2008 Nsw Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Notes

[Gulpa]

23. Homebrewworld USA PALE ALE


Just back from two weeks where my only beer choices were T.New and 4X so I needed an APA. After reading above I thought I should get this one in the fridge.

Poured with a largish head B) into a pint glass and a 2L water jug and a middie glass and had pretty good clarity once settled. Nice aroma of US hops. Low carb, medium body with nice flavour hops. Finish as mentioned above is very citrusy, almost sharp. Malt flavours emerge as it warms. Would have liked to try this with proper carb. Thanks HBW.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

10. Cortez The Killer - Smug Bastard - American Strong Ale

Pours thick. Dark copper to light brown. Hazy. Small head that falls down to the rim. Roasty/choc aroma with faint fruit. Taste is initially burnt caramel that moves to complex mix of malt and fruit as the bitterness builds. Low carb. Assertive but smooth bitterness thats really well balanced with alcohol very well hidden. Really nice beer, Cortez. Thanks heaps.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Josh]

3. Stuster - Flip-flop Saison, Wyeast 3711, 5.9%

Pretty well carbonated, but I managed to get it into just 3 glasses so no real problems there. Tastes great, not sure how to describe all the flavours though. Perhaps peppery with some farmhouse flavours.

I'm thinking of re-using this yeast. Might have to fire up the starter tonight so i can grow up some of the 3711.

 

[Muggus]

Brew: 2. DK - 13. Dry Stout
Date: 3/2/09
Beer info: Green 750ml crownseal bottle, gold cap "2", Bottled 23/11/08

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet.
Very appealing looking stout from the word go; oily black body with a light brown foam that sticks to the glass on the journey down.
Aroma is quite muted at first, and so I gave it a bit of time to warm up and breathe. Malt aromas reveal themselves; nuts, dark chocolate, burnt toffee, some earthy hop spice.
Body is quite lean, low carbonation, quite fluffy texture, smooth on the way down without too much roasted grain bite.
Smooth flavour on the body, if not the slightest bit restrained. Dark chocolate malts in the background, bit of toffee and charcoal in the works, a more defined note of hops somewhat citrusy and woody, British hops if i'd have to take a guess. Subtle dark fruits linger on tongue, finish is dry, quite bitter but still a smooth ride overall.
I was expecting something quite heavy, which is probably why I left this beer to 3rd last, but was pleasently suprised. Very drinkable dark ale. Cheers DK!

 

[PostModern]

5. nifty - English Pale Ale

Poured with lots of gas into a jug. I don't know what I'm doing wrong with these case beers, but they all generally plume all over the place despite a couple days in the fridge. Now I'm down to 2 kegs, I might load up the rest of the case and give the bottles more time. Anyway, my storage issues aside, this beer plumed all over the place. The yeast held onto the bottle, so there was no haze. Poured very nice and clear once the copious head settled and displayed a rich ruby hue. Aroma was of CO2 initially (I'll forever associate bottled beer with CO2 burns to my nostrils from this case swap forth) and later of crystal malt and some subdued hops. Flavour was dominated by the "malt" but by malt, I mean dark crystal, I could not make out much base malt flavour at all. I don't mean to be overly critical, but I don't like overused crystal. Sticky toffee flavours should take a back seat, imho and compliment the base malt rather than disguise it. This beer was not undrinkable by any means, but had much too much crystal for my liking. Otherwise, the palate balance was good, it was dry enough thanks probably to a low mash temp, and was quite a drinkable pint, obviously well crafted.

Geez, rereading that paragraph, it comes across as if I didn't like the beer, and in hindsight, I guess I'm saying that although I can see the skill of the brewer in this beer, I just don't like the heavy hand with the spec malt.

 

[Gulpa]

25. PoMo - Summer Blonde

Pours pale gold with a big fluffy head. Slight haze. Aroma of malt with a slight belgian yeastyness in the background. Taste follows with maltiness and a nice hint of tropical/stone fruits. High carb. Nicely balanced bitterness. Im not that familiar with the style but this is an excellent summer drinking beer. Really enjoying. Thanks PoMo.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Muggus]

Brew: 16. Muggus - Wedding Weekend Weizenbock
Beer info: Brown 750ml CUB crownseal bottle, gold cap "16", 6.6%, 21/10/08

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in chalice.
Pours a deep copper body with a bit of haze and short lived offwhite foam.
Toffee/brown sugar aroma, wheat cereal, peppery phenols, some unripe fruit, a touch of sulfur in the mix.
Carbonation is reasonably lively without being mouthfilling, body is reasonably rich maybe not as much as others of the style. Drying texture, slight roasted grain astrigency.
Rich burnt caramel body, somewhat roasty, fruity but in a different way to most hefeweizens, more like paw paw or rockmelon rather than banana. Finishes quite bitter, big drying quality that lingers. Alcohol is an afterthought.
An odd example, probably more bitter/hoppy or possibly drier than it should be, yet still has a richness about it.

 

[PostModern]

25. PoMo - Summer Blonde
Im not that familiar with the style but this is an excellent summer drinking beer. Really enjoying. Thanks PoMo.

Cheers
Andrew.

Cheers. I don't know if there is a style per se (EDIT, tho it does fit easily into this style), it's just something I like to brew and drink over summer, usually with EKG or, as in this one, NZ fruity hops at the end (just for reference, that's 1g/litre with a really hearty whirlpool at flameout, no chilled). Low body yet tons of interesting flavours. I popped my one 750ml bottle the other day and it's more carbonated than when it comes off the tap at home. Sorry about that. Not sure if I'll ever get back into the bottling thing. So hard to control all the variables for carbonation.

 

[Gulpa]

Cheers. I don't know if there is a style per se (EDIT, tho it does fit easily into this style), it's just something I like to brew and drink over summer, usually with EKG or, as in this one, NZ fruity hops at the end (just for reference, that's 1g/litre with a really hearty whirlpool at flameout, no chilled). Low body yet tons of interesting flavours. I popped my one 750ml bottle the other day and it's more carbonated than when it comes off the tap at home. Sorry about that. Not sure if I'll ever get back into the bottling thing. So hard to control all the variables for carbonation.

No probs with the carb. Almost the swap theme, mine included <_< . I thought the NZ hops worked really well.


cheers
Andrew.

 

[white.grant]

I had neglected to post these impressions earlier.


No 17. Loftboy Cream Ale

1.1.09

Pours slightly hazy into nonic bubbly head forming
Refreshing balanced palate with bright carbonation with some bitterness on the finish. Sunk it in rapid time after brewing in the shed in 40 degree temps. Exactly what I need and I enjoyed every gulp. Cheers Loftboy, very pleasant.

No 25. Pomo Summer Blonde

1.1.09

Poured clear into nonic, strong carb with big bubbly head, slowly lacing the glass.

Aroma is bright hops with some pleasant resiny tones and soft honey
Drinking is definite hops upfront with subtle bitterness over a light malt background. Superb balance in the middle giving over to a finish of slowly fading bitterness. Thanks Pomo, really enjoyed this one.

No 21. Barls Raspberry Wheat Beer

24.12.08

Pours a pleasant crimson haze into my glass tankard with a white foam slowly diminishing, giving off a pleasant fruity aroma. I love raspberries and I can sense that they're near!

Down the hatch the raspberries come across with assertive tartness backed by the carbonation and then morph across the tongue into hop bitterness that lingers briefly before drying away. As the beer warms in the glass the flavours intensify as the carb settles and the raspberry asserts. MMMmmmm. Raspberries..... Nice one Barls. Cheers.

 

[barls]

cheers grant not bad for a kit beer. heres the recipe
Recipe Overview
Wort Volume Before Boil: 23.00 l Wort Volume After Boil: 22.00 l
Volume Transferred: 22.00 l Water Added To Fermenter: 0.00 l
Volume At Pitching: 22.00 l Volume Of Finished Beer: 22.00 l
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.020 SG Expected OG: 1.035 SG
Expected FG: 1.009 SG Apparent Attenuation: 74.9 %
Expected ABV: 3.5 % Expected ABW: 2.8 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 0.0 IBU Expected Color (using Morey): 5.6 SRM
BU:GU ratio: 0.00 Approx Color:
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 18 degC


Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
wals wheat 1.700 kg 63.0 % 5.2 In Mash/Steeped
Extract - Wheat Liquid Malt Extract 1.000 kg 37.0 % 1.7 End Of Boil

Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
NZ Hallertauer Aroma 7.5 % 18 g 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter

Other Ingredients
Ingredient Amount When
raspberries- frozen 1000 g In secondary

Yeast
White Labs WLP550-Belgian Ale

on a separate note had the following.
Les dampfier bier- different but good, well enjoyed.
homebrew world- i think i scored one of the ipa's. slightly overcarbonated but enjoyable.

 

[Muggus]

Only 1kg of Raspberries in the seconday Barls?
Seems like there would've been more by the colour and taste!

 

[barls]

yeah you cant beat those farm berries for potency. dont know why there is a double post ill try to fix it.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

23. Hombrewworld - Irish Red

Had the jug on hand to catch the beer as it spewed out. However this didn't eventuate, nor did the cascade hops. Looks like I've got the irsh red.

Low carbonation, meduim copper in colour. Nose is fairly maltly and some english hops, caramel notes. Low bitterness, on the sweeter side, very clean. Very smooth drinking. Some toffee flavours. Finshes fairly sweet. But very easy drinking. I like it. Could be a little more attenuated, however this may be a funcion of under carbonation.

Cheers

 

[schooey]

I drank the last one of mine today and if you have been hanging on, now's the time to drink it. It's conditioned in the fridge pretty well for me, but I notice that the hoppiness is backing off a bit from the last one I tried. Anyway, I liked it

 

[Cortez The Killer]

19. Gulpa - IPA

Carb meduim to high. Copper in colour. Very clear. Massive floral hoppy nose. Large head. Herbal flavours. Definitly on the bitter side - like beer should be! I must admit I've not had a good english IPA before and I think I'll stuggle to find one as good as this again. Plenty of hop flavour. Floral and earthy flavours. Good malt backbone to balance it out. A most awesome beer.

Cheers

Edit: Can't find recipe in database - have you got this one handy Gulpa? Cheers

 

[3GumsBrewing]

Brew: 2. DK - 13. Dry Stout
Very drinkable dark ale. Cheers DK!

Thanks Muggus,

I love my beers with low carbonation, but I thought I might have let this one get a bit too low!! Good to hear it was ok.

My thoughts on MCT's IPA here - Linky (hint, it rocks!!)

Cheers everyone, I finished my case tonight, apart for some incredibly overcarbed bottles.... Each and every one was enjoyable.

Hope to participate again in July!

DK

 

[Gulpa]

20. Redbeard - Handcrafted Lightly hopped Summer Wheat Ale

Ill join everyone else and state that this is pretty hard to describe and definitely not what I was expecting.

Pours clear gold/orange. Aroma of malt, some spice with that tartness others talk about - Im getting a bit of pear in there as well. Taste is more of the same, quite complex and finishes tart with spice. Low carb. Low bitterness. Certainly unlike any other beer I have had with lots to think about. Nice. Thanks Redbeard.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[DiscoStu]

18. Insight - Taddy Porter Clone, 5.2%

Thick tan head that clings to the glass on the way down. Aroma has notes of toffee and hint of chocolate.

Well balanced between malt and hops, nice level of background bitterness.

Very Very drinkable beer. Enjoyed this one a lot. Only disappointment was I poured SWMBO a glass

 

[Gulpa]

19. Gulpa - IPA

Carb meduim to high. Copper in colour. Very clear. Massive floral hoppy nose. Large head. Herbal flavours. Definitly on the bitter side - like beer should be! I must admit I've not had a good english IPA before and I think I'll stuggle to find one as good as this again. Plenty of hop flavour. Floral and earthy flavours. Good malt backbone to balance it out. A most awesome beer.

Cheers

Edit: Can't find recipe in database - have you got this one handy Gulpa? Cheers

Thanks Cortez. High praise indeed.

Recipe here