# T.a.s.t.e. 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-adelaide Autumn Case Swap Threa



## MaltyHops (28/3/11)

Hi Guys,

A separate thread for tasting notes worked well last time so here's one for this
latest swap.

I'll update the _ARTICLE: 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-Adelaide Autumn Case Swap_
with things like brewer notes on when beers are ready to drink and other info
that I come across on this thread and the other pre-swap thread.

Tom.


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## raven19 (28/3/11)

Good work on the new thread.

First off the bat for me is:

*Tony's V Twin ESB*

My bottle was a gusher! The longneck is still gushing in the sink!  

In saying that, carbonation is high and effervescent. 
Golden to light brown in colour, thin to medium bodied, hazy in appearance.
Minimal hop aroma, light on the bitterness, slightly pushing to the malt.


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## TonyC (28/3/11)

Raven,
Thats a bummer, i had two tasters last week and they were ok. Sorry, hope they are not all shite.

Tony


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## Amin (28/3/11)

I've edited the article to show my beer number 23 is an APA and ready to drink.

Also many thanks to Tom for the lift home on Saturday night.


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## technoicon (28/3/11)

can we update the artical with whos beers r whos, like the two stubbies?


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## Hatchy (28/3/11)

The stubbies are Gunna's.


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## AussieJosh (28/3/11)

as far as i know the stubbies are gunna's, I think he had a mixed case with three diffrent beers, pale ale, Dr smurts golden ale and another? i think a english ale?


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## raven19 (29/3/11)

TonyC said:


> Raven,
> Thats a bummer, i had two tasters last week and they were ok. Sorry, hope they are not all shite.
> 
> Tony



Tasted ok still mate, no serious flaws in the flavour from my limited pallette, it did not gush immediately, but within 30 seconds it was rising high!


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## Hatchy (29/3/11)

Kieren & I had one of yours Tony & the carb was fine. Bloody delicious beer. There was some sort of a smell that I can't put a name to but apart from that it was brilliant. We had one of Goofinder's too. Absolute coffee deliciousness.


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## Mayor of Mildura (29/3/11)

I tried one of tonyc's last night. It gushed on me too. I only ended up with half a bottle. What was left was pretty tasty. Earthy aroma and flavour... fuggles maybe?


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## TonyC (29/3/11)

Tasted ok still mate, no serious flaws in the flavour from my limited pallette, it did not gush immediately, but within 30 seconds it was rising high! 




Raven,

i have one more if your game, i can drop in around after work tomorrow if ok.
Tony


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## Effect (29/3/11)

Just chucked 4 in the fridge. 9, 11, 12 and 13. Dan's, Tony's, MOM's and Kieren's....I'm in for a treat! Think I'll only drink Dan's and MOM's tonight though.

You would think that 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary (with rousing in primary after a week) would get you to terminal gravity. There must have been a little bit left to go so my swap beer number 8 will froth up big in your glass if you don't pour it carefully. I'm going to stop kegging all my beer until I can bottle a beer like I use to and get it right. Have bought some soaking tubs for all my bottles, as well as a squirty thing that shoots water into the bottles (I use PBW with it)...I'll get all the bottles clean and then start bottling again. I'm off to collect some of those free crates they have on offer at the back of a local supermarket.

Cheers
Phil


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## raven19 (29/3/11)

TonyC said:


> i have one more if your game, i can drop in around after work tomorrow if ok.
> Tony



Sure fella!, but only if its not out of your way mate, happy to let you sample what's on tap at my place too! (only 1 keg atm, I need to brew more!)


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## Hatchy (29/3/11)

Phillip said:


> Just chucked 4 in the fridge. 9, 11, 12 and 13. Dan's, Tony's, MOM's and Kieren's....I'm in for a treat! Think I'll only drink Dan's and MOM's tonight though.
> 
> You would think that 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary (with rousing in primary after a week) would get you to terminal gravity. There must have been a little bit left to go so my swap beer number 8 will froth up big in your glass if you don't pour it carefully. I'm going to stop kegging all my beer until I can bottle a beer like I use to and get it right. Have bought some soaking tubs for all my bottles, as well as a squirty thing that shoots water into the bottles (I use PBW with it)...I'll get all the bottles clean and then start bottling again. I'm off to collect some of those free crates they have on offer at the back of a local supermarket.
> 
> ...



You didn't see the best after date on Kieren's bottle?

I'm in the same boat with beers finishing mate. I'll be racking & getting a reading on the porter I have in the fermenter at the moment. I used to be fine with bottling, must've got slack at some point.


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## Effect (29/3/11)

I just read 'ready to drink' in the article, not 'ready to drink 9/4/11'...

woops, good thing I didn't crack it already...does it need to carb up still or can it sit in my fridge?


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## TonyC (29/3/11)

Sure fella!, but only if its not out of your way mate, happy to let you sample what's on tap at my place too! (only 1 keg atm, I need to brew more!)



No problem, i come past your place daily, will drop one in about 3.30

Tony


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## jbirbeck (29/3/11)

just drinking Bostons...delicious. Hoppy, balanced by the malt, good firm bitterness without being astringent and clean.


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## Mayor of Mildura (29/3/11)

I tried Dr Smurtos last night. Wow what a beer!!

If I was to be a nit picker i'd say the bitterness mutes some of the lovely flavour that is there in the back ground... But at the same time I really really enjoyed the bitterness. Sounds ridiculous know (can i have my cake and eat it too please). 

Very awesome beer mate thank you.


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## Mayor of Mildura (29/3/11)

Maltyhops great job on the article. Makes choosing what to drink easy. cheers.

sorry forgot the t.


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## Mayor of Mildura (29/3/11)

OK tonight I got into Amins Beer. Not quite what i was expecting. More like an American amber rather than a pale. A very nice sessionable beer none the less. 

Nice looking beer lovely and bright in the glass. Initially a bit yeasty in aroma. Very clean. I picked up a definite malty caramel flavour that was most excellent. 

Cheers


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## Mayor of Mildura (29/3/11)

Onto Phil's beer now. 

A bit lively as mentioned before. Beautiful copper colour. Umm what ABV is this? I feel a bit of a glow coming on and can taste some alcohol. Very nice bitterness. I'm picking up some yeasty esters I think in the aroma and flavour? or is that 
the hops. I don't really know. 

I like this a lot cheers mate.


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## peas_and_corn (29/3/11)

*Maltyhops' Belgian Blonde*​
It's a little dark for a Belgian blonde, but oh well. It tastes like there are some spices in there, I'm getting something that might be ginger. Hops are at a nice level, though for me it's a little too sugary sweet- I prefer a more dry, biscuity-like sweetness. That said, the sweetness does work in this beer as it helps create a three corner flavour of spiciness, moderate bitterness and sweetness to make sure the other two don't overpower and make it taste blegh. Enjoyable, though I personally wouldn't call it a Belgian blonde 

EDIT: man, that pic is poor. sorry.


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## MaltyHops (29/3/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> *Maltyhops' Belgian Blonde*
> ... Enjoyable, though I personally wouldn't call it a Belgian blonde


Ha ha, how about Belgian Bleach Blonde With Roots Showing? One day I may
worry about the colour in beers and the recipe was for a Blonde I found on AHB
I think.

I was worried about the sweetness when I was bottling it (even before adding
priming sugar) and people would find it a bit cloying but it's actually less sweet
now. Maybe it's a sign fermentation was not quite finished though I don't think
it was that far off and I went for a CO2 volume of 2.5 so hopefully it should be
safe - I'll keep an eye on the pressure check bottle from that batch.

Thanks for the feed back, D.

T.


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## technoicon (29/3/11)

ive had a few now, 

the stubbies were good liked both cpa was a bit sweet for a cpa but i liked it.

mom loved ur stout was a nice beer, been a while since i had one n that hit the spot last night

maltyhops, your beer was great i enjoyed it. not much to say but was this a kit? if so its a great kit, if not i get a kit taste.

tony, had the same problem with carb, let mine sit with half open lid for a day. poured ok but tasted really bitter. honestly didnt finish it. just didnt taste right to me but have not had a esb like that be for

phil, ur beer is awesome, over carb problem gives a funny taste but this is a good beer. mrs fury had a taste n said it tasted like beer flavoured soft drink.


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## TonyC (29/3/11)

Mom, Awsome,
This for me is part of the learning curve, I really appreciate HONEST feedback, as this can only help me improve .I bottled a stout tonght, and can see falws in my process?

Regards Tony


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## peas_and_corn (29/3/11)

*It had 20 on the cap- Simma?*​
It seems I opened it a couple of days early. Oh well. Poured with some large bubbles that seemed almost soft drink size, I'm not sure of your carbonation methods but head and carbonation seem to suffer a little. However, that is a small issue with what is overall a nice beer. This one is nice and refreshing with some grassy notes which I *love* (my other half complains about every so many of my beers tasting like lawn clippings), a present but somewhat refreshing hop flavour, and forward but not overbearing hop bitterness. I'm getting Mars bar-like caramel in the flavour which works well to counteract the IBUs and deliver balance. An overall very nice to drink beer. If I am to nitpick just a little, I would prefer it if I got a bit of hop on the nose... but not a big issue. Cheers!

Edit: hmm, I'll rethink my lighting for next time. It's more brown in real life.


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## AussieJosh (29/3/11)

We had a few that were left in the back fridge tonight some with no numbers or lables. One of them was number 19 JestersDarts - Autumn Amber Ale. I found it very easy to drink. It did not seem to have a big hoppy taste or smell, but was nice and malty and smooth. (im not good at describing) In short....I enjoyed it very much! Cheers! 

:icon_cheers:


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## technoicon (29/3/11)

TonyC said:


> Mom, Awsome,
> This for me is part of the learning curve, I really appreciate HONEST feedback, as this can only help me improve .I bottled a stout tonght, and can see falws in my process?
> 
> Regards Tony



tony, think it was probably just a style of esb i wasnt used to.. i did get some good flavours when i drank it slowerly.. still got some of this left. might try having another crack later.


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## Effect (29/3/11)

Mom's stout.

YES! Hit the spot. Just a tad under carbed, but not by much. Nice balance of choc/coffee/roasty and easy to drink. Loved it.

Dan's brown porter.

You used my favourite yeast so I am a bit biased. I really like label with all the info. Very complex coffee/toast flavour going on. Nice one.

Tony's ESB.

Esters on the nose with a big malt hit in the taste. Glad it wasn't overcarbed like mine. Very enjoyable beer to drink. Loved it...makes me want to say that it was a gusher with the off chance you would give me another


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## Kieren (30/3/11)

Phillip said:


> I just read 'ready to drink' in the article, not 'ready to drink 9/4/11'...
> 
> woops, good thing I didn't crack it already...does it need to carb up still or can it sit in my fridge?



Yeah, it could do with another week or so at room temp to carb up.


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## Housecat (30/3/11)

AussieJosh said:


> We had a few that were left in the back fridge tonight some with no numbers or lables.




If there were coopers stubbies with blue lids then they were my ones I left behind. (K&K Coopers PA with Galaxy hops for flavouring)
I don't know how long they they would hold up for as I just filled up the bottles out of my keg and capped them. I usually drink them on the same night so I don't notice any degrading of the flavors.

HC

edit: spelkiong + extra info


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## raven19 (30/3/11)

*Quantum Brewers Not so Irish Red*

Nice sublte hop flavour with minimal aroma. Reasonably Brown in colour, good bitterness just outweighing the medium bodied malt. Bitterness lingers for a short period. Carbonation is low, minimal lacing on the glass - limited by the cpbf I presume?

Clean ferment, and a nice version of a 'not so' red imo.

The missus is a fan of this one!

Edit - re colour: it does have some reddish hues.


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## Mayor of Mildura (30/3/11)

Nevalicious - South Pacific IPA

mmm hop juice :icon_drool2: ... nice aroma when cracking the lid. perfect carb (what's the secret?) Lingering bitterness that sort of coats your mouth. dry taste with a heap of hoppy stonefruit type flavours going on. 

This is a cracker. Cheers mate!!


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## Nevalicious (30/3/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> Nevalicious - South Pacific IPA
> 
> perfect carb (what's the secret?)



Wait for ferment to fully finish.. I reckon it had nearly 2 and a half weeks in primary before CC'ing for a week. 

Glad you like it!



mayor of mildura said:


> coats your mouth



That was my favourite bit hey...


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## Effect (30/3/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> Nevalicious - South Pacific IPA
> 
> mmm hop juice :icon_drool2: ... nice aroma when cracking the lid. perfect carb (what's the secret?) Lingering bitterness that sort of coats your mouth. dry taste with a heap of hoppy stonefruit type flavours going on.
> 
> This is a cracker. Cheers mate!!




Drinking this one tonight as well...you dry hopped this yeah?

Lovely c hop aroma. Very well made beer my friend, very well.

Cheers
Phil


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## Nevalicious (31/3/11)

Phillip said:


> you dry hopped this yeah?



Indeed. A gram/L of both Nelson Sauvin and Pacific Gem. 2g/L total dry hop... As opposed to ferment hop  

240g odd total hops/25L batch :super: 

Nev


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## zephon (31/3/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> It seems I opened it a couple of days early. Oh well. Poured with some large bubbles that seemed almost soft drink size, I'm not sure of your carbonation methods but head and carbonation seem to suffer a little.



This is the first bottle conditioned beer I've brewed in well over a year, for this particular batch I used a single "Country Brewer Brand" carbonation drop per long neck. My aim was to keep the carbonation on the low side.



peas_and_corn said:


> Cheers!



Am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback. :beer:


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## Mayor of Mildura (31/3/11)

17. Awesome Fury

I thought it would be appropriate to crack this one tonight to celebrate Mr and Mrs Fury's brand new addition. Congratulations guys!!!

Good looking beer pale copper colour clear. Nice carb. Loads of Nelson aroma and flavour. Balanced bitterness. Very sessionable tasty beer. I think you've finally nailed this one. Cheers mate.


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## MaltyHops (31/3/11)

Awesome Fury said:


> ...
> maltyhops, your beer was great i enjoyed it. not much to say but was this a kit?
> if so its a great kit, if not i get a kit taste.
> ...


Firstly, sounds like congratulations are in order for Mr & Mrs Fury
getting a little Furious :beerbang: 

My swap beer is in fact my very first all-grain attempt, overseen by
Hatchy who was good enough to let me use his brewery on what
was a bit of a hazy night/morning (started around 8 and I left with
cubes not long before dawn). 

T.


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## technoicon (1/4/11)

Maltyhops, you must have used us05 then maybe, i got some kit thing outta it, but might have just been the alc content?


Yes my assistant brewer was born on the 31st, cute little girl!  
I was actually just finishing my mashout when i got the call to go home and stop brewing.. was a hard choice. :lol: jk

I left the brew mashing at 50degrees for 24 hours... do you think it'll still be ok??? kinda wanna complete it as it was being brewed as the baby was born... hehehehe..

anyway, had a few other beers last night, dont really have time for tasting notes, but loved the IPAs.

Cheers Guys.


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## raven19 (1/4/11)

Awesome Fury said:


> I left the brew mashing at 50degrees for 24 hours... do you think it'll still be ok??? kinda wanna complete it as it was being brewed as the baby was born... hehehehe..



Congrats mate. Super news.

Your brew should be fine, might now be a tad sour, but it should still be drinkable.


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## Mayor of Mildura (1/4/11)

21. Raven19 - Robust Porter2

Very dark but not quite black, deep brown when held up to light, dark tan head. Not much in the way of aroma. Big Malty Roasty acrid flavour with a hit of vanilla. warming alcohol. 

I enjoyed this a lot cheers mate.


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## peas_and_corn (1/4/11)

*Stubby with 'CPA' on the cap*​
Nice, this beer goes down quite well, this is the sort of beer that I would like to drink first thing when I get home- it's got some malt body and some hops backing it up. I would probably go for a bit more malt body, but as it is, it's very enjoyable.


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## MaltyHops (1/4/11)

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the posted comments so far - please keep them coming
(inquiring minds want to know ).

BTW, I hope noone minds but I've been adding adding posted comments
(and brewlog links to previously posted recipes) to the swap article which,
as a reminder, is at:
_AHB Article - 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-Adelaide Autumn Case Swap_

T.


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## Effect (1/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> BTW, I hope noone minds but I've been adding adding posted comments
> (and brewlog links to previously posted recipes) to the swap article which,
> as a reminder, is at:
> _AHB Article - 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-Adelaide Autumn Case Swap_
> ...



I noticed them and think that is great idea. Top work Tom.

Cheers
Phil


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## raven19 (2/4/11)

*19. JestersDarts - Autumn Amber Ale*

Cracked this one last night, nice easy drinker too. Subtle chocolate aroma, medium to low carbonation, light brown with some reddish hues, off white creamy head that lasts too. Malt presents nicely imo, some minimal lingering bitterness at the end of the pallette, nice clean and easy to drink this one.


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## Hatchy (2/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Thanks for the posted comments so far - please keep them coming
> (inquiring minds want to know ).
> ...



Nice work mate, you truly are the master of the article update.

I've had several of these now & have taken either no notes or poor notes. I've had Smurto, Boston, Tony, QB & Goofinder's beers & all have been top beers. I had Boston's when some non beer geek mates were here & wished after that I hadn't shared it with them. In the last week I've also had A3K & MOM's beers from the last swap & they were bloody delicious as well.

I mashed in earlier on what I hope to be my swap beer next time round. I figured I should brew early for it so if it's rubbish I've got plenty of time to rebrew.


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## Nevalicious (2/4/11)

Tom, just had a look at the article mate... That it top notch stuff. Very impressed the way it all links around the place, bit like Wikipedia :icon_cheers: 

I'm still yet to try any, but will try and have one a night this week... No more than that coz I'm on standby again... <_<


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## Kieren (2/4/11)

First tasting of the swap beers for me...

*Phil's 10min Centennial IPA*

A bubbly but controllable pour. Carries a head with medium size bubbles - not much lacing. Mine poured a little hazy. In the aroma I get more yeasty esters than hops (though my nose is a little blocked at the moment) which carries through on the flavour. Finish is smooth for the high carbonation, ever so slightly sweet with bitterness in the background. Enjoyable beer but reckon it needs more hops 

What yeast did you use Phil? 1187 or denny's fav?




Liking the article MaltyHops.

I have tried mine and is tasting nice and carbed. For those who can't wait then mine can be cracked.


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## MaltyHops (2/4/11)

Kieren said:


> ...
> Liking the article MaltyHops
> ....


Thanks guys - having a consolidated tasting notes list is handy for
when holding a beer tasting party - a big reason why I'm doing it.

BTW - I'm thinking brewers can comment on their own beers too?
(hint! hint!  - just pretend someone else brewed it)

T.


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## Mayor of Mildura (2/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> Thanks guys - having a consolidated tasting notes list is handy for
> when holding a beer tasting party - a big reason why I'm doing it.
> 
> BTW - I'm thinking brewers can comment on their own beers too?
> ...


do you mean something like 

11. Mayor Of Mildura - Stout

possibly the raddest beer ever. this is like a whole mouthful awesome. well done me.


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## MaltyHops (2/4/11)

I think someone is taking the mickey out on me :angry: 

C'mon, you know what I mean ... He knows what you mean
... Who knows what who mean?


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## Mayor of Mildura (2/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> I think someone is taking the mickey out on me :angry:
> 
> C'mon, you know what I mean ... He knows what you mean
> ... Who knows what who mean?


i know what you mean. i was just being a banana. B) 

my taps were starting to seize up after drinking all this bottled beer so i have been busy this afternoon mending them.

I'll chuck a bottle of my beer in the fridge and put up my serious thoughts in the next few days. 

cheers malty!!!


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## Mayor of Mildura (2/4/11)

22. Rooting Kings - Brown ale 

Pours a brilliant clear copper colour. Nice lacing. Tastes like juicy fruit chewing gum with pineapple and a bit of toast at the end. Has a sweet, slight yeasty aroma. 

very interesting beer. Cheers.


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## AussieJosh (3/4/11)

Last night i had #5 Gunnas- Dr Smurtos Golden ale.....Loved it! I have my first DrSmurtos fermenting now! Hope it also turns out well!

Also had #25 Bostons IPA. AMAZING! Is the recipe around here some place?

Today i had......

10. DrSmurto - Bo Pils. Very nice! I would also love the recipefor this one!

1. QuantumBrewer - Not-so-Irish Not-so-Red. Very nice! And one of Nats Favs so far!  

Thank you all!


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## MaltyHops (3/4/11)

AussieJosh said:


> ...
> Also had #25 Bostons IPA. AMAZING! Is the recipe around here some place?
> ...


Hey Josh,

Boston's recipe is one of a few linked in the *Tasting Comments* section
on the _AHB Article - 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-Adelaide Autumn Case Swap_
- look for the '....... _[brewlog]_' links - I'll add links if anyone else post their
swap beer recipes (hint! hint!  ).

PS. @Boston - what was the hop schedule for your 10min IPA - does the 10min
indicate all the hops were added at10min prior to flame out?

T.


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## AussieJosh (3/4/11)

Thanks for that MaltyHops!

Mine was kinda just a experiment.....

AussieJosh....(Michalskis's) Dark Ale.....

3.50KG Tf Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt
0.50KG Weyermann Munich l 
0.23KG Crystal 105L
0.23KG TF Pale Chocolate Malt

Hops.....

30.00g Goldings - E.K. 60min
20.00g Goldings - E.K. 20min
20.00g Cascade - 20min


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## peas_and_corn (3/4/11)

*Kieren IPA*​
Nice colour, looks nice  Getting some nice hop aroma, which is of course important for an IPA. This is really flavourful, I'm really enjoying it. The bitterness is present but not overwhelming- it sits back and lets the hop flavour really take over, and the hop flavour is really nice. I'm getting all sorts of citrus flavours which is something I love in an IPA. Really enjoying this one.


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## raven19 (3/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> PS. @Boston - what was the hop schedule for your 10min IPA - does the 10min
> indicate all the hops were added at10min prior to flame out?



Yeah if it is a 10min IPA then all hops are added 10mins from flameout.


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## Kieren (3/4/11)

*Dr Smurto's Bo Pils*
Nice clarity, dark straw colour. Slight sweet malt on the nose. Good balance leaning toward the malt. Do I get some english yeast esters coming through? I don't know? Great beer though.


*
Amin's APA*

Pours a nice clear rust copper, very slight haze. Good carbonation and head formation. I get some of the yeast notes on the nose that MOM was getting along with some maltiness (damn my blocked sinuses). i don't much any hops until I sip - then lots of hoppy goodness, great pineapple up front and orange? flavours. Good body, finishes with a lingering maltiness and firm dry bitterness. Very nice beer, Amin :icon_cheers:


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## Frank (4/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> PS. @Boston - what was the hop schedule for your 10min IPA - does the 10min
> indicate all the hops were added at10min prior to flame out?


Correct. All hops added at 10 min.


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## jbirbeck (4/4/11)

Gunna's CPA 
tasty beer, good malt, good bitterness, loverly hint of banana, good balance, really easy to drink, nice clean ferment, a really good CPA

QB's Irish
lovely colour, full on malt but its sweet rather than dry malt to the point of being cloying. I think a touch too much caramel and not dry enough finish for style but still a really good example of the style.

Smurto's pils
gee this looked nice. My first sniff I got diacetyl though. pretty slight. nice subtle soft malt. some nice grassy spicy hop but for me it was somewhat overtaken by green apple. the same in the flavour, some nice subtle malt, nice grassy spicy hop but overtaken by green apple again.


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## Effect (4/4/11)

Rooting Kings said:


> Smurto's pils
> gee this looked nice. My first sniff I got diacetyl though. pretty slight. nice subtle soft malt. some nice grassy spicy hop but for me it was somewhat overtaken by green apple. the same in the flavour, some nice subtle malt, nice grassy spicy hop but overtaken by green apple again.




Are you describing the diacetyl as green apple?


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## jbirbeck (4/4/11)

Phillip said:


> Are you describing the diacetyl as green apple?



Definitely not. diacetyl was the first aroma which quickly dissipated...it was follow by Acetaldehyde, and I got grassy and green apple. In fact it was very similar to my Bo Pils that went into the swap at Christmas.


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## peas_and_corn (4/4/11)

*Raven19's Robust Porter*​
Pours really black, with an almost off-white head. Not getting a huge amount of aroma, but that's got something to do with it being a bit cold from the fridge. Some coffeeish notes, but not too roasty. There's a flavour that comes at the end that tastes a little odd, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Enjoyable nonetheless.


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## AussieJosh (4/4/11)

Peas amd corn...
Im really enjoying reading your reviews on the beers, and loving the pics you posting with them. Nice work!


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## Kieren (5/4/11)

*Hatchy - New world pale ale*

Lively pour, prickly carbonation. Good clarity with only small amount of haze. More yeasty-ness on the nose than hops. Sweetness in the flavour and lacking a little in the hops for my liking in a NWPA. Pleasant bitterness to finish but flavour doesn't quite carry through. A good beer all round - my criticisms are only small quibbles. Needs more hops


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## Hatchy (5/4/11)

More hops you say? I can do that.

I had Nev's beer tonight & had to tell him I liked it because he was here at the time. Now that he's left I can point out the obvious flaw in his beer. The bloody bottle is empty.

I may have brewed for the next swap last Saturday. 350g of columbus hopbursted but I've got a suspicion that I overdid that one, I was well below my target OG due to some mill issues. It looks like I may have to start running my grain through twice or upgrade the mill.


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## raven19 (5/4/11)

*Boston's 10min IPA*

Low on the carbonation, but great flavour and hoppy aroma! Good firm medium head and smooth lingering bitterness.

Very nice. Must add to brew list.


----------



## Nevalicious (5/4/11)

Hatchy said:


> I had Nev's beer tonight & had to tell him I liked it because he was here at the time. Now that he's left I can point out the obvious flaw in his beer. The bloody bottle is empty.



:lol:


----------



## Kieren (6/4/11)

*TonyC - V Twin ESB*

Silly me let this warm up a little out of the fridge (thinking an ESB should be drunk alittle warmer) and it did gush a little. Lovely copper colour, some haze. Slightly sweet malt on the nose. Some yeast(?) twang in the flavour. Good full body - probably from the higher carbonation. Overall a good beer, pity about the carbonation.


----------



## AussieJosh (6/4/11)

I also had TonyC Beer tonight.
I may have been a lucky one? No gushing for me. Infact very little head. went in to the glass at about 3c. Maybe the trick is to pour it in cold then let it warm a little? Anyway a very nice beer! cheers! 




Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## raven19 (6/4/11)

*Aussie Josh's Dark Ale*

Nice roasty/slighty smoked aroma initially, low to medium carbonation. Well balanced brew this one, nice sweetness at the end of pallette, with a light to medium mouthfeel.

Clean ferment, no off flavours detectable at all, a nice drop this one.


----------



## AussieJosh (6/4/11)

Thank you very much Raven!  Being a very inexperienced AG brewer, and this being a AG recipe i made up. I could not of payed you for a better review! Thank you! That being said, some people have said it was a little "thin" I appreciate eveyones opinion so i can become a better brewer.


----------



## jonocarroll (6/4/11)

I'll finally get around to posting my limited thoughts on these:

*20. simma's Hoppy Red Ale (American Amber)*

I was expecting a bit of foam upon pouring this one, well I was told to expect it... oh, wait, the froth eventually manned up and arrived though, so it's forgiven <_< 

I got the malty sweetness the name might suggest. Good balance of hops. I liked this. I don't recall any distinct flaws.


*4. Hatchy's New World Pale Ale*

I didn't get a gusher, but it got poured before it had a chance to climb out the bottle. Nose was very yeasty, and the palate backed that up. Carbonation was quite high which probably overwhelmed any delicateness. I'd be keen to try this at a lower carbonation, and as suggested elsewhere, with more hops.  


Well done MaltyHops on the article work!


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## zephon (7/4/11)

QuantumBrewer said:


> *20. simma's Hoppy Red Ale (American Amber)*
> 
> I was expecting a bit of foam upon pouring this one, well I was told to expect it... oh, wait, the froth eventually manned up and arrived though, so it's forgiven <_<
> 
> I got the malty sweetness the name might suggest. Good balance of hops. I liked this. I don't recall any distinct flaws.



Thanks QB!

Not sure why foam was expected? Was going for lowish carbonation :icon_cheers:.

Glad you enjoyed it, it's a different beer bottle conditioned and dry hopped in the fermenter rather than the keg. Not better or worse, just different.


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## zephon (7/4/11)

Only tried one beer so far...

*19. JesterDarts Autumn Amber Ale*

Poured a cloudy deep brown with a persistent light tan head. Low/Medium carbonation. Aroma is malt dominated and this is backed up in the flavour which is weighted towards the malt. Finishes with a smooth, subtle bitterness.

Overall a pretty easy drinking beer, my partner and I finished the bottle off in no time.


----------



## peas_and_corn (7/4/11)

*Mayor of Mildura's Stout*​
Came in a bottle labeled 'beer'. Always helpful, I see  Poured with low carbonation, and not a huge head. I like it like this, I tend to make my stouts on the low end of the carbonation scale. Getting lots of roast malts on the nose, that aroma you can only get from roast barley and choc malt. Tastes really smooth, which came as a nice surprise. Stouts with loads of roast aroma tend to be really rough, but this one not so- perhaps the low carbonation contributes towards this? Roast aftertaste lingers on the palate nicely. A well done stout!


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## ben_sa (7/4/11)

Jeebus! After reading the reviews, I better get my ass into gear and get something planned for the Autumn swap..

Just hoping they will be upto standard...

Better get cracking and make a few test brews ;-)


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## Nevalicious (7/4/11)

ben_sa said:


> Jeebus! After reading the reviews, I better get my ass into gear and get something planned for the Autumn swap..
> 
> Just hoping they will be upto standard...
> 
> Better get cracking and make a few test brews ;-)



Have to get you round for a brew day mate!

May be brewing an Alt on Saturday if you're keen...

Nev


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## ben_sa (7/4/11)

Nevalicious said:


> Have to get you round for a brew day mate!
> 
> May be brewing an Alt on Saturday if you're keen...
> 
> Nev



Sh*t! Im a groomsman in a wedding this saturday :-\

Definately keen to head around though for a brew day Tyler, Slowly piecing together (read: saving) this BIAB setup ;-D


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## Nevalicious (7/4/11)

ben_sa said:


> Sh*t! Im a groomsman in a wedding this saturday :-\
> 
> Definately keen to head around though for a brew day Tyler, Slowly piecing together (read: saving) this BIAB setup ;-D



All good. Will be plenty of time... :beerbang:


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## raven19 (7/4/11)

*MaltyHops - Belgian Blonde*

As per a previous post not exactly blonde. However it has some nice belgian yeast character, definate subtle spiciness and mild phenols. Low in carbonation, I would be excited to see how this brew would fair with increased carbonation to encourage a bigger head when poured. It does not feel like a 6%+ brew, but bloody easy to drink.

I would not say no to another one of these, maybe next version lighten it up in colour and push the temp up a little to bring out a little more belgian yeast complexities.

But now my glass is empty and I am still thirsty! :icon_cheers:


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## Kieren (7/4/11)

*AussieJosh's Dark Ale*

Pours dark with some nice red hues. Quite clear, too. Small and long lasting head. Dark malt in the aroma, a little choc? Same in the flavour - slight sweetness upfront that fades to a dry (very slight astringent?) finish. Couldn't pick up any cascade hops - a more malt forward beer. Well brewed :icon_cheers: 

Would like to try one with more cascade 

edit formatting


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## jbirbeck (8/4/11)

Gunna JWBA

banana and bubblegum on the nose, quite pleasant. Follows through to the flavour, fair amount of esters, no noticeable hop (although it was displaying some Dan Murphy's syndrome) some good malt. Nice smooth bitterness, well balanced. A well made and nice beer but I suspect slightly passed its prime. I suspect this would be a cracker fresh.


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## MaltyHops (8/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *MaltyHops - Belgian Blonde*
> 
> As per a previous post not exactly blonde. However it has some nice belgian yeast character, definate subtle spiciness and mild phenols. Low in carbonation, I would be excited to see how this brew would fair with increased carbonation to encourage a bigger head when poured. It does not feel like a 6%+ brew, but bloody easy to drink.
> 
> ...


Ta - I quite like it as well. I think I know why it's a bit dark - the kilo of dark brown sugar
I tossed in to add a bit of "molasses" candi flavour might have had something to do with it. 

T.


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## drsmurto (8/4/11)

Discovered 2 crates of beer on my back verandah when i got home from work tonight (cheers Boston!).

Will chill them down and get stuck into them asap.

Re - diacetyl/acetaldehyde in my bo pils - I'd trust other peoples diacetyl detectors well before mine, i can't taste it till it's there in spades and am not picking anything. Acetaldehyde i can spot but am not picking it but that's not to say it isn't there. IIRC QB is the acetaldehyde calibration standard.

Hopefully when vintage finishes and i reclaim my fermenters and fridges back from the chardonnay (whole bunch pressed for extra wank factor) in them i will rebrew this. This was step 2 of a bo pils mash pH experiment, the final batch will use unaltered rainwater with the pH adjusted using acid.

Recipe for those interested

100% JW pils to OG 1.048. 
Perle at 60 for total IBU of 39
Czech Saaz at 20 and 0 mins - 1g/L
CaCl2 and CaSO4 added to rainwater - Ca 73, Cl 69, SO4 80
Decoction 52 - 64C with a thin decoction mashout - 78C.
WLP833 German Bock yeast fermented at 9C for 3 weeks, 3 day diacetlyl rest (16C), chilled at 2C per day till 1C then racked and lagered at 1C for 4 weeks. Polyclar added after 2 weeks.
Carbonation is via old school white sugar using the large scoop on the double scoop carb thingamy :beerbang:


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## Nevalicious (8/4/11)

*Gunna's Aussie Pale Ale*

Very bloody nice. Similar to the Aussie Ale I make, but mine throws more banana...

What was the ferment temp on this mate...?

Loving this beer (it is forever going to be my house beer(especially since I just ordered 1kg of POR cones from Ellerslie :huh: ))

I chose it as my first to drink out of the bunch cause I'm still technically on standby... Next up is your JWBA

Winner!


----------



## jayse (9/4/11)

Drinking some of Hatchy's swap case.
So Far...

Awesome fury - Pale Ale with plenty of loveliness, fruity and citrus hops and full malt, very clean and wonderfull

Peas and Corn - Not so red, great beer, well brewed, clean to almost rich malty toffee and dark malts, wicked.

More to come, sorry notes might be light on, drinking is of the more concern right now.

Cheers
jayse (and hatchy)


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## peas_and_corn (9/4/11)

jayse said:


> Peas and Corn - Not so red, great beer, well brewed, clean to almost rich malty toffee and dark malts, wicked.



I would hope it's not red, it's a brown ale!


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## jayse (9/4/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> I would hope it's not red, it's a brown ale!



Lovely brown ale!
Drinking now Kirens IPA - American Hops simcoe and columbus and full malt, lovely beer, wicked finish of both malt and hops, the citrus character of the hops seem lending to grapefruit but even orange. Some reasonable sweetness and good depth of malt character. Very much like my latest one.

Curry Night at Hatchy's


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## zephon (10/4/11)

Brewed a 10 min IPA today and thought I'd try one of the case swap examples:

*25. Boston - 10min IPA 

*Pours a cloudy copper colour with a small white head which persists to the end of the glass leaving a lovely lace. Aroma is a balance of hops and malt, no noticeable esters or yeast character. Upon tasting the first thing that hits you is "fruit salad" which quickly balances to a suburb combination of malt, hops and lingering bitterness. Low carbonation which suits this beer perfectly.

This is a great beer, my only complaint is that I only have (had) one bottle of it (the missus is away and she's missed out, she will be disappointed!).

Cheers and thanks for swapping. :icon_cheers:


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## raven19 (10/4/11)

*The Mayor's Stout*

Tasty stout this one, easy drinker with good off white head. Limited notes on me as I drank this one last night at my cousin's 40th.

Great roasty flavours, thick and dark! Yum!


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## raven19 (10/4/11)

*Hatchy's Pale*

No gushers on this one for me, fairly lively in the glass when poured though. This a really nice easy drinking beer imo, lightly hopped with good balance. Certainly some haze from the yeast, and minimal lasting head, that laces the whole glass.

A cracker overall, happy with this brew Hatchy. :icon_cheers:


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## jbirbeck (11/4/11)

malty Hops - 'forgot to do the roots' belgian blonde
lovely spicey citrus fruit belg type aroma, sweet malt. very inviting. hint on banana and tobacco in the flavour, some coffee/choc, sweet finish, well balanced, no hot alc. very tasty and well made beer. only comment would be trying to get that flufffy white Belg head.

Phils 10 cent IPA
v noticeable caramel aroma with a hint of dusty esters.the flavour is a big bang of tasty citrus and fruit salad (pineapple) hop flavour. the carb is v high. there is a sweet caramel finish that lingers but is balanced by the lingering bitterness and hop flavour. I found the caramel a touch too much with the pineapple hop but still beautiful beer. I'd really like to get into this in the keg as I suspect the bottle conditioning may have depleted the aroma a touch.

Smurto - the diacetyl was at first whiff, it was the first thing I picked up before I starte getting the malt and hops. it was hard to pick as I went through.


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## raven19 (11/4/11)

*Awesome Fury's Pale*

Tasty clean brew this one, my only gripe is the choice in hops, it tastes a little thin and not sure it helps the hops in beer shine. What hops were used in this one fella? I could be way off of course, just my initial thoughts on the brew.  

Otherwise, good clean bitterness, minimal lingering head, clear and light golden in colour.


----------



## technoicon (11/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Awesome Fury's Pale*
> 
> Tasty clean brew this one, my only gripe is the choice in hops, it tastes a little thin and not sure it helps the hops in beer shine. What hops were used in this one fella? I could be way off of course, just my initial thoughts on the brew.
> 
> Otherwise, good clean bitterness, minimal lingering head, clear and light golden in colour.




umm dont have beer smith loaded atm. but it was a crap load of Cascade and Nelson. at least a 100g of each from memory.

I didnt really run it through a strainer so it's kinda full of hop floaties.. mistake i wont do again... basically came down to laziness....

I find Cascade has a funny taste when you use to much.. but i really like it and nelson together.

** no dry hop btw


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## raven19 (11/4/11)

Thanks for the info mate, I was wondering if it was indeed the dry hopping. Maybe a little more time in the bottle to let the hops mellow, or maybe it was the sheer amount of hoppy goodness within. The aroma initially when opened and poured was fantastic mate.


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## raven19 (11/4/11)

*Simma's American Amber*

Really nice beer this one. Good malt with a slight push to the bitterness.
Head dissipates quickly but not to the detriment of the beer at all.
I get a slight hit of caramel on the nose initially!
Cant fault this brew at all. Post up the recipe Simma (if you are happy to share)! :icon_cheers:


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## peas_and_corn (11/4/11)

*TonyC's ESB*​
This was one lively bottle of beer! It bubbled up for quite some time, and slowly bubbled up a bit for a while after I thought it had finished. During the early period, a lot of this foam was made up of very large bubbles, my guess this is a product of the overcarbing. Aroma gives some malt, but not too much. Taste has a bit of bite in it which could be due to the overcarbing, there's heaps of effervescence in the beer and this gives it a prickly mouthfeel. Overall it's a nice beer, if I had a 'pocket sparkler' I would use it to knock CO2 out of it to make it easier to go down. Sorry for going on about the carbonation level so much, it has affected the beer quite a bit. Ignoring that part, it's what I expect from an ESB- a nice, easy to drink beer.


----------



## Kieren (12/4/11)

*Goofinder - Brown Porter*

Poured nice and clear, brown with dark red hues, small head, low carb - perfect. I get caramel malt and esters in the aroma - complex. Still getting used to the esters pushed out by 1187, slowly growing on me. Body is nice and light making me want another sip straight away but still finishes with a nice malt/bitterness balance that lingers nicely. Favourite beer of the swap so far. Cheers.


----------



## drsmurto (13/4/11)

Kieren said:


> *Goofinder - Brown Porter*
> 
> Poured nice and clear, brown with dark red hues, small head, low carb - perfect. I get caramel malt and esters in the aroma - complex. Still getting used to the esters pushed out by 1187, slowly growing on me. Body is nice and light making me want another sip straight away but still finishes with a nice malt/bitterness balance that lingers nicely. Favourite beer of the swap so far. Cheers.



I've only had 1 of the swap beers so far.

Love a good brown porter. Had a half day at work so took Claire to a pub for lunch and then came home and got the first fire going for the year. The caseswap beers were still sitting on the back verandah where Boston had left them so i grabbed a beer that would go down well at the 10-12C or so it was mid afternoon!

As usual Dan you have not let me down. Cracker of a beer. All of what Kieren said plus that nice earthy fuggles flavour. I love brown malt and i think the wood like flavours it gives goes so well with fuggles. I normally use Dans favourite malt in my brown porters (amber) but will use brown in the next one which will be very soon. Ringwood is still one of my favourite yeasts and once i wittle down the vials/smackpacks in the fridge i will have to go back to my first love (pre-1469).

I've put a few swap beers in the fridge for the weekend. Last day for vintage work for me is tomorrow so a few swap beers on the weekend will be much appreciated.


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## raven19 (13/4/11)

*Phillip's 10min IPA*





Everytime I have a version of Phils 10min IPA, I continue to say, yes I must brew this.

No real change for this one, initial reaction was high in bitterness, but upon realising this was in IPA, I had no issues with it. Great colour, no gushing on mine, stayed in the bottle upon cracking the bottle and letting it sit for a few minutes. Slight slickness at the end of the pallette, but no off flavours - a really nice brew.

ps- how do you like our new bathroom progress in the background?


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## raven19 (13/4/11)

*Rooting King's Brown Ale*

This bottle had RK on the lid, I presume its the case swap brown of RK's.

Cracking beer this one, I enjoyed this following finishing the wall tiling on the bathroom at home.

I think this is the best beer I have had thus far in the swap.

Well rounded maltiness, lovely hop balance, massive lacing down the glass. This is gooooooood.

Drunk it so quick I forgot to take detailed notes!

Add this to your regular on tap list RK.


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## Hatchy (13/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Phillip's 10min IPA*
> 
> View attachment 45258
> 
> ...



Have you got a spirit level mate? Those tiles look crooked.


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## gunna (13/4/11)

Nevalicious said:


> *Gunna's Aussie Pale Ale*
> 
> Very bloody nice. Similar to the Aussie Ale I make, but mine throws more banana...
> 
> What was the ferment temp on this mate...?



Glad you enjoyed it - so did I :icon_cheers: 
Ferment temp was 19

Cheers


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## raven19 (13/4/11)

Hatchy said:


> Have you got a spirit level mate? Those tiles look crooked.



:lol: Must be the camera lense. Yup we used a level and a plethora of other tools.

Enjoying a second bottle of Aussie Josh's Dark ale atm. :beer:


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## gunna (13/4/11)

Picked up my "case" weekend before last from AJ. Many thanks to Josh for hosting the swap and for looking after my case.
So far sampled polished off 2 from the swap
11. really enjoyed the stout - would be happy to brew this one but with a bit more gas.... 
R.K Another enjoyable beer - I also got a lovely head and "massive lacing down the glass" - couldn't quite pick the hops though. Was it a mixture of Amarillo and ?

Cheers


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## peas_and_corn (13/4/11)

*Phil's 10 Minute IPA*​
I didn't have any issues with overflowing, though it was a little heady on initial pouring. I'm not complaining too much though, as it gives me more time to appreciate the aroma!Smells and tastes like hop juice, there's not a huge amount that hasn't been said about this beer already. Hoppy to the end.


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## Gopha (13/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Phillip's 10min IPA*
> 
> View attachment 45258
> 
> ...


Plumbing looks dodgy, I would report him. :icon_cheers:


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## MaltyHops (13/4/11)

G'day,

for those who have jumped on late and can't be arsed starting from the
beginning, I've been updating the original swap meet article with combined
comments - see:

_ARTICLE: 2011 Close-enough-to-get-to-Adelaide Autumn Case Swap_

Tom.


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## Kieren (13/4/11)

*Mayor of Mildura's Stout*

Great stout - a tiny bit low on the carb for me but I still like it. Nice roast character, finish is nice and dry. It's stouts like these that make me wonder why I don't brew more of them. Nice brew MoM.


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## AussieJosh (13/4/11)

MaltyHops I would just like to say a big thank you for doing that! I have been reading it from the start and find it very helpful. Thanks again!


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## jbirbeck (14/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Rooting King's Brown Ale*
> 
> This bottle had RK on the lid, I presume its the case swap brown of RK's.
> 
> ...



cheers mate...was it your first beer of the swap?  



gunna said:


> Picked up my "case" weekend before last from AJ. Many thanks to Josh for hosting the swap and for looking after my case.
> So far sampled polished off 2 from the swap
> 11. really enjoyed the stout - would be happy to brew this one but with a bit more gas....
> R.K Another enjoyable beer - I also got a lovely head and "massive lacing down the glass" - couldn't quite pick the hops though. Was it a mixture of Amarillo and ?
> ...



Glad you enjoyed. hops are homegrown Victoria (wet hopped) POR and Flinders...some of the fruitiness that comes though are esters from the yeast.

I have a few more brews in the fridge and new chest freezer (huge thing that is currently holding 6 kegs 3 fermenters and a cube...otherwise its 9 kegs a cube and small fermenter)...


----------



## Kieren (15/4/11)

Rooting Kings said:


> cheers mate...was it your first beer of the swap?
> ... new chest freezer (huge thing that is currently holding 6 kegs 3 fermenters and a cube...otherwise its 9 kegs a cube and small fermenter)...



What's the vol on the chest freezer and where can I can get one?


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## jbirbeck (15/4/11)

Kieren said:


> What's the vol on the chest freezer and where can I can get one?



its a 468l but not as deep as most so its wider. Ebay...welkart was the seller. 

*TonyC's ESB*

nice colour but a touch cloudy, def over carbed. nice earthy hop aroma and a few esters working well together. definitely one to let sit and decarb a bit and warm up as it balanced better over time. nice malt flavour and some good esters. I got a slightly dusty flavour in with the earthy hop. nice beer, I think the recipe is solid so a couple of tweaks to the mash (head didn't hold well and a bit more body needed but not sweetness) and the ferment (slightly cooler) will make it simply brilliant. One to make again for sure.


----------



## zephon (15/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Simma's American Amber*
> 
> Really nice beer this one. Good malt with a slight push to the bitterness.
> Head dissipates quickly but not to the detriment of the beer at all.
> ...



Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it! :icon_cheers:

I've put the recipe into the DB for those who are interested (here).


----------



## drsmurto (15/4/11)

Sitting down to a beer and it's my first golden ale at a case swap.


Gunna's DSGA (his acronym, not me being a smart-arse)

As you might guess i have tasted a few of these over the years (and as luck would have it another golden ale arrived in the post today for me to provide feedback!) and have tasted some nice but a bit meh versions, some that were gorgeous and everything in-between. 

This one is very nice. The key IMO to the golden ale is the balance. It's not an APA with the hops outdoing the malt nor is it malt driven. The intention behind it is to create a balance between the malt and the hops.

I think you have achieved this and i would happily drink a lot of this beer.

My only criticism is that i only got a stubbie and not a longneck......


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## zephon (15/4/11)

Catching up on posting some of my tasting notes as scribbled on the back on an old envelope...

*#16 Nevalicious - South Pacific IPA

*Poured an opaque dark brown with a white head that quickly dissipated (not ruling out my glassware here). Good carbonation level. Aroma was of hops first followed by a hint of malt, very inviting! Taste was full on fruity hops followed by a smooth bitterness that lingered nicely. 

Loved it, thanks!


----------



## zephon (15/4/11)

And...

*#10 DrSmurto - Bo Pils

*I had some good and bad luck with this beer, good luck was I ended up with 2 bottles of it but the bad luck was that one tipped over on some tiles and shattered :angry: . Luckily the second one made it safely to my fridge and then to my table for tasting and sharing with my partner, Kate. 

First thing was the challenge of pouring this beer, my bottle was extremely highly carbed and poured like a champagne except with an extremely persistent head "hand me a spoon!". This high carb may explain why my other bottle broke so easily. On the plus side there was no problem achieving the required "2 fingers of head".

Colour was a clear pale gold, head was white and laced the glass. Yeasty aroma which Kate described as "Belgian", I did not detect any diacetyl. Taste was clean, crisp and complex with a dominant bitterness that I enjoyed.

K - "It definitely tastes Bohemian."
S - "What does that mean?"
K - "You know, funky and artistic."
S - " :huh: "

This isn't a style I'm overly familiar with and I enjoyed tasting it, thanks for sharing!


----------



## zephon (16/4/11)

*#1 QuantumBrewer - Not-so-Irish Not-so-Red*

Poured an opaque dark "not so red" brown. My guess is if this were clear you'd get some lovely red hues when looking through the glass into a light.

Malty aroma with no noticeable yeast esters, small white head with low to medium carbonation. Clean flavour initially of the hops followed by malt which dominates the subtle bitterness. Gets better as it gets warmer as a good beer should. 

Did you end up using Rye in this beer? I thought I remember you saying you would and it was something I was searching for. As I haven't tasted a beer brewed with Rye previously and figured it would stand out but if it's there it's subtle or perhaps it's masked by the crystal?

An enjoyable beer. Cheers and thanks for sharing! :icon_cheers:


----------



## Kieren (16/4/11)

Had *Raven's Robust Porter* last night. Shared it with legham. Unfortunately I had bad hay fever at the time and my nose was full of mucus. So didn't pick up much on the aroma and flavour was a little subdued to me. From what I could get from it I liked it. Legham also liked it a lot too.


----------



## Kieren (17/4/11)

* MaltyHops - Belgian Blonde*

Nice amber colour, a little hazy. A vigorous pour gave me a nice fluffy head that faded but lasted the length of the glass. Spicy aroma with phenols in the background. The phenols take over on the flavour - a nice sweet mouthful. Maybe could finish just a tad drier? What was your OG and FG? I enjoyed this beer a lot. Not enough people brewing good belgians!


----------



## MaltyHops (17/4/11)

Thanks Kieren,

OG was 1066 and FG was around 1030 corrected to 1007 using the refractometer
correction chart I posted _HERE_ - raw FG reading seems high and corrected value
seems low so maybe it's somewhere in between. It tasted pretty sweet at end of
primary so I put it into a secondary cube for another week at around 25C temps
- got going again and still tasted sweet when that stopped. Maybe the 500ml starter
was too low or a high level of unfermentables got generated by the mash. Anyways,
can always have it with dessert  

Thank you for posting your case swap review comments - and to everyone else
too who have posted reviews - it will help me improve my tasting of beers.

T.


----------



## Kieren (17/4/11)

It's not an over powering sickly sweetness at all. Could be just the esters and phenols put out from the yeast that gives that impression of sweetness?


----------



## jbirbeck (18/4/11)

*Hatchy's*
nice colour and clarity, light malt aroma, light hop aroma,lovely hop flavour. firm bitterness that lingers. a nice dry finish. nice beer

*Jesterdarts Amber*
nice malt aroma, caramel and choc. nice body, sweet malt with the caramel and choc again, great malt depth with a good bitterness. some background hop notes. def malt focussed and def a nice beer

*AussieJosh Brown*
some nice dark malt aromas and flavours, well balance beers. I got some fairly high esters adding a touch of fruitiness in the coopers dark style. nice beer, easy to drink

*Brown Peas n corn *
some nice roast and choc aroma, spiocey esters and spicey alcohol. the alcohol aroma is adding a belgian characteristic for me on the nose. noticeable alc on the palate but also that choc and roast with some nice yeasty notes as well. 

*Simma APA*
some nice caramle malt aroma, lovely hops aroma, good mouthfeel towards the full side, nice caramel malt flavour with a firm bitterness. nice hop flavour but a slight stringency to it for me. not detrimental though. a really nice beer and the pick of the weekends beers for me but I'd definitely be recommending a little less crystal or a drier finish as I found the finish a tad cloying.


----------



## zephon (18/4/11)

Rooting Kings said:


> *Simma APA Amber Ale*
> some nice caramle malt aroma, lovely hops aroma, good mouthfeel towards the full side, nice caramel malt flavour with a firm bitterness. nice hop flavour but a slight stringency to it for me. not detrimental though. a really nice beer and the pick of the weekends beers for me but I'd definitely be recommending a little less crystal or a drier finish as I found the finish a tad cloying.



Thanks for the feedback RK, I'm glad you enjoyed it. This recipe is an ongoing project of mine, I'll take on board the advice regarding the finish.


----------



## Kieren (18/4/11)

*Rooting Kings - Brown ale*

Light brown/dark amber in colour, hazy but cleared up as the beer warmed up. Esters and caramel in the aroma and a background earthiness. The malt sweetness carries through a little followed by esters pushed out by the yeast - english I'm guessing, 1187 or 1469??? (no idea really). Nice beer to have after outting in my resignation. Thanks RK.


----------



## raven19 (18/4/11)

*Amin's APA*

Cracker of a beer this one imo. Clear, nice hoppy aroma. Good malt backbone but the bitterness shines through well. Medium to low carbonation, good head retention too.

A very tidy beer Amin. :icon_cheers:


----------



## Kieren (19/4/11)

*Boston - 10min IPA *

Low carb, slight haze, golden/orangy colour. Strong american hop aroma, piney, woody, citrus and malt sweetness in the background. Great flavour too, malt and sweet hops. Might be picking up a little oxidation but can't be sure. Finish hangs around for a while too  A fine beer.


----------



## raven19 (19/4/11)

*Nevalicous' South Pacific IPA*

Another cracking brew. Nice sticky maltiness works well with the initial grassiness, moving into slight mouth puckering bitterness. Light brown to golden in colour, medium lacing down the glass with a thin head. Excellent mouthfeel, medium carbonation with a cloudy haziness.

I would not change this at all next time you brew it mate.


----------



## Nevalicious (19/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *Nevalicous' South Pacific IPA*
> 
> Another cracking brew. Nice sticky maltiness works well with the initial grassiness, moving into slight mouth puckering bitterness. Light brown to golden in colour, medium lacing down the glass with a thin head. Excellent mouthfeel, medium carbonation with a cloudy haziness.
> 
> I would not change this at all next time you brew it mate.



Excellent news. Its funny, but all of the extra bottles I had left over from the batch have held a head the whole way down the glass... 

Anywho, apart from my house Coopers Ale which I'm freakin addicted to, this would have to be my best AG to date (out of the 10 I've squeezed out so far)

Just sayin'

Glad its being enjoyed. And yes, I have all of the hops etc ready to have a brew another keg of this soon! Wooot

Nev


----------



## raven19 (20/4/11)

*13. Kieran's IPA*

Golden in colour with medium carbonation, good head retention with plenty of lacing down the glass.

A tasty malt backbone, which is smothered in plenty of hoppy goodness. Late slickness and mild grassiness at the end of the palette.

I get a fruity, very lightly spiced hop aroma, a very nice IPA Kieran.


----------



## raven19 (20/4/11)

Nevalicious said:


> Excellent news. Its funny, but all of the extra bottles I had left over from the batch have held a head the whole way down the glass...



If I recall correctly, the first few pours had good head and retention, I probably commented on the last bit of the longneck!


----------



## gunna (21/4/11)

Rooting Kings said:


> Glad you enjoyed. hops are homegrown Victoria (wet hopped) POR and Flinders...some of the fruitiness that comes though are esters from the yeast.



Not too far off with my guess then... :wacko:
Cheers


----------



## gunna (21/4/11)

DrSmurto said:


> Sitting down to a beer and it's my first golden ale at a case swap.
> 
> Gunna's DSGA (his acronym, not me being a smart-arse)
> 
> ...i would happily drink a lot of this beer".



an I have....  
and thanks for the recipe !!




DrSmurto said:


> "My only criticism is that i only got a stubbie and not a longneck......



And that batch is almost gone.. :icon_cheers: 


Tried #8 last night, and #13 tonight.
I decanted #8 into a glass jug and poured a glass. Slightly over carbed but Bitter eh.. :blink: could get used to that taste - very nice. Thanks Phillip
Tonight decanted # 13 and not quite as bitter, nice and clear but slightly under carbed for me but again very nice drinking. Thanks Kieren.
Might have to try brewing this style
Cheers


----------



## raven19 (21/4/11)

*2. Peas and Corn's Brown Ale*

Low to no carbonation on my bottle. I get almost green apples initially with a mildly acrid finish. Clear but dark brown in colour. Light mouthfeel, lingering mild bitterness.

Not too sure what to make of this one P&C, I hope it was just my bottle?


----------



## peas_and_corn (22/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *2. Peas and Corn's Brown Ale*
> 
> Low to no carbonation on my bottle. I get almost green apples initially with a mildly acrid finish. Clear but dark brown in colour. Light mouthfeel, lingering mild bitterness.
> 
> Not too sure what to make of this one P&C, I hope it was just my bottle?



Possible. I filled from the keg so maybe there was some bottle shock going on.


----------



## raven19 (22/4/11)

Bugger, I should have drank it straight away and not waited a few weeks!


----------



## drsmurto (24/4/11)

Kieran's IPA

Had this a few nights ago and didn't get around to jumping online. Did i read somewhere this is 100+ IBU? Didn't seem that high. The malt easily handled the bitterness and the hop flavour and aroma was sublime. Thoroughly enjoyed this beer :icon_drool2: 

Currently drinking #23 Amin's APA

Another very tasty beer. It has a lot of malt for an APA which is how i like it. Colour definitely heading towards amber and that would explain the extra maltiness. Hop bitterness is well balanced and the flavour is quite forward. Aroma is lovely. This is how i like my APA/AAA to taste, not hop juice but a well balanced beer. Reminds me of a golden ale with caraaroma as the crystal. :beer:


----------



## raven19 (25/4/11)

*9. Goofinder - Brown Porter*

Echoing other positive comments on this brew. Lovely coffee and roastiness, minimal wafy head and low carbonation. The brown malt presents nicely in the simple grain bill too imo.

--- 

I think this is the last of my case swap beers too!  

Been some cracking beers again this swap.

Time for me to get some beers fermenting and some kegs filled...


----------



## jbirbeck (26/4/11)

*Nev - South Pacific IPA*
lovely colour, really nice hop aroma, good firm bitterness but well balanced. I did get a slight astringency from the hops but not detrimental, really nice beer...top beer actually

*MOM - Stout*
I got quite a fruity aroma, fantastic smooth mouthfeel, roast flavour, some sweet malt and fruity esters. really nice sweet stout. the fruitiness may have been a touch high but still really tasty

*Amin APA*
malty and nice hop flavour, really noticeable caramel malt flavour. carbonation was a tad high. really nice firm bitterness that lingers with the caramel and hop flavour. For me the caramel was too high, the beer would work a lot better with a more malty spec malt with less caramel IMHO. 

*Awesome Fury*
lovely aroma and colour, noticeable bitterness up front with good hop flavour, the body seemed a bit thin but its really easy to drink. perfect balance of the caramel malt. perfect.

*Kieren IPA*
sweet caramel malt aroma, lovely hop - v. fruity hop. the bitterness is very noticeable up front and astringent. when cold its out of balance, as it warms it definitely balances out. great hop flavour and some great malt flavours but the bitterness really lingers and is a touch harsh. I really liked this beer but I found the hop a little harsh. 

Only a couple left for me to try now...


----------



## peas_and_corn (26/4/11)

*Hatchy's New World Pale Ale*​
Opened it over the sink just in case, but it didn't climb out of the bottle, thankfully. It poured with a lot of head though, but that wasn't much of a issue*. Smells quite sweet, that aroma you get from base malt that's not overly malty, but somewhat sweet. Flavour is nice and quite balanced, which is welcome because it's always tempting to make a beer like this overwhelmingly bitter. The foam itself was quite bitter, though. The sweetness I got in the aroma is present in the beer, balanced with some fruity hop notes, bitterness backing it all up. Very enjoyable, this is a beer I could have a lot of pints of in a session.


* Subsequently the beer started climbing out of the bottle on resting as I was tasting the amount in the glass... oh well. No biggie.


----------



## peas_and_corn (26/4/11)

*Boston's 10 min IPA*​
I assume it's Boston's, it had a 'B' on the cap. Lots of fruit on the nose, quite complex. Mouthfeel is quite thick, something I didn't expect with this particular beer. This for me is a plus, it sits well with the hop flavours in a well balanced beer. Quite enjoyable.


----------



## drsmurto (26/4/11)

I assumed Bostons has the standard plastic tag around the neck......


----------



## peas_and_corn (26/4/11)

Hmm. Well, whoever's that had a 'B' on the cap, I like it.


----------



## Frank (26/4/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> Hmm. Well, whoever's that had a 'B' on the cap, I like it.


Maybe 8.
Mine had a yellow neck tag with 25 on it. Ran out of time to do my normal print job.


----------



## peas_and_corn (26/4/11)

That'll make it Philip's beer. if that's true Makes sense.


----------



## Kieren (27/4/11)

*Gunna's Brown Ale*

Nice and clear, low carb and small head. A little malt in the aroma with a little ester. I get some choc malt in the flavour as well. Nice beer, cheers gunna.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (27/4/11)

I'm back after my jaunt to brissy. so back into the swap beers. I randomly grabbed a bottle with 23 on the lid. 

poured very pale cloudy yellow. overwhelming band-aid taste and aroma with a sharp bitterness. This is a dud bottle. I could only manage a couple of sips and had to pour it sorry. I'm confused though as Amin was 23 and i've already tried his beer (which was a completely different colour and very tasty). Oh well a case swap mystery i guess.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (27/4/11)

25. Boston - 10min IPA 

Clear amber colour loads of lacing in my glass. Has a big sweet malty fruity aroma. Clean hoppy flavour with some sweet malt at the end. Lovely firm lingering bitterness. 

Awesome beer cheers mate!


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (27/4/11)

4. Hatchy - New world pale ale

Heaps of carb, like pouring a softdrink, but didn't gush. clear pale golden colour. yeasty estery? (juicy fruit) aroma. Nice clean malt and hop flavour with a moderate bitterness. This is a very easy drinking beer that I could easily have a session on. 

........But could do with some more hops  

Thanks mate!!


----------



## Kieren (27/4/11)

*Gunna's CPA*

My first homebrew! Looks like a CPA, not quite the fruity, estery aroma of a CPA, tastes like a CPA though perhaps a little subdued on the yeast character (not a bad thing). Really easy drinker, well enjoyed. Cheers.

Had *Awesome Fury's* last night didn't take notes though. From memory - more caramel malt than hops for me with a pronounced (english?) yeast ester character. Nice and clear, small lasting head. Another good swap beer.

Not many to go...


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (28/4/11)

13. Kieren - IPA

Copper slightly hazy colour. Heaps of hops in the aroma with some alcohol as it warms. The taste is full on hoppy with a nice bitterness that is sticking to my tongue and builds. an almost peppery taste that lingers.

Another top beer enjoyed very much. Cheers Kieren.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (28/4/11)

19. JestersDarts - Autumn Amber Ale

Deep reddish copper colour with a small off white head. Sweet malty aroma. Balanced malty flavour... very moreish. This went down too easily. 

Yet another top beer. Cheers!


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (28/4/11)

15. AussieJosh -Dark Ale with Cascade and EKG

Dark clear reddish copper. Fruity yeasty aroma. Spicy chocolaty roast flavour. Has a bit of mountain goat high tail ale vibe about it. This is a very nice beer. Cheers!!


----------



## Kieren (28/4/11)

*AF* ???

Not too sure where this one has come from. Had AF on a Coopers homebrew lid. My guess is it may be Awesome Fury's stammtisch beer? Bottle was a little under filled but didn't seem to have any bad effects. Gold colour, good clarity. Low carb rate, small loose head. Fruity hops and yeast aroma. More 'new world hops' through the flavour finishes with a yeast character, quite dry, firm bitterness. Thin body (due to the low carb?). A good session drinking beer. Much enjoyed. Good hoppiness throughout.


----------



## jbirbeck (29/4/11)

Raven's Robust Porter
I got a very light head but strangely the head improved as the beer warmed and it became tighter and lasted well. Nice roasty aroma with background malt but very subdued at cooler temps, once it warmde up it was more noticeable and complex. I got a bit of dark dark choc and coffee with light fruitiness. When cold the mouthfeel was thin and 'prickly' but as it warmed and the carb died off it improved significantly to be more med body and smooth with a nice lingering bitterness. the flavour was lovely roast with some background light malt and it improved significantly as it warmed. 

i would recommend you left this one to breathe like a fine old wine and warm up to be served at around 10-12 deg and its superb


----------



## Amin (29/4/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> I'm back after my jaunt to brissy. so back into the swap beers. I randomly grabbed a bottle with 23 on the lid.
> 
> poured very pale cloudy yellow. overwhelming band-aid taste and aroma with a sharp bitterness. This is a dud bottle. I could only manage a couple of sips and had to pour it sorry. I'm confused though as Amin was 23 and i've already tried his beer (which was a completely different colour and very tasty). Oh well a case swap mystery i guess.


That would be my back up beer-didn't really want to swap it for obvious reasons but thought I might be a couple longnecks short, I ended up with just enough. 
I'm guessing you got an extra long neck of it? 23 should be underlined if it's one of the duds.

Jayse tried it on the night and diagnosed it with a wild yeast infection

The other 40 or so longnecks of that beer was disposed of in an eco friendly way (given to impoverished student mates)


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (29/4/11)

Amin said:


> That would be my back up beer-didn't really want to swap it for obvious reasons but thought I might be a couple longnecks short, I ended up with just enough.
> I'm guessing you got an extra long neck of it? 23 should be underlined if it's one of the duds.
> 
> Jayse tried it on the night and diagnosed it with a wild yeast infection
> ...


Underlined 23... that's the one. It was interesting to try anyways to get an idea what an infection can taste like. I feel sorry for your mates.


----------



## Kieren (29/4/11)

*JestersDarts - Autumn Amber Ale*

Nice deep copper colour, very slight haze but pretty clear. Small and lasting head, low-med carb. Cold out of the fridge I didn't get much off the aroma, after warming up a little I got some malt. Ditto on the flavour, had to let it warm up a little and got some caramel malt and tiny bit of hop sweetness in the background. Finishes clean. I real easy drinker, well brewed beer. However I like my amber ales to have a bit more 'meat on the bones'. I love an amber ale which is a battle of big caramel, toasty malt and big hops struggling for dominance. This is just my preference though. I enjoyed this beer for what it is and could easily have a long session on it but I would gravitate towards a beer with more 'meat' if available. Again, really well brewed beer, cheers.


----------



## np1962 (29/4/11)

@ Amin
I have 20 odd bottles of Belgian Band Aid Blonde if your mates are still thirsty. :icon_vomit:


----------



## Nevalicious (29/4/11)

raven19 said:


> *2. Peas and Corn's Brown Ale*
> 
> Low to no carbonation on my bottle. I get almost green apples initially with a mildly acrid finish. Clear but dark brown in colour. Light mouthfeel, lingering mild bitterness.
> 
> Not too sure what to make of this one P&C, I hope it was just my bottle?



Halfway through this one at the moment. Bad form, but this only my 4th beer from the swap I've had...

Actually very nice beer mate. If I was to pick on one thing (and I'm not very good with picking up flavours except...) I'd say initially it has acetaldehyde, but doesn't hang around too long. Only a little at the front of the palate. Great beer otherwise. Never had a beer like this (relatively new to the whole AG etc), very nice easy drinking. I get the spicy alcohol and esters too I believe RK was talking about. 

Seems from the few beers I've tried with Acetaldehyde present, I am one of the unfortunate souls able to pick it up even if its only very slight... :unsure: 

Excellent beer mate.


----------



## Nevalicious (29/4/11)

NigeP62 said:


> @ Amin
> I have 20 odd bottles of Belgian Band Aid Blonde if your mates are still thirsty. :icon_vomit:



Please save some for us on the beer presentation night!!!


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (29/4/11)

2. peas_and_corn - Brown Ale

Umm rad. sorry dude not much feedback as i have been drinking too much watching the wedding. was ok though.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (29/4/11)

20. simma - Hoppy Red Ale (American Amber)

again sorry dude i have been drinking all afternoon and i can't review this properly. but it has a nice sweet aroma and a very easy drinking taste. 

cheers mate.


----------



## Nevalicious (29/4/11)

MOM, the wedding is that good hey!!! :kooi:


----------



## Hatchy (29/4/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> 2. peas_and_corn - Brown Ale
> 
> Umm rad. sorry dude not much feedback as i have been drinking too much watching the wedding. was ok though.



Were there tears?

Edit: I meant tears from the wedding, not the beer.


----------



## Nevalicious (29/4/11)

Pretty sure Desiree teared up...

Pretty sad really...

On another note... MaltyHops. I love the Belgian Blonde. As others have said, not quite blonde, but bloody nice. Lots of wheat in this yes??? Has a wheaty kind of taste (sour-esq) and spicy belgian qualities. Lubberly (I'm shit at describing flavours)

Nev


----------



## Amin (29/4/11)

NigeP62 said:


> @ Amin
> I have 20 odd bottles of Belgian Band Aid Blonde if your mates are still thirsty. :icon_vomit:


If its free they will drink it; 6 people in the house one with steady employment.


----------



## MaltyHops (29/4/11)

Gday Nev, glad you enjoyed the "blonde" - yes it has wheat malt but only 4% afaik  

T.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (30/4/11)

Wedding is over now so back to the land of the coherent for me. 

6. MaltyHops - Belgian 'forgot to do the roots' Blonde.

Slightly hazy palish amber colour. Beautiful belgian yeasty aroma. Spicy sweet (a bit out of balance) bubblegummy flavour. Alcohol warms on the way down. This is a good beer that i enjoyed but if it was a tad less sweet it would be superb.

Cheers MH!!


----------



## MaltyHops (30/4/11)

Dang!!! I'll just have to go back to the drawing board and try brewing this again. :lol:


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (30/4/11)

MaltyHops said:


> Dang!!! I'll just have to go back to the drawing board and try brewing this again. :lol:


Damn what a pain to have to battle through another batch of belgian blonde ... if you need a hand testing the next batch let me know.


----------



## JestersDarts (30/4/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> Damn what a pain to have to battle through another batch of belgian blonde ... if you need a hand testing the next batch let me know.



Just drank your stout while cooking dinner... pity bout the carb becuase it is a real nice toasty burnt flavourome stout! I was thinking of trying out my new carbonator cap to carb it up.. but I ended up drinking it all! Cheers


----------



## Kieren (1/5/11)

*simma - Hoppy Red Ale (American Amber)
*

Very low carb, loose head. Pleasant aroma, a mild mix of caramel malt and citrus hops throughout. Easy drinker. Well enjoyed. Though like I said, I like my AAA a bit more aggressive - just a personnel thing though..


----------



## Kieren (1/5/11)

*Nevalicious - South Pacific IPA*

Perhaps should have drunk this sooner to get it at its freshest best but hop aroma doesn't seem to be effected. Big grassy, passionfruit and melon hop aroma. Malt takes a back seat but there is just enough there. Hops carry through nicely on the flavour, more grassiness as it warms up. Has a lightness in the finishes and finishes quite dry with a good bitterness bite at the end. Supremely drinkable IPA. Great work Nev. What was the hop bill on this one? Don't worry found it (thanks to maltyhops' article editing).


----------



## peas_and_corn (1/5/11)

*QB's Irishish Ale*​
I'll be honest here and say that Irish Red isn't my favourite style. It's a little too sweet for my liking, once beers start getting into the red colour, I prefer that it gets a bit more malt body. That said, this is an enjoyable beer. While as a brewer and lover of craft beer I like drinking extreme beers, having a beer that's just enjoyable to sit back and drink as a session beer or something to drink while lounging on the couch (or in this case, in front of the computer) is always welcome. For me, this is what this beer works well for. It's not heavy on any particular flavour, be it bitterness, maltiness, cloying (though it verges a little into this territory) or hop flaouvr (which is largely absent, though it works here). An enjoyable pint.


----------



## jbirbeck (2/5/11)

Goo's Brown porter

lovely aroma (subtle at first with that nice dark roast, borwn malt which flows through to the flavour, some malty sweetness. smooth. nice dry finish with some lingering bitterness, I got some nice yeast esters too perfectly balanced and I loved the nuttiness in the malt. one of my favs from the swap. A nice way to finish it off. Cheers.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (2/5/11)

Hi MaltyHops. I'm finishing off one of my bottles (after using the other half in a beef and stout stew mmmm :icon_drool2: ). So here is a review of my own beer as promised. 

11. Mayor Of Mildura - Stout

Jet black colour with a thin tan head. Heaps of coffee/choc in aroma. Initally tastes quite fruity but finishes quite roasty. Strange smooth mouth feel (due to low carb). I quite enjoy this (if i don't say so myself  )

Cheers me.


----------



## drsmurto (2/5/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> Hi MaltyHops. I'm finishing off one of my bottles (after using the other half in a beef and stout stew mmmm :icon_drool2: ). So here is a review of my own beer as promised.
> 
> 11. Mayor Of Mildura - Stout
> 
> ...



I plan on serving this beer at room temperature...

Low carb, warm stout..... Ah feck it, off to grab it now.


----------



## Nevalicious (2/5/11)

I shared it with my brother last night MOM. The ONLY complaint from both of us, was that it was undercarbed. The ONLY one. Excellent stout mate.


----------



## MaltyHops (2/5/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> So here is a review of my own beer as promised.
> 11. Mayor Of Mildura - Stout


Thank you, Mayor - appreciate every each review. Now, how can we make this contagious?  

T.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (2/5/11)

1. QuantumBrewer - Not-so-Irish Not-so-Red 

Deep coppery brown colour. Nice white head that drops and persists. Not much aroma, slight malt and a touch of solvent. A little Malt sweetness in the taste with almost a kittish metallic twang and not much else. 

Sorry QB I sound very harsh. I've not tasted an Irish red before. Don't get me wrong and take my review with a pinch of salt. If this is what an irish red is meant to taste like then I'm not a fan. 

Cheers Mate (also sorry for any punctuation or grammatical errors)


----------



## Kieren (2/5/11)

QuantumBrewer - Not-so-Irish Not-so-Red 

My last bottle of the swap 

More amber than red - not out of style though. Small head and low carb. I get a little green apple in the aroma behind the caramel malt and yeast esters. Mostly yeasty esters through the flavour with some malt. Cheers.


----------



## drsmurto (2/5/11)

Bunch of neanderthals complaining about a perfectly carbonated stout...... h34r: 

I, for one, loved very minute of it. :icon_drool2: 

A wonderfully creamy stout without the harsh roast edge that mine is currently showing (along with a dozen other faults). This is what i wished mine tasted like. Malty but dry, creamy without being full of that overhyped nitro marketing gimmick. Coffee without the full on espresso you can get when you overdo roasted barley/black malt. 

In other words, the perfect dry stout which would have been ruined with a single extra CO2 molecule :icon_cheers: 

If you haven't already posted the recipe i would love to see it.


----------



## Hatchy (2/5/11)

MaltyHops said:


> Thank you, Mayor - appreciate every each review. Now, how can we make this contagious?
> 
> T.



OK

#4 Hatchy's sort of NWPA experimentale

This is from memory because I drank my last bottle of this a couple of weeks ago so don't have one sitting in front of me now. It was badly overcarbed due to bottling it before it was ready. There was something not quite right with the hopping which made it taste a bit odd to me, I was pretty close to pulling out of the swap because it really wasn't a beer I was happy with but it was the only thing I had in bottles at the time. I'll have something better next time.

Out of 5 hop cigarettes I give it a 2.

# 13 Kieren's standard pale ale (at 105 IBU)

I can only taste 104 if the IBUs so I reckon you left some hops out somewhere. I also think it was quite mean bottling this in a stone bottle, I thought someone had left a stone smoked porter in my fridge until I looked at the bottletop. It's a bit overcarbed but it's still easy enough to get into the glass. A bloody delicious beer as I expect from you.

I give it 4 out of 5 hop cigarettes, I marked it down partly because of the carbonation but mainly because of taunting me with the stone bottle.


----------



## jonocarroll (2/5/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> Sorry QB I sound very harsh. I've not tasted an Irish red before. Don't get me wrong and take my review with a pinch of salt. If this is what an irish red is meant to taste like then I'm not a fan.





Kieren said:


> More amber than red - not out of style though. Small head and low carb. I get a little green apple in the aroma behind the caramel malt and yeast esters. Mostly yeasty esters through the flavour with some malt.


Cheers for the comments fellas. I'll get back through the list and read the reviews properly (and try to actually find time to drink some of the beers that have no doubt matured in my absence). 

@MOM - no hard feelings. Horses for courses; not everyone's going to like every beer. Your review reads pretty close to where this beer is at (not quite Irish Red) and it's not everyone's cup o' <insert beverage>.

@Kieren - cheers also; I'll have to actually crack one of mine open and see where it's at before I comment back on any of these reviews, which should be tomorrow night.


----------



## Kieren (3/5/11)

Hatchy said:


> # 13 Kieren's standard pale ale (at 105 IBU)
> 
> I can only taste 104 if the IBUs so I reckon you left some hops out somewhere. I also think it was quite mean bottling this in a stone bottle, I thought someone had left a stone smoked porter in my fridge until I looked at the bottletop. It's a bit overcarbed but it's still easy enough to get into the glass. A bloody delicious beer as I expect from you.
> 
> I give it 4 out of 5 hop cigarettes, I marked it down partly because of the carbonation but mainly because of taunting me with the stone bottle.



I didn't bottle any of my swap beers in a Stone bottle. I reckon that may have been a Belgian-Ameriacan Pale ale. You were probably only tasting 50 IBU's or so. My swap beer is in a blank coopers longneck with "W 13" on the cap.


----------



## Mayor of Mildura (3/5/11)

Thanks for the kind words guys. I'm glad that people are enjoying my beer. 

Here is the recipe for those that are interested. I was aiming for something like coopers best extra. 

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: coopers stout swap
Brewer: mayor of mildura
Style: Foreign Extra Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 25.00 L 
Boil Size: 30.82 L
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 81.8 EBC
Estimated IBU: 58.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount Item Type % or IBU 
5.60 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (5.9 EBC) Grain 79.43 % 
0.50 kg Wheat Malt, Malt Craft (Joe White) (3.5 EBC) Grain 7.09 % 
0.40 kg Roasted Barley (591.0 EBC) Grain 5.67 % 
0.25 kg Chocolate Malt Pale Thomas Fawcett (886.5 EBC) Grain 3.55 % 
0.15 kg Carafa III (1034.3 EBC) Grain 2.13 % 
0.15 kg choc chit (700.0 EBC) Grain 2.13 % 
70.00 gm Pride of Ringwood Flowers [10.00 %] (60 min) Hops 58.3 IBU 

Single infusion mash @66 for 60 minutes and mashout @75
This was fermented on a yeast cake of coopers yeast from a previous coopers pale ale. 
The choc chit was some left overs that i had in my grain stash. next time i'll use all pale choc. Talking about pale choc that thomas fawcett pale choc is great stuff. 

Maybe next swap we could have a recipe thread as well? There were a few beers from this was that I would like to see what went into them.

Hatchy you crack me up. 

Cheers


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## Mayor of Mildura (3/5/11)

5. Gunna - English Brown Ale/Aussie Pale ale

I tried the English brown first. Clear copper colour. Low malt aroma. Dry malty flavour. I found this a little astringent and the bitterness a little harsh. Over all though an easy drinker not too bad. 

Then I cracked the Aussie Pale Ale. Hazy pale golden colour. Small persistant white head with nice lacing down the glass. Fruity pear aroma. A little malty sweetness in flavour followed up with a nice refreshing bitterness. This is an awesome beer!


Cheers Gunna


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## Mayor of Mildura (4/5/11)

9. Goofinder - Brown Porter

Deep Mahogany colour. Creamy head with lacing down the glass. Subtle estery aroma with a bit of roast. Dry roasty flavour with some fuggley goodness as it warms. 

Super beer Gooey. I could drink this till it came out my ears.... nom nom nom


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## Mayor of Mildura (4/5/11)

Well it looks as though i scored a bonus bottle of phils IPA. Thanks dude. That was the last swap beer for me. so no more waffling on for a while. Thank you everyone for your efforts. Another great swap and I can't wait for the next one!!!


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## peas_and_corn (5/5/11)

*Rooting King's Brown Ale*​
Enjoying this while making a batch of beer and reading a comic involving Dinosaurs. Poured with a thick white head that stayed around for a while. Some good malt body, though it probably would have gone better with some more hop flavour. A little overcarbonated as well, but that's no biggie. A nice beer.


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## drsmurto (8/5/11)

Hatchys NWPA

Impressive carbonation for champagne, a little over the top for beer...  

Loved this beer once it settled down, to me it is a well balanced pale ale with a nice malty backbone to support the hops (how you managed not to add a kilo of hops with Phillip and Kieren in your ear is beyond me). Loved this beer, what hops are in it?


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## Hatchy (8/5/11)

DrSmurto said:


> Hatchys NWPA
> 
> Impressive carbonation for champagne, a little over the top for beer...
> 
> Loved this beer once it settled down, to me it is a well balanced pale ale with a nice malty backbone to support the hops (how you managed not to add a kilo of hops with Phillip and Kieren in your ear is beyond me). Loved this beer, what hops are in it?



Cheers mate, it's southern cross with a bit of galaxy (all I had at the time) at flameout off the top of my head. I'll try to remember to put the recipe on here next time I'm on my laptop.


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## peas_and_corn (8/5/11)

*AussieJosh's Dark Ale*​
Cascade and EKG- a pairing of hops that aren't usually put together. However, getting hops from different regions can work together if done correctly. Here it's done well- though most likely because the hops are somewhat downplayed in favour of the malt. This is a really interesting beer to drink, because it has so much going for it. When I start drinking it, the beer is quite sugary sweet. Not annoyingly so, because there's some roasted malt lingering in the background to make sure that it doesn't become cloying. In the aftertaste there is some ashen burnt flavours I would normally hate but work well in this particular beer. An interesting beer.


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## AussieJosh (9/5/11)

peas_and_corn said:


> *AussieJosh's Dark Ale*​
> Cascade and EKG- a pairing of hops that aren't usually put together. However, getting hops from different regions can work together if done correctly. Here it's done well- though most likely because the hops are somewhat downplayed in favour of the malt. This is a really interesting beer to drink, because it has so much going for it. When I start drinking it, the beer is quite sugary sweet. Not annoyingly so, because there's some roasted malt lingering in the background to make sure that it doesn't become cloying. In the aftertaste there is some ashen burnt flavours I would normally hate but work well in this particular beer. An interesting beer.




Thanks for the review P&C! 

Being a relatively new AG brewer i was just experimenting, and glad the beer did not turn out tasting shit! I put the two hops together because i have had a few dark beers with EKG in them and i remember having a dark ale from the USA with cascade in it at the wheatsheaf that i very much enjoyed! For the next case swap i may try putting some hops together again that dont normaly go with each other? if i do ill tast it first to make sure its not crap!

P&C I got two of your beers. The first one i opend had no carb at all  But honestly still tasted good! Cause i had another in the fridge I used about 250ml of the first one to make beer can chicken! i put the beer in an empty coke can added some garlic, chilli and other herbs in to the can then shoved it up the chooks ass! After about 90mins on the webber i used about 200ml of the hot beer mixed with some gravox chicken gravey powder. Everyone at the BBQ loved it! Best Gravey ever!!!

The second bottle opend a few weeks later had a little carb to it! I drank all of this one and it was a top drop! 

Cheers! 






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## Housecat (9/5/11)

lol. It looks like your chickens are doing naughty things in your Webber!  

HC


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## peas_and_corn (17/5/11)

*AwesomeFury's... beer.*​
I assume it's yours, had 'af' on the cap. Poured clear, with a nice amber colour and a dense head. Aroma is... beery. It's pretty much the smell you associate with a typical pale ale- that... beer smell. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Or maybe not. The flavour isn't typical though, as it has some nice hop notes in there, with some hop flavour coming through. To be honest I would have preferred it if the bitterness was edged off a little more, letting the hop flavour shine a little more. This really tastes like a 'less in more' beer when it comes to bittering additions. A nice session beer.







*Goofinder's Brown Porter*​
Poured not as dark as it seems in the pic. Flavour seems a little too leaned towards roast barley-like characters to really fit properly into the porter category. I would say that it's a light coloured stout more than a porter- but it doesn't matter very much here. I must admit here that my fridge cools beers too cold and my appraisal tends to be affected by this. I'm trying to warm this beer up because I know that it would be better drank at a warmer temperature... but I'm having troubles because I'm enjoying the beer too much! Apart from the roastiness, there's a general nice malt body to the beer that I'm enjoying a lot. The hops sit back and let the malt speak for itself, providing bitterness without being intrusive (though I imagine some of the bitterness comes from the roast grains). Enjoyable!


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## MaltyHops (18/5/11)

Well, the signs are that reviews of beers from this swap are tailing off
so I'll pipe up now with my thanks to PnC and everyone else who have
posted reviews.  

T.


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## Nevalicious (18/5/11)

Indeed... Excellent work to those that posted glossy pics and the like... 

I STILL have about 14 of these beers left, so still heaps in store for me. 

Awesome work on the article too Tom. Heaps helpful!


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