In my post two days ago, I reviewed two Pagoa beers – now the third, “Zunbeltz”, which describes itself as a stout.
Again, this seems to get real bad reviews on Ratebeer, and I can’t really see why. It’s got bags of flavour, toasted malt, coffee and chocolate notes and a lovely long finish. This is easily one of the tastiest beers in Spain and would stand up very well against a British mild like Oscar Wilde.
And perhaps this style “confusion” explains the bad reviews - it hasn’t really got the body to be a stout, which is what the reviews seem to focus on.
While I can’t get as worked up as some bloggers about overclassification of beer – I think it’s quite useful for homebrewing if you’re trying to copy a particular favourite – I think in this case, it has resulted in a good beer getting some very bad reviews because it’s not “true to type”.
Or alternatively I’ve had a taste lobotomy since being out here…
Anyway, it is definitely worth trying, and I won’t even qualify that with “if you’re in Spain”.Â
Boak
3 replies on “Pagoa post script – Zunbeltz (and style nazis)”
I must say I was disturbed when I first read Michael Jackson’s Beer, and he lists “fidelity to style” as a key factor in assessing the quality of a beer.
Playing the “not true to type†card – a great way of putting down a beer and making it look as if you know what you’re talking about at the same time.
Having looked at Beer again, here’s the section I’m referring to. It appears on page 22 of my edition, in the “Tasting Beer” chapter.
“…In a formal tasting, for a beer or wine club, a score-sheet is a hasty aide-memoire. A simple system is to have scores for: Fidelity to style (if it is labelled as a Pilsner, wheat beer, or ale, is it a good example>)…”
I don’t like it one little bit!!