2010 Adelaide, Mildura & Whyalla Case Swap Tasting Thread

[technoicon]

had my beer today. definatly needs to warm up a bit to get the chilli to come out. but pretty happy with it

 

[Effect]

Drinking dans esb.

#1 for best label

#1 for best beer so far.

Sorry Boston. Your beer is number 2 now.

 

[Goofinder]

Drinking dans esb.

#1 for best label

#1 for best beer so far.

Cheers, glad you liked it. :beer:
I thought there might be something not quite right about it when we 'judged' it the other night but I don't think anyone else picked it up. Might have to do some more evaluation with the leftover bottles. :chug:

Currently drinking TonyC's Northern Brown. I'm going to second (or is it third) the call for a recipe on this one. I've always wanted to brew a good Northern English Brown Ale but have never been happy with what I've come up with. I reckon this would have to be my favourite beer from the swap so far.

 

[Frank]

Cheers, glad you liked it. :beer:
I thought there might be something not quite right about it when we 'judged' it the other night but I don't think anyone else picked it up.

Dan, is your recipe posted somewhere yet?

 

[Goofinder]

You got a bottle, right? It's (mostly) on the label... but anyway...

93% Ale malt (ended up being 62% BB Ale/31% JW Trad Ale since I was at the end of a bag)
3% Weyermann Caramunich I
2% Weyermann Carared
2% Dingemans Biscuit

60 min mash at 63-64C
2L of the first runnings was boiled down to ~400mL

0G 1.052

1 g/L Styrian Goldings @ 0 min
1 g/L Fuggles @ 20 min
Target to 33 IBU @ 60 min

Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale at ambient, probably 20-22 degrees

 

[groucho]

Groucho's ESB

Probably darker than I'd expect from an ESB but what do I know? Definitely the level of carbing that Smurto would be looking for. I'm not sure what it smells like but it makes me want to drink it, maybe coffee? Is it maybe more like a brown ale than an ESB? Given that I know bugger all about style guidelines I reckon I'll just drink it & enjoy it rather than worry too much about whether it's brewed to style or not. Bloody top beer again! I love this case swap business.

Cheers. The colour does fit into the style guidelines for an ESB (according to BeerSmith), albeit at the darker end of the range.

Groucho & A3K, yr beers are still here untouched (for now).

We'll come around and pick them up this weekend before you get the urge to drink em.


Do you still have empty bottles you want to get rid off? If so I'll be keen to grab a few cartons.

 

[Frank]

You got a bottle, right? It's (mostly) on the label... but anyway...

Thanks. I did get a bottle, but have not cracked it. Should have checked the label first.

 

[MaltyHops]

...
And I am currently drinking MaltyHops Belgian dark ale. Nice beer at a little warmer than fridge temp. I get a banana? type thing going on. What yeast is this? Thanks very tasty.
...

OMG! my first performance feedback - yeast is Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey
and is my second attempt at the Belgian Dark Strong Ale described here.

Wait a second - is that good banana or bad banana?

T.

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

OMG! my first performance feedback - yeast is Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey
and is my second attempt at the Belgian Dark Strong Ale described here.

Wait a second - is that good banana or bad banana?

T.

good banana!

 

[jonocarroll]

@MaltyHops - if it's the same beer as the one you opened at the swap, it's possibly isoamyl acetate or isoamyl alcohol (fusel), likely caused by insufficient oxygen at the start of fermentation, and common in stronger beers. I'll give the swapped bottle a go and let you know what I detect, but I can pick that banana candy from a mile away.

I totally intended to open a couple tonight, and it so didn't happen.

 

[MaltyHops]

@MaltyHops - if it's the same beer as the one you opened at the swap, it's possibly isoamyl acetate or isoamyl alcohol (fusel), likely caused by insufficient oxygen at the start of fermentation, and common in stronger beers. I'll give the swapped bottle a go and let you know what I detect, but I can pick that banana candy from a mile away.
...

This is definitely a strong possibility - I rely on a fast and turbulent pour
of wort and top-up water into the fermenter to oxygenate - maybe I need
to make use of a whisk or something. I've had the opinion that it's a trade
off between doing more to oxygenate vs. increasing risk of airborne sources
of infection. Maybe if I make larger starters than I have done in the past I
could afford to be a bit more active in oxygenating the wort.

T.

 

[Hatchy]

I drank yr beer a couple of pages back mate. I can't remember what I wrote but I remember it was a beer that took no prisoners. I love it that the only extract in the swap was a Belgian.

If you want to have an AG brew for the next swap but don't have yr brewery yet then yr welcome to brew here. My beer for the last swap was brewed using Kieren's HLT, tun & expertise. It seems to have turned out ok.

 

[Effect]

This is definitely a strong possibility - I rely on a fast and turbulent pour
of wort and top-up water into the fermenter to oxygenate - maybe I need
to make use of a whisk or something. I've had the opinion that it's a trade
off between doing more to oxygenate vs. increasing risk of airborne sources
of infection. Maybe if I make larger starters than I have done in the past I
could afford to be a bit more active in oxygenating the wort.

T.

Do you want to borrow Brew Like A Monk from me? A lot of the breweries in Belgium deliberately under pitch their wort so that they will get stressed and produce the isoamyl acetate (banana) and other esters. I wouldn't see this as a bad thing, and I wouldn't think that aerating thoroughly would increase the risk of airborne sources of infection. Just ask Jayse how you are supposed to aerate! "Shake the fermenter like the mafia have your sister and will kill her if you stop shaking it".

Cheers
Phil

 

[A3k]

A3K's swap beer

Not too sure what this one is, looks very lagerish.

Poured super clear (do you filter, A3K?), off-yellow/pale straw in colour. Small head that faded some what but lasted till the end.
Slight hint of hops in the aroma (neslon sauvin, no, maybe tettnang??? - no idea) Some malt there too.
Flavour - initial slight sweet maltiness, floral and citrus hops. Finishes nice and dry and clean.
Really well brewed beer, super clean, well balanced and nice dry finish makes me want more. Not a beer that I would normally brew myself but I really like this one. Top work A3K. Could put away a few of these any day with ease.

Hi Kieren,
sorry about the delay, haven't been on AHB as i've been working too much
cheers for the good feedback. spewin i couldn't make the day but hopefully i can make the march swap.
the beer was actually heavily based on Tony's LCBA clone, except for hopping. I used centennial instead of cascade and used simcoe and Amarillo for bittering. The centennial wasn't as noticable as i'd hoped. I made a tripple batch, and cubed hopped the case swap beer with Nelson, fermented with US05. The cube hopped version that you guys got was actually better than the chilled version (higher bitterness made it more ballanced).

And yep, i filtered it on the way to the bottles. I was gonna keg it and then counter pressure fill it, but i ran out of time. First time i bottled a whole batch since i got my kegs around 8 years ago i reckon.



Hatchy,
Groucho and i will pick up the beers this weekend if thats okay. Im damn keen to get stuck into these.

Cheers,
Al

 

[groucho]

Had Gopha's Simarillo last night. Nice. Very close to what I am trying to brew apa wise. As others have said a little high on carb but otherwise most awesome.

And I am currently drinking MaltyHops Belgian dark ale. Nice beer at a little warmer than fridge temp. I get a banana? type thing going on. What yeast is this? Thanks very tasty.

I've only got 2 left Goofinders ESB and Ravens brown ale. It says on Ravens to wait untill december but I reckon that I might throw caution to the wind and have a crack at it early.

Mayor, have you tried my case swap beer yet?

 

[drsmurto]

Had another 2 beers last night.

Grouchos ESB

Didn't quite allow enough time for this to warm up so the first smell/taste it was a tad cold. This one defintely needs to be served at 10+C. Cold it reaked of dried fruits and tasted the same. Allowing it to warm up changed it completely and the malt and hops came through as well as a few yeast esters. Reminded me quite a bit of Black Sheep Ale. The dried fruits (dark crystal?) were still there but they worked well with the malt. Great head retention, carbonation was good and what you would expect in a bottled ESB.

Goofinders ESB

Took the bottle out at the same time i did Grouchos so it was nice and warm by the time i cracked it. I was grinning like a cheshire cat the whole time i drank this. Malty, bitter goodness. Late styrian goldings - tick. Ringwood yeast esters - tick. I had to share the bottle with 5 others on Tuesday night, this time i got the whole thing to myself. This is the beer of the swap for me although i still have a few to go. In retrospect i was perhaps a tad harsh in only scoring it 40/50, its more like 44. I'll be brewing this when my fresh yeast arrives. :chug:

 

[A3k]

Guys, i lied.
I didnt filter my batch, just polyclared and gelatined it for a week whilst cold conditioning.

 

[MaltyHops]

...
If you want to have an AG brew for the next swap but don't have yr brewery
yet then yr welcome to brew here. My beer for the last swap was brewed
using Kieren's HLT, tun & expertise. It seems to have turned out ok.

Thanks Hatchy - might take you up on this if my setup is not quite ready by
then and definitely want to do an AG for that - prob some kind of Belgian I
I'm thinking (so much to learn/brew/try).

Do you want to borrow Brew Like A Monk from me? A lot of the breweries in
Belgium deliberately under pitch their wort so that they will get stressed and
produce the isoamyl acetate (banana) and other esters. I wouldn't see this
as a bad thing, ...

Thanks Phil, didn't know that - I am quite happy with the way the tri-can
Belgian turned out

... and I still have yet to get stuck into the swap beers - anyone aware of
any of them that really need to be drinked right now?

Tom.

 

[drsmurto]

Mine needs to have been drunk 2 weeks ago.

But then you did get to sample a close relative of it that was carbed up better and bright.

How do you have a case of beer and not drink it? :huh:

 

[MaltyHops]

...
How do you have a case of beer and not drink it? :huh:

Moving house (with looming deadlines) ... need I say more? <_<

And also planning to share the tasting experience with a couple of
buds to show them the possibilities of homebrewing - plus getting
everyone's feedback will help to fast track my learning.

Tom.

BTW - your hops are looking awesome ... and are you going to try to
separate the chinook from your goldings?