2009 Nsw Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Thread

[nifty]

20. mrs eyres - pale ale - 4.5% - US-05 - ready to drink

Most enjoyable pale ale, thanks very much.

cheers

nifty

 

[Gulpa]

Unlabeled beer. Black cap. Coopers bottle. Likely candidate is

5. Pollux - Hopburst IPA, 5.74%, US-05.? - Oops but no return now

Pours almost clear dark gold. Nice head, persistent with lacing. Lovely aroma a mix of US hops and caramel malts with a bit of pine resin as it warms. Flavour is followed up with the same, hops forward with assertive and lingering bitterness. Body is medium, a little sweetness at the front balanced by the bitterness, carb is medium low. Very nice beer. Pollux, if this is yours I dont really get any rough edges sticking out. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Pollux]

I used all coopers bottles and black caps. Could be mine. There were labels on the caps, must have fallen off....

 

[Pollux]

Sitting here drinking Troy's "random ale"

It has a slightly odd taste, at first I thought infected, now I think esters.........The first mouthful was a touch rough, but it's growing on me....

BTW, I know that "mmmmmm, hope this batch is good" feeling, I actually threw out the last batch before my case swap one as it was horrid from the fermenter and I couldn't even be bothered putting it in a keg and on the gas....

I'm glad to see two people have sampled mine and given it good reviews, makes me breath easy.

Note to self, next year brew ahead so I can have tiem to sample some myself before the date....

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

Note to self, next year brew ahead so I can have tiem to sample some myself before the date....

Pollux spot on mate. I am definitely going to use this advice after my first foray into case swaps. It's disappointing when you realise that your swapped beer was not the hit you were intending it to be!! :beerbang:

 

[nifty]

17. Davelovesbeer - Ale of some sort - about 4.5% - US05 - ready to drink

Just finished this one off, thanks, a very nice beer.

cheers

nifty

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 21. Dave - Belgian Summer Triple.
Date: 7th January 2010
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 21, 7%ish - WY1214
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in goblet.

Nice loud opening. Im presented with an attractive glass of beer; 2-inch thick white foam hangs about atop a lively hazy pale copper body.

Phenolic nose; lots of pepper and clove, ripe fruits particularly apricot, grainy pale malt sweetness. Well-hidden alcohol, not a great deal of hop character.

Big, thick body with a slight sticky textured, balanced well with a racy creamy carbonation.

Quite sweet upfront, lots of overly ripe stone fruits and golden syrup malt flavour. Phenolic spice adds a layer of balance and complexity, woody cloves and white pepper prevalent, some subtle floral, leafy hops in there, lingering on the finish. Medium bitterness, quite dry aftertaste.

Top notch tripel, Dave! Possibly not as bold and boisterous as some of the hugely potent tripels on the market, but certainly comes close with flavour and complexity! Cheers!

 

[nifty]

11. Troy Dack's Ale

I wasn't sure about this beer at first.

As you can tell from my previous indepth reviews, I know what I like but I find it hard to describe flavours, aromas etc.

When I first cracked this beer it tried to crawl out of the bottle and I thought I might have mishandled it. Anyway, after the the first pour, it was still pretty lively in the bottle, but to me the taste was ok. There was something going on and I thought of a weak bandaid flavour, but as Pollux said earlier it could be esters??

The second pour was ok and as I progress through the beer and it warms a bit, it is starting to remind me of some of a sort of Belgiany (is that a word?) flavour, so to me, it's tasting ok.

cheers

nifty

 

[Gulpa]

4. barls - smoked schwartz.4.2% bottled 28/11/09

Ive been kind of avoiding this one as the only other smoked beer Ive ever had was like drinking essence of smokey bacon chips. B)

Pours dark with an tight head. Smokey aroma dominates (but not over the top smoke essence) with a bloody/meat mineral edge. Coffee comes up as it warms. Flavour is sweet dark malts, smokey bacon biscuits, with some yeasty complexity thrown in as well. Medium body, lowish carb, lowish bitterness. Interesting beer again Barls. I still have a bit of trouble with the smokeyness, but thats my problem, not yours. The smokeyness is certainly not over the top and quite well balanced with the rest of the flavours. Obviously well made. Thanks for sharing.

Only a few to go now.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[hewy]

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

Pours a brilliant amber, nice and clear.

Smelly slightly of hops and malt (surpise surprise). Carbonation is low so the aroma isnt overwhelming.

Beer goes down a treat! Light body makes this delightfully drinkable.

Really good beer FGZ, thanks!

Cheers
Hewy

 

[Muggus]

Had a couple tonight...feeling good!

Beer: 21. Dave - Belgian Summer Triple
Date: 7th January 2010
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 21, 7%ish - WY1214
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in goblet.

Nice loud opening. Im presented with an attractive glass of beer; 2-inch thick white foam hangs about atop a lively hazy pale copper body.

Phenolic nose; lots of pepper and clove, ripe fruits particularly apricot, grainy pale malt sweetness. Well-hidden alcohol, not a great deal of hop character.

Big, thick body with a slight sticky textured, balanced well with a racy creamy carbonation.

Quite sweet upfront, lots of overly ripe stone fruits and golden syrup malt flavour. Phenolic spice adds a layer of balance and complexity, woody cloves and white pepper prevalent, some subtle floral, leafy hops in there, lingering on the finish. Medium bitterness, quite dry aftertaste.

Top notch tripel, Dave! Possibly not as bold and boisterous as some of the hugely potent tripels on the market, but certainly comes close with flavour and complexity!



Beer: 13. Vitalstatistix - Loose Nut Brown Porter
Date: 7th January 2010
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 13 5.2% ABV - Brewed 06/11/09
Sampling Notes:
Served moderately chilled in goblet.

Beautifully presented beer; opaque jet-black body with persistent, medium-sized creamy latt-coloured head.

Inky roasted nose, quite different from your average porter; tar, charred wood, coffee grinds, cocoa, with mild black fruit and floral undertones.

Smooth texture, excellent weight for strength, carbonation is creamy and on the money.

Lovely flavour; a combination of fresh mild roast espresso, smooth dark chocolate, wood charcoal, squid ink with hints of prune and dark brown sugar. Finishes quite bitter, quite dry yet some residual malt sweetness adds a great balance. Lingering cocoa note is great!

Wow! I gotta say this is a REALLY good dark beer. Very much compares to some of the best porters Ive tried. My only complaint is that you mentioned to keep this beer for a bit longer to drink! My advice to others is try this NOW, itll make your laugh, cry, itll change your life. Thanks very much Vitalstatistix, this is great!

 

[Josh]

21. Dave - Belgian Summer Triple - 7%ish - WY1214 - RTD

Pours golden with a big white head. Can't smell a whole lot, bit sweet, bit alcohol or phenolic. But not in a bad way. More inviting me to drink it.

Thick and sweet and nice pear flavours.

Leaves a numbness on my tongue without being too alcoholic in the finish.

I've finished the bottle and would have loved another glass. Thanks Dave.

 

[Josh]

3. Thommo - Brown Porter, Ready to drink on Swap Day, WLP005

Very nice Porter. Love the chocolate flavour.

Sorry I can't say more Thommo, but it's late and I've had a few.

 

[barls]

4. barls - smoked schwartz.4.2% bottled 28/11/09

Ive been kind of avoiding this one as the only other smoked beer Ive ever had was like drinking essence of smokey bacon chips. B)

Pours dark with an tight head. Smokey aroma dominates (but not over the top smoke essence) with a bloody/meat mineral edge. Coffee comes up as it warms. Flavour is sweet dark malts, smokey bacon biscuits, with some yeasty complexity thrown in as well. Medium body, lowish carb, lowish bitterness. Interesting beer again Barls. I still have a bit of trouble with the smokeyness, but thats my problem, not yours. The smokeyness is certainly not over the top and quite well balanced with the rest of the flavours. Obviously well made. Thanks for sharing.

Only a few to go now.

Cheers
Andrew.

cheers andrew. I cant remember if it was a straight schwarz or it was always a smoked one. Ill have a look once i get back from orange and post the recipe. The thing u have 2 remember is the smoke malt was done by me.
Was son

 

[barls]

4. barls - smoked schwartz.4.2% bottled 28/11/09

Ive been kind of avoiding this one as the only other smoked beer Ive ever had was like drinking essence of smokey bacon chips. B)

Pours dark with an tight head. Smokey aroma dominates (but not over the top smoke essence) with a bloody/meat mineral edge. Coffee comes up as it warms. Flavour is sweet dark malts, smokey bacon biscuits, with some yeasty complexity thrown in as well. Medium body, lowish carb, lowish bitterness. Interesting beer again Barls. I still have a bit of trouble with the smokeyness, but thats my problem, not yours. The smokeyness is certainly not over the top and quite well balanced with the rest of the flavours. Obviously well made. Thanks for sharing.

Only a few to go now.

Cheers
Andrew.

cheers andrew. I cant remember if it was a straight schwarz or it was always a smoked one. Ill have a look once i get back from orange and post the recipe. The thing u have 2 remember is the smoke malt was done by me.
Was son

 

[Bizier]

5. Pollux - Hopburst IPA, 5.74%, US-05. Only bottled last week, I'd save it for about mid Jan.

Pours a deep amber with an incredibly tight tan head that breaks like cottage cheese into little icebergs on the beer surface. I honestly have never seen that before.

I get a nice US citrus hop on the nose and also a little of what I perceive to be acetylaldehyde, which might be the 'roughness' though it is by no means overwhelming.

I get a dry toasty malt, almost roasty, backed up by a decent fruity hop punch, lots of tropical fruits and some grapefruit. It has a dry finish which keeps me coming back for more. ED: The balance of bitterness is very good, decently bitter, but deceptively smooth.

Well done Tim. I think you could do some teeeeny tweaks to this and take it from what is already a very good beer to a magnificent one. I will graciously offer to drink any test beers you want me to trial... ahem.

Cheers mate.

 

[Bizier]

3. Thommo - Brown Porter, Ready to drink on Swap Day, WLP005

Pours a nice deep reddish brown with orange highlights. Head quickly dies down to a happy little yellow white ring round the glass.

Stewed apple and raisin fruitiness upfront on the nose with some cream and coffee follow.

The carb lifts the beer in the mouth, it is really enjoyable. I think the balance of this beer is superb. There is a slightly smoky, bready, complex malt with some sweetness that is very well in check with the moderate bitterness. There is a lick of diacetyl which lubricates the whole lot down the gullet and keeps me drinking to look for more adjectives.

I love it Thommo. I would like to look at your recipe if you are keen to share.

 

[Pollux]

5. Pollux - Hopburst IPA, 5.74%, US-05. Only bottled last week, I'd save it for about mid Jan.

Pours a deep amber with an incredibly tight tan head that breaks like cottage cheese into little icebergs on the beer surface. I honestly have never seen that before.

You're making me want to go grab a bottle and chill it to see if I get the same result....

I get a dry toasty malt, almost roasty, backed up by a decent fruity hop punch, lots of tropical fruits and some grapefruit. It has a dry finish which keeps me coming back for more. ED: The balance of bitterness is very good, decently bitter, but deceptively smooth.

Toasty almost roasty malt??? Interesting as I only used 7kg of JW Pale and 500g Caraamber........

Well done Tim. I think you could do some teeeeny tweaks to this and take it from what is already a very good beer to a magnificent one. I will graciously offer to drink any test beers you want me to trial... ahem.

I might do another soon, open to suggestions on the tweaks...

 

[Fatgodzilla]

4. barls - smoked schwartz.4.2% bottled 28/11/09

Ive been kind of avoiding this one as the only other smoked beer Ive ever had was like drinking essence of smokey bacon chips. B)

Andrew.

Fair dinkum Andrew.. a man of your quality brewing not a smoked beer afficiardo? There are still surprises in the world. I too had trepidation when opening a Barls beer, was waiting to find a berry of some sort floating in it

But the man knows his stuff. He smokes his own (that's why he's not allowed on submarines) and is good at it. Good one brother! Excellent drop. Not a patch on my smoked beers, but you are improving B)

hewy Posted Jan 7 2010, 09:17 PM
8. Fatgodzilla - Golden Ale .. ideal summer thirst quencher, mid strength english style bitter.S 04 Drink now

Pours a brilliant amber, nice and clear. Smelly slightly of hops and malt (surpise surprise). Carbonation is low so the aroma isnt overwhelming. Beer goes down a treat! Light body makes this delightfully drinkable. Really good beer FGZ, thanks!

Hewy, what's this comment about hops and malt .. starting to sound like those other philistines ..

A tad undercarbonated from the sounds of it, but the idea was a quaffer and I'm happy it achieved that. My next attempt at this one will add a touch more malt (200g melanoiden looks the go and a touch more bitterness to balance) and I reckon it'll be the bomb!

Thanks for the nice commments mate.

 

[Bizier]

6. nifty - Some Sort of Bitter, Wyeast 1469, 5.5%, Brewed 3/11/2009, Bottled 22/11/2009

I apologise, but you are a casualty in me being pre-occupied while drinking swap beers.

Overall impression is that I thought that this was a nice clean UK style beer with some nice subtle floral notes and judicious use of darker malt flavours. I had one last night whilst busy, and I thought it was a little too bitter for a bitter (!?!). BUT today after moving a fridge in searing heat, that bitterness was very much appreciated when I finished the bottle. I found it to be very refreshing. Thanks Nifty.