2009 Nsw Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Thread

[Pollux]

Just popped open the eyres APA.....

Is very tasty, I could taste the citrus of the US hops straight away, definitely a winner in this house, even the wife is drinking it (she prefers cider)....

 

[Pollux]

Just opened Fatz's offering, a great after dinner beer, low on the carb level, but perfect for right now.

I'm crap at describing tastes, but it is very enjoyable......

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 20. mrs eyres - pale ale
Date: 14th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top bottle, gold cap 20 4.5% - US-05 1st nov
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Nice loud opening, get a whiff of hops straight-up. Pours a relatively clean copper body with a good amount of white foam.

Plenty of zesty American hops on the nose. I get a bit of ripe peach, pine, grapefruit rind, combined with some caramel malts and odd faint smoky note.

Moderate soft carbonation, medium-to-lean body, medium-dry texture.

Bit more malt comes through on the body, caramel and biscuity sweetness. Hops provide a bit of ripe stone fruit, citrus, and a decent bitterness. Lingering grassy note.

Damn tasty APA Mrs Eyres. Very clean, flavoursome with a good balance. Cheers

 

[Gulpa]

8. Fatgodzilla - Golden Ale .. ideal summer thirst quencher, mid strength english style bitter.S 04

Pours gold with a persistent head. Clear. Nice light biscuity malty aroma. Flavour is a tasty mix of malts, fruit, hops, yeast. Light body, carb laces the glass. Great easy drinking ale. Thanks FGZ.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[nifty]

I just had MaestroMatt's APA.

I'm no good at picking out flavours etc but I did get a very passionfruity taste in this, which I thought was quite nice.

Thanks Matt, nice beer.

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 8. Fatgodzilla - Golden Ale
Date: 14th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top bottle, gold cap 8 S 04
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Small ring of white foam sits atop a deep golden body, with slight haze.

British hop nose; orange marmalade and leafy spice. Subtle toffee sweetness and mineral-like esters in the background.

Low, almost cask-like carbonation with a slight creaminess to boot. Quite a good weight for a midstrength beer.

Enjoyable body of flavour; leafy hops, biscuity malt, pale toffee sweetness, bitter orange, melon. Bit of vanilla-like spice towards the finish. Good firm bitterness.

Im digging this! Sure, it a miserable sort of Sydney summer day, but this reminds me of England, where a day like this would be considered nice weather. But yeah, in all honesty, this is a very well made and tasty British-style golden ale, well done Ian!

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Beer: 8. Fatgodzilla - Golden Ale

Im digging this! Sure, it a miserable sort of Sydney summer day, but this reminds me of England, where a day like this would be considered nice weather. But yeah, in all honesty, this is a very well made and tasty British-style golden ale, well done Ian!

From the comments made, it appears this beer hits the intended spot. With a lot of people making big beers at swaps, I went backwards to a style I am getting better with. Sounds like I should have put this one on tap and made you guys something else :lol:

Saving NSW swap beers for next week and holidays.

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

16. Muggus - White Gold Bitter - 4.7% bottled 19th November 2009, WLP023. Drinkable now

First bottle cracked! Lovely beer - nice amber colour, great hop aroma and flavour. Reminds me of an APA or Amber ale. Would happily have this beer on tap.

 

[Muggus]

16. Muggus - White Gold Bitter - 4.7% bottled 19th November 2009, WLP023. Drinkable now

First bottle cracked! Lovely beer - nice amber colour, great hop aroma and flavour. Reminds me of an APA or Amber ale. Would happily have this beer on tap.

Thanks alot! Glad to hear the hops shined through, they're a bit different from anything i've used before.

Just drinking a really nice beer myself...

Beer: 10. MaestroMatt - APA
Date: 15th December 2009
Details: 750ml Coopers bottle, gold cap #10 4.7% - Wyeast 1272
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Orange-gold body with a slight haze. Decent white head hangs around.

Nice bit of citrusy hop on the nose, not overdone, some subtle pine and grassiness in the mix. Light caramel malts in the background.

Moderate carbonation and body, bit of creaminess to the texture, always nice.

Caramel malts upfront, bit of biscuit and cereal quality about it. Hops take a back seat, noticeable citrus and grass lingers on the finish with a modest bitterness.

Quaffable APA. Hard to fault, certainly goes down a treat. Nice one Matt!

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

OK Muggus you have me following you now!! Just cracked the Maestro's beer and it's another good one. Tried to think of something original to write, but ended up echoing Muggus' review, apologies for the lack of originality!

 

[Pollux]

Just split Gruntus's Blondie Ale with the wife.

Great later evening Belgian Strong Ale, definite sweetness as it's warms, but not overpowering.....

The wife is claiming to be smelling pineapple, I can't pick it up but I'll trust her.

 

[Josh]

Recipe added to the database.

 

[Muggus]

Beer: Retsamhsam - NZ/US Pale Ale
Date: 15th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top, gold cap 7 Nottingham Dried Yeast. 5%abv
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Loud opening. Pours a clear-ish pale amber body with a good amount of white foam.

Reasonably balanced nose, hops seem to fair best with some resinous leafy herb, unripe tropical fruit and bitter citrus rind. Some biscuity malt takes backseat.
Medium body, decent carbonation, quite smooth texture on the way down.

Id go as far as to say the flavour is quite unique, and nice. Unripe melon, resinous herbs, pepper and bitter citrus hop character makes its mark. Dried fruit and light phenolics mix with sweet malts on finish with a decent bitterness.

Certainly a different take on an APA, gotta love those NZ hops! Nice work Rets, cheers!

 

[Gulpa]

2. Bizier - Swapfen Weiss, ~6% 3068

Pours vcloudy gold. Smallish head that drops down. Aroma is wheaty yeast phenyls with a slight mineral edge as it warms. Flavour is phenol fruity and citrus with a touch of malt peeking through. Bitterness suits. Quite refreshing for a 6%er, it went down quickly on this hot evening. Thanks Dan.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 17. Davelovesbeer - Ale of some sort
Date: 17th December 2009
Details: 750ml crownseal, gold cap Davelovesbeer/ALE about 4.5% - US05
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Looks a bit hazy in the bottle, and was confirmed by a lively, murky gold beer with a bit of white foam that eventually fades away.

Some fruity hops on the nose, tropical and citrus, nothing really specific. Sweet honey malt undertone.

Reasonably high carbonation, medium-full body, texture is a bit on the flabby side.

Honey-like malt sweetness on the body, bit of cereal quality in there too. Hops a bit more restrained, bit of phenolic fruit and bitterness to finish.

Interesting sort of beer. Seems a bit like a Coopers Pale Ale meets an APA. May have been fermented a bit warm? Was enjoyable regardless. Thanks Dave, cheers!

 

[Bizier]

2. Bizier - Swapfen Weiss, ~6% 3068

Pours vcloudy gold. Smallish head that drops down. Aroma is wheaty yeast phenyls with a slight mineral edge as it warms. Flavour is phenol fruity and citrus with a touch of malt peeking through. Bitterness suits. Quite refreshing for a 6%er, it went down quickly on this hot evening. Thanks Dan.

Cheers
Andrew.

I haven't posted a drink date on this, I am hoping there will be a point where the hops drop off a little and there is still phenols. I guess it is now. I have set my goal as to brew some good weizens over summer.

Cheers for the review Andrew

 

[Muggus]

I feel I needed a change from hop driven pale ales, despite the weather. Glad I did!

Beer: Gulpa - Munich Dunkel
Date: 17th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top, gold cap 1 Wyeast 2633, 4.7%
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Small off-white head slowly dissipates atop a bronzed body. Clarity reasonably good.

Malty nose. Lots of toasted nut, biscuit and toffee, hint of chocolate and plum.

Yum! Body is far thicker than I anticipated! Not dissimilar to a bock of much higher alcohol. Chewy texture, carbonation is a bit spitzy but I dont mind.

Flavour really punches through with far more complexity than the aroma alluded to. Rich toffee, sweet dough, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, mild coffee, with lovely hints of plum and dried fruit towards the finish. Subdued bitterness, lingering dryness.

This beer took me aback quite a bit. Whilst most Munich Dunkels Ive come across in my time have a nice clean flavour with mild roastiness, the body of this beer adds a dimension that is quite remarkable for a beer of moderate strength. Great job Andrew, this is a tremendous beer!

 

[davelovesbeer]

Thanks Muggus. I am a bit embarrassed with the effort. Last time I made this it was crystal clear (3/3 in castle hill comp for appearance), and the hops were alot more pronounced. Not sure exactly what happened this time.

Anyway, hope it wasnt too bad, and I will ensure the next swap brew isnt so interesting.

 

[Gulpa]

Thanks Mike. :icon_chickcheers: Glad you enjoyed it. I think the yeast contributes a lot of the character to the beer. My brother did an Octoberfest with the slurry and it is very simliar despite very different malt/hop bills. The carb is a bit all over the place with this beer. I had to reprime in the bottle but still some are less carbed than I would have liked.

cheers
Andrew.

I feel I needed a change from hop driven pale ales, despite the weather. Glad I did!

Beer: Gulpa - Munich Dunkel
Date: 17th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top, gold cap 1 Wyeast 2633, 4.7%
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Small off-white head slowly dissipates atop a bronzed body. Clarity reasonably good.

Malty nose. Lots of toasted nut, biscuit and toffee, hint of chocolate and plum.

Yum! Body is far thicker than I anticipated! Not dissimilar to a bock of much higher alcohol. Chewy texture, carbonation is a bit spitzy but I dont mind.

Flavour really punches through with far more complexity than the aroma alluded to. Rich toffee, sweet dough, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, mild coffee, with lovely hints of plum and dried fruit towards the finish. Subdued bitterness, lingering dryness.

This beer took me aback quite a bit. Whilst most Munich Dunkels Ive come across in my time have a nice clean flavour with mild roastiness, the body of this beer adds a dimension that is quite remarkable for a beer of moderate strength. Great job Andrew, this is a tremendous beer!

 

[megs80]

18 Hewi Bo-pils

This was the first one I tried. Poured it into a pilsner glass and it suited. Bright lager with a persistant fluffy head. Prickly carbonation but once that settled down I found myself drinking a nice clean beer with enough bitterness to remind me its a pilsner. I got a nice little bit of fruitiness from the yeast. The finish was clean off the tounge, though there was a flavour which I cannot pick which lasted a couple of seconds. Overall an enjoyable beer. Nice work Hewi

Cheers,
Alex


Note to all,
I tried a longneck of my case swap beer the other day and it lacked acceptable carbonation. So please keep out of the fridge until a couple of days before consumption. Best after date is on the label