This beer has a wonderful pale malt aroma with touches of light floral hops and just a hint of DMS for complexity. All of these elements combine and invite you in to take a sip. The flavor was crisp and clean with a gentle lingering hop finish. The malt and bitterness swirl over the palate and... Read More
Susan Ruud
Beer Judge
Susan Ruud is a Grand Master IV BJCP judge and holds a mead certification. She has been judging and making beer, mead and cider since 1996 and assisted in creating the Mead judge exam for the BJCP and was the assistant exam director from 2006 to 2013. Susan was on the American Homebrewers Association Governing Committee from 2000 to 2017 and has held the office of secretary for this organization for many years. She has been a judge for the Great American Beer Festival since 2000.
Susan is married with two children and three grandchildren and works at North Dakota State University doing agricultural research in potatoes and canola. She has been there since 1990 and hopes to retire in the next year or so to work full time at the Meadery her husband and her have opened, Prairie Rose Meadery.
My reviews
Appearance:
6 / 6
Aroma:
21 / 24
Flavor:
37 / 40
Mouthfeel:
9 / 10
Overall Impression:
19 / 20
Appearance:
5 / 6
Aroma:
22 / 24
Flavor:
38 / 40
Mouthfeel:
10 / 10
Overall Impression:
19 / 20
Double IPAs are hugely popular (and often have huge ABVs), but this wonderfully smooth and easy-drinking Double IPA manages to stand out from the pack. A huge bready malt aroma blended with apricot, earthy and floral hop aromas makes itself known early on. The beer's flavor follows suit with... Read More
Appearance:
6 / 6
Aroma:
22 / 24
Flavor:
38 / 40
Mouthfeel:
9 / 10
Overall Impression:
19 / 20
This beer has an enticing aroma of citrus hops and sweet pleasant malt behind with mild pear-like esters leading into pleasant flavors of citrus hopping and lightly toasted sweet malt. A gentle, soft bitterness lingers into the finish. The malt and hops are almost perfectly balanced for the... Read More
Appearance:
6 / 6
Aroma:
22 / 24
Flavor:
36 / 40
Mouthfeel:
10 / 10
Overall Impression:
18 / 20
This is a beautiful-looking, clean, easy-drinking ESB with plenty of toasty malt and just enough floral hops to balance it out and keep the beer from being too sweet. An almost perfect blend of toasty malt, floral hop presence, soft fermentation esters and clean alcohol -- an excellent example ... Read More
Appearance:
6 / 6
Aroma:
22 / 24
Flavor:
37 / 40
Mouthfeel:
9 / 10
Overall Impression:
18 / 20
Judged as a 2015 BJCP 6C Dunkles Bock. This is a wonderful beer with a lively toasty malt aroma and flavor. There was no hop aroma or flavor and just enough hop bitterness to keep the malt from being too sweet. A clean beer with great body and a smooth, pleasant finish. This is the perfect beer... Read More
Appearance:
6 / 6
Aroma:
21 / 24
Flavor:
37 / 40
Mouthfeel:
10 / 10
Overall Impression:
18 / 20
Judged as 2015 BJCP 2A International Pale Lager. This was a very refreshing beer. It poured with a lovely white foamy head and was quite thirst quenching with a nice clean grainy aroma and flavor with just a hint of low Apple esters. A clean dry finish made me want to keep sipping this beer all... Read More