleinschmidt, owner/brewmaster
What do you look for in a beer?
I have been the head brewer for LSB for the last nine years having been
the assistant brewer for four years prior to that and an unpaid
apprentice for about eight months to start things rolling.
There have been dramatic changes in the market and in the
marketing of beer in that time. The American public has undergone a
substantial shift in understanding that there is a great deal more to
the world of beer than the ubiquitous pale fizz that most everybody
thought of when the word “beer” was mentioned. Even the recent
excitement about Belgian styles of beers shows how little the general
public knew about what was available. I refer to what one of our
distributor's driver said three years ago when he showed up with a new
paint job showcasing Blue Moon, an American version of a Belgian wit
beer. He described Blue Moon as the (at the time) twelve-year-old
overnight sensation. Craft brewers are aware that there are many styles
and variations on styles to make, but the public whim can come out of
nowhere, who can know what will be the next “thing”?
Of the many different types of beer you make, which one is your favorite?
Out of the 14 beers that we make I consistently like our pale ale as a
“go-to beer.” It was formulated by the founder of the company, was the
first beer made for sale by the brewery and has been consistently the
best selling brand for the brewery since 1994. Of course as all craft
beer drinkers know, it all depends on what you are in the mood for. We
make six brands as seasonal beers and my favorite of those brands is
the Windward Wheat, a hefeweizen style ale. I have always been pleased
with the flavor profile with its fruity and spicy overtones. We have
not played with that recipe since we first started making it in 1996.
We always try to look for balance between malt and hop character with
our brands. There is a portion of the beer world that looks for extreme
hop accentuated beers which, although well made, we feel are not
balanced. There are a number of factors that contribute to beer flavor,
amount and variety of hop, different styles of malt in various
proportions, individual yeast profiles, temperature regimines, etc. and
we want to make something in which as many components as possible are
perceived, not just one overpowering flavor.
For those folks who are newer to the wide variety of beer
styles we have excellent opportunities to easily explore what may be
available. One way to get maximum exposure is to attend a beer
festival. The Twin Ports have a couple very good beer festivals in the
Gitchee Gumee Beer Fest in the spring and the Big Lake Beer Fest in the
fall. Attendees can sample a wide variety of styles from a number of
brewers without having to pay retail price for a full bottle/glass of
something they may not like. If you are going to explore past what you
would normally consume be sure to try to let go of any preconceptions
(dark beer is heavy or bitter for example) and try to get an
explanation of what the style is supposed to be. If you can't make a
festival, try a brewery tour where samples will likely be given or go
to a local brewpub and ask for a sampler tray. Your server or tour
guide should be able to explain what you are drinking and may be able
to give some history of the style.
Fitger’s Brewhouse, Duluth, Minnesota
Dave Hoops, head brewmaster
How do you judge a good beer?
Judging beer is highly subjective, that being said brewers go through extensive sensory training that experience expands.
What do you look for in a beer?
I look at the beer as a whole, first how is the pour? Is there a nice
rocky head on the beer. Is the beer bright and the color attractive to
the eye. Next the aroma. I swirl the beer in my glass to release the
aromatics and breathe in the smells of malt and hop and yeast ester.
Any off aroma already makes the beer undrinkable. Next flavor, I'm
looking for a nice balance without too much or too little body. The
flavor should work with in the style of beer and should enhance the
experience of drinking. The finish needs to be spot on with out too
much after taste.
Of the different types of beer made at Fitger's, which one is your favorite?
This is a question that I get asked often. It is similar to being asked
which of my children I like more. So I will answer like this. We made
121 different recipes last year. I liked them all and found things I
could improve in all of them as well. That being said at the end of the
day the beer most often in my hand is Starfire Northshore style Pale
Ale.
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