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Summer Swill-Off 2000

The Wizard's first ever Swill-Off was held in conjunction with the club's 2000 summer picnic. The idea was simple - compare and contrast some of the most popular commercial beers of today.

Judging was done in a blind tasting by six different judges. AHA scroce sheets were used as a means of guiding the tasting and were used to collect comments about the indiviudal beers. The overall score is the summation of the six judge's ordinal rankings.

The Gold Medal went to Ballantine Ale, the silver medal to Moslon Canadian and the bronze went to Budweiser. It is most interesting the Gold Medal beer, Ballantine Ale, was an ale while all the other beers sampled were lagers. Was the club showing a preference for ales or was it just a better beer? After a brief discussion the judges concluded it was, in fact, the best of the lot.

Finally, our apologies to those who didn't scorce as well as they might have. Better luck next time.

Gold MedalSilver MedalBronze Medal
BrewBallantine AleMolson CanadianBudweiserGolden Anniversary BeerHammsUtica ClubLabatts Blue LightOld Milwaukee
Score4842262521191817
Cost/12 oz bottle$0.75 $1.15 $0.83 $0.45 $0.39 $0.50 $1.20 $0.79
AromaSlight malt and hop aromaSlight malt aroma; no hop aromaNoneNoneNoneNo hop aromaNoneVery low hop aroma; no malt aroma
Appearance - colorDark strawDark strawLight strawDark strawDark strawStrawLight strawLight straw
Appearance - headLeast head retentionBest head retention - better than expectedExcellent head retention (best of them all)Middle of the packMiddle of the packMiddle of the packMiddle of the packHead dissipates per style
FlavorStrongest hop flavor of them allSlight hop taste; slight malt sweetnessVery slight malt/hop flavorBitterness but no hop flavor; slight diacetylVery little flavor; slight sweetness; unspecified adjunct (rice/corn?) flavorMore flavor than others but a pleasant flavorMissingLow to no malt taste; clean with no aftertaste
MouthfeelSome residual sweetness and bitternessNice, creamy, smooth mouthfeelWell carbonated; not as watery as some othersAdequate - neither too thin or too fullNot very crispWatery over thin; carbonic bite in finishDry; body ok for style but lacks crispness
Overall ImpressionGood balanceNice balanceDry; not as refreshing as expected

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