Judge’s Review: 95 Rating – English Sporting Beer by Midwest Coast Brewing Co.

Strong Bitter | Year-Round | USA

By Rick Franckhauser

Judges Rating: 95.00
Aroma: 22.00
Appearance: 6.00
Flavor: 38.00
Mouthfeel: 10.00
Overall Impression: 19.00

English Sporting Beer by Midwest Coast Brewing Co. was judged as BJCP category 11C, Strong Bitter.
The aroma provided a nice bready malt quality with just a hint of light toast. Lower levels of some woody and earthy hop aromatics are present. Nice English hop impression but rather subtle. There is a faint dried apricot note as it warms up. Malt dominates the aromatics but nothing is off or out of place. The beer is a slightly hazy orange copper color topped with a thick creamy off-white head. The head drops to a thin cap with good retention and lacing. Perhaps a little too hazy for the style but not worth reducing the score. 
The malt flavor is more elevated in the flavor but leans more into a medium toasted bread and maybe a touch of caramelization but not sweet. Medium-high levels of bitterness are firm, rounded and smooth. The flavor hops are slightly minty and resinous. Some of the woody and earthy notes are still present but not at the levels found in the aroma. The hopping comes across very English in character, as they should. The dried apricot ester is found toward the finish. Semi-dry finish is aided by the high bittering. Nothing off or out of place. Very quaffable. 
Medium-bodied with moderate carb levels.The carbonation level is acceptable for a packed version of the style. Obviously, you would expect less carbonation if this was pulled off cask and I imagine it would be complementary to the overall impression of the beer, but I’m not judging it for what it’s not. There is some mouth-drying tannin effects near the end that work to clean the palate and call for another sip. 
Overall, I found this to be an excellent example of a style that, unfortunately, is not brewed that often in the U.S. I’m always happy to find a brewery that is willing to make traditional styles in a traditional manner with what at least comes across as traditional ingredients, and is able to resist the temptation to over-hop or throw in some crazy adjunct. This beer is nicely balanced, leaning into the bitterness without being harsh while maintaining nice malt and hop qualities. I think this falls squarely in the guidelines for the style, but, in my mind, it would be pushed into world class territory if a touch more of the hop character came through in the nose and some additional malt qualities, maybe biscuit, came through in the flavor. A slight increase in the ester profile would also push it closer to being a classic English version. I will acknowledge these additions lay soundly in the personal preference category, but I believe, if present, the beer would be undeniably world class. Having said that, I will note that it’s not far off that goal and is an excellent example of the style.