The Blind Truth: D’s First Annual Beer Tasting

Texas is fortunate in having a reasonable supply of strict “beer bars” and dedicated beer drinkers who patronize them. These are hearty places, devoid of the shook martini, the strawberry daiquiri and the Tiffany lamp. I have spent many of my waking (and a few slumbering) hours in these bars and have never ceased to be amazed by the eccentricities of the beer drinking subculture.



There is a mysterious camaraderie among those who drink beer seriously, a casual feeling that “we’re all in this together.” And while we’re not necessarily all men of “gusto, who only go around once,” (contrary to what you see on television, only a small percentage of American beer is consumed by sailors) there is a certain shared esprit de corps. In fact, Fred Shero, head coach of the world champion Philadelphia Flyers hockey team, claims the unity of his players is due in part to their drinking beer together.

Go one step further and you find some fierce loyalties among men who drink the same brands of beer. A beer drinking friend once said, “Finding a guy who drinks your brand is almost like finding a fellow of the same religion.” Another friend tells the story of being in a strange bar when a brawl broke out. He said he quickly joined the side of a man he’d met in the bar “because he was drinking Bud.”

This loyalty to brand isn’t always quite so physical. Mostly it amounts to endless barroom bickering about the relative merits of this or that American beer, or once in a while, a knock-down-drag-out between an American patriot and a European complaining about the light tastes of our brews. Occasionally, some heretic will plead that all beer tastes pretty much the same.

As a devoted beer drinker, it has never been my intention to settle any of these disputes, so I decided to fuel them.

Convincing the editors of the magazine that readers in Dallas would be eager to see an article on beer tasting was no problem. Any possible objections were erased when five staff members were promised judgeships at the tasting.

Beer distributors in town were equally anxious to participate. Cooperation came quickly from everyone contacted except the distributors of Anheuser-Busch who explained, “Our sales tell us who makes the best beer.”

Each distributor offered suggestions on how a proper “blind taste” should operate. It was finally agreed that 1) all beers would be chilled at the same temperature, 2) glasses used would be “beer clean” and washed identically, 3) smoking by participants or audience would be strictly prohibited, 4) tasters would be supplied with plenty of unsalted crackers to clear the palate and 5) each distributor rep would be allowed three minutes to pitch his brew to the panel and to point out elements judges should be alert for in rating beer quality.

We had no problem finding judges. We ended up with a mixed group-a couple of Europeans, a couple of women and a diverse group of American men. Before any distributor gave his spiel, each judge was asked to list his three favorite beers.

Coors was named on more than half the ballots with Budweiser, Michelob (though Anheuser Busch refused to participate, we thought they should be included in the competition and bought cases of both Bud and Mich) and Schlitz garnering five of a possible 16 votes. Only Shiner, Dos Equis, Pabst and Lone Star received more than one “favorite” vote of the beers to be tasted.



Finding a site for the tasting was no problem. Pete Lucas, co-owner of the NFL Lounge.graciously offered his funky pub, though we had to talk him out of installing pay urinals for the tasting.



We selected what turned out to be a rather gloomy, wintery Sunday, not the best weather for serious beer drinking. Once judges caught sight of the 20 or so cases of different beers chilling in the refrigerator, however, the weather didn’t seem to matter. Vic Muzzarelli of Coors and Bob Snow of Schlitz gave the most professional, polished distributor presentations, but Billy Bob Barnett of Lone Star seemed the most sincere, consuming five longnecks before the competition started. Judges were instructed to watch for a good head on the beers, proper bouquet and a full body.



Each judge was issued a rating sheet, and 21 numbered napkins. All beers were served in identical glasses; only Lucas knew which beer was being served to the tasters. The 21 beers were tasted and rated by each judge on a scale of 1 (poorest) to 10 (best). Comments were solicited. Final rankings were based on each beer’s total points awarded by the 16 judges. Computing the final rankings produced the inevitable elements of human error: for example, former tavern owner and full-blooded Englishman Colin Jefferson insisted that beer number 10, Coors, was Budweiser. Angry at the Bud people for not participating, Colin gave poor old number 10 Coors a zero rating and wrote an obscenity in his commentary space.



I’m not sure if the final rankings and judges’ comments prove anything, but they are interesting. Generally, beers finishing with the highest ratings got there because most judges found them less objectionable than other beers. Some judges displayed remarkably accurate taste buds, identifying by brand certain popular premium beers; five of the 16 judges correctly identified the tenth beer tasted as Coors (Mr. Jefferson’s claims notwithstanding).

Twenty-one different beers were tasted in succession. One beer, Fal-staff, was served to tasters twice, once at the beginning of the tasting and once at the end, to see if the panel would give the beer a similar rating in different stages of sobriety. They did.

Here are the final rankings, with the few suitable-for-printing comments from the judges:



(1) Dos Equis (XX): As one judgecommented, “Hooray for Mexico, butI’m still glad they lost the war.” Probably the finest beer imported fromMexico, XX won by a wide marginover other competitors. Severaljudges guessed the beer to be Bohemia. XX received one rating of 10and several eights, but won becauseno judge gave it a rating below five.

(2) Pabst: Yes, that’s right, Pabst.Finishing solidly in second place, thismuch-maligned beer drew surpriseraves from the panel. Comments:”More saline than previous brands,””a full bodied beer,” “a heavy beer,but smooth.” Only one judge identified Pabst.

(3) Coors and Old Milwaukee: A clean tie here. Coors received the greatest number of perfect 10 ratings, and was correctly identified by a third of the judges. However, two judges said the beer had no identifiable characteristics. Others said it was “too light.” Old Milwaukee was second only to Pabst in the surprise category, finishing ahead of its higher-priced big brother, Schlitz. Two judges were positive Old Mil was Coors, and yours truly insisted he was drinking Schlitz. Most judges agreed Old Mil was a “well-brewed, smooth beer.”

(4) Schlitz: Barely edged its way tofourth by receiving only one rating below five. Two judges called it “familiar.” Two others said it had a nice”bite.” One dissenting panelist said”Good for bathing if you have athletesfoot. I’m sure it’s the cure.”

(5) Michelob: Impressed one judgeas “superb” and another as “okay, notreally good and not really bad.” Mosttasters agreed this was fine light American beer -but too light to rate higher.

(6) Budweiser: Described by onejudge as “perfect for a long evening,”and by another as “sweet, but not toosweet.” None of the dedicated Buddrinkers were able to identify theirbrand. Two judges called it “flat.”

(7) Carlsberg Light: Several onthe panel complained of an aftertastein this beer, and a few recognized it asdistinctively foreign. Said one,”Tasty, but a man has to breathe.”

(8) Asahi: Japanese import, universally identified as “foreign” byjudges. Some said it was “too strong,”while others liked the robust taste.

(9) Pearl Premium: Two tastersidentified this as a Texas beer. Butmost on the panel prefaced their comments with “pretty”, as in “prettygood.”

(10) Kirin: Another Japanese import. Comments similar to thoseabout Asahi. Kirin received two onesand two eights, showing how itsstrong taste either turned judges completely on or off.

(11) Pearl Light: Almost unanimously mediocre ratings. Severaljudges guessed this beer was Bud orMichelob. Generally, comments said”no specific characteristics,” and”okay.”

(12) Carlsberg Dark: By far thehighest rated dark beer by a panel ofgenerally self-proclaimed dark beerhaters. Many judges expressed surprise at a taste they described as “nottoo heavy” and “light” for a dark beer.Another complimented the beer forencouraging “a good belch.”

(13) Lone Star: As with Pearl,Lone Star was identified by severaljudges as a Texas beer. One said,”Why can’t this state produce a good beer?” Lone Star seemed to receive its highest ratings from former Austin-ites and C & W fans.

(14) Lowenbrau: Another surprise. Most judges were amazed attheir reactions to this expensive import. Lowenbrau produced the biggestsplit on the panel. Many judges said”great beer with lots of flavor, tasteslike Heineken.” Others said “theworst I have ever tasted.”

Shiner and Falstaff: No onerated Shiner higher than a six. Panelists could not decide if the beer was”too harsh” or “too light,” but seemedto agree it was not a superb beer.Falstaff found a few who defended its”smoothness.” But two judges calledit “watery,” and one referred to it as”rubbish, a vulgar little upstart.”

Tres Equis (XXX): What adifference an X makes. One of the fewcomplimentary comments aboutchampion Dos Equis’ sister beer camefrom a taster who said, “Sour, terrible taste, but I’d drink it.” Few liked this beer. One simply said, “Barf.”

(17) Superior: As many guessedthis beer to be Texan as Mexican.Three judges gave it sevens, but thegeneral sentiment of the panel wasreflected in the comment of one judge,”Taco-flavored beer without the lettuce or sauce.”

(18) Wurzburger: Another darkbeer that failed to impress anyone.Though garnering a few eights,Wurzburger suffered from Americanprejudice against dark, heavy beers.One taster said it had a “medicinaltaste.”

(19) San Miguel: Tasted like”bourbon and coke” to three judges.Others said it was good and hearty.One judge commented “No thanks,tastes like prune juice, pure rotgut.”Another said,”I’d rather drink Dallaswater.”

Here are the final results of our first annual blind beer tasting. The point totals reflect the total number of points awarded each beer by our 16 judges, who rated each beer 1 (poorest) to 10 (best). Remember, don’t take it personally:

1 XX (103)

2 Pabst (92)

3 Coors and Old Milwaukee (tie 87)

4 Schlitz (85)

5 Michelob (84)

6 Budweiser (82)

7 Carlsberg Light (78)

8 Asahi (77)

9 Pearl (76)

10 Kirin (74)

11 Pearl Light (73)

12 Carlsberg Dark (70)

13 Lone Star (64)

14 Lowenbrau (63)

15 Shiner and Falstaff (tie 62)

16 XXX (60)

17 Superior (59)

18 Wurzburger (57)

19 San Miguel (55)