# Vic July 2012 Tasting Thread



## Yob (1/8/12)

Created for Tasting Feedback.

Linked in Article.

:icon_cheers:


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## beerDingo (1/8/12)

1. Fents - APA

Colour:
Nice golden colour.

Aroma:
Nice spicy hoppy aroma. Is that simco I smell?

Taste:
Nice hoppy taste, not too bitter (something I've been struggling with lately), with a nice hop aftertaste. Again is that simco?

Head/Head Retention:
Not much head, but seemed to keep a little till the end. No real lacing of the glass. Maybe needs a little longer for carbonation due to colder weather.

Overall:
Nice version of an American Pale Ale. Nice work. Would happily have a session on this!


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## Charst (1/8/12)

Hangover gone and I couldn't resist!

Merlin032 - E IPA - Im no beer judge!

Hissed at me when i cracked it, thought it might be a bit over carbed but it it poured a nice head and has settled into the glass well. Belgian Tulip.
nice little head remains right though out. 
Darker than I expect for an IPA. Red Red colour
Nose is caramel, slightly sweet, maybe bready, some earthy hop character, 
Taste more hop character with a caramel toffee, firm bitterness helps to cut through the sweeter mid palette. some alcohol.

As a beer I like it, the bitterness balances the sweet, nice drinkable sherbet but something perhaps to savour more than swill.
The caramel character is a bit high compared too other english IPAs I've had. If I brewed it id drop the grog back a bit to lower 6's 
and knock back the caramel a touch. 

Cheers thanks for the beer.


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## beerDingo (1/8/12)

1. Trippers - Home smoked, Smoke Beer

Colour:
Golden Red colour.

Aroma:
Getting a little smoky smell.

Taste:
Mmm smoky bacon flavour, but not too overpowering.

Head/Head Retention:
Not really any head. Again, maybe needs longer to carb up.

Overall:
I like it, will have to come over and get a lesson in home smoking malts!!!


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## Adam Howard (1/8/12)

9. Wolfman - Robust Choc Porter

Slightly sour, acetaldehyde character when first poured and tasted. Slight fermentation issues or too green. As it warmed it ended up nice but lacking in chocolate character. Not bad.

1. Fents - Pale Ale

My lady opened it and couldn't get over the smell (she's not a beer drinker.....yet). Really sessionable. Clean, well balanced, nice hop character.

6. Fikuss - Robust Porter

Great beer. Nice roasty chocolate aroma, great mouthfeel, clean yeast character, loving it.


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## Fents (3/8/12)

Charst Black IPA (Goat Clone)

Very nice beer! not quite as hoppy and floral as i remember the Goat Thornbridge collab but a good beer none the less.

Julie - ????

Extract beer? tastes really sweet sort of like unfermented wort, looks good, smells ok just has a really sweet taste (for me anyways).


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## insane_rosenberg (3/8/12)

BeerDingo - Mandarine Wheat

Decent head that dissipates quickly. The mandarine sticks out once you read the description. But it becomes quite sickly for my taste. Maybe a little more bitterness to balance? Sorry mate.

-Shane R.


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## Fents (3/8/12)

#8 ipa? 

Big malt big hops big beer! Like!


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## insane_rosenberg (3/8/12)

merlin032 - English IPA

Chalky up front but then settles down into a well rounded beer. Quite drinkable. Cheers Merlin.


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## insane_rosenberg (3/8/12)

12. Charst - MTN Goat Thornbridge Black IPA Clone

Having never tasted the original, this beer has a massive nose. Backed up by good flavour and malt. Top beer charst. If only some competition had a Black IPA comp.


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## Charst (3/8/12)

Fents, APA

Think I've gone early on this is a little under carbed, 

Smells fking amazing whats the hops? 

Touch cloudy golden, good head retention right through.

Sweetish, honey on the palette with a resiny bitterness.

Think if I gave it a week or two to dry out and carb up a touch id have enjoyed it even more.

Still a very nice beer.

cheers.


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## Fents (4/8/12)

Fresh tassie cascade flowers in the boil then dry hopped with citra mate


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## insane_rosenberg (4/8/12)

20. MaestroMatt - Weizenbock

Dark malty beer with a hint of banana esters. Perhaps a bit of alcohol warmth. Had this one last night so it's a little hazy.

:icon_cheers:


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## Charst (4/8/12)

Fikuss - Robust Porter, in belgian tulip.

Nice dark colour fading head, pretty clear when i shine a light through it.

Soft chocolatey cocoa smell,
Nice soft mouthfeel, just the right weight, nice carb, more choc flavour.

could have a tiny bit more roast for me but a really nice beer, really smooth Cheers


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## Charst (4/8/12)

8. Warmbeer IPA

Lovely Frothy head lacing the glass.
cloudy orange colour.
Smells of mandarins to me same hop smell in Thornbridge Jaipur IPA. Whats the hop? 
low carb subtle sweetness moving into a really nice firm bitterness, right balance for an IPA. mouth feel right for an IPA
best beer so far.
******* good beer mate.

Can you please post a recipe in the Swap recipe thread.

cheers


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## Yob (4/8/12)

ha, a flood on Warmbeer..

wat he said above.. I felt medium carbed but there ya go, poured with a big head but settles and laces nicely. 

A good way to start on the swaps :icon_chickcheers: 

Nice one!


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## Charst (4/8/12)

iamozziyob said:


> ha, a flood on Warmbeer..
> 
> wat he said above.. I felt medium carbed but there ya go, poured with a big head but settles and laces nicely.
> 
> ...




get on that Black No.12 yob I'm not sure it'd win medals but I'm pretty happy with it.


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## WarmBeer (5/8/12)

Charst said:


> 8. Warmbeer IPA
> 
> Lovely Frothy head lacing the glass.
> cloudy orange colour.
> ...


Ask, and ye shall receive...


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## Yob (5/8/12)

Charst said:


> get on that Black No.12 yob I'm not sure it'd win medals but I'm pretty happy with it.



in the fridge for today... Happy International beer day :icon_chickcheers: 

... er that _IS_ today innit? :unsure:


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## Yob (5/8/12)

Charst. 12 - MTN Goat Thornbridge Black IPA Clone

I havnt had the MG Beer that this is styled after but mate.. You have a fantastic beer here

Carb is just right for me, pours with a nice tight creamy head and isnt over the top with any of the many flavours fighting for recognition in there..

I dont drink many dark ales, but thats probably because not many of them are this good..

:icon_cheers:

ed: Photo added


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## PhantomEasey (5/8/12)

Shit hot stir plate there yob!


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## Yob (5/8/12)

expertly built I should think


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## WarmBeer (5/8/12)

*Charst. 12 - MTN Goat Thornbridge Black IPA Clone*



iamozziyob said:


> Charst. 12 - MTN Goat Thornbridge Black IPA Clone
> 
> I havnt had the MG Beer that this is styled after but mate.. You have a fantastic beer here
> 
> ...


^^^ what he said.

I _have_ had the MT/Thornbridge collab beer, and I kinda thought it was out of balance, a little too hop focused, but not in the good way.

Yours, IMHO, is a better beer. Really good malt/ hop levels in the taste, with just a touch of roastiness coming through, which I think adds complexity to a beer like this.

I do drink many dark ales, as well as IPA's, and this sits nicely in between the two camps.

Well done.


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## Adam Howard (5/8/12)

#20 - MaestroMatt - Weizenbock

All pear ester on the nose, very little caramel/toffee/malt in the smell. Low carb, a little drier than most WB's I've had which have that toffee/thick malt character. It's a bit like a ramped up Dunkelweizen. Smooth, easy drinker though! Clean, well made beer. Nice.


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## Charst (5/8/12)

iamozziyob said:


> Charst. 12 - MTN Goat Thornbridge Black IPA Clone
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 56286




Cheers yob and +1 for the Neon!

Thanks Warmbeer also.


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## Charst (5/8/12)

11 Midnightbrew - dark ale. - belgian tulip

Dark as you like with a nice frothy head thats slow to dissipate, leaves a bit of a lace.

Smells of subtle cocoa caramel, low hop aroma.
nice rich body on the beer, nice mouth feel,
more soft cocoa to taste lacking a little bitterness or roast to finish off, 

thought I got a slight plastic note initially but can't find it now.

nice tasty beer.

cheers


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## Midnight Brew (6/8/12)

12. Charst - Black IPA Goat/Thornbridge

Lets start with wow!

First thing that stikes me is how amazing the aroma is. Not too in your face but very approachable. 

This beer is ridicolousy well balanced between flavours, the aroma completly fools you into thinking pale ale and the colour would say its a stout but for me everything is spot on in balance.

This is a fantastic beer mate and I've added it to my dangerously sessionable list.

Cheers


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## Charst (6/8/12)

Midnight Brew said:


> Cheers



Thanks mate, with every report i wanna crack another one but only have 3 left. will be on the rebrew list very soon.


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## beerDingo (7/8/12)

3. Luke C - Belg Stout

Color:
Black... Can't see much through this one.

Aroma:
A bit of alcohol. A bit of chocolate toastyness.

Taste:
A mix between chocolate-coffee-toasty malt.

Head:
Not much head (prob to style?), keeping it through to the end. Plenty of carb.

Overall:
Enjoyed it, only critisizm is maybe a little too sweet. However, if I didn't drink it so cold, the other flavours would've probably balanced it out. Prob should read what the beer is before I crack it.


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## Charst (8/8/12)

3. Luke C Belgian Stout.

Black as the ace of spades, medium carb, head dissipating to cling around the edges,
smell of coffee roast, touch of sweetness
Taste is coffee roasty and sweetish, slightly sickly sweet, sounds bad but i actually really like it as i don't find the finish is so sweet i don't want another mouthful, has a molasses liquorice flavour to me. can't find a lot of the belgian fruit flavours you'd think of maybe in the taste. 

Im knocking this back in record time I really like it. 

Cheers.

recipe please.

ash


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## beerDingo (9/8/12)

11. Midnight Brew - Dark Ale 

Colour:
Dark, reddy brown.

Aroma:
A bit of chocolate roatyness. Smells like a porter.

Taste:
Dark beer bitterness, a little bit of spice, a little watery. Was thinking a sweet aftertaste, but have changed it to (not sweet, but dark malt aftertaste, as it's not really sweet in the sugar sense).

Head/Head Retention:
Not really any head. Maybe needs a little longer for carbonation due to colder weather.

Mouthfeel:
Slick buttery, which dissapates quickly.

Overall:
At first I was thinking a porter before I read it. Doesn't really have enough oomph in flavour department (needs a bit more spice I think (but don't really know how a dark ale should be)). Due to mouthfeel, I am thinking it has some diacetal (which I don't have a problem with, just the buttery feeling that I notice), however, I could be wrong.


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## beerDingo (9/8/12)

Shane R said:


> BeerDingo - Mandarine Wheat
> 
> Decent head that dissipates quickly. The mandarine sticks out once you read the description. But it becomes quite sickly for my taste. Maybe a little more bitterness to balance? Sorry mate.
> 
> -Shane R.



No worries, I appreciate all feedback, good and bad. This beer really needs lots of carb to get it's full potential, not saying it's what I was hoping for, but out of the keg I loved it when highly carbed. I agree that it can be mandarine heavy (and a bit sweet) when not enough carb. The housemate only liked it when it had that typical german head (ie, massive). I hate bottles! 

I was going for a hoegarden style beer, as it has mandarine, coriander seed, and using wyeast forbidden fruit. It came down to 1011 FG, so unless my hydrometer is out, any sweetness is from mandarine (which I went relativly easy on) and usual wheat sweetness.

Anyway enough drunk ranting. Just waiting for Fents to try it as he hates wheat's...

After reading it looks like I'm trying to change your mind, but no, just wanting to say that I appreciate all feedback!!! :icon_drunk: :beer:


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## beerDingo (9/8/12)

merlin032 - English IPA 

Colour:
First glass had a nice red color, second I poured a bit of sediment, which Im looking at now.

Aroma:
A little bit of sweet malt mixed with hops, a tiny bit of alcohol, 

Taste:
Quite smooth, not overly bitter. A subtle english hop flavour. Since it's almost 7%, well balanced.

Head/Head Retention:
Had the first glass in a headmaster glass, and kept head till the end, with nice lacing.

Overall:
Spose I haven't had many EIPA's, was thinking it could be a little hoppier, but it may well be to style. Before I read it, was thinking of a red ale. COuld have a couple.

:icon_offtopic: Watching the olympics - never thought I'd enjoy rythmic gymnastics so much :icon_chickcheers:


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## Charst (12/8/12)

5. Shane R - Aussie Ale. Belgian tulip

Beautiful golden amber colour, cloudy, holding a lacy head on the glass.
Subtle honey with sweet light caramel smell, bread
well balanced taste with a nice mouthfeel and subtle bitterness,

good sessionable beer, something i could give to the boys and say try this its got flavour without offending them

cheers


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## beerDingo (12/8/12)

20. MaestroMatt - Weizenbock 

Colour:
Dark ruby amber.

Aroma:
Sweet wheat. Tiny bit of alcohol.

Taste:
Licorice, alcohol, wheat.

Head/Head Retention:
Not much head to speak of, but has carb. Seems that most of the beers for this swap might be like this (my'n too).

Overall:
Very first taste, could only taste licorice, and wasn't sure I'd be able to drink it. However, once I got into it, I'm enjoying it. Get a lot of alcohol, how strong is this? Haven't really tried any Weizenbock that I can think of so not sure how close to slyle it is.


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## insane_rosenberg (25/8/12)

14. Adamski29 - Traditional Bock

Can't say I've ever tried a Bock before. Colour seems bang on for style, could be a little clearer. Missing that great German head.

Definitely a big malty beer though. The more I sip the more I like it. Cheers.


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## Adam Howard (25/8/12)

Shane R said:


> 14. Adamski29 - Traditional Bock
> 
> Can't say I've ever tried a Bock before. Colour seems bang on for style, could be a little clearer. Missing that great German head.
> 
> Definitely a big malty beer though. The more I sip the more I like it. Cheers.



Thanks man, how's the carb in it? I'm drinking one right now and it is brilliantly clear. I haven't lagered it though so I think the alcohol in it is a bit more present than I'd like. I have another cube of it that I am going to focus a bit more attention on. This one was fermented with Hella Bock yeast. I have 30g of S-189 for the other cube.


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## insane_rosenberg (25/8/12)

Adamski29 said:


> Thanks man, how's the carb in it? I'm drinking one right now and it is brilliantly clear. I haven't lagered it though so I think the alcohol in it is a bit more present than I'd like. I have another cube of it that I am going to focus a bit more attention on. This one was fermented with Hella Bock yeast. I have 30g of S-189 for the other cube.


The carb is low but there, and I don't think it's far from style. Not sure how you're meant to have low carb, medium-full body and big head all in the one beer...


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## Adam Howard (25/8/12)

Yeah if your carb was low I'd say it needs longer. The one I cracked tonight was well carbed (I'd kept my remaining bottles near a heater). I'd post pics but I'm only on my phone. I'm keen to get the other cube fermented and fully lagered.

Edit: Oh and it should be close to style because it's basically Jamil's traditional bock recipe out of Brewing Classic Styles. I think there's a mild fermentation flaw from underpitching that's led to a little more alcohol presence than I was hoping for. It knocked out at 7ish%. U


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## mmmyummybeer (30/8/12)

Charsts Black IPA
Was really looking forward to this beer after reading the feedback and can definitely say I was not disappointed. I really loved this beer, the balance between the malt and the hops was perfect and the flavour sensational. Great Job :beerbang: Biggest issue was that my glass must of had a whole in to or something as it disappeared too quickly, I could of easily had a few of these.

Fents APA
Very nice APA I loved your use of citra.

Wolmans Choc Porter
Very nice, I didn't notice any of the acetaldehyde at all and found it to be a very clean tasting beer with a nice subtle chocolate roastiness.


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## Fents (31/8/12)

have drank all my swaps  roll on xmas!


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## MaestroMatt (31/8/12)

beerDingo said:


> 20. MaestroMatt - Weizenbock
> 
> Colour:
> Dark ruby amber.
> ...



Hey Dingo - thanks for the review.

I have had trouble getting it carbed for a while. It's was in the bottle 4 weeks before the swap in a 'warmish' room so I am not sure why it still seems to be undercarbed. 

I don't have my notes with me by I think it was around the 7-7.5% mark. It's a style that I don't have a lot of experience with and can honestly say I don't know whether I hit the mark or not.....but as another swapper mentioned above, I think I may have successed more in brewing a stronger Dunkelweizen - that's fine if that is the case.

I can't say that I am impressed with the result but it is an interesting flavor - I'll grant it that!


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## Wolfman (8/9/12)

Charst said:


> 3. Luke C Belgian Stout.
> 
> Black as the ace of spades, medium carb, head dissipating to cling around the edges,
> smell of coffee roast, touch of sweetness
> ...




This is the goods. I'll have a crack at the recipe too please.


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## Wolfman (8/9/12)

seemax I think that ESB might have been infected!


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## WarmBeer (8/9/12)

Wolfman said:


> seemax I think that ESB might have been infected!


You might have gotten a dodgy bottle.

I had the same beer last night, it was good, really good.


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## Wolfman (8/9/12)

Bugger! was overcarbed to the MAX and floaties glore. Hope the sink doesnt get crook!


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## manticle (8/9/12)

More likely you got the bottled dregs from the sounds of it.

Even if they seem clear, I now mark my last 2 or 3 bottles with an X so I know not to give away or enter into comps. The hop debris etc at the bottom of the fermenter can get concentrated in the last few and the nucleation points will make the beer gush like Grandma at a wedding. Floaties and hazy beer are the result.


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## seemax (10/9/12)

sorry wolfman!! just tested a bottle and it's tasting pretty good...


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## Adam Howard (2/12/12)

I only had a couple of beers left. #7 and #19. #19 has exploded though, first experience of a bottle bomb...glad I've avoided them!


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## bullsneck (19/4/13)

I had number 3 last weekend while brewing an Old Ale.

It was very tasty. Enjoyable. Didn't pick up Belgian characterists, but was happy to while away the boil with a tasty darky.

Thanks!


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## bullsneck (21/4/13)

I had #6 last night during the footy. A Robust Porter. Very nice. Strong mocha note, full-bodied. Enjoyed it more as it warmed, as is the case with most Porters.

I also had Wolfman's Porter during the week. Unfortunately I think the sourness, as mentioned previously in this thread, took away from the rest of the beer.

Found an 11 and a 16. They're up next.


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