2009 Nsw Xmas Case Swap - Tasting Thread

[Muggus]

Beer: 12. WeaselEstate - ESB / Strong Bitter
Date: 2nd January 2010
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 12, Bottled 3/12, ready to drink 17/12
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug. Officially my first beer of the decade! (Not counting any late night beers over New Years)

Hazy orange-gold body holds a small, thick white foam the whole time.

Relatively restrained aroma. Fruity hops noticeable, ripe stonefruits and citrus rind. Hint of doughy malt in there.

Low carbonation, full bodied, slight chalky dryness to the texture, particularly towards the finish which somewhat bolsters the overall bitterness.

Hop flavours most prominent on the body; grassy herbs, bitter citrus rind, unripe apricot. I get quite a strong skunky metallic bread note on the finish that lingers for quite some time and is a bit off-putting. Quite high bitterness.

I get the feeling that there may have been a yeast derived problem with this beer, under-pitched or fermented a bit warm, which may have contributed to the skunk I got on the finish. Otherwise the beer was quite enjoyable, and like you mentioned earlier in the thread, it does become more drinkable with warmth. Cheers Weasel!

 

[Gulpa]

Glad Im not the only one enjoying an afternoon tipple.

15. Syd_03- IRA- 5.8%-bottled 30/11/09-wyeast 1084.

Pours clear red copper with a lively head that persists nicely. Malty aroma with a touch of yeast in there as well. Flavour is malt dominant, slight roast coming through with a bit of fruityness from the yeast or hops. Medium body, carb a bit high initially but calms down, well balanced. Very nice beer, thanks Jason. Surprisingly similar to the IRA Ive got at home :icon_cheers: , except yours has better carb.

You did quite a good job on the recipe for this one, Jason. I thought that it was going to be under bittered but it turned out with very nice balance for my tastes. It was fun to collaborate on a brew.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

4. Josh - Summer Ale - bottled 2/12/09 - drink from 16/12/09 - WLP029

Cloudy pale gold with a nice persistent head that lasts the whole glass. Aroma is fruity, seemingly driven by the yeast with hints of belgian or weiss like esters. Flavour light malt, tropical fruits and there nice complexity going on here. Body is light, carb is appropriate, bitterness seems low at first but builds on the back palate. Nicely balanced. Quite european if there is such a thing. Not your typical cascade based ale and not what I was expecting from the label notes. Really nice and Im enjoying it a lot. Thanks, Josh.


Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Josh]

Beer: 12. WeaselEstate - ESB / Strong Bitter
Date: 2nd January 2010
Details: 750ml twist top gold cap 12, Bottled 3/12, ready to drink 17/12
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint mug. Officially my first beer of the decade! (Not counting any late night beers over New Years)

Hazy orange-gold body holds a small, thick white foam the whole time.

Relatively restrained aroma. Fruity hops noticeable, ripe stonefruits and citrus rind. Hint of doughy malt in there.

Low carbonation, full bodied, slight chalky dryness to the texture, particularly towards the finish which somewhat bolsters the overall bitterness.

Hop flavours most prominent on the body; grassy herbs, bitter citrus rind, unripe apricot. I get quite a strong skunky metallic bread note on the finish that lingers for quite some time and is a bit off-putting. Quite high bitterness.

I get the feeling that there may have been a yeast derived problem with this beer, under-pitched or fermented a bit warm, which may have contributed to the skunk I got on the finish. Otherwise the beer was quite enjoyable, and like you mentioned earlier in the thread, it does become more drinkable with warmth. Cheers Weasel!

I'm having this beer now. Took the advice and let it warm a bit.

Mine has very low carbonation and no head. Hazy gold in colour. Fruity aroma.

Stone fruits prominent in the flavour. Little light on in body for mine, adding to the bitterness.

I'm also getting the same metallic note as Muggus in the finish. Don't know where it comes from but.

Happy to finish it, thanks WeaselEstate.

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

Hazy orange-gold body holds a small, thick white foam the whole time.

Relatively restrained aroma. Fruity hops noticeable, ripe stonefruits and citrus rind. Hint of doughy malt in there.

Low carbonation, full bodied, slight chalky dryness to the texture, particularly towards the finish which somewhat bolsters the overall bitterness.

Hop flavours most prominent on the body; grassy herbs, bitter citrus rind, unripe apricot. I get quite a strong skunky metallic bread note on the finish that lingers for quite some time and is a bit off-putting. Quite high bitterness.

I get the feeling that there may have been a yeast derived problem with this beer, under-pitched or fermented a bit warm, which may have contributed to the "skunk" I got on the finish. Otherwise the beer was quite enjoyable, and like you mentioned earlier in the thread, it does become more drinkable with warmth. Cheers Weasel!

Thanks Josh and Muggus - Interesting insights. I re-used some nottingham yeast for this brew, and interestingly it fermented in 3 days. It's not the usual yeast I use for this beer; usually it's Irish Ale yeast (1084). This unfortunately wasn't my best beer but it's a good opportunity to get feedback from more experienced brewers. Will work on something for the next swap :beer:

 

[Josh]

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

Cloudy gold with a thick white head. Sweet passionfruit and citrus aroma.

Bready malt, medium body. Plenty of fruity hops as expected with a bitter finish.

Really nice clean ale and good combo of Nelson Sauvin and Pacific Gem.

Cheers Megs.

 

[hewy]

Pours a nice amber colour with a rocky white head. Nice clear beer, the head dissipates however still maintains a thin white film over the top of the beer.

Hops on the nose, not overwhelming but definitely makes me look forward to the taste.

Hops on the palate, cant place exactly which hops but tastes good. Fruity character to the beer with a nice malt backbone balancing the beer well. Not too bitter, which is what I usually do with my pale ales

Great beer, even SWMBO likes it!

Cheers
Hewy

 

[Josh]

4. Josh - Summer Ale - bottled 2/12/09 - drink from 16/12/09 - WLP029

Cloudy pale gold with a nice persistent head that lasts the whole glass. Aroma is fruity, seemingly driven by the yeast with hints of belgian or weiss like esters. Flavour light malt, tropical fruits and there nice complexity going on here. Body is light, carb is appropriate, bitterness seems low at first but builds on the back palate. Nicely balanced. Quite european if there is such a thing. Not your typical cascade based ale and not what I was expecting from the label notes. Really nice and Im enjoying it a lot. Thanks, Josh.


Cheers
Andrew.

Thanks for the review Andrew.

Quite european if there is such a thing. Not your typical cascade based ale and not what I was expecting from the label notes.

That's because the 5 minute addition was Tettnanger 1g/L and the cube addition was Saaz 1g/L. Sorry for any confusion.

By the way, nice taste buds picking that up. The correct recipe is here.

 

[nifty]

14. Josh - Summer Ale - bottled 2/12/09 - drink from 16/12/09 - WLP029

I too had Josh's Summer Ale tonight.

I really enjoyed this beer, thanks Josh, but I should have read the fine print on the label before drinking, the 6.8% abv caught me by surprise. I had no idea this beer had a high alc content until after I woke up and read the label.

A top drop.

cheers

nifty

 

[Josh]

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

Drinking this beer now.

Pretty clear, deep gold with a thin off white head.

There's an off aroma and flavour that a couple of my poorly scoring beers in comps have had. Can someone else confirm if this is that plasticy flavour.

Not into bagging beers here but this could actually help me taste my own beer better. It's the first time I've noticed it without reading in a comp sheet first.

Finished the bottle anyway, cheers.

 

[Gulpa]

That's because the 5 minute addition was Tettnanger 1g/L and the cube addition was Saaz 1g/L. Sorry for any confusion.

Thanks for clarifying Josh. No confusion really. I was just admiring how you got the nice tropical flavours without overt cascadeyness. I really have to stop using cascade and start playing with other hops for summer drinking.

14. Josh - Summer Ale - bottled 2/12/09 - drink from 16/12/09 - WLP029

... the 6.8% abv caught me by surprise. I had no idea this beer had a high alc content until after I woke up and read the label.

I didnt get that far in my label reading :huh: . Alc was very nicely hidden, agree you would never know.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[Josh]

11. Troy Dack - An ale, that's about all I can say at the momen. Won't be ready until at least Christmas day, in fact, leave it until the 43rd beer of the night on NYE, guaranteed, then hopefully you won't be too disappointed

Not quite NYE, but I have had a few already tonight.

Copper coloured ale with a thin persistant head. Complex malt flavours and fruity ale esters with little hop. Solid bitterness to finish.

Really nice beer. Thanks Troy.

PS Did you use British base malt? Loving that flavour.

 

[tdack]

11. Troy Dack - An ale, that's about all I can say at the momen. Won't be ready until at least Christmas day, in fact, leave it until the 43rd beer of the night on NYE, guaranteed, then hopefully you won't be too disappointed

Not quite NYE, but I have had a few already tonight.

Copper coloured ale with a thin persistant head. Complex malt flavours and fruity ale esters with little hop. Solid bitterness to finish.

Really nice beer. Thanks Troy.

PS Did you use British base malt? Loving that flavour.

Josh, thanks for the review. Firstly I'm glad it was drinkable. There were too many things that didn't go right making this batch, I had to tip two previous brews as they just tasted horrid out of the fermenter, so I was a little worried about htis one. I was aiming for an American IPA type beer, but don't think I really hit the mark, happy it is drinkable though.

Base malt is whatever Dave in North Sydney sells as Pilsner malt

Recipe:

OG: 1052, FG: 1014

Mash @ 66C for 60mins

Fermentables
Australian Export Pilsner Malt 3.000 kg 62.5 %
German Melanoidin Malt 0.175 kg 3.6 %
German CaraAroma 0.125 kg 2.6 %
Extract - Light Liquid Malt Extract 1.500 kg 31.3 %

Hops
German Northern Brewer 8.0 % 25 g 60 Min From End
NZ Willamette 7.0 % 35 g 30 Min From End
NZ Willamette 7.0 % 25 g 15 Min From End

Yeast
WLP-060 American Ale

 

[Bizier]

14. Josh - Summer Ale - bottled 2/12/09 - drink from 16/12/09 - WLP029

Looks like a hefe on pour; cloudy light gold with a fine fluffy head intermittently broken by the odd larger bubble.
The nose is soft, lager-ish, a very slight sulphur. There is a fine subtle sweet malt with some herbal hops. There is a spicy note that I can't work out if it is a noble hop used late or a pleasant yeast phenolic.
Nice carbonation drives this. The beer is surprisingly dry and spicy, but with a soft dusty yeast finish, which is my least favourite aspect, but still relatively pleasant. There are some citrus notes in there. The spice/citrus makes me guess you used NZ hops?
This is a very sessionable beer, and would be easily better than pale ale offerings at many brew pubs.
Good work as usual Josh.

 

[syd_03]

Glad Im not the only one enjoying an afternoon tipple.

15. Syd_03- IRA- 5.8%-bottled 30/11/09-wyeast 1084.

Pours clear red copper with a lively head that persists nicely. Malty aroma with a touch of yeast in there as well. Flavour is malt dominant, slight roast coming through with a bit of fruityness from the yeast or hops. Medium body, carb a bit high initially but calms down, well balanced. Very nice beer, thanks Jason. Surprisingly similar to the IRA Ive got at home :icon_cheers: , except yours has better carb.

You did quite a good job on the recipe for this one, Jason. I thought that it was going to be under bittered but it turned out with very nice balance for my tastes. It was fun to collaborate on a brew.

Cheers
Andrew.

You are very welcome Andrew, glad you enjoyed it and glad yours turned out well too. I'll have to come around and grab a bottle of yours to try (if that's ok ).


Thanks, but I can't take that much credit for the recipe, was largely based on a Jamil recipe from BYO with a slight change to the base malts and hops used. I also remember we did increase the bitterness a bit on your advice too, although not quite as high, somewhere in the middle. I agree, was fun and thanks again for inviting me to brew with you.

Cheers
Jason.

 

[Bizier]

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

Have tried it before, and the aroma has subsided a little, but still a great drop.

I get some delicious tropical notes on the nose, a great melon vibe going on and some sweet crystal on swirl.
The beer is balanced toward bitter with a strongly bitter finish, but it subsides cleanly and pleasantly after a moment.
There is a floral, pine hop combo that really makes itself known. There is enough crystal sweetness to bring this back into balance.
A very drinkable, and quickly extinct beer. Great stuff guys.

 

[Bizier]

12. WeaselEstate - ESB / Strong Bitter. Bottled 3/12, ready to drink 17/12

Opened easily with an extremely small release of gas.

Pours a hazy deep gold. No head to speak of.
Some sweet malt on the nose plus a subtle floral hop. I think I get the sweet fruit esters, but it is hard with next to no carbonation.
The flavour is a whopping bitterness with little else. There is some soft and appropriate malt flavours under this, but I am sorry that they are slapped into whimpering submission.

I very much like aspects of this beer, but the carb is definitely not happening in my bottle, possibly to do with capping. I am guessing it is <.25 or so volumes. The beer overall is clean, but way too bitter and lacking the aromatics I desire from an ESB. Was it no chilled or similar? A guess is that the flavour and aroma hop additions might have been over-isommerised.

 

[Bizier]

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

OK, I will admit that I just drank this one while doing some work and took buggerall notes. Sorry for the shitty review.
It went down great.
Not overly aromatic in hops, yeast or malt, but balanced.
Very much an ale in the creamy mouthfeel and ester profile. POR?
A very drinkable beer Dave. Good work mate.

 

[WeaselEstateBrewery]

12. WeaselEstate - ESB / Strong Bitter. Bottled 3/12, ready to drink 17/12

Opened easily with an extremely small release of gas.

Pours a hazy deep gold. No head to speak of.
Some sweet malt on the nose plus a subtle floral hop. I think I get the sweet fruit esters, but it is hard with next to no carbonation.
The flavour is a whopping bitterness with little else. There is some soft and appropriate malt flavours under this, but I am sorry that they are slapped into whimpering submission.

I very much like aspects of this beer, but the carb is definitely not happening in my bottle, possibly to do with capping. I am guessing it is <.25 or so volumes. The beer overall is clean, but way too bitter and lacking the aromatics I desire from an ESB. Was it no chilled or similar? A guess is that the flavour and aroma hop additions might have been over-isommerised.

Yeah a few people mentioned the carbonation; i have not bottled for months so may have miscalculated the bulk priming. Have not tried my bottled one yet; I had some left over and put it in the keg where it's not so bad.

Nope, not no-chilled - but I did pitch it straight on top of a yeast slurry from an Irish Red that I did, then fermented at 21 degrees. Yeast was Nottingham whereas my previous ESB used 1084 which suited that style better.

Was unfortunate that the this beer didn't turn out as good as expected, it was definitely below average compared to my usual efforts but you get that!

 

[Bizier]

but you get that!

Yep. I get that more often than I'd like.