# Nsw Xmas In July Case 2008 - Tasting Notes



## Stuster (28/6/08)

This is the thread to post your notes on how these beers turned out for you. Make them as fancy or as simple as you like, but getting some feedback on how they taste to others is all part of the whole case I think. It gets easier once you've done a few as well and helps you pay attention to what you're drinking as well. Which has got to be good.  Even negative feedback can be helpful as well, but it's best if we keep it constructive. 

It's also a good idea to have a look at the wiki/articles as well to make sure which beers shouldn't be drunk for a bit. I've pasted the current info below but there might be more up-to-date info there now.


1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure
3. nifty - stout (maybe)
4. -
5. Crozdog - American Brown
6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock
7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.
8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.
11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish - ready to drink. unfortunately I tasted a little too much & 3 lucky peeps will get an altbier instead. has a red sticker on neck with alt written on it. Others just have 11 on the cap.
12. Gulpa - English Bitter with wlp023 - Ready to drink.
13. SAH
14. -
15. -
16. Schooey
17. Pint of Lager
18. Thirstywench
19. Josh - Brown Ale US-05 - ready to drink
20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm
21. Jon W - NZPA.
22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it) - Drink NOW!
23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale, at least 4 weeks
24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks
25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08. Ready to drink.
26. Doc - Schwarzbier - Drink up. Drink it now while it is still fresh. 5.2%
27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout - Bottled 25-6-08 so keep it warm for a couple of weeks before fridging.
28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)- Its got to be wlp 300


----------



## schooey (28/6/08)

Stuster said:


> This is the thread to post your notes on how these beers turned out for you. Make them as fancy or as simple as you like, but getting some feedback on how they taste to others is all part of the whole case I think. It gets easier once you've done a few as well and helps you pay attention to what you're drinking as well. Which has got to be good.  Even negative feedback can be helpful as well, but it's best if we keep it constructive.
> 
> It's also a good idea to have a look at the wiki/articles as well to make sure which beers shouldn't be drunk for a bit. I've pasted the current info below but there might be more up-to-date info there now.
> 
> ...


----------



## schooey (28/6/08)

Big thanks to Tony for running the HAG entries down, would have loved to have come but I'm due on a plane for Darwin soonish *runs out door*


----------



## sah (28/6/08)

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure
3. nifty - stout (maybe)
4. -
5. Crozdog - American Brown
6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock
7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.
8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.
11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish - ready to drink. unfortunately I tasted a little too much & 3 lucky peeps will get an altbier instead. has a red sticker on neck with alt written on it. Others just have 11 on the cap.
12. Gulpa - English Bitter with wlp023 - Ready to drink.
13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink.
14. -
15. -
16. Schooey - English Mild - You can drink now, but a week in the fridgewould do it good. It's overcarbed for style sad.gif
17. Pint of Lager
18. Thirstywench
19. Josh - Brown Ale US-05 - ready to drink
20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm
21. Jon W - NZPA.
22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it) - Drink NOW!
23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale, at least 4 weeks
24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks
25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08. Ready to drink.
26. Doc - Schwarzbier - Drink up. Drink it now while it is still fresh. 5.2%
27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout - Bottled 25-6-08 so keep it warm for a couple of weeks before fridging.
28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)- Its got to be wlp 300


----------



## pint of lager (28/6/08)

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure
3. nifty - stout (maybe)
4. -
5. Crozdog - American Brown
6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock
7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.
8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.
11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish - ready to drink. unfortunately I tasted a little too much & 3 lucky peeps will get an altbier instead. has a red sticker on neck with alt written on it. Others just have 11 on the cap.
12. Gulpa - English Bitter with wlp023 - Ready to drink.
13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink.
14. -
15. -
16. Schooey - English Mild - You can drink now, but a week in the fridgewould do it good. It's overcarbed for style sad.gif
17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager - Yeast 34/70 - ready to drink now
18. Thirstywench
19. Josh - Brown Ale US-05 - ready to drink
20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm
21. Jon W - NZPA.
22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it) - Drink NOW!
23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale, at least 4 weeks
24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks
25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08. Ready to drink.
26. Doc - Schwarzbier - Drink up. Drink it now while it is still fresh. 5.2%
27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout - Bottled 25-6-08 so keep it warm for a couple of weeks before fridging.
28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)- Its got to be wlp 300


----------



## Tony (28/6/08)

Had an interesting trip back.

Being the first time ive been on any of those motorways.......... i didnt knowwhere to get on or off, so i took my wifes GPS.

On the way back it kept telling me to get off the motorway......... every exit. bit didnt tell me to get off the one i needed to. So i ended up heading for the city. I copped extra tolls and say an exit. I thought F$#k it, and got off. Any longer on there and i was going to hit the coast. Ther bastard GPS "re calculated" the route and sent me heading in the oposite direction to home. It was ringing me back onto the mororway, back out west to go the way i came. I wanted to go the newcastle.

Turned out i was on Lane Cove Rd, and recognised a motel i stayed in while doing some work in sydney 6 months ago. I turned the GPS off and followed my instincts. Ended up on the pacific highway and it was all the way home from there.

Was great to meed lots of computer names and put faces to them.

Had a great afternoon.

Opened one of my Maibocks (that i have made for the mash paddel and HAG swap) and it was sour which was imbaresing. Hence have had to pull out of the hag swap.

Ive drank so much shit infected beer in the last 12 months i think im starting to think its normal so if the ESB is shit, just tip it and tell me it was infected. I really dont know any more.

3mm from giving up completly.

looking forward to trying everyones beers and thanks to Josh for the use of his place. :super: 

cheers


----------



## Stuster (28/6/08)

Don't give up, Tony. Personally I really enjoyed your porter and stout. POR rules! :icon_cheers:


----------



## floppinab (29/6/08)

Tony said:


> Ther bastard GPS "re calculated" the route and sent me heading in the oposite direction to home. It was ringing me back onto the mororway, back out west to go the way i came. I wanted to go the newcastle.



You do need to tell it you are heading back home Tony and to the same place from which you came  !!!!

Sounds like a good day lads, brickbats to those who dropped out  

Looking forward to some tasty treats


----------



## kabooby (29/6/08)

6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock (WLP833) 7%. Lagered for a month and bottled on 10/05. Drinking nice from the keg ATM but these beers do get better with time.

Added some info to the wiki/articles

Shame about the dropouts, maybe we need to hold a summit to address some of these issues  

Looking forward to the beers

Kabooby :icon_cheers:


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

floppinab said:


> You do need to tell it you are heading back home Tony and to the same place from which you came  !!!!
> 
> Sounds like a good day lads, brickbats to those who dropped out
> 
> Looking forward to some tasty treats



 I did!

Rotton thing wanted me to go through suberbia instead of the motor way to save on a few dollars in tolls.

now......... what beer do i but in the fridge for tonight? 

cheers


----------



## PostModern (29/6/08)

floppinab said:


> brickbats to those who dropped out



Well, I could have left my infected batch in there and scored a case full of everyone else's beers. I think it's better this way.


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

I think the refference was to those who we thought were bringing beers but just didnt bother.

Not you mate 

cheers


----------



## PostModern (29/6/08)

Ah well. I still feel bad about it, so I got a bit defensive. Will be watching this thread with interest to see what I missed out on.


----------



## Gulpa (29/6/08)

Cant believe Im the only one to crack a bottle last night. Whats wrong with you people. :icon_cheers: 


13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH)
Nice light gold colour. Very clear. Nice malty flavours with a slight sweetness to it. Great start to the case. Thanks SAH. I hope my Maibock currently fermenting is as good as this one.

Regards
Andrew.


----------



## sah (29/6/08)

Gulpa said:


> 13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH)
> Nice light gold colour. Very clear. Nice malty flavours with a slight sweetness to it. Great start to the case. Thanks SAH. I hope my Maibock currently fermenting is as good as this one.



Hi Andrew, how was the carbonation?

Scott


----------



## Stuster (29/6/08)

PostModern said:


> Well, I could have left my infected batch in there and scored a case full of everyone else's beers. I think it's better this way.



Yep, no issues with you dropping out, PoMo, absolutely the only thing to do if your batch is beyond saving. But there were two complete no-shows.  :angry: 

What happened lads??


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

Im putting a number 7 and 17 in the fridge to sample tinight.

looking forward to them.

cheers


----------



## Linz (29/6/08)

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure
3. nifty - stout (maybe)
4. -
5. Crozdog - American Brown
6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock
7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.
8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.
11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish - ready to drink. unfortunately I tasted a little too much & 3 lucky peeps will get an altbier instead. has a red sticker on neck with alt written on it. Others just have 11 on the cap.
12. Gulpa - English Bitter with wlp023 - Ready to drink.
13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink.
14. -
15. -
16. Schooey - English Mild - You can drink now, but a week in the fridgewould do it good. It's overcarbed for style sad.gif
17. Pint of Lager
18. Thirstywench
19. Josh - Brown Ale US-05 - ready to drink
20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm
21. Jon W - NZPA.
22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it) - Drink NOW!
23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale, at least 4 weeks
24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks
25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08. Ready to drink.
26. Doc - Schwarzbier - Drink up. Drink it now while it is still fresh. 5.2%
27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout - Bottled 25-6-08 so keep it warm for a couple of weeks before fridging.
28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)- Its got to be wlp 300 ..*Give it 2-4 weeks to carb up*


----------



## sah (29/6/08)

> 7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.



A random pick and it happens to be my courier. FG thanks very much for making the trip from Tuross Heads!!

Subtle esters. Dry, maybe a little tart. Pale golden, clear. Low to moderate carbonation. A pleasant drinker.

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## Gulpa (29/6/08)

SAH said:


> Hi Andrew, how was the carbonation?
> 
> Scott



Hi Scott,

Mediumish, perhaps just on the lower side of medium, which was fine for me. 

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (29/6/08)

17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager - Yeast 34/70 

Pale. Bright. Poured very clear. Carb is high. Malty with a spicy hop aroma. Beautifully balanced flavours. Thanks POL. Very classy beer. 

Id recommend others pouring this off into a jug. The high carb churned up the yeast in the bottle a bit.

Two great beers so far. I love these swaps.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## 3GumsBrewing (29/6/08)

#7

Just had this lovely drop, does not look like a wit, but bloody hell - what a great taste, moderately strong clove flavor, I didn't get the banana people always talk about though I never really do, excellent clarity.
Thanks Fatgodzilla

DK


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink

fantastic deep golden colour. clear as......... was it filtered? no yeast so must have been from a keg. 

slight sulphur lager character and carbonic bite ballance the malty sweetness.

ballance is towards malt..... a bit more hop character would have been good but a bloody good beer all the same.

Was it AG or extract mate? excuse my ignorance but its so bloody clear! Im Jelous! and that sweetness is leaving me with "that" flavour. Could be Noble hops and lager yeast character as well. Could be wrong though......... its got me thinking its a caramalt kind of sweetness.

Can i hazard a guess and look like a fool.

Hallertau and W34-70?

I cant believe its not butter 

tops beer mate, thanks.

And do post the recipe.

cheers


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

Well i was completly wrong wasnt i 

Just finnished the bottle and it was very enjoyable! Super Alpha hey........ that was the "zing" i could sense. It made me question the beer but Super alpha makes it all ring true.

Decoction mash brings out the malt sweetness with the low bitterness. I would have liked a tad more bitterness to ballance out the sweet of the malt.

bloody nice beer and mate............. how do you get it so clear?

was it the no yeast, no protein method?  

cheers


----------



## sah (29/6/08)

Tony said:


> 13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink
> 
> Can i hazard a guess and look like a fool.
> 
> Hallertau and W34-70?



Hi Tony,

I've posted the recipe and brewing notes here. I've not had a brew go worse either before or during fermentation. Fortunately it worked out ok. I had to decant a little bit from the keg before I force carbonated and I'm drinking that little bit now. I like it. I can't help but think the unplanned decoctions have contributed favourably. It's my first lager. The good news is I have another cube of it. This one I think is a little under attenuated at 70% which is the low end for WLP833. So you didn't pick the super alpha hops 

regards,
Scott


----------



## sah (29/6/08)

Tony said:


> how do you get it so clear?



I did run it through the filter however there wasn't much yeast to remove, tt had settled pretty well. Only finings were in the kettle.


----------



## Tony (29/6/08)

well 70% attenuation in a big beer with low bitterness will make it a bit sweet......but mate...... it was a great beer. I really enjoyed it!

Now....... on to No.7

FGZ Whitbier.

I have never made a whitbier.......... but plan to one day. I do believe its a very dificult style to reproduce.

Most of us have only really has Hoegarden as a comparison and this is a bit away from that. Bloody nice beer.... but not quite a whitbier.

Very clear, even with yeast swirled in. Flavour and aroma is fantastic.......... i really like it. Some bananna and clove in flavour, other things like sweet stone fruits like peach and apricot in aroma.

I would say its a fantastic Hefeweizen !

A whitbier is made with unmalted wheat to make it super pale and cloudy......... this is deep golden and clear.

Great beer thought mate.......... much enjoyed.

cheers

2 from 2 good ones....... off to a good start apart from finding i dont have one of Docs Schwarzbiers in my case  My fault i guess....... i packed them. The 4th case i had to pack was done when the whole randon grab was happening so i guess people knew what they wanted. all others have one but i was responsible for them......... my fault.

bugger.


----------



## monkeybusiness (29/6/08)

7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit"

Tasty beer Ian. I have the benefit of not having had a wit before so I can't say whether it was what you were after, but either way I enjoyed it. I got some banana and vanilla flavour. First cab off the ranks and a good start.

13. SAH - Helles Bock

Again not familiar with the style but really enjoyed this. Malt dominated. Maybe Tony's right and this might have been improved with some more bitterness, but I thought this beer was great as is. Just wish I hadn't finished the bottle already.


----------



## Fatgodzilla (30/6/08)

7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit"



> Tasty beer Ian. I have the benefit of not having had a wit before so I can't say whether it was what you were after, but either way I enjoyed it. I got some banana and vanilla flavour.





> I have never made a whitbier.......... but plan to one day. I do believe its a very dificult style to reproduce. Most of us have only really has Hoegarden as a comparison and this is a bit away from that. Bloody nice beer.... but not quite a whitbier.



I don't know what I was really after either (other than a drinkable beer). Only got to taste one sampler (made too few bottles) which I enjoyed so glad all turned out well. Used Southern Cross hop flowers to bitter which may also offer something a tad spicy to the flavour. I wasn't trying to make anything to a particular style, just attempting to make a decent drinkable beer. Will now try and replicate the recipe and see if it wasn't just a fluke !



My two first reviews were on #19 - Josh's Brown Ale and #22 - DK's American Amber Ale. Both were lovely, easy to drink brews with no bad or off tastes anywhere. Whilst I guess similiar in style, each was very different from the other. Excellent and enjoyable to drink brews from both of you.


----------



## sah (30/6/08)

#19 Josh's Brown Ale

Subtle aromas mostly malty. The stand out flavours are a smooth slight roasty character and a moderate carbonic bite. Some hop there too but I can't place it. Very clear, dark amber to brown. Not sweet or dry, very balanced. A great winter session beer that would satisfy most drinkers. Nice work.

I haven't brewed a brown and look forward to your recipe.

thanks,
Scott


----------



## Muggus (30/6/08)

Brew: 7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" (1st)(161)
Date: 30/6/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml Tooheys New bottle, Gold cap "7"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Pours a mostly clean copperish gold body with small white foam. 
Bready aroma straightup, some floral hops and grainy malt, fruity esters make an appearance with a touch of sulfur in the background. 
Lean and reasonably dry body, smooth texture, spritzy carbonation, bit of acidity towards the finish, bitterness is low. 
Grainy malt background, banana bread and ripe apricot flavours, possibly some overly ripe pear and clove, a touch of acid toward a lingering cerealy finish. 
Goes down nice and easy, seems like a Belgian Wit without the spices. Cheers Ian, a good brew to start the case!


----------



## Josh (1/7/08)

It may have been trying to send you up the Putty Rd to Singleton. Going out the back of Blacktown, halfway to Windsor, this would sound like the likely explanation.

I used to travel home to Penrith from Singleton that way.




Tony said:


> Had an interesting trip back.
> 
> Being the first time ive been on any of those motorways.......... i didnt knowwhere to get on or off, so i took my wifes GPS.
> 
> ...


----------



## Tony (1/7/08)

yeah thats what i think too.

First time i have ever gotten lost was when i used modern technology!

back to the map! She can keep her GPS.

Mmmmm this reminds me. I shoulg go put a beer in the fridge for tomorrow night.

cheers


----------



## Flex Broker (2/7/08)

Hi everyone, James here. I brought my beer (oat porter) plus Jez's and DK's. Thanks for a fun few hours of tasting and beer talk.

Have only tasted one so far - 13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH)

Tasted in a pint glass. Poured a beautiful honey/amber colour. Brilliantly clear. Head was a bit sudsy, and dissipated quickly. Very low carbonation - maybe undercarbonated, which could be a reason for the lack of head retention.

Smelled faintly of honey, with a mild noble/floral hop aroma.

Great mouthfeel. Honey and caramel sweetness with a little hop bitterness at the finish. Not cloying at all with the sweetness - very easy to drink. 

Overall, a well-made beer, but higher carbonation would help. Could increase head retention by raising protein levels in the wort. I would probably prefer a tad more hop aroma, but that's me. Finished the pint very quickly - tasty stuff!


----------



## Muggus (2/7/08)

Brew: 25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager . Ready to drink (1st)(162)
Date: 2/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 800ml bottle, (dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08) Gold cap "25"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Golden body with slight haze and small white collar of foam. Not much too the nose, faint floral hops, a cidery yeast component in there. Body is quite thin, carbonation a bit on the low side, slides down very comfortably. A touch of maltiness on the body, a slight cidery apple element with noticable grassy hop, lending a mild bitterness on the finish. Simple, crisp and straight to the point, highly sessionable lager. Thanks Loftboy, the perfect pre-drink before heading off to cheer on the boys at the footy. COME ON THE BLUES!

Ps...Did you use the Morgans Blue Mountain Lager kit as a base for this?


----------



## Stuster (2/7/08)

*Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit"*

Light sweet malty aroma, vanilla, clove phenolics, no banana. Would be improved by more aroma. This might be due to age, yeast choice or low fermentation temperature. Slightly hazy, thick head which fell back to a thin head which persisted well. Sweet malt flavour, clove phenolics evident though subdued. Some spiciness from the wheat malt. Pleasant flavours though a little subdued for a weizen. Light-medium body and a smooth, creamy texture, medium-high carbonation enhances mouthfeel. A lightly flavoured weizen which could be improved by a little more of the distinctive esters and phenolics of a German wheat beer. However, this is a very drinkable beer.

*Pint of Lager - Munich Lager *

Hard to tell much about the aroma because I was cooking Thai curry. Later appeared floral (Hall?). Dark gold, great clarity, perfect fine head which remained as a covering, thin layer. Light, sweet malts along with some more toasted notes, firm bitterness which lingers into a dry finish, floral hop flavour becomes more evident as the curry aromas fade. B) Medium body which is surprising considering the low alcohol level, creamy, dry finish, good level of carbonation for style. A great beer that does not appear to be as low in alcohol as it is. Smooth and flavourful, with malts and hops well balanced. This would be a fantastic session beer, PoL. Good stuff! :super:


----------



## Doc (2/7/08)

*Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit"*
Shocking bottle. Looked like the bottle had been through forensics (white powder), semi de-labelled and mould all round the twist top. 
Low head on pour and just a hint of cloudly in the glass. Looking on the dark end of the style (Wit) for sure.
Malty beer on the sweeter side. Missing a number of characteristics for a Wit (like coriander and citrus). I'd say much closer to a Weizen. 

Nice drinkable beer.

Doc


----------



## Doc (2/7/08)

*Gulpa - English Bitter*
Good initial head. Nice and creamy and thick.
Great dark brown colour.
Nice and malty with great nutty flavours. Flirting with the line/balance with your use of crystal, but you pulled it off.
Well balanced with great bitterness and a good level of carb for the style.
Head reduces to a thin film but does last. 
I'm really enjoying and savouring this one. Great job Gulpa.

Doc


----------



## loftboy (2/7/08)

Muggus said:


> Ps...Did you use the Morgans Blue Mountain Lager kit as a base for this?



Muggus,

Thanks for the feedback. This brew was a can of Morgans Blue Mountain Lager, along with 1.5kg Morgans Extra Pale LME & 12gms of rehydrated Morgans 514 yeast. It was in primary for 8 days & 5 in secondary. The Hallertau was dry hopped in secondary. It was also my last K&K brew. I've moved over to AG now.

Cheers,

Dave.


----------



## Doc (2/7/08)

*Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager*
Pour didn't look to lively so made my pour more aggressive and got a good head, that dissipated quite quickly.
Great clear golden colour with bright clarity. 
Clean with medium carbonation.
Some slight fruity notes. 
A real lawn mower beer.

Doc


----------



## Gulpa (2/7/08)

22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it)

Clear dark amber. Pours with a nice creamy head which disappears quickly. Low carb as stated. Nice hoppy nose that follows through on the taste. The amarillo flavour is fantastic. Slightly resiny, numbs the tounge a bit. I would like to see a bit more body but thats probably just my tastes. Nice beer. Thanks DK.

cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (2/7/08)

Thanks for the feedback Doc. First time using dark crystal. Also under attenuated a bit which may be adding to it.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Doc (2/7/08)

*Josh - Brown Ale*
I poured aggressively and was rewarded with a great thick viscous white head. 
Beautiful deep amber colour. 
Great body, with nice malty backbone. Was getting a slight hint of fruit up front initially, with a nice nutty flavour coming through as well. 
Balance towards the sweeter side.
A very easy drinking drop Josh. Nice job.

Doc


----------



## Muggus (3/7/08)

*Brew: 17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager*
Date: 3/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml CUB bottle, IBU 28 Hallertauer 3.7% Gold cap "PoL"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Pours a copperish gold body with slight haze and a creamy white head atop. Sweet biscuity grain maltiness on the nose, hint of bread, nice touch of hops; zesty citrus, a herbaceousness to it, they come through more as it warms. Smooth texture, carbonation is reasonably low, has a bit of malty body about it that verges on stickiness. Plenty of sweet toasty biscuit malt upfront, hops cut through well with a leafy citrus note that lingers on the finish and balances out the overall body. A particularly nice, no-nonsense lager I
could very easily see myself drinking alot of. Cheers PoL!


----------



## Fatgodzilla (3/7/08)

Muggus said:


> *Brew: 17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager*
> Date: 3/7/08
> Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml CUB bottle, IBU 28 Hallertauer 3.7% Gold cap "PoL"
> 
> ...




POL's # 17 ... Muggus gives you the official report above, I'll give you my layman's report. .......... Yummmm.
Plenty of hop bite and flavour, the type you can't explain to the average VB drinker. Really smack in the mouth early, real downright bitter/sweet in the end. Loved it ! Tah mate.


----------



## pint of lager (3/7/08)

I just realised that the recipe description taped to the side of the bottle is misleading. The 3.7% refers to the alpha acid rating of the hops used. Alcohol content would be around 5 to 5.5%. Cheers!


----------



## Stuster (3/7/08)

Right. Was amazed it was a mid-strength. :icon_cheers: 

Any chance of the recipe, PoL?


----------



## Tony (3/7/08)

POL: Munich Lager

Poured perfectly after a solid "Pssst" from the cap. Tight long lasting white head that stuck around. Clear and and the colour......... I love beers this colour! Deeper than gold but lighter than amber. They just oooozz drinkability with character!

And it didnt disapoint. 

Aroma of floral hops with a spicy edge and sweet malt.
Flavour is as aroma, spicy hopa and toasty malt blended very well. 

This is how i like to ballance my beers. Lots of malt and hops but neither stick out, making a full flavoured beer thats too easy to drink.

Ballanced perfectly!

Tops drop mate. Now........ Recipe?

cheers


----------



## Muggus (3/7/08)

Brew: 26. Doc - Schwarzbier
Date: 3/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, 5.2%, Black cap "26"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Near opaque black body with thick beige head leaving lace. Roast malt aplenty on the nose, charcol and burnt wood, roasted nuts, cola, bitter chocolate and grain, without a great deal of sweetness. Moderate carbonation, body is reasonably lean, an overall dry impression. Excellent body full of nothing but burnt malt flavours, near smokey at times, dry cocoa and nuts (almost like walnuts?), a slight woody component in there too. Bitter drying finish, lingers, begging for another sip. Jeez this goes down easy! Excellent dark beer, and I love a dark beer, thanks alot Doc!


----------



## Thethirstywench (3/7/08)

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure
3. nifty - stout (maybe)
4. -
5. Crozdog - American Brown
6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock
7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. Drink now, especially as the first beer in a session. My only taster was a good, easy drinking brew.
8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.
11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish - ready to drink. unfortunately I tasted a little too much & 3 lucky peeps will get an altbier instead. has a red sticker on neck with alt written on it. Others just have 11 on the cap.
12. Gulpa - English Bitter with wlp023 - Ready to drink.
13. SAH - Helles Bock (marked SAH) + 3 bottles Bitter (marked SAHB) - Both ready to drink.
14. -
15. -
16. Schooey - English Mild - You can drink now, but a week in the fridgewould do it good. It's overcarbed for style sad.gif
17. Pint of Lager
18. Thirstywench- IPA.
19. Josh - Brown Ale US-05 - ready to drink
20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm
21. Jon W - NZPA.
22. DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops - WLP001 - Bottled 03/05/2008 - 5.2% Alc/Vol - Carbed to 2.0 Vol (low, how I like it) - Drink NOW!
23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale, at least 4 weeks
24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks
25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08. Ready to drink.
26. Doc - Schwarzbier - Drink up. Drink it now while it is still fresh. 5.2%
27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout - Bottled 25-6-08 so keep it warm for a couple of weeks before fridging.
28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)- Its got to be wlp 300 ..Give it 2-4 weeks to carb up




Sorry to you all. I do believe I forgot to number my bottles, but I did use green caps so they'll be easy to spot.

IPA was bottled a few days prior to the swap so it's best left a few weeks to carb up. 
Looking forward to tasting a brew or two.. Im assuming that will happen when Schooey gets back

Cheers
TW


----------



## jonw (4/7/08)

21. Jon W - NZPA. Bottled 10th June. A little more bitter than intended, but ready to drink now.

Just in case people aren't looking at the wiki article!


----------



## schooey (4/7/08)

thirstywench said:


> ... I forgot to number my bottles...



It's ok, TW, the transport fairy whacked an 18 on them for you


----------



## Doc (4/7/08)

*DK - American Amber Ale*
Small plastic bottle. Black on black writing on the cap is very hard to make out so I hope I have assigned it to the right entry.

Low foam on pour.
Sweet Amarillo aroma. Lovely amber colour with great clarity.
Low side of carbonation as indicated in description. 
Good body, with good balance between the malt and hops. The Amarillo has come through nicely. 
I think it is the aroma that is really making this beer for me.
To be like the American Ambers I've had in the US it needs more hop bitterness and more carbonation.
Very drinkable, and enjoyable.

Doc


----------



## floppinab (4/7/08)

22. DK - American Amber Ale

OK, First look at these lovelies, not a big fan of Ambers so prolly not the best to start with, see if you can win me over DK. Looks like from the description you've popped outside the style so I'll take my style goggles off.

Poured into a high shot goblet style glass. Lashings of hop aroma up front with just a touch of peachy esters in there as well. Some of the sweeter malts pop through as the glass sits.

Dark brown with some burnt copper notes when held to the light. Small but very thick, creamy and persistent off white head. Looks great.

Hop flavour dominates up front, some malt character there (and pushes through as the beer warms a little) but mouthfeel has come through a little thin, balance certainly toward the hop flavour. Bitterness moderate. Low carbonation leads to a very soft, pleasant bitter finish bringing you back for more!!!

A very easy drinker DK for a heavier beer. If you wanted to put a bit more ooomph behind maybe one of the less attenuative English yeasts and perhaps a bit more bitterness. I could have misread all of that of course :unsure: As it is, a lovely very sessionable beer. Nicely done. :chug:


----------



## Doc (4/7/08)

*Pint of Lager - Munich Lager*

Good pour, nice thick white creamy rocky head.
Lovely straw colour with good clarity.
Great body with complex mouth feel. Lots going on in there (in a good way). 
Nice malty bready flavours dominating.
If I didn't have the alcohol % I'd be inclined to think it was heading into bock territory. 
Great beer PoL.

Doc


----------



## Doc (4/7/08)

*SAH - Helles Bock*
Good pour, good initial head that subsided quite quickly.
Appetising dark straw colour, and super brilliant clarity.
mmmm first malty mouthful. Brings back many memories of drinking such beers in European establishments. 
Very similar to PoL's Munich Lager.
Definitely on the Bock end of the Helles range, with quite a residual sweetness to it. 
Maybe a little low on carbonation. More carb would make it a little more lively on the tongue and cut through some of the residual sweetness.

A very enjoyable beer.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Tony (4/7/08)

20. Cortez the killer almost dark ale.

Medium carb that was nice. Held a fine thin head. 
Clear and clean. 
Smooth chocolatey malt, no real hops. Very drinkable.
I was going to enjoy it with a T-Bone for dinner but it didnt last the cooking process  

Soooooo........

11. Redbeards belgian dubbel thing.

I am guessing by the 'ish at the end of the neam its not meant to be BJCP style perfect 
The beer was nice.......... no nasty flavours, harshness ect and i really enjoyed it once i got over the fact it wasnt meant to be a propper dubbel (or was it :huh: )
Light malt and to pale to be a dubbel but very drinkable. Dryish finnish with some malt sweetness and a definate hoppy punch. At first i percieved the aroma an yeast and thoought there was nomething wrong with it but on some secondary sniffing it was hops......... floral and slightly spicy. Pleasent but to much for a dubbel.

Not style perfect but very enjoyable thanks mate. Washed down the T-Bone well!

cheers

PS.......... off to a good start........ no tip outs!


----------



## Muggus (5/7/08)

*Brew: 12. Gulpa - English Bitter *
Date: 3/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. Pours a small offwhite head atop a reasonably clean amber body. Toffeeish crystal malts straightup on the nose, rich maltiness with nut and graininess in there, faint fruitiness in the background. Chewy malt body, moderate smooth carbonation, decent malt body. Nice rich crystal malt driven body, rich toffee and nuts, earthy hops make an appearance towards the finish. Finishes quite dry, slightly bitter, some sweetness in there. Nice, malt-driven ale, goes down a treat. Thanks Gulpa!


----------



## Gulpa (5/7/08)

7. Fatgodzilla - "More Than A Half Wit" 60/40 wheat / pale malt with Danstar dry wheat yeast. 

Thought I would start my Saturday evening with this. Poured with a small white head which quickly disappreared. Light gold, slightly hazy. Malty nose with a slight wheat yeastyness to it. Same follows through on the taste. Light body. Dry finish. I like it. Nice summer session beer, Fgz. Thanks.

Agree more weizen than wit, which suits me fine  .

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Muggus (5/7/08)

Brew: 13. SAH - Helles Bock
Date: 5/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml VB bottle. gold cap "SAH"

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. A style i'm yet to try a commercial example of, so i've looked forward to this beer! 
Quite clean deep gold body, small white foam. Not sure whether its because i've been brewing with pilsner malt, but theres a distint aroma of it on this beer, grainy with a slight richness about it, faint floral hopiness. Moderate to low carbonation, body is quite dense and rich, drying towards the finish. Malt driven body, grainy malts, vanillary and biscuity, has a sweetness about it. Finishes with a touch of floral hopiness, moderately bitter with a lingering breadiness. 
Just out of interest, how strong is this beer? Certainly goes down a treat anyway, cheers Sah!


----------



## sah (6/7/08)

Muggus said:


> Just out of interest, how strong is this beer? Certainly goes down a treat anyway, cheers Sah!



5.7% ABV.

I need to practice more with getting the carbonation right when force carbing.


----------



## sah (6/7/08)

#5 Crozdog - American Brown

Wow Crozdog this is a cracker. I haven't tried anything like this style before and I like it a lot. It's given me some ideas.

The american hop aroma hit me when I popped the cap. Clear brown with cream head which stayed to the end. Tasted toastier than the colour would suggest however the hop flavour dominated. Not short on bitterness or carbonation either.

I hope you post the recipe. I'll be brewing one of these.

Thanks Croz.

regards,
Scott


----------



## sah (6/7/08)

#6 Kaboody - Xaviers Bock

Wonderful complex malt aroma. Dark brown to black and very clear. Moderate carb with low tan foam.

This is a fantastic beer. Hard to describe what I'm tasting, an excellent balance of dark roasty malt, alcohol bitterness and warmth, hops lurking but hard to finger, carbonation significant, and there's a subtle sourness that may come from the yeast?

A bloody good beer, top class. I can't wait to see this recipe.

Thanks Kaboody.

regards,
Scott


----------



## Gulpa (6/7/08)

16. Schooey - English Mild

Clear dark amber. Not over carbed for me. Nice chocolatey aroma with some caramel. Same on the palate. Light to medium bodied which could be a bit fuller. Nice easy drinking beer. Thanks Schooey.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (6/7/08)

2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv

Nice amber colour. A touch cloudy. Starts with a nice head. Aroma is a bit muted with only the yeast coming through, almost Belgian (it may be a bit cold). Assertive bitterness is the first thing then the earthy hops come through with slight citrus. Yeastyness is less obvious on the palate. Carb is low. The warmer it gets, the more I like it. Thanks Tony.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (6/7/08)

26. Doc - Schwarzbier

Had this a couple of nights ago so my note is from memory. Sorry.

Never had a Schwarbier so Im not sure how to describe it. Almost black. Rich roasty aroma with a sweet maltyness to it (much like a porter, except for sweet malty germanness B) : . Taste is dry with the roasted malts coming through. The sweetness doesnt come through on the palate as expected from the aroma which is good. Everything else seemed to be in place and I enjoyed it very much. Excellent beer Doc. Thanks.


Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Stuster (6/7/08)

*Gulpa - English Bitter*

Caramel sweetness, fruity esters which develop well as the beer warmed. Rich red colour, very clear, tight head which fell back to a thin, good head. Dark fruity flavours, light esters, some slight astringency noticeable as the beer warms. Raspberry nearly. (Any BC in this or is it just the dark crystal?) Medium body but the low carbonation makes this very drinkable.	A nicely made beer with some dark fruits. Really to style, a very drinkable session beer.

*DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops*

This is from Friday and SWMBO was on the computer so I couldn't take any notes sorry. Noticeable Amarillo aroma and taste, and there was a nice balance of malts and hops. Probably a bit light on bitterness for an AAA but I thought it was nice like this. I wasn't sure about the low carbonation. I grew up on bitters so that's normally not really a big issue for me, but I think a little more carbonation might have lightened this up a bit and got the most out of the delicious hops. There was quite a dry finish. Did you use some dark malts, roast barley perhaps? Anyway, overall this was an interesting, delicious beer.


----------



## crozdog (7/7/08)

SAH said:


> #5 Crozdog - American Brown
> 
> Wow Crozdog this is a cracker. I haven't tried anything like this style before and I like it a lot. It's given me some ideas.
> 
> ...




Glad you liked it Scott. I was worried about it as I cracked a bottle the other day & it was dead flat :angry: I recall I had a bad bottling day (aren't they all) but hope that I got the only dud bottle.

The mash temp dropped a fair bit (67-62 as I had to use my monsta tun & didn't float some foam on top to retain the heat) which has helped dry it out a bit & enhance the hoppiness, but i was aiming for a bit more maltiness / balance. I added the carafa special III for the last 15-20 mins of the mash.

The recipe is here  post #122.

Tony - I hope you can overcome your "C" hop aversion


----------



## crozdog (7/7/08)

Docs Schwartz.

had this the orther night. Very dark with some ruby highlights when held up to the shed fluro at night. Firm fine head which lasted well, moderate carbonation. Sweet roasty malt aroma. Enough malt body to support the roast. I found it slightly thin and dry with the roast dominating then dissipating into a slightly dry bitter aftertaste. 

Most enjoyable Doc thanks


----------



## crozdog (7/7/08)

Nifty's some sort of stout.

Great to see that the dog lives on!

Poured very flat almost no head & very little carbonation. A very dark almost blackness filled my glass. Moderate roast aroma with some burnt notes/fruit. Tasted fairly dry noticable bitterness with some roast malt sharpness again with some fruitiness. Smooth medium full mouthfeel .

The lack of carbonation let it down.

If we had to vote, i'd call it a cross between a Dry stout & Foreign extra stout

Edit - typo


----------



## sah (7/7/08)

2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv

Subtle bready aroma. Firm bitterness, strong resiny hop flavour with a tang. Hazy brown with a sticky off white foam.

A serious beer.

Cheers Tony.

Scott


----------



## Muggus (7/7/08)

*Brew: DK - American Amber Ale*
Date: 5/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml PET bottle. All Amarillo Hops WLP001 Bottled 03/05/2008 5.2% Alc/Vol

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. I keep going to get my bottle opener...whoops!
Nice deep amber body with off-white foam collar and the odd chunk. Has the distintive aroma of Amarillo; grassy, spicey, zesty grapefruit, passion fruit, theres also a bit of liquoricey malt in the mix there too. Only a tiny tickle of carbonation, body seems a bit lean as well, sticky malt texture. Spicy citrus hops upfront, maybe not as promising as the aroma suggests, quite fruity overall, maltiness in the takes a backseat, flavour is what i'd describe as liquorice and toffee. Reasonably bitter finish, slight astrigency, dry and certainly begs for another sip. Quite similiar to the beer I submitted in last years Xmas Caseswap, though not as robust. I love the Amarillo hops, makes for a particularly tasty beer. Cheers Dk!


----------



## nifty (7/7/08)

crozdog said:


> Nifty's some sort of stout.
> 
> Great to see that the dog lives on!
> 
> ...



Thanks for the feedback Crozdog. The last few batches that I've made have been a bit over primed, so I think I was a bit cautious with the priming sugar this time. Maybe another week or two in a nice warm spot will fix them up.

cheers

nifty


----------



## Muggus (7/7/08)

*Brew: 19. Josh - Brown Ale *
Date: 5/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 800ml bottle.

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. Pours a beautifully creamy medium-sized offwhite head leaving sparce lace atop a deep bronze body. Bready aroma, nutty malt, a faint fruity/floral note. Good carbonation, creamy texture, solid body. Particularly nutty maltiness about the flavour, plenty of bready yeast in there too with hints of toffee sweetness and citrus-like fruitiness that I can't seem to put my finger on. Finishes with a slightly metallic drying breadiness, bitterness is relatively low. I quite like this one, malty and easy, dark without having any particularly roasted flavours, I reckon I should be drinking this maybe a bit warmer. Nice one Josh!


----------



## kabooby (7/7/08)

SAH said:


> #6 Kaboody - Xaviers Bock
> 
> Wonderful complex malt aroma. Dark brown to black and very clear. Moderate carb with low tan foam.
> 
> ...



Cheers mate, 

Glad you enjoyed it. I will put the recipe in the recipe section.

Kabooby :icon_cheers:


----------



## Josh (8/7/08)

Thanks for the reviews guys. A couple have mentioned hops or fruitiness but couldn't put their finger on it. Probably the 5 minute Saaz addition. 

Recipe is now in the database

My alcohol free month lasted 5 days. Couldn't sit on the couch with my Panthers fan housemate and not share a beer with him while his team outplayed my Eels. So... I have put the first few in the fridge and will get to them in the coming weeks.


----------



## Muggus (8/7/08)

*Brew: 21. Jon W - NZPA *
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml Coopers PA bottle 10th June 2008, black cap

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. Excellent lasting rocky white head leaving dense lace atop of clean copper body. Fantastic fruity hop nose; ripe passionfruit, orange, rockmelon, peach, lemon...the list goes on, particularly grassy and herbaceous too, not a great deal of malt in there. Dry body, reasonably thin bodied, creamy carbonation, assertive bitterness manifests itself early on and lingers long afterwards. Body is full of grassy and ripe fruity hop character, maybe not as fullon as the nose suggests, some caramelly malt makes a brief appearance, not enough to cut through the big bitterness. Bloody ripper of a beer Jon, NZPAs are my favourite style at the moment and its great to get to try another one. Cheers!


----------



## Muggus (9/7/08)

*Brew: 16. Schooey - English Mild *
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "16"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Another one of these styles that i've never tried an authentic commercial example of.
Clean deep amber body with offwhite foam leaving sparce lace. Toffeeish malt on the nose, biscuity, nutty, milk chocolate malt character emerges with rising of temperature, some dark berry fruitiness which i'm not sure is derived from hops or yeast esters, not that it matters! Lively carbonation without too much bite, reasonably lean body with chewy creamy maltiness. Nice dark fruits on the palate; plum, black grapes and blueberries, florishing moreso as I get through the bottle, nutty toffeeish malt takes a backseat with some creamy dark chocolate in the mix. Finish is moderately bitter, a touch dry, incredibly clean. I thought this beer was fantastic! Smooth, creamy, malty yet distintly fruity, suprisingly complex and delicious, all packed into a "midstrength" beer. Great job Schooey, this has been my pick of the case thus far!


----------



## schooey (9/7/08)

wow... Thanks for the wrap, Muggus. I was really worried about this beer being over carbed. It scored ok in the HAG comp, but it was probably a little young at the time and has developed since. I'm glad you enjoyed it, it is/was only meant to be a 3.5% beer


----------



## Tony (9/7/08)

I have tried a few so far and all have been great beers. Havnt had time to get on here and really talk about them.

I wont go into "dewberries and tangarine" as its only memories now.

5. Crozdogs American brown.
Really nice beer. Smooth, clean, malt and hops in harmony, with malt pocking its head out in the end. I really liked that about the beer. The hops were there but the malt was there too. Sweet and choclotly but dry and refreshing.
Clear as a bell nice head retention. Tops drink mate.......... thanks!

20. CtK - almost dark ale.
Great saturated colour, clear, and nice head on pouring. Malt biased, with a touch or hops. Not to bitter, not to sweet. Very nicly ballanced. round mellow malt really made me keep picking up the glass. I drank it while cooking dinner and i had to get something from my keg for the meal as it seemed to evaporate. Hops seemed to have a slightly spicy, minty edge...... there was just that pressence leurking in the background that kept it interesting.
Geeat beer......... thanks.

21. Jon W - NZPA

YUM

I love NZ hops........ they rock. This beer really impressed me. My favrouite colour.......... that darker than golden, lighter than amber colour. Clear, clean, crisp, and most enjoyable.
Hops came across very american........... but better. They had they resinious spicy character that they yank hops seem to lack. 
Im going to have a guess at the hops and be completly wrong......... again  

sothern cross, NZ cascade and Nelson Sauvin....... or any mixture of such there in? am i close?

Probably not. I would never have won that mars bar!

back to the beer: 

YUM........... nothing more to say. wish i had a keg of it!

thanks!

22. DK - American Amber ale

Well my bottle was 3/4 full which was better than some of them in the swap. I think you won he dogiest fill job award and Schooey won the dirtiest bottle award  

The beer however was great! Deep amber, nice malt backing up the firm hop pressence. Very pleasant to drink....... even for an APA nazi like me. Clear, clean, smooth and hoppy with a nice malt backbome making it even more drinkable. Nice head retention and glass was empty in no time flat.
Great beer, thanks.


cheers


----------



## Muggus (9/7/08)

*Brew: redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish*
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "11"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Pours a hazy sort of pale brown with a collar of white foam. Get yeasty bread straightup on the nose, slightly sulfury, some caramelly malt, and spicy citric hops cutting through it all. Carbonation is soft, very much on the low side, body is particularly lean for a Belgian-style, has a stickiness about it that gives an overall sweet impression with a reasonably sharp hop bitterness taking the edge off it. Mildly fruity body, watered down raspbery cordial!? yeah maybe not, some malt caramel and bread, a touch of citrusy hops. Finishes dry, reasonably clean. Not too sure if you could really call this a dubbel, seems more like some sort of amber Czech pils hybrid. Interesting and quite enjoyable anyway, thanks Redbeard!


----------



## floppinab (10/7/08)

Thought I'd hop into Jon's NSPA tonight

Poured into a smallish butcher glass.

Coursish thick heads which persists, light amber colour with some chocolate tones, very clear.

Lovely interesting aroma there, peaches, resins, citrus, lovely combo.

Up front bitterness that lingers and finishes just a little harsh (suspect quite recent production, may well moderate a bit over time). Medium bodied with a creamy malt texture and moderate to low carbonation.

Great beer Jon, and will certainly please the bitter hop heads.


----------



## Muggus (10/7/08)

*Brew: 5. Crozdog - American Brown*
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "5"

Sampling notes:
Served lightly chilled in goblet. Yet another one of these beers in a style i'm yet to 'commercially' try...gotta love it!
Deep bronze body, verging on opaque(ness?), small but thick white head leaving sparce lace. Nose packed full of typical American hop character; grapefruit rind, pine, stone fruit and grass, some supporting toffee and liquorish malt in the background. Body is full, thick syrup like texture balanced with a bitey carbonation, resinous hop bitterness manifests itself early on and lingers long after. Zesty lemon/grapefruit hop character really dominates the body, some grass and pine needle hopiness also, with an underlying rich, slightly roasty liquorish maltiness, that possibly adds a touch of astrigency to a highly bitter finish. Boldly flavoured, plenty of balls to this one, probably why I really liked it! Cheers Crozdog!


----------



## Muggus (10/7/08)

*Brew: 6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock*
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "6"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Opens with a bit of an unconvincing pop with the resultant beer looking a bit inactive, a headless deep bronze body with the odd bubble. Luckily the aroma promises alot more than the appearance; rich chocolate maltiness, bread, subtle vinous fruitiness. A slight kick of carbonation on the body, rich bodied, smooth, liqueur-like at times, sticky with a slight drying lactic sharpness. Dark chocolate and bread on the body, flavour is very well rounded overall, some caramel and milkiness emerges, as do subtle dark fruit flavours. A very nice satisfying bock, perfect for a cold day like this. Thanks Kabooby, another fine brew!


----------



## floppinab (12/7/08)

Tucking into Docs Schvarzy this evening.

Not going to go into details, roasty lovelys hit the nasal passages well before beer hits glass, very porterish this one with only the dry finish to convince you it's a lager. Nicely done Doc.

BTW, cracked my brown tonight also, it's ready to drink, a little disappointed but will await feedback.


----------



## Muggus (13/7/08)

*Brew: 20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale*
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "20"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Small thick tan head atop a ruby-highlighted near-black body. Earthy hops on the nose, roasted malts in there too, quite nutty. Carbonation is moderate to low, full body with a rich creaminess to it, slight sharpness possibly from roasted malts(?). Nutty roasted malt on the body, some toffeeish malt sweetness, hint of liquorish and wood, with earthy hop spice. Finishes reasonably bitter, not too dry. Well balanced, highly drinkable dark beer, a porter of sorts perhaps? Cheers Cortez!


----------



## Gulpa (13/7/08)

5. Crozdog - American Brown

Pours dark brown with a nice small head. Lightly carbed. I mainly get toffee/chocolate in the aroma with the hops in the background. Taste is malty and bitter with the hops coming through the malt backbone. Just how I like it. Nice beer Crozdog. Thanks.

Cheers 
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (13/7/08)

Stuster said:


> *Gulpa - English Bitter*
> 
> ...Any BC in this or is it just the dark crystal?...



Hi Stuster,

Glad you liked it. Not sure what BC is. Malts were

Maris Otter
Munich I
Dark crystal
Chocolate

Ill post the recipe when I get the chance.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Stuster (13/7/08)

Gulpa said:


> Glad you liked it. Not sure what BC is. Malts were
> 
> Maris Otter
> Munich I
> ...



Sorry to be cryptic, Andrew. I was just wondering where the dark fruit tastes came from and thought it might be from Bramling Cross hops. The other thought I had was that it was dark crystal which may well be what it was. Would like to see the recipe though.


----------



## Muggus (13/7/08)

floppinab said:


> BTW, cracked my brown tonight also, it's ready to drink, a little disappointed but will await feedback.


In that case...

*Brew: 9. floppinab - Nthn English brown *
Date: 13/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 640ml bottle, gold cap "9" WLP004, bottled 12th June

Sampling notes:
Served with a light chill in goblet. Deep bronze body with ruby highlights and a smallish offwhite head on top. Muted nose (probably a bit too cold) of sweet toffee and earthy hops, some dark fruits play in the background. Decent creamy carbonation, slight richness about the body, drying throughout. I'd consider the body quite complex and flavoursome; slight roasted malt presence lending some dark chocolate and nuttiness, as well as some toffee sweetness, plum and dark berry fruitiness, spicy hops lending an earthy vanilla element, and bread and milkiness that drys and draws out the bitter finish of the beer. Not sure what you were worried about here Gav, but this beer is really nice! Cheers!


----------



## Doc (13/7/08)

*21. Jon W - NZPA*
Great pour, nice steady fluffy head. 
Nice opaque golden colour. Refreshing hop aroma. 
Damn solid and enjoyable pale ale. 
You mention that it is more bitter than what you were aiming for, but I reckon it is spot on.
Awesome beer Jon.

Doc


----------



## Gulpa (13/7/08)

21. Jon W - NZPA

I had this as well tonight. Poured clear slightly darker than gold. Big hop nose. Resiny with a definite tropical bit in there. Really hoppy and bitter in taste. Took me half a glass to get used to it. :huh: . Once Id adjusted, it was very nice and the malt started coming through. Good body for style. Love the mix of hops. Nice beer. Thanks Jon.

Regards
Andrew.


----------



## Doc (13/7/08)

*redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish*
Poured with minimal head, that looked good, but dissipated quickly.
Lovely deep golden colour.
Big toasty aroma.
Not a lot of body, and quite dry on the finish. 
I think it is lacking some of the complexity required for a "to style" Dubbel (which is why you call it dubbel'ish) ?
Still very clean, no off flavours. Good level of carbonation. Easy drinking.

Doc


----------



## Gulpa (13/7/08)

Stuster said:


> Sorry to be cryptic, Andrew. I was just wondering where the dark fruit tastes came from and thought it might be from Bramling Cross hops. The other thought I had was that it was dark crystal which may well be what it was. Would like to see the recipe though.




Hi Stu,

No problems. I was having trouble coming up with a malt BC  . Hops were a Target and Challenger mix. Recipe posted in recipe thread.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## jonw (14/7/08)

I'm a bit behind on my tasting notes, so here goes, in order of consumption.

*17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager*

The first one I've had from the case, and I picked a good one! Pours very clear. Lovely "authentic German" aroma (spicy?). Nicely malty flavour and bitterness. Thin white head persists. A thoroughly enjoyable beer. Thanks PoL.

*25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager*

Pours pale and clear. Quite low carbonation. Nice hop flavour and bitterness. Slightly cidery flavour, but I was pretty impressed to hear that this was a kit. Well made, easy drinking lager. Thanks Loftboy.

*12. Gulpa - English Bitter*

Pours dark brown with a thick off-white head. I'd have said this was rather highly carbonated for the style. Substantial body with lots of malt. The malt may mask the hop flavour, but there's a nice level of bitterness. This grew on me more and more as I got through the bottle. I enjoyed it. Thanks Gulpa.

*5. Crozdog - American Brown*

This is a style I'm not familiar with. Pours dark brown, with a thin head. Lots of malt and a good balance of hop flavour and bitterness. Another highly enjoyable beer. Thanks Crozdog.

*22. DK - American Amber Ale*

Dark amber and very clear. Quite a light body and low carbonation. Really nice fresh hop flavour, and well balanced maltiness. I really enjoyed this beer. I'd be interested to hear if you chill or not, as I don't think my (no-chilled) beers have this hop freshenss. I'd also like to see the recipe! Thanks DK.

*13. SAH - Helles Bock *

Very clear. Bready aroma. Malty, somewhat sweet flavour. Low carbonation. More body than I had expected. I think I probably drank this a little warm - a bit colder with more carbonation would have given a better balance. Nontheless, I enjoyed it. Thanks SAH. 

*2. Tony - ESB*

Pours dark brown. Thick off-white head that fades quickly. Nice level of carbonation. Earthy hop flavour comes through with a big malt backbone. I picked up a very slight tartness on the finish, but that might just be me! Another great beer. Thanks Tony.


Thanks for the feebdack on my NZPA. It's a recipe I've only made a couple of times, and this time I upped the late additions, including adding flowers to the no-cill cube in an attempt to impart more flavour and aroma. I think the flowers in the cube ended up adding quite a lot of bitterness too. It's first wort hopped with Southern Cross and the late additions are B Saaz.

Cheers,

Jon


----------



## Flex Broker (15/7/08)

Tasted Schooey's English mild last night. Poured a beautiful clear copper colour with a thick head. The head fell to be a finger's thickness and stayed to the bottom of the glass with good lacing. Smelled of biscuits and bitter caramel. Taste was similar - lots of crystal malt bitter caramel flavours with very mild hop presence, faint honey taste. I suspect a bit of aroma malt was used here. Mouthfeel is thinner that you expect from the aroma, but makes the beer very, very drinkable. Finished dry and refreshing. An excellent, excellent session beer. The first mild I've ever had, and I liked it.

Fantastic work, Schooey.


----------



## Muggus (15/7/08)

*Brew: 2. Tony - ESB *
Date: 14/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "2:" Wyeast 1469 TTL 6.5% abv

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Pours a deep amber body, quite hazy, with small thick beige head that seems happy enough sticking around and leaving dense lace. I get some subdued grassy/woody/piney sort of hops on the nose, caramel maltiness with a touch more earthy spice (very much like clove!) chucked in there. Body is reasonably lean with moderate carbonation, slightly abrupt maltiness, theres quite a sharp clovey note early on that is quite offputting. Grassy hops on the body with a toffee malt background, nothing too standoutish against the odd woody clovey flavour that seems to have popped up. Flavour lingers on the finish, quite bitter and sharp. Not sure if its just me, or a bad bottle, but something doesn't seem right. Besides that it seems very good...hope I just got a bad bottle Tony!


----------



## Tony (15/7/08)

if a couple of my other beers latly are anyting to go off (pun intended) id tip it out if you havnt already tried it.

I seem to have concoured my infections for half a dozen good brews and now they are back. Its a different one again.

All this yeast was grown in my starter flask, and i did find some suspect looking stuff inside the rubber bung, after all these beer were made.

The Scottish 80 i have in the keg is developing a tartness, wheat beerish, the Mash paddle maibock is getting poured out on the weekend, it has progresovly got sour like vinigar, and the ESB, seems to be doing the same thing.

I only entered it because it was fine to start with.......... this seems to be a slow growing thing.

The shit in the airlock/bung was sour smelling :angry: at myself for coplacency. Its been fine for years but as i have learnt recently.......... things change and "everyting" needs to be looked at closley.

Apploagies for the shit beer folks........... Im not even going to bother entering anything in a comp this year and wont be doing the swap thing again either.

Might open up a lambic brewery, but i guess they would just get infected as well.

sorry

Tony


----------



## Flex Broker (16/7/08)

The more infected, the better the lambic.


----------



## Tony (16/7/08)

mmmmmm ive never tried a true lambic........... will one day in belgium on holidays im sure (if i win lotto or sell the kids on ebay...... wont get anything for my kidneys) but im not real sure its a case of "infection is good" in a lambic. To my knowledge its a certain combo of wild yeasts that do the job.......... and i dont think the wild yeasts in my garage will make me famous  

cheers


----------



## Tony (16/7/08)

Just poured the bottle of ESB i got back from the swap and i must say im burping up hops. I didnt get any sour......... not like my other beers ATM.

I think it was probably over hopped for the style and the meaty english hops like challenger have not responded well

HEre is the recipe

Tonys ESB

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 27.00 Wort Size (L): 27.00
Total Grain (kg): 6.80
Anticipated OG: 1.062 Plato: 15.14
Anticipated EBC: 27.3
Anticipated IBU: 51.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
88.2 6.00 kg. TF Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt UK 1.037 5
7.4 0.50 kg. TF Crystal UK 1.034 145
2.9 0.20 kg. JWM Dark Crystal Australia 1.036 230
1.5 0.10 kg. TF Brown Malt UK 1.033 160

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.00 g. First Gold Pellet 7.70 8.3 First WH
36.00 g. Wye Target Pellet 9.00 28.6 45 min.
10.00 g. Wye Northdown Pellet 7.20 3.4 15 min.
10.00 g. Wye Challenger Pellet 7.90 3.8 15 min.
30.00 g. Wye Challenger Pellet 7.90 4.5 5 min.
20.00 g. Wye Northdown Pellet 7.20 2.8 5 min.
30.00 g. E.K Goldings Pellet 4.30 0.0 Dry Hop


Yeast
-----

1469 TTLL yeast


The challenger has a really meaty character that i thing is percieved as extra maltiness in this beer, and the northdown has a slick sweet fresh finish from my experiences with it. This could be the tartness (not to mention the 51 IBU) 

The haze will be the dry hops........ they soaked for 2 weeks and ive never made a clear dry hopped beer.

The yeast has a very strong nutty character too. Its a tops yeast IMO.

All these things make up a beer with massive character.......... its not the best ESB...... and not the best beer ive made (oops just burped up more hops...... they are there just under the malt and yeast) but its not infected imo. Well not this bottle anyway.

Or maybe i cant taste it anymore?

Im happy for honnest opinions on the beer........ be harsh with your review. Im learning and i hate tip-toeing around the truth

cheers


----------



## Muggus (16/7/08)

In comparison to 'infected' beers i've had in the past, your ESB doesn't even register on the same scale Tony. 
I'm of the oppinion that the strong flavours I experienced in the beer were a combination of plenty of hops and a characterful yeast. 
Sure, probably not ideal in that style of beer, but I found it to be a more woody, spicy type of sharpness that i'd more associate with hops than anything else. 
As opposed to your typical wild yeast sort sharpness, which is certainly more vinegary/natural yoghurt/strong cheese-like from experience.

Either way...its got nothing in the way of sharpness on my 'sour ale' I brought along on the caseswap day!


----------



## Tony (16/7/08)

thanks mate.......... that gives me a tad of confidence.

I really agree.......... its over hopped for style and very malty, with a big yeast character........... as someone said.......... its a seriouis beer. But i dont do things in halves.

The Scottish 80 on tap has developed a sour sharpness, like a few others, my maibock ,a weizen i made, that the ESB doesnt have.

Im going to stick up for my beer and say its a shit ESB but its not infected 

Its just "bigger" than any ESB you have probably tried.

cheers


----------



## schooey (17/7/08)

Muggus said:


> *Brew: 17. Pint of Lager - Munich Lager*
> Date: 3/7/08
> Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml CUB bottle, IBU 28 Hallertauer 3.7% Gold cap "PoL"
> 
> ...



Beer 17 is my first of the swap and I reckon what Muggus has to say here pretty well sums it up for me. Very persistent fine creamy head that laced the glass all the way to the bottom. Excellent, excellent beer, POL, Thanks! Any chance of the recipe if it hasn't been posted already?


----------



## schooey (17/7/08)

2. Tony's ESB

My bottle seemed to lack carbonation with no noticable 'cchhssssh' on opening. I had to pour with a big slosh to get a decent head and it faded rather quickly. Not sure if I chilled it too much for this style? Smells of grassy earthy hops and caramelish toffe maltiness. Has a thinnish mouthfeel and a rather tart aftertaste. Doesnt seem to be infected or I would would have thought the carbonation activity would have been much higher? Maybe the tartness is a yeast thing, I'm not sure... with that tartness removed and a little more body, I think this would be an enjoyable beer.


----------



## Tony (17/7/08)

Shudders and recoils to the corner of the room in shame :unsure:  :icon_vomit:

i obviously cant taste the sourness, ive gotten used to it

someone shoot me


----------



## schooey (17/7/08)

Chin up mate, of all your beers I've tasted, this is probably the only one I'd be confident of stacking one of mine up against. Just gotta get back on the pony...


7. Fatgozilla - More than a half wit

Poured a lovely straw golden colour with a medium silk white head and just a hint of haze that could have been me disrupting the yeast moving the bottle around. Bready malt aromas on the nose with some clove and a small hint of banana after swiling and burying the snoz right in the glass. Has a fruity taste and a smooth mouthfeel with a clovey subtle spicy finish. Great session beer on a warm day, cheers FG


----------



## nifty (17/7/08)

I finally got a chance to pick up my xmas case beers from Josh's last weekend (thanks for minding them for me Josh) and tried Tony's ESB tonight. 

You're right about the hops Tony, I kept burping and every time I did, I would go "ahh hops". My missus just kept shaking her head and mumbled something about f#cking beer nerd or something like that.

Anyway, the carbonation was ok in mine and even though it had quite a sharp taste, I thought it was ok, thanks Tony.

cheers

nifty


----------



## Gulpa (18/7/08)

10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051

Poured hazy with a tight creamy head. Nice gold colour. Lovely aroma hops balanced with the grainy malt. Lightly carbed with a medium body. Hoppy taste but the malt really comes through after a few mouthfuls. Really well balanced for my tastes. Lovely beer. Thanks Insight. 

Wouldnt mind seeing the recipe for this one.

Thanks
Andrew.


----------



## Gulpa (18/7/08)

11. redbeard - belgian dubbel'ish

Pours with a small head that disappears quickly. Gold with a slight haze. Interesting aroma with a marzipan/maltyness to it. Definitely Belgianish. Medium light body with a floral sweetness to it. Really quite different but Im enjoying it because of that. Nice beer. Thanks Redbeard.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## schooey (18/7/08)

28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen

I poured this into my newly acquired Scheider glass that had been chilled in the freezer for a while. Poured a lovely darkish colour, very clear and with a superb fine head. The head laced the glass all the way to the bottom. Had nice malty and biscuity aromas up front and the mouthfeel was excellent. Well done on a really good malt/bitterness balance too, Linz. A very very enjoyable beer, Cheers!


----------



## sah (19/7/08)

10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.

Aroma of passion fruit and tasted like passion fruit. Moderate bitterness and carbonation, dryish. Enough malt character to support the hops perfectly. Hazy dark gold to brown. It all comes together very nicely.

Cheers Insight.

Scott.

edit: this had me burping hops, that's a good thing


----------



## nifty (21/7/08)

I cracked Schooey's mild last night. 

It was a lively bugger when I opened it, luckily I was near the sink. After it kept frothing out of the bottle for a few minutes, I decided to try pouring it into a glass. I got a decent amount of beer into the glass and it settled down after that, the next glass poured better.
Even though a lot of yeast was stirred up by all the activity in the bottle, it still came out a very nice beer, thanks.

nifty


----------



## Stuster (21/7/08)

Well, Tony, I know you're worried about your beers at the moment but I don't think there was anything wrong about your swap beer at all. It was a very solid bitter in my opinion. I certainly picked up the notes Muggus was mentioning but having brewed with this yeast it's just the character from that rather than anything wild unless we have the same infection. :lol: A beer with a lot of flavour for sure with the yeast playing a starring role and a good amount of hoppiness there as well. Mid-brown with some reddish hints, thick head which lingered. Some chill haze which was my fault for not taking it out of the fridge a bit earlier. This yeast definitely strips the malt flavours from the beer and I was surprised to look at your recipe and see you'd used 10% crystal since it has a very dry finish, partly due to the hops of course. But a solid bitter with lots of fruity flavours from the yeast and hops.

*Doc - Schwarzbier*

Roasty, coffee malts. Floral hops. Dark brown-black with ruby highlights. Clear, thick fluffy head which fell back to a thin layer. Great lacing down the glass. Dark roasted malts fight it out with fruity hops and the hops win on points. Rich, dark-chocolate maltiness develops as the beer warms up. Medium body lightened by the dry finish due to a clean bitterness and a good level of carbonation. A delicious beer that developed its maltiness as it warmed up, but stayed remarkably drinkable which is what this beer should be. Great stuff, Doc. Will be looking up this recipe. :chug: 


I also drank Linz's Dunkelweizen while I was on holidays so shorter comments on this sorry. Was a nice drop, Lindsay. Very much to style, though could have done with a touch more weizen yeast flavours I guess. Nice malt flavours though and a very quaffable beer. Thanks.


----------



## Tony (21/7/08)

:huh:   

thats what my impression was too.

I have found this yeast to be the most in your face yeast.

Worked better in a darker beer IMO.

cheers

cheers


----------



## Stuster (21/7/08)

Tony said:


> I have found this yeast to be the most in your face yeast.
> 
> Worked better in a darker beer IMO.



Agreed. It's a really full on yeast. I brought a bottle to a club meet and DJR guessed it was a Belgian yeast which I think is a very accurate assessment. It's definitely a good yeast for dark beers. :chug:


----------



## floppinab (23/7/08)

crozdog said:


> I cracked a bottle the other day & it was dead flat :angry: I recall I had a bad bottling day (aren't they all) but hope that I got the only dud bottle.



Sorry Phil, I got one too  . Was still good enough to drink half the bottle though!!!!!


----------



## Gulpa (26/7/08)

20. Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale - Recipe #37 - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm

Darker than almost dark, ruby highlights. Pours with a medium creamy head which drops down to a thin head that lasts the glass. Roasty nose, slightly yeasty with a almost minty bit. Taste is quite sweet with a medium roasty/malty backbone. Nice beer Cortez but a bit sweet for my tastes. Hard to believe its more than 50 IBU.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Cortez The Killer (28/7/08)

Thanks

It's only just under 30 IBU

I think I went a bit overboard with the crystal

Cheers


----------



## Stuster (29/7/08)

A few quick notes.

*floppinab's Brown Ale*

Just drinking this tonight. Not a bad beer at all, and certainly could be a good session beer. Good malts which really came out as the beer warmed up. There's a distinct taste there which I think is from that 004 yeast. I think it works well in this beer though, giving it a bit of character. I know you weren't that happy with this beer, but not sure why. A good brown.  

*JonW's NZAPA*

Great stuff here, Jon. Delicious APA I thought. Notes are sparse, but I really enjoyed this one. Not too bitter, though the bitterness was a touch harsh. Looking through your recipe, I wondered how much gypsum you added. But for me that wasn't really much of a downside. Delicious. :chug: 

*Schooey's English Mild*

A mild that was very much like the mild's I drank through most of university, apart from the carbonation which was a bit high as you said. But other than that very much to style and a real easy drinking beer.


----------



## Gulpa (1/8/08)

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time

I thought some time must be up by now.

Poured clear gold with a nice head that falls down to small that stays. Belgian nose (sorry that the best I can do :huh: ). Low carb but just right. More belgian in taste that lingers nicely. Alcohol come through slightly as it warms a bit. Great beer. Nice way to start the evening. Thanks Stu. 

Im constantly surprised about how much alcohol can be hidden in a well made beer. 


Ive had a couple others over the last couple of weeks that I havent written up. Memory is a bit vague

25. Loftboy - Blue Mountain Lager with dry-hopped Hallertau. 4.8% ABV. Bottled 23/03/08.
Had this after working all day in the garden. I remember this going down a bit to quickly. Perfect beer for after a days work. Thanks Loftboy.

3. nifty - stout (maybe)
Had this in the evening while mashing a couple weeks ago. Cellar temp during that cold snap we had. Stout maybe, certainly. Thick black and roasty. Sipped all evening. Nice beer. Thanks Nifty.


Not too many left now and not one has gone done the sink yet. That certainly a first for me. Looking forward to the next one.

Cheers
Andrew.


----------



## Stuster (1/8/08)

Gulpa said:


> 1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time
> 
> I thought some time must be up by now.
> 
> ...



Glad you liked it, Andrew. Enough time should have passed by now. I was going to try one tonight actually to see if it was ready to go. Carb should probably have been a bit higher, but I was a bit anxious about making a swap beer into a grenade so decided to cut it back.

There was some alcohol in there. Hope you're feeling a warm glow from it now.


----------



## Muggus (5/8/08)

Been a while...but I'm getting back into the tastings with a vengence after a week in wine country...

*Brew: 10. Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone*
Date: 5/8/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml Coppers bottle, gold cap "10", WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06/08

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. 
Pours a beautifully creamy dense white head, leaving solid lace atop a uniformly hazy amber body. Citrus hops, peach stones and earthy spice on the nose, grainy biscuit and toffeeish malt in the background, the slightest hint of bready yeast. Full bodied, moderate carbonation, smooth and creamy texture, perhaps the slightest grainy-derived astrigency. Delicious flavour; grapefruit skins, unripe nectarines and peaches, spicy bread, sweet toffee malt and grainy cereal/biscuit. Finish lingers with citrus, grainy dryness with a bold bitterness. Gee, this is a bloody good APA! Excellent balance, with a little extra 'spiciness', I guess you could call it, from the rye. Thanks alot for sharing this Insight!


----------



## Muggus (5/8/08)

*Brew: 28. Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen *
Date: 5/8/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "28", cool label "Hand made beer/made right here", wlp 300

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in weizen glass. 
Pulled out the appropriate glassware, and was rewarded with a large foam offwhite head atop a considerably clean cola body. Clove spice apparent straightup on the nose, brown sugar-like sweetness in there, with some subtle roasty/melanoidin-like and liquorice maltiness. Carbonation is reasonably lively, body not as creamy as carbonation leads me to believe, slight stickiness about the texture with a bit of a lactic sharpness. Spice cuts through the slightly nutty roasted, liquorice maltiness of the body, bold clove with a touch of apple and dark berry tartness, yet enough sweetness in there to balance it out. Finish has a slight sharpness, tiny bit of bitterness and spice lingering. A style of beer i'm very fond of, and wasn't let down by the complexity of this one. Cheers Linz!


----------



## Muggus (5/8/08)

Couldn't get this far down the list without critiquing my own beer. Which seems logically next in line anyway...

*Brew: 8. Muggus - French Oak Porter*
Date: 5/8/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml Coopers bottle, gold cap "8", Bottled 9th June 2008, FG 1.008, 7.1%

Sampling notes:
Served lightly chilled in goblet.
Near-opaque deep brown body with ruby highlights and a dense, lasting tan collar. Dark chocolate maltiness upfront on the nose, brandy-like/vinous oakiness seemingly spurring on the alcohol, some caramel and earthy hops in the background. Carbonation is low, lengthy palate, smooth, oily texture, alcohol and wood seem to combine to give a drying impression long beyond the finish. Flavour seems to be a balance between roasted malts and vinous oak; dark chocolate, vanilla, roasted nuts, burnt wood, toffee, dark berry and apple, somewhat tannic towards the finish with a warm embrace of alcohol. Finish is not as chalky/woody as most oak aged beers i've tried, making it a tad moreish, which ain't good seeming i'm considerably cut after half a bottle. A different take on the porter, quite boozy in all honesty, but an intriguing experiment none-the-less.


----------



## Flex Broker (6/8/08)

Just a quick word on that toasted oat porter I brought in to the case swap. I tried a bottle a few days ago. While it's drinkable now, I would definitely suggest leaving it for a while for everything to integrate. It's just a bit heavy going at the moment.


----------



## sah (7/8/08)

I've had a head cold and haven't been trusting the snoz and palate too much, however I must comment on these two special beers.

1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel, Wyeast 3787, bottled 7/6, 9.8%, needs some time

Complex belgian flavour, I don't know how to describe what's happening on my tongue. I like that character. A delicate sweetness and alcohol bitterness and warmth both feature, the former comes latter  I enjoyed it very much.

8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)

This beer is outstanding. Very clear for a porter. My wife tastes coffee but I get none of that. Vanilla is strong, where does that come from? The oak works really well. Nicely sweet, not dry or bitter, that's different. A little alcohol out back. Muggus from your reviews it's clear that you really cherish the subtle aromas and flavours. My senses aren't quite as keen, however I can say there's a lot going on with this beer and it's all good. Thank you.

regards,
Scott


----------



## floppinab (7/8/08)

Guys, I've just had quite an interesting beer but I'm interested to know more about it. My palate is no doubt letting me down but it seems to me a typical aussie lager, very PoRrry.

So who's is it??? Well the cap presents a mystery, written in black texta, the hieroglyphics look something like the following

_
|
/

Or the other way round looks like 

7
|

There's no way it could be 2 or 7. Any info. appreciated


----------



## Muggus (7/8/08)

SAH said:


> 8. Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)
> 
> This beer is outstanding. Very clear for a porter. My wife tastes coffee but I get none of that. Vanilla is strong, where does that come from? The oak works really well. Nicely sweet, not dry or bitter, that's different. A little alcohol out back. Muggus from your reviews it's clear that you really cherish the subtle aromas and flavours. My senses aren't quite as keen, however I can say there's a lot going on with this beer and it's all good. Thank you.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the review Scott!
Chances are the vanilla you taste is an oak derived flavour. French oak in particular gives off vanillary, buttery, often maple syrup, sort of flavours and aromas. The sort of flavours that are more common place in something like a heavily oaked chardonnay, rather than a beer.


----------



## Muggus (7/8/08)

While this topic is fresh, i've got a two-for-one stout session...

*Brew: 3. Nifty - Some Sort of Stout *
Date: 6/8/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml CUBs bottle, gold cap "3", Bottled 1st June 2008, abv 5.4%, OG 1.060 FG 1.019

Sampling notes:
Served lightly chilled in goblet.
Opaque black body with small tan collar. Big roasted malt on the nose, burnt, somewhat smokey graininess in there, some wood and bread in the background, possibly some vinous undertones amongst it all. Low carbonation, oily texture, body is quite thin for a stout, only a touch of astrigency from the roasted malts. Nutty malt upfront, slightly sweet, crystal maltiness leading onto far more roasted notes of charred wood, deep roast coffee and tar(?). Finishes with a lactic dryness, not too tannic, not too bitter, smooth, quaffable. Very nice, no nonscence stout, cheers Nifty!

*Brew: 27. Monkeybusiness - Oatmeal stout *
Date: 6/8/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "27", Bottled 25-6-08

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet.
Deep black body, theres signs of carbonation in there somewhere, leaving a tiny offwhite collar. Muted roasted malt nose; roasted nuts, dark coffee, wood and cereal. Smooth oily texture, little prickles of carbonation on the tongue, medium density about the body, possibly the slightest bit sticky too, barely any astrigency. Nutty malt dominates the body, slight burnt and woody notes in there, along with some mollasses, deep roast coffee, and floral hop character emerging with warmth. Dry finish, mildly bitter. A particularly smooth stout, goes down a treat. Cheers Monkeybusiness!


----------



## Stuster (7/8/08)

Gav, could it be 25? Seems like the only one that it could be is Loftboy's Blue Mountain Lager.

Glad you liked my beer, SAH. Recipe should be in the recipe thread. (Must remember to put recipes in database from now on.  )


----------



## Tony (7/8/08)

I also tried Monkeybusiness' stout a few nights ago.

Low carb......... head died away to nothing but that didnt worry me. This was one of the nicest stouts ive tried in a while. Smooth, clean, smooth roast coffee, roast malt. Sweet and bitter...... fairly neutral ballance. Oily texture as Muggus said, probably due to the low carb.

A very enjoyable stout. thanks.

For anyone still sitting on it.......... put it somewhere over 20 deg for a few weeks and see if it carbs up some more

great beer thanks mate

cheers


----------



## Flex Broker (8/8/08)

Had the Terrapin Rye clone last night. Poured an organe amber colour, a little hazy. Fantsatic head with great retention. Seriously, I've only seen a handful of other beers with retention this good. Nice fruity hop aroma with a little spiciness from the rye. Taste is assertively bitter, which enhances the dryness of the beer. Rounded hop flavour with a bitter finish. Spicy, light malt flavour. A little young perhaps. Bitter, refreshing finish. Went down very easy - a very nice session beer.

Good work, Insight!


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

Finally getting back into the case after letting the beers that need some time to have some time 
First beer heading into a big weekend :beerbang:

*Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv..... not sure*
Good pour, good initial head that almost fully dissipates after a few mins. 
Lovely brown colour with a nice malty aroma.
Great malty body with residual bitterness that reminds me of the classic ESB style. 
Lovely beer.

Doc


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

*Insight - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale clone, WLP051, 5.4%, bottled 08/06.*

Great pour, awesome nice tight fluffy head.
Awesome deep golden colour with slight opaqueness.
Nice aromatics from the aromatic hops.
Awesome lacing forming on the glass.
Lovely grapefruit flavour on the initial hit. A very malty backbone with the late balance towards malt more than dry and crisp with lingering bitterness. 
A lovely drop. Almost downed the whole tally in the few mins it has taken to write this 

If it was mine, I'd add some pilsner to the grist and drop the mash temp a little to give it a dryer finish.

Doc

EDIT: Just re-read the beer title and noticed it was a RYE IPA. Rye is giving it the body, and is to style. Disregard my comments then for a PA. I love Rye beers, especially RyeIPA's and this is a cracker.


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

*floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)*

Whoah, we have a live one here.
Big foamy pour. Large bubbled foam.
Deep burgundy hue. Filtering has produced a very clear beer. 
There is something going on at the front of the palette that I can't pinpoint.
A lot of flavour on the tongue, good balance, but (personally) prob missing some of the roast/caramel flavours of some of the Nth Eng Browns I've previously tasted (HB).
A good solid beer. Clean well balanced.

Doc


----------



## Linz (8/8/08)

floppinab said:


> So who's is it??? Well the cap presents a mystery, written in black texta, the hieroglyphics look something like the following




Dont suppose you could supply a pic of the cap...I'll have a look in my case for the mystery mark...


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

*Schooey - English Mild - You can drink now, but a week in the fridgewould do it good. It's overcarbed for style* 
First up, the bottle looked like it had been through the yeast slurry from the fermenter.
My wife is away at a conference and has the camera, so here is a really crappy shot from the webcam.





Optimistically I'm hoping I got maybe the last bottle from the batch and some of the sediment dribbled over.

Pours lively. Nice big solid big bubbled white head.
Lovely ruby hue and crystal clear. Aromatics of peaches.
Not a huge body, with a residual sweetness.
Very quaffable lawnmower beer. 
Nice and clean.

Doc


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

*Linz - Over dunked Dunkelweizen(1st attempt)*

Decent pour, with a good solid head that dissipates to a single finger pretty quick. 
Great weizen aroma, and a very pleasing medium brown colouring. Great clarity.
Very good balance. Not too malty, not too thin.
Carbonation is great too for a wezien.
Really enjoying it Linz. Great beer.

Doc


----------



## Tony (8/8/08)

Na doc.......... Schooey won the award for the dirtiest bottles in the swap. Clean inside but looked like they had a mud bath on the outside

:lol: 

cheers


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

*James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks*
Decent pour, one finger head that resembles a good bread starter.
Hint of roast through the aroma. 
Deep deep colour with only a subtle ruby hint.
Lots of caramel up front, with big residual sweetness. Hints of stone fruit with a slight roasty finish.
Very velvety mouthfeel probably from the oats.
A complex beer. Very interesting.
Cut back on the body a little and you'll have a great winter session beer.

Doc


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

Last cab off the rank for the night.

*Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)*
Lovely label.
Great to see some presentation.
Great pour, with a solid 1/2 finger bready head remaining. 
Oak whisky aroma coming through on the aroma big time. Awesome. Smells like my bourbon.
Oooooh, first taste and I'm getting typical red wine flavours (liked I cooked dinner in tonight). Shiraz 
Great deep deep just off black colour with ruby hue.
Perfect level of carbonation. Not cask, not commercial. Brilliant.
Full bodied with hints of vanilla, nut, chocolate. 

Really enjoying this Muggus. Maybe a little heavy on the Oak, but all good.

Doc


----------



## Tony (8/8/08)

have you got a buz up after all that doc?


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

Tony said:


> have you got a buz up after all that doc?



A little buzz going.
Will finish off with a few of my own beers

My wife is back tomorrow (after being away for 8 days at a Genetics Conference) and the Hills Brewers are touring AIB. 
Happy Days  

Doc


----------



## Doc (8/8/08)

Doc said:


> Last cab off the rank for the night.
> 
> *Muggus - French Oak Porter (Bottled 9th June '08, 7.1%. Needs at least a month of warm bottle conditioning)*
> Lovely label.
> ...



I just have to say again. That was a damn fine beer.

Doc


----------



## schooey (9/8/08)

Doc said:


> First up, the bottle looked like it had been through the yeast slurry from the fermenter.



:unsure: 

Sorry folks, it was actually a tallie of yeast slurry that got knocked of the fridge and splashed over that crate, I just forgot to give thema wipe before they went off to the swap. Apologies in advance


----------



## Fatgodzilla (10/8/08)

floppinab said:


> Guys, I've just had quite an interesting beer but I'm interested to know more about it. My palate is no doubt letting me down but it seems to me a typical aussie lager, very PoRrry.
> 
> So who's is it??? Well the cap presents a mystery, written in black texta, the hieroglyphics look something like the following
> 
> ...




Since no one has fessed, I reckon they are my "extra beers" I added to the mix. I only could bottle 25 bottles for the swap so brought some lagers I had to boost the numbers. With the dropouts and no shows I had enough of the original entries to meet requirements, but left the extras in anyway. A hard drive crash means I have lost all my Beersmith notes about this beer and have no idea what's in it. The 7 actually is an L for lager which I underlined to differentuate from my main swap beer. I reckons its from a series of AG lagers I brewed in autumn using a wyeast european lager of some sort. The hops are likely perle (I had a mob of them and chucked them into a few brews). Malt likely JW pale with IMC munich or pilsner added or maybe some Weyerman melanoiden and JW wheat chucked in. Sorry can't be specific. I know I liked the batch which is why I was happy to add them to the swap beers.

Best to treat these beers as drinking beer not thinking beer. Anyone else score one ?


----------



## Muggus (10/8/08)

*Brew: 1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel*
Date: 8/8/8
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "1" Wyeast3787,bottled 7/6, 9.8%

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet.
Beautifully clear viscous-looking golden body with sizeable dense white. Spicy nose, packed full of fruit, apple and pear, some grainy caramel maltiness, alcohol is very well concealed. Full-to-dense body, good carbonation with some silkiness about it, alcohol shows itself in the density, but isn't too warming. Big rich body, plenty of apple and spice in there bolstered by caramel maltiness, esters seem to shine through much better with rise of temperature, dried apricot/sultanary even, alcohol is well concealed amongst it all. Very nice indeed, certainly has the overall appeal of tripel rather than just a blonde Belgian strong ale. Thanks Stu!


----------



## Muggus (10/8/08)

*Brew: 18. Thirstywench- IPA.*
Date: 10/8/8
Beer info: Bottled in brown CUB 750ml bottle, green cap "18"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Pours pale copper body with pretty decent clarity and a small amount of offwhite foam. Good hit of spicy, earthy, citrusy hops (English?) straightup, something perfumy about it, sweet toffee biscuit malt in the backgroud, maybe a touch of bread in there too. Lean body, soft carbonation, drying throughout spurring on the moderate bitterness. Sweet toffee body with some nice earthy and fruity hop flavours (vanilla? passionfruit?), slightly grassiness towards a drawn out dry finish. Nice hoppy ale, seems borderline Bitter/IPA, but thats a fine line anyway! Cheers Thirstywench!


----------



## Flex Broker (11/8/08)

Doc said:


> *James - American Toasted Oat Porter, at least 4 weeks*
> Decent pour, one finger head that resembles a good bread starter.
> Hint of roast through the aroma.
> Deep deep colour with only a subtle ruby hint.
> ...



Cheers, Doc. Thanks for the positive comments. Agreed on the lack of drinkability - I think this beer would be more of an end of session brew at the moment. Don't know the exact alcohol content, but I suspect it's about 6.5%. After tasting one myself the beer is not quite ready to drink, I reckon. It has a vinous, alcoholic quality that will take some time to settle down a bit.


----------



## Muggus (11/8/08)

*Brew: 23. Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale*
Date: 11/8/8
Beer info: Bottled in brown 800ml Reshchs Dinner ale bottle, gold cap "23"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. 
Orange gold body with some hazy and a small dense white cap atop. Reasonably subdued aroma; lemony citrus zest, with some unripe stonefruit alongside it, throw a bit of sweet bread and spice in the mix there. Body shows its size straightup, thick, sticky, juicy malt profile, moderate carbonation with a silkiness about it all, dries out toward the finish. Rich biscuity grain malt the base for plenty of stonefruit flavours (apricot, peach) along with some citrus (lemon, bitter orange), adding a nice zesty sharpness to the overall flavour. Finish is quite lengthy, bit of alcohol makes an appearance with warming of the beer, with a bready note. Very tasty, quite Duvel-esque...how strong we looking at here Jez?
Cheers!


----------



## 3GumsBrewing (11/8/08)

Brew: 1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel

Hey Stuster, this brew was awsome!!

To tell you the truth my IIPA runied pallet could not tell much difference from a my Belgian Golden Strong ale, what should I be looking out for in a Tripel?

Also have you posted the recipe?

Anyway a bloody top brew.

Cheers
DK


----------



## Stuster (11/8/08)

Glad you liked it, DK.  

To be honest, I think they're really that Tripels and Golden strongs should be in the same category but don't say that too loud or I might get my judging badge revoked.  In theory though, a tripel isn't as dry as a golden strong and usually not quite a light in colour. Basically, it comes down to Tripels being based on the Westmalle one and Golden Strongs being based on Duvel. There's so much more variation in a category like bitters though. :blink: 

Anyway, enough style-geekery. Sounds like you enjoyed the beer which is good to hear. :beer:


----------



## Muggus (11/8/08)

Stuster said:


> Glad you liked it, DK.
> 
> To be honest, I think they're really that Tripels and Golden strongs should be in the same category but don't say that too loud or I might get my judging badge revoked.  In theory though, a tripel isn't as dry as a golden strong and usually not quite a light in colour. Basically, it comes down to Tripels being based on the Westmalle one and Golden Strongs being based on Duvel. There's so much more variation in a category like bitters though. :blink:
> 
> Anyway, enough style-geekery. Sounds like you enjoyed the beer which is good to hear. :beer:


Its such a fine line. But then again alot of styles, according to the BJCP, can be very similiar.
As you mention, i've always found Tripels (specifically the likes of Westmalle and Karmeliet) seem to have a darker hue and seem somewhat more regimented in their quality, ie, better balanced and more complex. And then you have your strong blonde Belgians which can be something like 6-7% session beer to something as brutal as Dubuisson Bush Ambre.
At the end of the day, the power of suggestion really seems to be all brewer has to make their beer fit in that 'tripel' catagory, and from there the drinker has to make up their mind what catagory if falls in.


----------



## jonw (12/8/08)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Best to treat these beers as drinking beer not thinking beer. Anyone else score one ?



I did. Unfortunately mine was a gusher, so I didn't get to drink it!

Cheers,

Jon


----------



## Flex Broker (12/8/08)

DK said:


> Brew: 1. Stuster - Belgian Tripel
> 
> Hey Stuster, this brew was awsome!!
> 
> ...



The Belgians hate style guidelines so trying to define rules that go along with their beers is a bit like trying to herd cats. One helpful way to discriminate between tripels and golden strong ales is that golden strongs tend to have a fruitier profile and tripels focus more on the spiciness. Tripels are also usually more bitter and have a more pronounced hop aroma.


----------



## Jez (12/8/08)

> Orange gold body with some hazy and a small dense white cap atop. Reasonably subdued aroma; lemony citrus zest, with some unripe stonefruit alongside it, throw a bit of sweet bread and spice in the mix there. Body shows its size straightup, thick, sticky, juicy malt profile, moderate carbonation with a silkiness about it all, dries out toward the finish. Rich biscuity grain malt the base for plenty of stonefruit flavours (apricot, peach) along with some citrus (lemon, bitter orange), adding a nice zesty sharpness to the overall flavour. Finish is quite lengthy, bit of alcohol makes an appearance with warming of the beer, with a bready note. Very tasty, quite Duvel-esque...how strong we looking at here Jez?



Thanks for the detailed notes Muggus. 

It wound up about 8% I think.

Jez


----------



## Flex Broker (23/8/08)

I'm drinking Kabooby's bock at the moment. Or should I say gulping the stuff down. This is a fantastic beer. Great rounded malt flavour, with flavours of caramel, dark chocolate and warming alcohol. Perfect for a cold night. There's also some great vinous qualities to the beer. Very complex and really, erally drinkable for a beer of this weight. Awesome job, Kabooby.


----------



## kabooby (24/8/08)

Thanks mate, glad you liked it.

Kabooby


----------



## Tony (28/8/08)

Muggas oaked porter.

worked a 16 hr day yesterday. got home at about 11pm and wanted something enjoyable to finish a long stresfull day commissioning raw coal conveyors at one of the hunter valleys largest coal mines.

opened the fridge and found this one.

Perfect!

Poured in a nice pint glass with a big wide mouth. 

YUM

Full aroma of smooth roast malts and oak, no decernable hops, a touch of sweetness on the nose....... very nice start.

tasted........... swished...........Oh yeah.

Medium body, smooooooooooooooooooooth finish, Who was it that said secondary doesnt improve a beer?
Malty, sweet and roast compliment, guessing the sweet is the oak. I can taste the oak and its very nice....... perfect amount for me. nore would have overwelmed the beer, less would have been hard to really decern.
once again..... bugger all hops for me, a bit of yeast character but clean and smooth!

low carn making for a smooth lasting finnish and a very easy to drink dark beer.

Thanks mate........ top notch!


----------



## Tony (28/8/08)

James Porter

Chilled and cracked it in the garage while bottling beer a couple of nights ago.

cap almost blew out of my hand and i put the cap back on as fast as i could. 

Gushed big time.

took bottle to the kitchen sink and let it rip. Gushed for 15 min and lost half the bottle.

ended up with some in a glass, was a bit yeasty by then but that wasnt a problem. I found the sweet hopiness of this a bit off puting in a porter. I recal you saing something about amarillo and its just not right for me in a porter. A bit light bodied. smooth roast that was taking a back seat. nedded to be a bit bigger in the roast department to ballance IMO.

Well made beer, clear, clean and no faults but the carb needs work in my book.

cheers


----------



## Tony (29/8/08)

9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)

Cracked the cap with a big Ppppssshhhhhhhhhhht

Didnt gush but a bit over carbed when poured. Took my time and lefr it to de gas a bit.

Glad i did. 

Rich slightly sweet crystal driven maltiness, clear, great colour of deep amber/copper. Big fluffy head but takes a few goes to get the pint glass full. Background but firm bitterness ballances the beer well and prevents sweetness stealing the spotlight. Earth character in the finnish, combo of mild hops, yeast and malt contributes to this.

Nice beer mate, enjoyed it. But back off the carb sugar a bit.

cheers


----------



## Flex Broker (2/9/08)

Tony said:


> James Porter
> 
> Chilled and cracked it in the garage while bottling beer a couple of nights ago.
> 
> ...



That's weird. Jez and I have opened probably 5 bottles that we had left over and the carb has been fine on all of them. I think you got a dodgy bottle. Sorry about that.

On the issue of the amarillo, it's actually hopped with cascade as far as I remember. Our original intention was to use amarillo, though. It's definitely a US-style porter, which basically don't exist here. The whole idea of citrusy hops with dark beers was originally sold to me by a brewer from LA. The combination of coffee/chocolate with the citrus of US hops is very popular over there. I was doubly sold when I went to Tassie and had the Moo Brew dark ale at the brewery. Big citrus hop aroma with plenty of roasted character. I guess it comes down to what you dig in the end, but you should give the US hops a chance. I think they have a flavour that really complements dark beers, rather than taking a back seat like the British varieties.


----------



## Tony (2/9/08)

crook bottle....... that explains it..... no problems  these things happen.

True what you say about what you dig! I love my porters with a good whack of hops....... up front........ in english varieties, but thats me.

I think porters go really well with lots of hops, it all comes down to taste.

Cheers


----------



## Muggus (2/9/08)

...and I finally got around to sampling the last of the swap...
*Brew: 24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter*
Date: 2/9/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, cap "24"

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. 
Open with only a slight pop, pours a sinfully dark, damn-near opaque black body with a ring of suprisingly white foam. Aroma is a mixture of burnt grain and citrusy hops; doesn't really give all too much away, grapefruit zestiness stands out, possibly some liquorice and alcohol, and I guess it has an overall 'woody' character about it. Reasonably full body, subdued carbonation, texture is slightly gritty with roasted malt astrigency, which seems to go hand-in-hand with the sharp zesty bitterness of the American-style hops. Alot happening on the body; charcoal, wood, liquorice, leafiness, grapefruit rind and unripe stonefruit. Odd sensation on mouth, finishing with an assertive bitterness and lingering smokiness. 
Reminds me quite a bit of an Imperial Stout I did a few years back with heaps of Cascade and Amarillo; heavy going and a bit overpowering/overcomplicated at first, but matured and smoothed out to be fantastic 6-12 months down the track. 
Really nice James, though I reckon you'll be rewarded with some extended bottle maturation on this puppy...if you have any left! 
Cheers!


----------



## Flex Broker (3/9/08)

Unfortunately almost all the porter went in the case swap . I think Jez and I each have like one bottle left. I'll see if I can leave it alone for a few more months.

Also, I tried the French Oak Porter last night. I think if any brewers want to find out exactly what French oak tastes like, this is a good educational beer for them. All the hallmarks of oak are there - vanilla flavours, spiciness, and a drying tannic quality. Super assertive at first, almost overpowering. It settles down after a while, but I think the beer itself would have benefited from being more robust prior to being oaked. For a 7% beer, I thought the body and the malt flavours were rather subdued. I think the oak out-competes the other flavours for dominance. 

I reckon if you increased you mashing temperature somewhat and your content of chocolate malt to produce a more robust porter, the oak would be better balanced out in the finished product. But a good first attempt at producing an oaked beer, which is not easy to do.

Incidentally, with the oak chips, I don't think you need such a long secondary. I read recently that pretty much all the oak favour has been extracted after 2 weeks. Having said that, a long secondary usually doesn't hurt a beer, except for the possibility of oxidation if the extended secondary is in a plastic vessel rather than glass or stainless steel.


----------



## Muggus (3/9/08)

Flex Broker said:


> Unfortunately almost all the porter went in the case swap . I think Jez and I each have like one bottle left. I'll see if I can leave it alone for a few more months.
> 
> Also, I tried the French Oak Porter last night. I think if any brewers want to find out exactly what French oak tastes like, this is a good educational beer for them. All the hallmarks of oak are there - vanilla flavours, spiciness, and a drying tannic quality. Super assertive at first, almost overpowering. It settles down after a while, but I think the beer itself would have benefited from being more robust prior to being oaked. For a 7% beer, I thought the body and the malt flavours were rather subdued. I think the oak out-competes the other flavours for dominance.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the input, James! 
The beer itself was a very small partial. (1kg of Ale malt + ~500g of specialty grains)...so my mash probably didn't do a great deal for the brew as far as body goes though.

Oak in beer is a very uncommon character to find in beers...at least down under anyway....but I love the flavours it can give a beer!
According to my logs, this beer would have actually been my 9th 'oak chipped' beer to date. 
I've used various types...american, french, whisky barrel, rum barrel, bourbon barrel, tennesse whiskey barrel...experimented with them them in at various stages of brewing; be it the actual boil, primary or secondary...and left them on the beer from 2 weeks up to 6 months. 
Some of which have been brutally oaky, and others almost undetectable.
Anyway, as far as this porter goes, it was probably one of the more subtle and mellow brews of the lot. 
I find the longer you're willing to leave the brew on the chips, the more the oak mellows out, which is the reason i'm willing to let it mature for so long. Takes alot of patience though! :blink:


----------



## Flex Broker (4/9/08)

The whole oak thing is something I've considered but never done, mainly because we brew primarily huge IPAs or Belgian ales, neither of which need oak. I've become a fan of oak ageing through my love of lambic beers, though. I think French oak is the right way to go, since it tends to be less vanilla-smelling than US oak, and I think if you pumped the beer up a bit the oak would really add a lot.


----------



## floppinab (4/9/08)

Tony said:


> 9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)
> 
> Nice beer mate, enjoyed it. But back off the carb sugar a bit.
> 
> cheers



Thanks Tony. I'm currently using this yeast on an Irish Red and I'm finding it takes a looooong time to get through the last 5 or so points. It may be something to do with my break problems as well with the break and yeast tending to coagulate together which may be slowing the ferment down a bit.
I've just sent it to a secondary to try and hurry it up. Those that had my beer early found it OK but yours and couple of others who've had it in the last month have reported overcarbonation, no doubt with the yeast picking up some of those points in the bottle resulting in the high carbo.


----------



## Flex Broker (6/9/08)

Just tasted Stuster's tripel. Blew my head right off. A really good beer, if a little heavy on the citrus. Nice spice character, could do with slightly more body. Excellent head, lacing and clarity. Very drinkable. Reminds me of Unibroue - specifically, their Frigante. My pick of the case so far.

Good work, Stu.


----------



## Stuster (6/9/08)

Wow. Glad you liked it, Mr Broker. There's definitely some spice notes in there as you say, but in fact no spices were harmed in the making of this beer and that's all down to the yeast.


----------



## Josh (7/9/08)

Shared Muggus' Half Century Barley Wine with a mate the other night. This was an extra bottle I received as host of the swap. 

Served in two half pint handles.

Gotta say I've never had a smoother beer, it just slid over the tongue. We were both really impressed with the flavours. Plum and berries prominent. Has a bit of kick as expected but the alcohol taste isn't over the top.

Fantastic beer Muggus.


----------



## Muggus (8/9/08)

Josh said:


> Shared Muggus' Half Century Barley Wine with a mate the other night. This was an extra bottle I received as host of the swap.
> 
> Served in two half pint handles.
> 
> ...


Wow thanks alot for the feedback Josh! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.


----------



## Tony (14/9/08)

6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock

Ive been looking forward to rying this. I am really keen to brew a nice bock and wanted to try someone elses effort to see if i liked it.

I did, and still am.

Big munich malt character, both flavour and aroma. Sweetly bready, toasty and then sweet again. No hops, perfect carbonation, and i mean PERFECT! Creamy smooth in the mouth but not cloying. 

Perhaps an IBU or 2 over but i like that. It ballances the beer and makes it drinkable. 

Its big, darkly malty, sweet and smooth but almost quaffable!

I want the recipe! Tastes like a simple beer, and i think thats what makes it great. Bock should be simple!

cheers


----------



## kabooby (15/9/08)

Thanks mate,

Glad you liked it. Recipe is in the recipe section here

Kabooby


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

Finally trying to knock off the remainders from the case swap.

*Crozdog - American Brown*
Poured aggressively and was rewarded with a great beig bready head.
Lovely deep amber colour with some ruby highlights.
Caramel/Crystal aroma. No real hint of American C hops.
Nice mouth feel. Residual sweetness. Virtually no hop presence.
Easy drinking beer, but lacking in the hops department to really step up to an American Brown.
No other faults though. Nice clean malty beer.

Doc


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale*
Big pour, medium head that lingers. 
Deep deep brown. Just opaque.
Sweet roast aroma.
Instant hit of cardamon on first sip. Not over powering but taste forward. Haven't looked up the recipe yet.
Interesting spiced dark ale. Light body on the finish, cardamon dominates but still not in your face.
Ok, looked up the recipe now. No cardamon added, but I'm still getting it. Maybe the SO4 threw it through fermentation temp ??
A drinkable beer. Would be great down at the ski lodge.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*Thirstywench - IPA*
Poured with a low head that dissipated quickly.
Crystal clear and a deep straw colour.
Hint of hops on the aroma.
Good mouthfeel and body. Residual sweetness with a dry finish.
Up the hops a little and the FG and you'll be on to a cracker for the style.
Nice and clean.

Doc


----------



## Tony (27/9/08)

I have preety much finnished my case swap....... appologies if i missed commenting on some. only a couple of the double up "mystery beers" left. 

I have to say that it was the best case swap i have been involved in. my beer was probably the worst of the lot, Only one i didnt drink as i couldnt get the gusher in the glass but shit happens  

I remember the first swap i was involved in saw about 1/4 of the beers tipped out. 

Congradulations to all brewers on some fantastic beers and styles brewed......... great work!

And thankyou.

cheers


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*nifty - Stout*
Poured as aggressively as I could. Just got a head.
Black.
Roasty chocolate aroma.
Deep chewy body without being cloying or oversweet.
Lower carbonation.
Very smooth and easy drinking.

Doc


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*Stuster - Belgian Tripel*
Decent pour with a medium tight head that is dissipating quickly.
Lovely opaque straw colour.
Hint of Belgianiss on the aroma. 
POW on the first sip. 
Deep complex flavours of spice and fruit.
Borders on cloying, but backed by the complexity.
I anything I'd recommend a dryer finish and maybe a little less complexity.
Still very enjoyable.

Doc


----------



## Tony (27/9/08)

Ahhhh thats the one beer i have left to try


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*Kabooby - Xaviers Bock*

Medium bready head.
Deep deep brown/black
Chocolate aroma
Great balance on the body.
Some alcohol notes mid tongue.
Can't fault anything off the bat.
Enjoyable beer.

Doc


----------



## Stuster (27/9/08)

Good review there, Doc. I think you're right about the dryness, even though it finished at 1010 from 1086. No spices were harmed in the making of this beer though and it was a pretty straight forward recipe. I think mainly it's just that yeast (3787) and the complexity it adds. Next time I think I'd just brew it at a slightly warmer time of year so it finishes off completely.


----------



## Doc (27/9/08)

*Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale*

Strong pour, nice tight head.
Super clarity. Straw colour.
Sweet aromatics. Hints of fruit.
Heavy body with complexity and sweetness.
Belgian notes with some alcohol and complex fruit characters. 
Not a session beer. 
Maybe a lower FG for a little more balance.
Still very drinkable.

Doc


----------



## Flex Broker (29/9/08)

Doc said:


> *Jez - Belgian Golden Strong Ale*
> 
> Strong pour, nice tight head.
> Super clarity. Straw colour.
> ...



Thanks for the review. The feedback we got on our tripels from the NSW comp were variable to say the least. I personally think the beer is dominated by the spicy phenolic character and lacks esters and malt aroma. I think the final gravity on that one was about 1.014, so it could perhaps do with a little more attenuation.


----------



## Fatgodzilla (21/10/08)

Flex Broker said:


> Thanks for the review. The feedback we got on our tripels from the NSW comp were variable to say the least. I personally think the beer is dominated by the spicy phenolic character and lacks esters and malt aroma. I think the final gravity on that one was about 1.014, so it could perhaps do with a little more attenuation.



Found the last of my case swap beers tucked away and thought .. drink'em son. # 23 first off the block. Without knowing what it was, opened. Loved the fruity smell thought immediately an APA. First taste, no, not an APA. Keep drinking ....Nooooiiicccceee ! Alcohol type flavours start to kick in. I say Belgium ? Look up this site, find its your Belgium strong. Read Doc's notes and agree (shyte ,, he knows far more than me). 

Final thoughts. I like it. Session beer ? ... if I have this in a keg it'd be a session beer. I'd be pissed a lot (actually am anyway) but nice brew brother, very very worthy entry in the swap. Look forward to any other beer of yours I get to taste.


----------



## Jez (26/10/08)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Found the last of my case swap beers tucked away and thought .. drink'em son. # 23 first off the block. Without knowing what it was, opened. Loved the fruity smell thought immediately an APA. First taste, no, not an APA. Keep drinking ....Nooooiiicccceee ! Alcohol type flavours start to kick in. I say Belgium ? Look up this site, find its your Belgium strong. Read Doc's notes and agree (shyte ,, he knows far more than me).
> 
> Final thoughts. I like it. Session beer ? ... if I have this in a keg it'd be a session beer. I'd be pissed a lot (actually am anyway) but nice brew brother, very very worthy entry in the swap. Look forward to any other beer of yours I get to taste.




Thanks Godzilla (and thanks Doc for the earlier comprehensive review).

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out but would probably like it to finish a bit lower next time.

and no, its not really a sesion beer  

Jez


----------



## Muggus (26/10/08)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Final thoughts. I like it. Session beer ? ... if I have this in a keg it'd be a session beer.


Here I am thinking you weren't much of a Belgian ale drinker FGZ?

And now you're calling an 8% Belgian Strong a session beer!


----------

