2008 Hag Xmas In July Case Swap - Tasting Notes

[Tony]

1. Loftboy - Fat ******* Ale (Scottish Export 80/-)

I was interested to try this one. I just pollished off a keg of 80/- and just bottled a batch ot 70/-. Having never really tried a genuine scottish ale i was basicly brewing to the BJCP guidelines.

I cracked a bottle of my 70/- this arvo and was quite impressed with it.

I cracked Loftboys beer afterwards and it was almost exactly the same! Slightly lighter colour and a bit sweeter (i only had US-05 and its a bit dry) So i must be on the right track.

I loved it. It was crystal clear, nice carb level, clean, sweet but light and easy to drink. I enjoyed every drop.

I would be very interested to see the recipe for this one.

cheers

 

[loftboy]

1. Loftboy - Fat ******* Ale (Scottish Export 80/-)

I was interested to try this one. I just pollished off a keg of 80/- and just bottled a batch ot 70/-. Having never really tried a genuine scottish ale i was basicly brewing to the BJCP guidelines.

I cracked a bottle of my 70/- this arvo and was quite impressed with it.

I cracked Loftboys beer afterwards and it was almost exactly the same! Slightly lighter colour and a bit sweeter (i only had US-05 and its a bit dry) So i must be on the right track.

I loved it. It was crystal clear, nice carb level, clean, sweet but light and easy to drink. I enjoyed every drop.

I would be very interested to see the recipe for this one.

cheers

Thanks for the feedback Tony - very happy that it came anywhere near yours. My 80/- also used US-05 & FG ended up at 1.013 (4.4% ABV) after 2 weeks in the fermenter.

David.

Recipe as follows;


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: 11 - Fat ******* Ale
Brewer: Loftboy
Asst Brewer:
Style: Scottish Export 80/-
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 29.00 L
Boil Size: 42.50 L
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 26.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 15.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 82.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.30 kg Pale Malt, Golden Promise (Thomas Fawcett) (5.0 EBC) Grain 80.37 %
0.45 kg Caramunich I (Weyermann) (90.0 EBC) Grain 8.41 %
0.20 kg Melanoidin (Weyermann) (60.0 EBC) Grain 3.74 %
0.20 kg Munich Malt (20.0 EBC) Grain 3.74 %
0.10 kg Chocolate Malt - Australian Grain (600.0 EBC) Grain 1.87 %
0.10 kg Crystal Extra Dark - 120L (Crisp) (350.0 EBC) Grain 1.87 %
28.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 13.9 IBU
5.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.80 %] (30 min) Hops 1.3 IBU
1.00 items Immersion Chiller (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1.00 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #US-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 5.35 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 16.60 L of water at 78.7 C 70.0 C


Notes:
------
Based on Jamil Z Recipe. Page 125-126 Brewing Classic Styles. The original grainbill had Honey Malt, but this is not available locally & melanoidin has been subsituted. Pale/light crystal malt was out of stock @ MHB, so Caramunich I has been used instead.

 

[grw74]

Thanks for the comments guys. Here's the lowdown.

Georgetown Pale Ale
60ltr Batch

7.2kg Joe White Pale malt 45%
4.8kg Weyermann Pale Wheat 30%
2.0kg Wyermannn Caramunich I 12.5%
2.0kg Joe White Light Munich 12.5%
Mash at 66C for 60min

65g US Amarillo(8.9%) 75min
51g US Amarillo(8.9%) 10min
51g US Amarillo(8.9%) 5min
51g US Amarillo(8.9%) 20min (steep)

Crash Chill

OG 1.056
FG 1.012

Primary 8 Days then split batch straight to keg and bottle.
Keg ended up 5.7%ABV force carbonated
Bottles at 5.8%ABV after priming

Cheers to all

 

[Weizguy]

Just tucking into the other half bottle of my Double "D" .
Has anyone saved theirs?
It seems better after sitting out for a day with the lid loosened.
Served at room temp, I get a lot of fusels. I think that's out of style.
Yours will be good if stored in the fridge.
The colour is caramel mudcake.
Too much fusel in the flavour, but that rounds out to a slick, bready, Munich-y, delight.
But is it worth going back for?
I say yes, but that's my penance for not drinking it before now.
You should drink at least one of your mistake beers. It may be nasty, but it shouldn't "pizen" you, unless it's coliform. Then you're a grubby individual who needs to learn hygiene.
But I digress, and I will probably will again. hahahahahahaha!
Seth out

 

[Tony]

I did drink mine mate, but im a bit torn on how long to keep your latest effort.

Being a wheat beer in essence im not sure if i should crack it now or leave it till xmas

My gut is saying xmas

And i wont pick on your rare grama slipup there either

cheers

 

[leeboy]

14. Offline - Scottish Ale Export 80 Wyeast 1728

Poured fantastic with a whispy white head that managed to stay strong to the end. Smelt of home baked biscuits and toasts. No smoky aromas percieved. Colour was dark for style but acceptable and was subsequently harder to tell clarity due to colour being a little dark for style. These beers are usually fermented for a long time compared to most ales and subsequently have brilliant clarity. This one IMHO could be lighter to better showcase that.

Flavour was fantastically dry and clean. Really well fermented beer that would definately be a sessionable dark. Leaves tooheys old behind, and i really don't mind a good old.

Hops are present but well balanced to really display the great clean malt body that isn't tainted by grainy chalky quick fermented flavours.

This beer lacks the smoke character i expect from a 80 shilling but is not necessary.
Lovely well crafted beer. Thanks offline very well balanced beer

 

[leeboy]

15. Colin - Vienna Lager 5.5% ABV, S-189

Who loves fresh baked crusty bread rolls. If you like them you will like this beer. Still not quite carbed up to spec but there was a disclamer on this one I broke, but just felt like a good lager.

This beer poured and spritzed into a nice head that dissipated quick to a thin lining which by half way turned to nothing. This will definately improve by late August as Colin alreay has mentioned. On the nose picked up no hoppy characters at all just a big basket of breadrolls. What a lovely malt profile this beer has in the nose. Those German malts are well represented here. Perhaps even some munich to accompany the vienna in this one??

Colour of this one was great and clarity to match. Hard really to fault this beer to be honest. I think it is well made and from my limited experience with vienna lagers seems very appropriate, if I had to try and pick a issue it would be the residual sweetness after swallow. Will be interesting to see what other peoples perceptions on this are.

If this were my beer and I were trying to improve it for a comp etc. I would try pitching more yeast. I'm a big fan of doubling my ale cell pitches for german lagers particularly.

Very nice.
Thanks Colin. Another well made beer. I enjoyed your Irish red last time and this was just as impressive.
Lee

 

[leeboy]

3. Pok - Bastardised Lager

Firstly as disclaimer, definately shouldn't of drank this beer on the back of colins Vienna Lager. Sorry Pok my desciption for perhaps some of the delicate flavours may be a little amiss.

Poured a very clear beer that was slightly overcarbed for me. Settled well after a slow pour and help a head that didn't shift. Bubbles raged furiously in the beer so I sat it on the bench for a while to let it chill.

Came back to what was still a very impressive clear lager. Picked up a subtle grassy citrus character which I enjoyed and would of liked to experience on a clean palate. Should of had some water between these two beers.

This beer was a darker colour than I was expecting from the description "bastardised lager" but was plesantly surprised. can't pick the malt there though obviously a huge backbone of pils but there is a darker malt that to me wasnt' muncih.vienna or carapils so I'd love to hear back from you.

For a lager this beer had a lot of hop characer and left a great back of mouth feel. Not really a beer that would fit a style at all but one that I would probably drink.
fairly well made and pleasent
lee

 

[leeboy]

17. Onescooter - Shwartzbier

This beer poured a big creamy tan head that persisted throughout the pint + top up. Perhaps carbonation was a little on the heavy side. I do prefer my darks a bit less effervesent but thats probably just a personal thing.

Got a big nose full of fruity esters when I smelt this one with background coffee bean aromas. Very gentle but noticable biscuity maltiness that is often from muncih in there also.

THis beer was probably slightly dark for style as i struggled to get any nice ruby/amber garnets when held to light.

The hops in the beer provided a nice bitterness which when combined with the bitter coffee falvour meant this beer truely was bittered to style very well.

Noticed a lot of fruity flavours in the mouth which I couldn't put my finger on where they might of come from other than perhaps a ferment that wasn't consistant btw 8-12. Tasted perhaps like it had hit some warmer temps during rapid fermentation.

I really enjoyed this beer and if it were a little less fruity would of LOVED this beer. Really appreciated the bitter coffee and hops in it, perhaps with a little less fruit on the nose and flavour might of discovered some delicate chocolate flavour in there also.

Good beer Onescooter, I'd be interested to hear about your ferment regime for this one.
Lee

 

[Tony]

17. Onescooter - Shwartzbier

Tried this beer a few nights ago.

The fruitiness in it was a bit off putting to me.

Im wondering if its fruit or something else. It wasnt unplesant, but very destracting from the beer.

From all reports on the S-189 its clean up to 20 deg so dont know what happened.

It was a well made beer, A little dark, a little over carbed but well made all the same.

I just couldnt get past "that" flavour.

It really tastes like it was fermented really hot.......... not a bad infected flavor. I also thought the bitterness was a bit low (for me) but other than that the beer was nice. I did finnish it. HEld a great head, body was perfect.

if you can get that clean crisp lager character in the beer it will be great!

cheers

 

[m_peve]

No 3 - Pok - Bastardised lager -
From notes I took a couple of weeks ago (and just found again) so am trying to remember what I was thinking at the time.

Poured a with a large frosty head and continued to bubble in the bottle stirring up the yeast, and ensuring my second glass was murky indeed compared to the first which was a crystal clear golden-amber colour.
A light hop aroma (American???)
Thin bodied, as it should be, with a slightly dextrinous (I think that's the word I'm after) taste.
A medium dry finish that suited the style.
A great beer for a hot day (or even a cold one for that matter).
Thanks Pok

Pete

 

[m_peve]

No 2 - Schooey Dunkel Weizenbock

Once again from notes so pretty abbreviated...apologies!!
A medium head that disspated after a couple of minutes
Very dark brown to black in colour with a hint of red when held to the light.
Lotsa Banana and perhaps some clove in the aroma
A medium body with creamy mouthfeel.
Fruity taste that reminds me of making of Banana esters in Chemistry at school.Some clove. Acidity, sourness and alcohol are noticeable.
A medium dry finish that I found very refreshing.
An excellent well-made beer.
Thanks Schooey

Pete

 

[m_peve]

17. - Onescooter - Schwarzbier
Once again apologies for brevity.

Medium thin head that disappeared very quickly. May have been the glass
Definitely schwarz in colour.
A slight burnt toffee aroma with caramel sweetness.
Medium body - strong bite on the tongue - like the first mouthful of coke ??
Rich malt , toffee and dark caramel flavours - some roastiness in the background
A sweet finish was the final touch in a very enjoyable drop.
Thanks Onescooter

Pete

 

[goatherder]

I'd love for our BJCP qualified participants to comment on Onescooter's beer. My vote is acetaldehyde.

 

[Weizguy]

I'd love for our BJCP qualified participants to comment on Onescooter's beer. My vote is acetaldehyde.

Scott,

I'll pop my #17 in the fridge (and no, that's not a euphemism) tonight and have a taste tomorrow.

IIRC, Trent has a good schnoz for the acetaldehyde. Better than me, especially coz I'm a bit flu'd up/ head cold-y at the moment. Keith, how's your appreciation for green apples?

For anyone that wants to attempt the weizenbock, I'm drinking one now. It holds a thin, dense head. Oh, and I tipped the yeast in too. The aroma is still quite big/hoppy/estery, and the bitterness is fairly balanced: considering that this is a big beer. Much more like an Imperial Hefeweizen. The beer has a big (maybe really big) body and very weizen-like flavour.
Too easy to drink, scarily so, and the alcohol is quite unapparent. Like a Schneider on 'roids.
So, if that appeals to you, chill it now and hook in. My beer was only a stubbie and got half an hour in the freezer.

As for me, I think that I shall taste one stubbie each week, as this will probably not age out like other strong ales, due to the lack of longevity of the weizen yeast. Opinions anyone?

 

[onescooter]

Just a quick note on my process.
My fermentation schedule for the schwarz was to chill to 12 degrees and pitch rehydrated yeast. Adjust fridge temp to maintain 12 once fermentation has started. Ramp up temp for the last few points for a couple of days, then cool slowly to 1 degree. Temperature measurements are by stick on little guage.
It should be noted that I don't have a tap on my kettle and have to siphon the cooled wort into the fermentor. Up until recently I was starting the siphon by sucking on the hose, and didn't click that this could potentially lead to issues. This process has now been updated but may have contributed off flavours to the schwarz.
Hope this helps in sorting out my problems.
Cheers
Scott.

 

[Weizguy]

G'day Scott,

Siphoning by mouth may introduce bacteria. Notably, the mouth is full of lactobacillus. No-one has said that your beer is sour though, so I wouldn't worry about that for the previous beers you made with that technique.

Acetaldehyde is a sign of a young immature beer, maybe not lagered long enough or a signature of the Wyeast 2007 yeast (American Bud). Does that sound like it might apply?

 

[shmick]

G'day All

I had a little trouble pinning down the fruity notes in Onescooter's Schwarzbier also.

I got a kind of red wine /dark fruit type effect. A very slight tannin balanced with caramel/dark grain maybe?
Still drinkable but a little unexpected. :chug:

ps can we blame the PET bottle???

 

[onescooter]

I have never used Wyeast 2007 ( but handy to know for future reference.) Possibly young beer. As mentioned before, cold conditioned for 1 week before bottling. Was under the impression that after 3 weeks in the fermentor that autolysis may be an issue. Mind you I have tasted this flavour in ales before after a long time in the keg, so It doesn't clear up. I thought that it may be just a character of an ingerdient that I was using.
Cheers
Scott.

 

[goatherder]

15 - Colin's Vienna Lager

Lovely deep amber colour with just the slightest touch of haze. It poured with a tall white head which lasted to the bottom of the glass. Very clean aroma, noble hops out front and some background malt. In the mouth there is sweetness up front with a quick comeback from the hops, both bitterness and some great flavour. A wonderful maltiness rises up and dominates through the finish. There is a degree of sweetness through the beer but the bitterness and carbonation help it to finish crisply. Great beer thanks Colin, very clean and well made, excellent balance between malt and hops and almost bang on the style guidelines. Cheers.