2008 Hag Xmas In July Case Swap - Tasting Notes

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Cracked a bottle of the schwartz and i agree with goatherder on all points. Slight fruity note which i wasn't sure was just me or not. Have had the same sort of flavour in quite a few beers but was unsure what the cause was, have since changed a few processes and am waiting to see if changes the profile. Carbonation also is a bit higher than I was hoping for.
For a 23 litre batch I used 2 packs of re-hydrated yeast, but I can't say whether or not the aeration was adequate.
I am completely open for advice as this is why I got involved in the swap.
Cheers
Scott.
 
The last time I had acetaldehyde in one of my brews it was because I took the beer off the primary too early. How long did you ferment for?
 
was just working out what beers to throw in the fridge next. noticed your beer Onescooter, is it really bottled May 07? My beers never last that long!!!
 
3. Pokolbinguy's beer.

I have had this cold for over a week now, cracking the cap and letting some gas out. Im glad i did because it was a great beer.

I was bust racking beers thisarvo and found the bottle in the bottom of a freezer with a cc'ing oktoberfest.

I cracked it and the his was normal so i poured it in the glass.

Clear as....... clean refreshing beer. Citrus and spice in both aroma and flavour, wonderfull deep gold colour.

Very refreshing with bitterness lasting into the fisish, just how i like them.

This would be a great summer quaffer, well made and enjoyable to boot.

Question......... excuse my ignorance and im sure you have posted it but was it extract or Grain? I loved it either way. I usually taste the extract in a beer but not with this one.

cheers and thanks.
 
3. Pokolbinguy's beer.

Question......... excuse my ignorance and im sure you have posted it but was it extract or Grain? I loved it either way. I usually taste the extract in a beer but not with this one.

cheers and thanks.

It was indeed an extract beer. Glad to hear you liked it, I was rather sceptic. Would love to hear others feedback.

Pok
 
Well finally got around to starting the case beers. First off was onescooter's Schwarzbier.

Pours a very dark brown colour with a large persistent off white head. Lovely toffee aroma with some background roast, it might be because its a bit cold or that my nose it's too great at the moment but I don't get the fruitiness/acetaldehyde. Moderate malt flavour balanced nicely with the roast and the medium bitterness. Lingering dry finish spot on for style. Light to medium bodied with a carbonation probably at the top end for the style.

All in all a really well made beer mate, cheers. Makes me think I really have to brew a schwarzbier again....
 
11. nooch - Maibock, Wyeast 2487VSS Hella-Bock, 6.3% abv.
Nice drinking beer. I assume it is the same one that was shared at the swap day. really rated it up there. Drank it first up and noted a slight almost candy sugar sweetness in the back of the mouth. Other than that it was a really well presented beer. Great colour and carbonation. Aroma of malt and handling the strenght brilliantly with no boozy sort of aftertones that some beers that aren't as balanced as well might show. This beer I thought was exceptional and would be interested to hear if anyone else gets a sweet candy like back of mouth flavour?

Only other this is if this is your mash paddle entry maybe filter it a bit. Mine had what looks like hop matter in suspension. Didn't affect taste/flavour or anything just asthetic.

Great beer. Am looking forward to the second bottle of it that we swapped. Gotta love left overs.
 
23. backyard brewer - Georgetown/India Pale Ale.

Mmmm hops. This beer was a cracker, i was expecting a traditional english IPA from the beer list, but must admit I was just as happy with this beer. Had the light colour of modern AIPA's that really showcase the fresh hops. This beer was carbonated perfectly if anything slightly high and held a great head which laced my glass impecably. Great balance of malt and hops for style. Enough malt to give this beer a bit of kick and not just be an onslaught of hops. Great bitterness with a lovely flavour and aroma kick of delicate hops. Super clear beer that you can tell has been in the bottle a while. Fantastic and as previously mentioned I was expecting an english style IPA with more coloured malts/crystal but was not disappointed with how this tasted one bit. Great balance and a great beer that I would definately go back for. Beats the crap out of Squires IPA.
 
9. Tony - a hazy Belgian Trippel

Well I cracked this today on the off chance it might not be infected as previously posted and....

MINE DEFINTELY WAS NOT!!!!

So before you all go throwing your bottles I and I'm sure tony would want you to at least try this or smell it before putting it to your lips

Mine had no lambic flavours/ no acidity/vinegar flavours and no crazy phenols going on whatsoever

Instead I got a quiet well rounded trippel. It was great on the palate went down smooth, as all low hopped trippels shound and a tiny bit of citrus and corriander in the background. I really enjoyed this one and would definatley like to point out to everyone to try this before throwing it. It was quite nice. Not up to chimay standards but definatley a well balanced big beer that left you wanting more.

Thanks tony
 
BACKYARD BREWER OVER-HONEYED Grand Cru

THis one was a nice beer. Didn't taste nearly as much honey as I was expecting from the "over honeyed" title. Was quite nice and in my opinion got better as it warmed.
Had a very strong but deliacate malt backbone with cabonation a little on the low side. Enough in it to lace the glass slightly but would of loved this one with a bigger more traditional euro head on it.

Rich nourishing malt sweetness that shone through much more than the honey and was matched well with what tasted about 30IBU. Managed to show not hot/spicy alcohol charater but a nice marrage of soft both peppers and spices

Great beer, more carbonation would of made this beer really really stand out. Thanks!!
 
7. goatherder - Maibock. S-189, 6.4% abv. Bottled 22/6

Another well crafted maibock. This one was a little cleaner and a little more subtle. Poured well with a great carbonation. Tight white head which painted lace on my glass on the way down well. Slighly more noble hop presence on the nose than I was expecting but drank amazingly smooth with very slight hop character (to style). Overall constructive feedback is maybe too much aroma/flavour hop, which i wouldn't expect any to be thrown in after 60mins for this style. Was there a good vigourous boil? or were there late addiitions?

This beer has sooo much going for it. Fantastic malt balance of being not to lagery but still not totally malt dominated. Still a beer to drink in volume but much more interesting than the pils/marzens/kolsch of german summer.

Top notch Goatherder, sorry if my comments on aroma and flavour are off base. Would be interested to hear your and other thoughts
 
5. Leeboy - Munich Dunkel

Yes this is my own beer, big criticism straight up is carbonation, however I only bottled it a couple of days before the swap so its got a bit to go.
Poured a nice ruby brown which in volume darkens to a transparent black with red/brown highlights.

In mouth feel is of toast and biscuity malts with gentle choc flavours. Overall I'm fairly happy with this one. Super clean and drinkable.

Would really like someone else to drink it soon because I've brewed another since with one change unmentioned in this post so far (deliberately to hear what other palates think) but would like to put down another really soon after more feedback for comp season

Lee
 
I tasted Keith's Stout, and may I say that it was quite satisfying. Surprisingly so.
I had forgotten that Keith could make decent homebrew, as a significant portion of his time is now devoted to his commercial practice of the brewing art.

Anyway..., the beer: Dark and quite opaque, with a thin tan head.
The aromas: swirled with a hand help on top of the dimpled half-pint glass, and then released to the nostrils. Initially, I smell alcohol and significant higher alcohols. That quietly segues to reveal fruity esters and some hop aroma, fading to reveal the underlying and underpinning aroma of roasty malt, espresso coffee and dark chocolate. Superb aroma combo on that finish. At the bottom of the glass, I can smell the malt aroma of Maris, if I'm not mistaken (and I probably am).
Flavour: roasty choc and dark fruit, with detectable alcohol. The roastiness masks the malt for me and there is some delay before the bitterness cuts in to remind me that this is a beer and not a grout (unhopped, like the one made by Goulburn brewery, IIRC).
Mouthfeel: medium-thin, yet silky/oily with some drying astringency in almost undetectable amounts. I got through half the beer before I noticed it.
Overall impression: A number of minor flaws does not detract from the enjoyable experience of this fine dark ale. I really admired the drinkability, and especially the roast/coffee/choc experience, and the balance of hops to the spectrum of other flavours. A sign of a good beer is the invitation to come back for another sip/swallow/guzzle, and this beer has it in spades. Great beer for a Winter night in front of the fire (no fire tonight, though). I wish I had more, but it's time to move on to another beer.

BTW, this beer was consumed after 10 minutes in my freezer, which was too cold, then allowed to warm to room temp, which was a bit too warm. Maybe 3-5 min in the freezer would be best, as room temp revealed a number of hidden flavours and aromas which did not do justice to the quaffability factor.

Les
 
Cheers for the review Lee, great feedback.

On the hops, I hopped it to a total of 27 IBUs with 10 IBUs of Southern Cross and the remainder with HalMit plugs, all at 60min. Being very low alpha I used 4 plugs in the 29l batch, probably explaining while there is some hop character in the beer. It was intending to get a bit of hoppiness from the 60min plugs, I just hope it's not over the top for the style.
 
No 5 - Leeboy - Munich Dunkel
As requested, a quick review (so you can brew again) but a bit short because I'm flat out at the moment.

A thin head that disappeared after a short period. Probably a result of not long enough in the bottle as you said.
Sweet malts on the nose with some toffee in there for good measure. A very faint hint of sourness there somewhere though I have had the flu so my senses are somewhat blunted/bruised.
Deep, very dark copper in colour. It seems quite clear though a little hard to tell in the glass I have.
Bready flavours dominate the tongue on initial tasting whilst malt dominates the rest of the mouthful. A very very slight sourness seemed to be present at the back of the first mouthful but disappeared quickly.
Bitterness is low but cuts through the sweetness enough to avoid the cloying sensation in some malty beers. Hop flavour is noticeable but appropriately subdued in the medium dry finish.
Medium bodied and a great drink, I've enjoyed this beer greatly.
A well balanced and a good session beer. I could easily drink more.
Thanks Leeboy

Pete
 
2 - Schooey's Dunkel Weizenbock

A great excuse to wash the dust of my wheaty glass. This baby pours as black as a stout, a little light peaking through showing off the amber highlights. The head stands tall, tan in colour. Great aroma profile, a little banana and pineapple with sweet dark toffee and some roast. The flavour reflects the aroma with the addition of some wheat tartness. The body is soft and full yet finishes magically dry. Everything is in balance, the esters, the dark malts, the bitterness, the body. It mightn't be quite to style but it is a really tasty and drinkable beer. Top marks thanks Schooey, much enjoyed.
 
Wow... Thanks for all the kind feedback, fellas. I wasn't too sure how this one would go, I knew it was pretty dark, but I was more worried about the big banana in it. Anyway, glad it's being enjoyed... :D
 
23. Backyard Brewer - Georgetown/India Pale Ale. High hopped for that long boat journey from the lounge to the fridge

On the back of previous reviews I chilled this one slowly in the fridge and I put a bulgy shouldered pint glass in the freezer at lunch time just for the occasion. It poured incredibly clear, big white foamy head of medium bubble size, perhaps a little lighter in colour than your standard IPA, but close. Slightly active carbonation, but not overly and i don't think out of style. Aroma at first was hops, latish aditions I guess. Then the malt profile comes through and it makes you want to just pick it up and take a great big mouthfull. First taste is a freight train of clean, citrussy hops, cascade or chinook perhaps? maybe some saaz in there? I'd really love to know... then the malt comes through an balances it out, fantastic....

I'm with Lee on this one, I'd drink this any day over the JS IPA. Great job Geoff, very very enjoyable beer, thanks!
 
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