2014 July Lotto Tasting Thread

[mosto]

Guilty as charged! I owe Jaypes a beer, which was still fermenting when the lotto was drawn. I keg, so only bottled one from the fermenter and sat it on the kitchen bench while it was conditioning, so I could squeeze to judge readiness and so I wouldn't forget. I think SWMBO has put it away somewhere when we had some people over and, low and behold, I forgot about until I saw this thread again. It would well and truly be ready now so I'll get it to Jaypes ASAP. Apologies for the delay.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Just received notice that MB's are at the post office awaiting collection

I didn't want to hassle anyone too soon. I understand life gets in the way sometimes, I too am guilty of being tardy on sending out the beers that I owe. I just assumed any I hadn't received were on their way, not that they weren't coming.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Danwood's EIPA:

Aroma: Malty, caramel with a faint estery overtone that is then overcome by some hops. Bacon as it warms up.

Appearance: Clear amber brown with slight orange hue. Low head and carbonation which dissipates quickly.

Flavour: Malty but dried out by roast and some smokiness from smoked malt. Body thinnish but with the "English" taste of a typical british pale ale. Bitterness supported but balance is still decidedly to body. Some supporting toasty and caramel notes. Esters not prominent.

Mouthfeel: Thin, dry and low low carbonation but oh so quaffable as a result.

Overall Impression: Excellent beer and very sessionable. I actually prefer that the esters are lower than typical of style. Smoke is restrained and doesn't dominate, which I like.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Danwood's RIS:

Aroma: Stouty aroma with hints of liquorice, burnt toast and berries - very nice.

Appearance: Black/Brown with tan head that persists and laces.

Flavour: Dry stout with roasty aromas typical of style. No warmth, no esters or hops to note. Finishes dry on the palate. Fruity-fruitcake and rum (but not warmth of rum) on the palate. Not too full on palate nor cloying or sweet. Bitterness is just right.

Mouthfeel: Medium on mouth and I love the carbonation on this one. Medium high which dries out the beer and gives it a nice prickle on the tongue and stop fullness from becoming cloying or too syrupy.

Overall: Excellent. Prefer this to mine because the dryness and carbonation is better. Not as complex but still complex enough to keep one interest and the burnt/fruitcake burp is excellent. Very much enjoyed it though it does do a bit of a h34r: ninja job.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

jyo's ESB (well he's written Special Bitter, so I whacked in under ESB):

Aroma: Malty with slight caramel and a herbacious and slightly flowery hop aroma. Esters come in as it warms.

Appearance: Golden-copper. Clarity impaired (but it only went in the fridge yesterday, so this may be mine/Auspost's fault) but adequately clear. Moderate carbonation with an off-white head that persists a little.

Flavour: Medium bitterness with the same herbacious, earthy flavour and flowery note. Biscuity, toffee, nutty maltiness but balanced out by the bitterness nicely. Esters come through at the back of the palate but again balanced out by the very well executed bitterness. Slight diacetyl but very low and not unpleasant.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation which gives it a prickly note which is pleasant and aids the hop notes. Diacetyl comes through in the mouth but not much, it's not buttery or unpleasant. Finishes drier than it starts.

Overall Impression: Excellent beer with secondary flavours that render it complex enough whilst not sacrificing drinkability or sessionability. Bitterness->malt balance is spot on and those earth herbacious notes are very welcome and sit with the maltiness very nicely. Love the carbonation and what it adds to the beer. Well done!

Extras: This isn't a criticism, so please don't take it that way. To my palate, the water in this tastes softer and not 'burtonised' than the AABC style would dictate. To me, from a drinker's point of view, you've used hops very very nicely to balance that out. If this were a comp beer, I reckon most judges would pick up the water situation. I might be wrong, but to my palate the carbonation and the hops are compensating for softer water. I love this beer and we brew first and foremost to drink, not to comp. If you want to brew this for a comp, I reckon you'll do well, but I reckon if you put some minerals to the water, you'll improve your chances. Or you mightn't care for comps and brew only for drinking, in which case - bottoms up! Great beer! :beerbang:

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Oh and let me know when the other beer dated 28.09 is okay to go. Not sure if you CPBF it or not.

 

[Danwood]

Thanks very much for the reviews, Chris.

I'm drinking the same RIS right now, but from a keg with shirraz'd oak staves.

Yep, bed time now! Without looking at notes it's around 11%, with the 2 dex feeds I gave it towards the end of ferment.

It had large amounts of crystals and toasted rolled oats too, so I was a bit concerned about it being too full. I think the dex has sorted that.

Glad you liked them. Very encouraging !

Cheers, Dan

 

[OneEye]

SW, my Milk Stout should be ready to go whenever. It'll be a few months old now. Plus I filled it from my keg so not too sure how the carbonation will be, still working on perfecting that

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Thanks, mate. I moved it into the fridge on Wednesday night when I got home. It will definitely be consumed shortly.

 

[OneEye]

Don't have your hopes too high haha

 

[StalkingWilbur]

One Eye - Milk Stout

Amazing tan colored head, beer absorbs all light except for around the rim showing a pleasant color. Body is working perfectly for me, although some might comment that its high. At least you know your bottling process is solid.

Aroma is dark fruits centered around sultanas, cocoa powder and some burnt hazlenut. There's something there that makes me think its going to be bitter/acrid.

The taste isn't bitter at all. There's some nice chocolate flavor and the cocoa powder note disappears. There's a touch of roast but not too much. The body coats the tongue and the higher carbonation helps to clean it up and leave you wanting more.

Five minutes and half a third of the glass in and there's still a 2mm head hanging around.

Mate, you don't give yourself enough credit. This is a great beer. My only criticisms is that it doesn't have enough of the milk element to me. The best milk stouts I've had (although the best was a sweet milk stout which skewers my perception a touch) the body was a lot thicker and smoother.

Thoroughly enjoying it. Cheers!

 

[StalkingWilbur]

LRG - RIS

I know this got a gold and third in best of show, but (albeit uncomfortably) I'm going to have to disagree. I think this needs a considerable amount of time to smooth out. I tried to not let the knowledge of it winning a gold influence my judgement, but I think it may have made me scrutinize it more.

It poured almost still and with only a ring of foam around the edge of the glass. Not that I have a problem with that, but generally I prefer a little bit.

The aroma wasn't what I was expecting. Basically all coffee and roast, not a hint of chocolate or complexity.

The taste was the same. All coffee and roast. I sat on it for a while in case I was drinking it too cold, but it didn't open up any more.

The mouthfeel was good, but I think you could definitely push it further and thicken it up.

Honestly, mate. I really loved your IIPA and I'm wondering if I got a bad bottle because this isn't even close to the IIPA and not what I was expecting from a medal winning beer.

It's not like it was a terrible beer. There were no off flavours that I was getting, I just felt that the coffee was way out of balance and made it a one dimensional RIS.

I actually drank this the other night but I've been hesitant to write it up because I didn't want to have to write a negative review.

Sorry, but cheers!

 

[OneEye]

Thanks for the feedback mate. Glad to see it held its carbonation well! I won't be too phased if I decide to throw some into competitions. Definitely agree with you that it could benefit from a bit more body, a silky smooth creaminess. Maybe some rolled oats next time round. Thanks again!

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Grainier - whiskey aged oak RIS

I have to admit, due to a recent comment I almost wanted to not like this beer. Things have been rough lately and sometimes people say something at the wrong time and they can have a bigger effect than they should. Now, petty ******** aside...

The aroma on this is fantastic. I got a touch of Vegemite when I smelled it out of the bottle, but once in the glass that disappeared and left nothing but amazing scents of choc milk, booze, choc milk, a touch of whiskey and oak and more choc milk.

It poured with no head or sign of carbonation, but I could see how thick and velvety it looked so I wasn't worried.

This beer is smooth. Easily the smoothest 11% homebrew I've tried. I think a comparison to one of my favorite barrel aged beers, Boat Rocker's Ramjet is a fair one. It had that beautiful choc milk taste with just enough whiskey and oak that compliments it in a perfectly balanced way.

The mouthfeel is viscous and velvety. It's about as close to perfect as I think you can hope to get. Just enough lingers on the palette without feeling sticky.

I'm going to be really disappointed when I finish this glass. Mate, you smashed it out of the park with this one. If you're willing to share recipe and process, I'm all ears.

Cheers.


The photo really doesn't do it justice.

 

[Grainer]

Happy to share the recipe.. it ended up having a few add ons due to lack of grain..but all in all it hit the mark spot on.. I have about 35L ageing in bottles and aim to open them in about 6 months time as the high alcohol content will hinder the carbonation process. 6 months should be just enough time to get the carbonation in as each bottle was reprised after the initial 5 months in the fermenter. I have had about 6 BJCP judges go over it so far and they all say it is one of the best RIS they have ever tasted so I am chuffed with it and am going to keep replicating it about once every 6 months. By the way it was my take on the RAMJET LOL.. I think mine is better tho..just my opinion.. the ramjet is very vegetate on the taste.

I was gunna try put it in the recipe database if i can figure it out
Grainer

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

No worries SW. I'm probably in agreeance with you. To me the carbonation was underdone. I got more flavours than the coffee and felt it were smooth, but yeah, I have to agree that it's a nice beer, but not that good. I was suprised that it was judged the best of my beers, I felt there were a couple of others (that IIPA being one) that were considerably better.

Good on you for having the guts to say that - from my experience doing this, it's not easy to tell someone their beer that's been crafted, created and they've put their heart and soul into - and you go "it's a nice enough beer, but not what I would have done" or worse, you pick up major faults of the beer. I know the feedback is appreciated by brewers, but not easy to give.

Well done.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Masters Brewery - Hefeweizen

Before I should start I should clarify that my knowledge and experience of wheat beers in general is very limited, so keep that in mind if this review is also limited.

Beer pours with very minimal head and almost looks like ginger beer. It had a very hefe like cloudiness, but also looks a little darker than I would've assumed.

There's banana and apple in the aroma. I'm also reminded of memories of playing in Chinese apple trees as a kid, although I'm not sure if the aromas are reminiscent of that in anyway.

They body and carbonation are great on this. Exactly what I would want in a summer slammer, which I think this recipe is geared towards.

The taste is all about banana and wheat tartness. I'm enjoying this, but feel it would've gone down so much better on a hot day. Its refreshing and sessionable. There's zero off flavors to my palette and I'm drinking this without hesitation!

Overall, a solid beer and definitely the kind of wheat beer that I can get into.

Cheers, mate!

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Masters Brewery - Big ******* Belgian

It's 12:40AM. I didn't want to go back outside to the Keezer. I had three options. This, I-a-n's porter that I'm trying to give as mug conditioning time as possible and a 1L squealer of To Ol's bourbon barrel aged coffee imperial stout weighing in at 10.1%

I think I've made a smart choice

This one also poured with no head. It actually looked completely still, but then I could see some signs of life as the glass filled.

The aroma is fairly unassuming. There's some chocolate, plum, raisin and belgian yeast notes.

The taste kicks this thing up a notch and the body and carb level are working great together.

After noticing my head swimming after a quarter of a glass I decided to check the label. 12%... Maybe I didn't make a smart choice.

To be fair, it doesn't taste like a 12% beer. Yeah, there's some booze. But it's not hot or unpleasant. The rate matches the aroma pretty well. Maybe add some plums.

I'm enjoying this and I think it might end my night. Cheers, mate.

 

[MastersBrewery]

I thought the name would have given you the hint on the Belgian, glad you liked them.

MB

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Haha. Yeah, I think my spelling mistakes are a pretty good indicator that I wasn't capable of making intelligent decisions when I wrote it.

Definitely enjoyed them, cheers.