2008 Hag Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Notes

[Offline]

12 Shmick - Hefeweizen (maybe raspberry)

Congratulations Shmick, I cant add much to what has already been said about you contribution except it is the first beer that my wife has liked/drank in the 16 years we have been together. She has smelt many, sampled a few but never liked one.
I have told her before that she might like the mangoweizen at the Lowenbrau next time we are in Sydney, but she might actually try it now.

 

[loftboy]

5. Les (Weizguy) - Am blonde wheat

Nice light golden colour, with a slight haze. Pours with a largish head that settles down quickly. Medium to high carbonation. Citrus aroma & fairly tart/lemony on the tounge. Some lingering bitterness, but I can't really taste any of the Amarillo. Nice balance between malt body & bitterness.

Overall, a nice tart beer for a hot day. Thanks Les.

Dave.

PS. Les, is this supposed to be a blonde or a wheatie ?. To my palette, it seems more of a blonde.

 

[[email protected]]

Been pretty slack on the review front so here is some catch up.

2. Schooey - Schwarzbier
Poured to a nice light brown head with great roasted aroma's. Great balance that made me finish it very swiftly. Well done.

4. Leeboy - Imperial Porter Bottled (DRINK MID-DECEMBER)
I did drink it mid december and what another great beer from Lee. Drank it a little on the warm side and I'm glad I did. The aroma was sensational and I think I spent more time smelling than drinking. I'd love to brew this one for winter.

6. The Ol' Boozeroony - Bastardised Amber Ale
Pretty much as I planned. A 'not too offensive' amber with a cascade nose. Oh no, I'm brewing boring beers at home as well as work... :huh:


9. Rurik - Mild -5.2% (I think have to find the brew note book) - Bottled two weeks, drink from now to mid January.
Have to agree with loftboy on this one. I even opened the 2nd bottle but the result was the same.

10 MHB - Dark Wheat Double Bock
On hold til mid-year

12 Shmick - Hefeweizen (maybe raspberry)
Was contemplating putting the wifes skirt on to get in the mood for this one but opted aganst it. (I kept the heals on though Good colour with a nice fruity balance. Having a good Hefe as a base shone through

18 - Trent - AIPA - 7.6% so dont go driving afterwards.
What more can you say. The quality of Trents beers never disappoints.

20. BigFridge - Klsch
Gusher... Opened the bottle, wife interupted, beer all over the kitchen. What was left was rather tasty though. No signs of infection or anything.

23. HarryB - Mild APA (bright ale clone with a twist)
Shared this one with the neighbour who absolutely loved it. (as did I) Very well made with a good balance.

24. fear_n_loath - Euro Lager
Very good beer. Nice and clean with a crisp finish. I went to poor my second glass and realised I'd finished the bottle. disappointed it was all gone.

25. Loftboy/MauriceOz - Winding Creek APA (SNPA style APA). Bottled 25/11/08, 4.5% ABV, US-05.
Never had SNPA before but I don't care. Just keep feeding me this.

Sorry all reviews where short but i'm in the middle of work.

Thanks to all for their efforts

Cheers
Geoff

 

[Trent]

Gday
I have been a little slack on keeping notes the last few days, but as the beers have all been very good, there is no need to attempt to give suspect advice, so I just enjoyed em for what they were

#25 Loftboy/MAurice Oz
Very pleasant, easy to drink beer, well made, an dno real faults that I could pick up. Not quite as hoppy as the real SNPA, but it was a very good beer, that I really enjoyed drinking. Thanks.

#2 Schooeys schwarzbier -
Pretty much black in colour, thick tan head, almost looked like a stout! The beer itself tasted maybe a TOUCH sweet due to the under attenuation schooey had warned us about, but the carbonation was spot on. The only complaint was as a schwarzbier, there may have been a touch too much roastiness (for style) but it was a very enjoyable, well made ber that I was very happy to drink. Well balanced. Maybe next time, to complexify it a little, add some more munich? That is the only thing I would do to an otherwise excellent beer.

#20 Bigfridge's Kolsch
Quite dark for a Kolsch, but I knew that it was supposed to be, it looked great, and had a really strong toasty component on the nose, and in the flavour. I guess technically, it is out of style for a kolsch, but I really enjoyed it, well brewed, no faults, and mine had great carbonation, wasnt a gusher (from memory)

#23 Harry B's Mild APA
Had this one last night, and I have to say it was excellent. Looked great, and had the slightest haze to it. Only thing was, the head retention was not so great - in a clean glass, it dissipated after about 10 seconds and never came back, even in the second glass. Lived up to its name as a mild APA, though, it had flavour, but not over the top, no faults, just a hideously drinkable beer that was all gone before I knew it. Excellent beer, thanks for sharing. It actually gave me a taste for more beer (always a good sign in a beer) so I went and opened...

#6 The Ol' Boozeroony's bastardized Amber
Mate, this beer looked the part, a lovely deep amber colour, crystal clear right to the bottom of the bottle, smelled sensational, caramel, nuts, biscuit you could even say. There was a hint of citrus on the nose, I guessed from a small amount of american hops, and you just confirmed it for me with you post from last night. Heaps of flavour, but all well balanced and blended in together, nothing I could really fault on this beer either, except that you should not be allowed to brew innofensive beers in 2 places! This beer was excellent, one of my favourites so far.

This case swap has been great, all the beers so far have been fantastic, if I could brew this many good beers, I could die a happy man....
Trent

 

[schooey]

18 - Trent - AIPA - 7.6% so dont go driving afterwards.

Mayyyyyyyyte!!

Have had a fun arvo in the shed playing 'lets build a brewery' and was looking for some therapy after some plumbing didn't quite go to plan. I'd popped this one in the fridge to go with a curry tonight and thought stuffit... I'm drinkin' it...

Opened with a healthy phsssst and poured lovely into a chilled ribbed pint glass, a perfect creamy white, persistent head on top. Almost medium amber in colour and quite hazy from the hop additions I'm thinking. Stuck my nose in and it got smacked back with a nostril fullof piney, almost earthy hoppiness. Second sniff and I could pick up some citrus in the background; lemons and something almost like orange zest? I only got slight malt aromas behind the hops.

Had a sip and was surprised at how well balanced this beer was , not what I expected from the aroma. Big malty backbone screams through to balance out the hops, I get a end crust bready flavour (if that makes any sense) and its soon flooded with the hops coming through, very creamy mouthfeel and a long long lingering finish.

It might not be quite to style, but bloody hell that's a good beer after a bit of toil. Thanks mate, stellar effort!

 

[leeboy]

5. Les (Weizguy) - Am blonde wheat

Well I know you are a awesome brewer les and as you know I have had many many of your beers, all amazing thus far, this one however just didn't float my boat.

Poured beautifully with great clairty carbonation and was a beautiful straw colour.

Smelt sweet with some great fruity esters, slightly oxidised smell?? Definately a fair wheat presence in this one. I read the blonde ale and it said up to 25% is appropriate for style. I'd be guessing this has a fair bit more than the 25%. Tastes of bready malts and fills the mouth with flavour. Still slightly less attenuated than I would of liked to make this sessionable. I may be shooting off base with this critique and I'm worried about it because I really respect you as a brewer. Plus this is a style that I have only made once before and have only had one commercial example.

Anyway enough said. Some minor faults in this beer (I think) but I still got through the longy. Thanks les
Lee

 

[goatherder]

I've had a couple in the last week or so:

7 - Balconybrewer's Wit - lovely beer. From memory, I drank it after a couple of hours in the sun mowing the lawn. Perfect refreshment. The classic wit characteristics were present and not over the top. There was a great wheat flavour, with a touch of tartness. Exceptionally drinkable, this was a very nice drop.

20 - Bigfridge's Kolsch - after a tussle getting it into the glass, this one turned out pretty damned good. As someone mentioned previously, a little dark for style but my style hat is firmly on the hat rack for this case. There was a cheeky hop profile, ably supported by the vigorous carbonation, with a hint of ale esters for good measure. The malt was big and round, filling out the mouth and complementing the hops. I really liked the colour - I had it in traditional nsw schooner glass which showed it as almost orange in the centre surrounded by retreating shades of dark gold. Lovely drinking thanks Dave, just keep better count of the teaspoons of dextrose next time...

5 - Les's blonde thing - Very pale, lovely amarillo nose. Nice smack of tartness in the flavour, very refreshing and easy drinking. I couldn't find much wrong with it Les, I enjoyed every drop.

 

[Weizguy]

5. Les (Weizguy) - Am blonde wheat

Well I know you are a awesome brewer les and as you know I have had many many of your beers, all amazing thus far, this one however just didn't float my boat.

Poured beautifully with great clairty carbonation and was a beautiful straw colour.

Smelt sweet with some great fruity esters, slightly oxidised smell?? Definately a fair wheat presence in this one. I read the blonde ale and it said up to 25% is appropriate for style. I'd be guessing this has a fair bit more than the 25%. Tastes of bready malts and fills the mouth with flavour. Still slightly less attenuated than I would of liked to make this sessionable. I may be shooting off base with this critique and I'm worried about it because I really respect you as a brewer. Plus this is a style that I have only made once before and have only had one commercial example.

Anyway enough said. Some minor faults in this beer (I think) but I still got through the longy. Thanks les
Lee

You guys have been too kind to my beer. It's definitely meant to be an American wheat with no blonde influence (although I do like a blonde...but I won't name her here :lol: ). I believe the beer is a bit acetic , and the attenuation...I measured 90+% apparent attenuation, so it must be residual sweetness from the Weyermann Carafoam.
I plan to brew this one again for you guys. Maybe a keg for the next swap? I'd like to show you how this baby can shine.
It's a fruity, hoppy Summer guzzler when fresh, and this one is obviously not.
Give it a taste and toss it down the sink if it doesn't appeal to you. I won't be upset if you respect your tongue that much.

Ok, so I drank Scott's Dunkel a couple of night's ago. It wasn't fantastic, but it was very good. Style hat on the rack, I think this would suit a maltier profile. Maybe decrease the hops or add more Munich (Munich II, perhaps?). That might make it more of a Bohemian dunkel then, so maybe that's what I was hoping for.
Quite balanced and easy drinking. Just about the right amount of dark malt for the choc flavours. Have you made this with the WLP833 (Ayinger - Jamil's fave for the style)?? Maybe that's the profile I was hoping for. Don't want to sound like I was complaining. Drinkability factor of 8.5 or higher. It was gone before I realised. Send a Magnum next time, or a Jeroboam or a Nebuchadnezzar. Have you posted the recipe?
Quite a few surprisingly good brews from this swap (my effort notwithstanding). Go, the Hunter boys and gals.
Les out

 

[Trent]

#24 fear_n_loath's Euro Lager
First up, may I please be a little critical and say that the bottle I got had a recycled Carlton Cold lid on top. Now, while I am all for recycling ****, new caps are only 2c each, and over the course of 30 longnecks (that probably cost a dollar or more each), if you lose just one bottle to infection or not carbonated or whatever, due to using old caps, then you have lost money. Seriously, a fresh cap for each beer is pretty cheap insurance.
Now, just let me step down off this high horse, and review the beer.
Pours a slightly hazy mid gold colour, and shows no signs of my doomsday flat/infected beer prophecy, with a dense mousse-like white head. Sweet malt on the nose, and some fruitiness, kinda citrus-like. Sweet malt, with a little oxidation (possibly), medium-high bitterness, some hops and some fruitiness - quite pleasant. I would have to say that it is probably a little darker and fuller bodied than I would expect from a Euro lager, but that is just how I like a beer (and probably a large part of the reason I dont choose to drink Euro lagers!), and I have to say that this was a well brewed, enjoyable beer. Carbonation level is high, just like it should be in a lager, and the head takes a fair while to dissipate. No real faults that I can pick, it is a very enjoyable, easy drinking lager, that is infinitely better than any of my attempts at lager brewing! Well done, and thanks for sharing.
All the best
Trent
EDIT Spelling the poor blokes name right!

 

[Weizguy]

The Klsch from the bigfridge was tasted a couple of days ago.

Dave, this reminded me of your blonde ale wort pack. As Trent presaged , I also got a strong toasty component. My bottle had quite a bit of foam. That meant the beer was warmer by the time I sampled it, after the head settled. Not gushing from the bottle, mind you, just foamy when poured. The colour was perfect, as I poured and drank it in a dark room, while watching the telly. :lol:
It may have been a little bitter for the style, but putting that aside, it was a drinkable clean ale and a respectable "house beer".

Tonight I'm on a (non-case swap) Berliner, and maybe a Wit from another swap.

Has anyone heard from Tony, since his "Chilli BBQ"? Any word ?(edit for unfinished post)

 

[Brewman_]

Hi Trent,
Glad you enjoyed the beer.
I have to cleer something up right now. All of the bottles in the swap have lids with Carlton Cold embossed on them. The reason is my bother got the lids from MHBS, That is M for Macarthur, not "Mark". He has since stopped home brewing so I took the lids among other things.
**** with all of the sanitation we go through I would never recycle a lid. If I even drop one on the floor I put it in the bin.

 

[bigfridge]

Bigfridge Kolsch - excuses from the brewery.

Hi guys, thanks for the comments about my beer. It makes me pleased to know that like all the rest of the brewers in this swap, I can throw a few ingredients together and make a decent beer. What I can't do is schedule my time !

The beer was brewed at the last moment and bottled when it still had a few points to go. I bottled it with carbonation drops and used half the usual dose. I have had a bottle or two since the swap but they have been in the (big) fridge since a week after the swap to cold condition (and keep the cardonation under control).

I would think that the ones that have been a little exuberant have not seen much fridge time.

The recipe comes from the Kolsch book and was described as a big example of the style. The colour and flavour comes from 10% Carawheat. While I too think that it is a bit dark, it looks similar to the ones shown here.

Thanks again,
Dave

 

[Trent]

Cool beans, fear_n_loath, I was just a little concerned, and meant no offence. If you throw away a lid that has been dropped on the floor, you are even more anal than I am! It was just that I had never seen commercial lids available for purchase in the home brew shops, so I just assumed (and we all know what happens when we assume) that the lids had been recycled, as that is what I did on my first 2 batches of kit beer! About to put down batch 167 tomorrow, so its been a while since I did that.
Anyway, thanks again for the beer, and thanks for the clarification.
All the best
Trent

 

[bigfridge]

I must add my appologies for slackness in providing reviews. But the truth is that I have enjoyed these beers so much that it seemed a shame to put them down and pick up a pen (or keyboard).

Unfortunately I am still pretty busy with work so I have used these case beers as a stress releif at around 4-5 oclock each day. A longy before dinner helped me to relax nicely - pity that they are now all gone. As expected from the supurb HAG brewers I have found the beers to all be well constructed and good examples of their styles.

Like a lot of you, I enjoyed Smick's Sissy - great beer with a great name and a pretty label. It reminded me of a superb beer that I served in Denver last year - Abita Brewery's Purple Haze. With more than 2,000 beers to choose from, people kept coming up saying that they had been told to seek out this beer - it was very popular with the ladies.

The main difference to Mick's was that it had a deeper colour and flavour from the rasbery so see if you could use more fruit next time.

Thanks for the great beers guys.

Dave

 

[Brewman_]

Hi Trent,
No offence taken. I must admit I was concerned about using those lids mainly since I don't like that particular commercial beer and did not want to inadvertantly imply the contents of my swap beer were in any way related to Carlton Cold.

You must be a beer lover. I reckon if I thought the lid off a shared bottle was recycled I might not drink the beer. Did not hold you back though.

Thanks for the feed back. Planning to try your bottle today.

Fear_n_Loath

 

[Trent]

#5 Les's American Wheat
Les, I am afraid that I have to concur with you. There is a great american wheat hiding in here, but there is a definite low-level acidity in there, I would have said lactic, but it was a bit too "sharp" for that. You called acetic, and I will stick with you. Beer looked bloody sensational, though, and I look forward to the re-brewed version.




#13 Goatherder's Munich Dunkel
Lovely clear dark copper in colour, looks bloody sensational. Plenty of munich type breadiness and toastiness on the nose, and this translates into the flavour. Very drinkable beer, and that is nothing less than I expect from you, Scott. Clean, well made, no flaws and very drinkable - I can see why you are constantly winning or placing in comps on local, state and national levels.
If I may offer a little criticism, it is that the beer itself has a little too much bitterness (for style). Again, like Les, I would like to see some more malt tin the finish, I think that the bitterness is a little too dominant, drying the finish out more than the aroma suggested. I may be a little pedantic here, but I recall the ones I drank in bavaria had a little less bitterness (though I was probably too drunk the whole time to have known my arsehole from my elbow!) I reckon about 5 IBU less oughta do it, but you are a very good brewer, and will probably have a better idea of what to do.
Either way, its a very good beer, and I am glad that I have 2 bottles of the stuff.
All the best
Trent

 

[m_peve]

5. Loftboy/MauriceOz - Winding Creek APA (SNPA style APA). Bottled 25/11/08, 4.5% ABV, US-05.

No notes for this one. I drank this after my first day back at work from holidays. Suffice to say, it was the one bright light in a pretty awful day.
Thanks Loftboy and MauriceOz.

Pete

 

[m_peve]

14 Loftboy - Yankee Doodle Weizen (American Wheat). Bottled 15/11/08, 4.3% ABV, WY2565 Klsch.
Also an after work special. So for no detailed review. Wonderfully clear with a head that dissipated reasonably quickly. Light and refreshing and well balanced, I enjoyed it immensely.
Thanks heaps Dave

Pete

 

[Brewman_]

Thanks for the feed back.

I was hoping to swap a drinkable beer, so far so good, although I was concerned the beer may have over carb'd.

Some feed back.

#11 Offline Wild Mild.
Poured very dark copper red, not cloudy at all. Nice tan creamy head.

This beer reminded me of a Stout? That might just be my lack of knowledge? I enjoyed it and this is the reason I wanted to be part of the swap - to try some different styles. Thanks for sharing.


#18 Trent AIPA
Poured this beer cold 1 Deg.C, I think too cold. It poured a dark copper with a nice dense tan head and a little cloudy.

Initially very little aroma, but after left for a few minutes to warm up, there was a nice hop aroma. Not sure about how this compares to style but it tasted excellent and got better as it warmed up with the aroma and taste working well together.
I really liked this beer, it is similar to some I have made myself but this was much more hoppy and heaps better - very nice beer - ACE. I can take some points for improvement in my beers from this one.


#25 Lotfboy/Maurice.
Poured with a massive head first off. Tried again with a wet clean glass and poured OK dark amber with very high carbonation even though had been in the fridge for a week. Nice aroma of hops and malt. Taste is good with a nice finish. I liked this beer, easy drinking very enjoyable, could have had another one of these. Thanks for sharing this one.

Fear_N_Loath.

 

[loftboy]

6. The Ol' Boozeroony - Bastardised Amber Ale

After sweating it out all day in the shed, this little puppy was just the thing to cool me down. I can't add much to what has been already said, other that I can't fault it. Well balanced, lovely colour, fluffy long lasting head & great aroma - you can't ask for more than that ! :chug:

Great work Geoff.

P.S. Care to share the recipe with the rest of us ?