2009 Nsw Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Thread

[Bizier]

I am apologetic that I have not actually tasted the ones from people that I don't see on a regular basis.

 

[syd_03]

I am apologetic that I have not actually tasted the ones from people that I don't see on a regular basis.

Does that mean I have to see you more often for you to actually try my beers? Didnt think they were so bad Id have to force feed them to you

I am apologetic I have only tried two of the swap beers to date. I will make amends to this and drink plenty tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers
Jason

 

[Muggus]

I'm getting a bit slack...

Beer: Gruntus - Blondie - 18A (Belgian Strong Ale - Belgian Blond Ale) (1st)(311)
Date: 23rd December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 9 7.6% - Brewed 12/9/2009 Bottled 27/9/2009
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Deep golden body with decent clarity. Small thick white head persists.

Reasonably sweet aroma of malt; some honey in there and a distinct graininess about, which I cant quite put my finger on. Spicy phenolics in the background, apricot-like fruitiness and floral notes.

Carbonation is decent, quite thick bodied and oily textured. Alcohol well masked.

Flavours open up a bit more on the body, especially ripe apricot and stonefruit-like esters and flowery notes (hops?). Spicy towards the finish, honeyish malts combine with a restrained bitterness on the finish. Hint of alcohol lingers.

Enjoyable Belgian blonde. Pretty much on the money, and becomes more enjoyable with warmth . Nice job Gruntus, happen to want to share the recipe?

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 3. Thommo - Brown Porter
Date: 29th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 3
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug

Pours quite a thick looking deep bronze body. Small bit of tan foam hangs about.

Moderate roasted malt aroma; nuts, burnt toffee, liquorice. Undertones of red delicious apple and plum, and orange rind hop with warmth.

Carbonation is low lending to the smooth, syrup-like texture of the body. Some mild roast astringency helps balance out the initial sweetness.

Nice malt driven body, not overly done; dark grain bread, dark chocolate, wood and tar, liquorice, burnt nuts and caramel. Decent bitterness to finish with a lingering dryness and dark fruit undertones.

Highly sessionable dark ale, somewhat in the league of a Tooheys Old, but a bit more to it. Nice beer Thommo, cheers!

 

[barls]

just put one of my smoked schwartz in the fridge will comment back tomorrow night as to if its ready or not.
unless someone else has had it already?

 

[Muggus]

Can't say i've been game enough just yet Barls.
Though I am looking forward to it.

Instead, i'm tucking into another nice drop...
Beer: 19. Megs80- Pacific strong ale
Date: 29th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 3 6.6% WLP001 Cal ale
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug.

Inch of thick white foam sits atop a hazy amber body.

Aroma is pungent and packed with hops! Lots of passionfruit and ripe melon, citrus rind, yellow-flesh nectarines and pine. Only the slightest hint of malt in this hopshow.

Smooth, somewhat velvet-like unfiltered texture, carbonation is quite low, medium-to-full body.

Malt body is a bit more prevalent on the body with some nice caramel and cereal flavours filtering through the tirade of hops. More ripe stonefruit and passionfruit on the body, maybe not as intense as the nose would have suggested. Resinous finish with a bit of grass lingering with a relatively high bitterness, maybe a bit lower than I was expecting.

Really excellent hop combination with this beer. Deliciously hoppy and well made, quite a treat. Cheers Megs!

 

[hewy]

Been slack here, only had one to date:

20. mrs eyres - pale ale - 4.5% - US-05 - ready to drink, bottled 1st nov, drink sooner rather than later, cheers

Pours a nice copper colour and very clear. Has a nice persistent head adorning the copper body. Smells of cascade on the nose, definitely looking forward to tasting this one. Nice flavour, a clean beer with some crystal sweetness. Nice hop flavour not overwhelming but definitely assertive.

Definitely a shame that I only have one of these :icon_drool2: very nice beer!


Cheers
Hewy

 

[nifty]

8. Fatgodzilla - Golden Ale, mid strength english style bitter.S 04

I had Fat'z beer earlier tonight. Very nice thanks, I really enjoyed this beer.

cheers

nifty

 

[Gulpa]

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

Pours hazy copper with big fluffy head that persists. Aroma of caramel malts, biscuit, herbal hops, a touch of yeast. Flavour follows with more of the same, smooth maltyness. Medium body. Carb is a bit high for me at start but calms down. Nicely bittered with lingering hoppy finish. Tick all the Bitter boxes for me. Very nice beer, thanks Mike.

Ive been thinking of going back to wlp023 next year. I really like this yeast, probably my favourite of the Bitter yeasts Ive tried so far. Has the right mix of clean yeasty flavours for my tastes.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Muggus]

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

Pours hazy copper with big fluffy head that persists. Aroma of caramel malts, biscuit, herbal hops, a touch of yeast. Flavour follows with more of the same, smooth maltyness. Medium body. Carb is a bit high for me at start but calms down. Nicely bittered with lingering hoppy finish. Tick all the Bitter boxes for me. Very nice beer, thanks Mike.

Ive been thinking of going back to wlp023 next year. I really like this yeast, probably my favourite of the Bitter yeasts Ive tried so far. Has the right mix of clean yeasty flavours for my tastes.

Cheers
Andrew.

Thanks for the feedback Andrew. Glad you liked it.

I cultured up a fair bit of wlp023 so it's probably going to be my staple British ale yeast this summer/autumn. I found it was a bit cloudy and did throw off quite a few pear-like esters and peppery phenolics at first, but it cleared up reasonably well and cleaned up a bit with some bottle aging, so I can't complain.

 

[barls]

just had mine, it was a little undercarbed but held a head fine. i think i got the smoke at a level that its proud to be a rauch beer. if your game try now but will only get better on carbonation in the future as its only one month old

 

[hewy]

Just had the following

19. Megs80- Pacific strong ale 6.6%, Drink 25th dec- 1st Jan (no later), WLP001 Cal ale baby!

Pours copper and hazy. Carbonation is low so I had to pour with a bit of extra height to achieve a decent head. Head disappears after a few minutes.

Strong smell of hops on the nose, I can tell this is going to be a very hoppy beer. I would have guessed US hops if you hadnt included the label with varieties.

Tastes fruity, strong passionfruit flavours dominate. Nowhere can I taste the alcohol. Quite dry on the finish too making this beer very drinkable. Great beer that's all about the hops!


Cheers
Hewy

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 14. Josh - Summer Ale
Date: 30th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 14, 6.8%bottled 2/12/09 WLP029
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug.

Very persistent creamy white finger-worth of foam atop a hazy pale orange body.

Aroma is a bit subdued. Citrus hops most prominent, some fresh doughy malt and vanilla in the background.

Medium carbonation and body, slick and smooth unfiltered sort of texture.

Flavours open out on the body, more pronounced hop grapefruit rind and pine, cereal malts and golden syrup sweetness. Subtle spice towards the finish, moderate bitterness, dry yet very clean.

Quite enjoy the maltiness of this beer, quite unique and delicious, and the yeast finishes without the chalky dryness that seems quite common with Kolsch yeasts. Top notch Josh, thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers!

 

[Gulpa]

Happy new year! Hope everyone had a good one.

17. Davelovesbeer - Ale of some sort - about 4.5% (hydrometer broke when testing) - US05

Pours gold with a slight haze. Nice head that persists. Aroma is quite light with a bit of bread, a bit of caramel, a bit hop and a bit of yeast (sounds a bit like beer to me). Flavour is pale malt with a nice smooth pesistent bitterness. Carb is right. Nice beer. Thanks DLB. Im putting it in the aussie pale ale camp.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[Pollux]

Megs80- Pacific strong ale 6.6%, Drink 25th dec- 1st Jan (no later), WLP001 Cal ale baby!

I'm with hewy on this one, similar pour and presentation, but those hops just smacked you in the face, love it....


Missus says pineapple and mint to the nose, I'm actually agreeing with her nose for once. Tastes almost like a summer fruit punch with just a hint of malt underneath. Slight tingle to the tongue from the mass late hopping, I love that feeling....


With a taste like this, you could almost believe it's actually good for you....

 

[Pollux]

I just sampled my own.....


I revise my drinking date from mid jan to early feb............


It's a touch rough around the edges, even for a hopburst. Although it is carbed up nicely so if you want to hit it early, feel free....

 

[Bizier]

I just noticed a bottle with a white cap and no markings. I am assuming that this is Maestro Matt because there was no no. 10 that I could see.

 

[Pollux]

Have you drunk Meg80's pacific ale??

It has a white cap and a piece of paper over the top held on with a rubber band...

 

[megs80]

Hey all,

Thanks to the guys who have given feedback on my beer. Im not sure what went wrong with the carbonation? I filled up the rest of my batch in crown 500ml bottles and longnecks. The carbonation was good after two weeks with the 500s but the longneck didnt carb, Weird. That missing bitterness in the middle was supposed to be supported by carbonic bite. Kicking myself!

The reason I gave a best before date was becouse of the great nose sauvin hops have. I reckon everyone should have a crack at that hop one day.

Ive pretty much cleaned up the rest of my case swap and have been pretty impressed. Once I get my act together I will post.

Cheers all, Happy new year!,
Alex

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 2. Bizier - Swapfen Weiss
Date: 30th December 2009
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 2, ~6% 3068
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug.
Cloudy orange body with bit of creamy white foam atop.

Odd sort of aroma; lots of zesty hop citrus, mango and other ripe tropical fruits, combine with spicy grassy phenolics and a suggestion of alcohol.

Slightly low carbonation, reasonably full body, oily mouthfeel with a drying sharpness, not sure if its hop derived or not.

A whole lot going on flavourwise on the body; mango and apricot nectar, unripe bananas, grass, clove spice. Finish has a lingering fruitiness, quite dry yet sticky and sweet, hard to explain really, almost like Ive just eaten a mango or something.

Gotta be honest, this is quite a weird concoction here Biz, not sure what to make of it. Be interested to know what went in it, because its hard to narrow down the flavours. Either way, love a bit of creativity, cheers!