2014 July Lotto Tasting Thread

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Thanks heaps for that.

Almost spot on with most my assumptions, with the biggest "no" being an early addition. Hops are what I thought they were too.

Looks awesome, I can't wait to have a crack at this for a summer quaffer.
 
Lord Raja Goomba I said:
Fat Bastards Bourbon Vanilla Porter:

20140820_203425.jpg


20140820_210556.jpg


20140820_210603.jpg


Aroma: Prominent Bourbon aroma but never harsh, which is hiding what is a balanced porter underneath. Nil roast. Nice fruity woody dark fruitcake type aroma.

Appearance: Very dark - appears on the edges to be reddish clear. Low head dissipates fairly quickly - head retention (or lack thereof) is a necessary byproduct of low carbonation which, to me, is what is needed for this beer.

Flavour: Gorgeous Oaky woody bourbon flavour supported by a nice dark beer with no roast, giving it a fruitcake taste. Not harsh or alcholic despite bourbon. Very balanced and sips nicely. As it warms, the body comes through. Vanilla is subtle but really good and comes through at the back of the palate after the bourbon wears off.

Mouthfeel: Good. Doesn't feel too thick despite flavours going on, nor too thing (and therefore solventy). Body supports the flavours well. Low carbonation works for the beer and avoids a 'prickly' aspect from over-carbonation.

Overall Impression: Love this beer! It ticks all the boxes for me. No aspect overwhelms the beer nor is it underwhelming by being boring or clouded in execution. No pickable faults, which is hard to achieve in these style of beers where faults can be more prominent and easy to pick. Balance is perfect and beer develops its profile as it warms. The big tick for me is that it doesn't burn and there is no roasted acridness. Well done!
Well, I've got the sheets back frm the NSW comp, and they agree with you in scores for the BVP, but maybe not so much on the finer points.

Bourbon Vanilla Porter

Judge #1
Aroma: Prominent vanilla aroma /SP (sic) as the sample warms up. With some evidence of higher alcohol coming through (high ABV!)
9/12
Appearance: Quite Dark … No head. Few bubbles. Slight orange hues.
2/3
Flavour: Good complexity. Plenty of vanilla amongst the good roast/chocolate porter characteristics
17/20
Mouthfeel: Smooth. Low carbonation Medium Body with some creaminess. Finishes dry.
4/5
Overall Impression: An enjoyable specialty beer. Good vanilla added to a well produced porter.
8/10
Total; 40/50
Judge #2
Aroma: Alc. Vanilla (My note: Short and to the point!)
8/12
Appearance: Black, off white head to dark brown. Poor retention
2/3
Flavour: Sweet caramel. Some chocolate. Oaky. Vanilla. Dry tannins in finish
15/20
Mouthfeel: Full body. Low carb (My note: Great, it won’t make me fatter) Smooth. Alc warming.
4/5
Overall Impression: Smooth well balanced beer. The finish detracts by being vey tannic and dry.
37/50

I can see some easy avenues for imrovement via better bottle filling for comps. Although it's a lowly carbed beer, off the tap head is relatively large and retains an laces the glass well. I'm surprised neither judge mentioned the bourbon flavour which I think is noticeable, but may translate to being "oaky"

I half get the tannic and dry thing. I deliberately changed from WLP-002 to WLP-007 in an effort to make it dryer than last year's effort which the judges considered to be lacking complexity and hopefully get the Bourbon/Vanilla/Chocolate Malt to shine through a bit more but maybe it was too much? I may try re brewing with another yeast to see what happens or add the roast grain halfway through the mash.

Anyway LRJ, your assesment broadly agrees with the judges, and I'm more than happy that you scored it so highly and the judges deemed it the best Spice/Herb Vegetable beer in NSW this year, even though it was only 6th in the Specialty Beer class! Thanks for your feedback! I'll post up the Black IPA soon.
 
Okay, Barls' Lambic

Aroma: Sour, Doggy-like vinegar aroma with a red grape and berry like character/nuance. Very little in the way of malt, nothing hop/ester wise.

Appearance: hazy appearance with an amber-light brown colour. Poor head retention.

Flavour: Has a hay-like sour taste with the same grape-like quality stated in the aroma and a faint woodiness. Complex with a number of "almost" flavours just simmering below the surface and trying to compete through the palate. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Semi-dry with a puckering tartness that "comes and goes" across the palate. Very thin feeling body, but not watery. Not astingent. Fairly well uncarbonated.

Overall: Complex beer that tastes sour but you want to keep coming back to "figure out what that flavour is". Has an oaky woodiness to it that sits in the background. No brewer faults noted.

That's the best I can do barls, sorry. I'm a sour novice, so it was a matter of relying on the palate, and whether that gives you enough to work with, I'm not sure. Hopefully it does.

Cheers for this, really enjoyed it. Not sure I'm a sour convert yet, but I reckon between my Berliner Weisse and this, I'll get 'sourness-threshold shift' the same as with hoppy beers.
 
Lord Raja Goomba I said:
Okay, Barls' Lambic

Aroma: Sour, Doggy-like vinegar aroma with a red grape and berry like character/nuance. Very little in the way of malt, nothing hop/ester wise.

Appearance: hazy appearance with an amber-light brown colour. Poor head retention.

Flavour: Has a hay-like sour taste with the same grape-like quality stated in the aroma and a faint woodiness. Complex with a number of "almost" flavours just simmering below the surface and trying to compete through the palate. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Semi-dry with a puckering tartness that "comes and goes" across the palate. Very thin feeling body, but not watery. Not astingent. Fairly well uncarbonated.

Overall: Complex beer that tastes sour but you want to keep coming back to "figure out what that flavour is". Has an oaky woodiness to it that sits in the background. No brewer faults noted.

That's the best I can do barls, sorry. I'm a sour novice, so it was a matter of relying on the palate, and whether that gives you enough to work with, I'm not sure. Hopefully it does.

Cheers for this, really enjoyed it. Not sure I'm a sour convert yet, but I reckon between my Berliner Weisse and this, I'll get 'sourness-threshold shift' the same as with hoppy beers.
mate thats pretty much what the judges at the states thought of it as well.
your the first person to pick the oak in it as its not the usual french or american in there but hungarian.
its where i want it as a beer so thats the main thing as id hope so with roughly 40L of it floating around in various forms.
 
Good work Goomba...good to see at least one person committed to providing reviews...
 
All the other beers I've received I've been advised to give them some time. Sorry we don't all live up to your expectations, but if you have a way of letting them condition quicker then I'm all ears.
 
When I was asked by the beer contributors what I would like, I deliberately organised it so I would have a progression of beers and not leave a glut or famine scenario. I couldn't conceivably drink that much beer and review it well.

I still have some on its way even now.

It's not an easy task and having the self control to wait until the brewers say that it's ready is an art.

My RIS is ready according to the judges.
 
I stand corrected, you did say that yours was ready according to the judges. I'll get onto it when I get home in a couple of weeks.
 
Mine should be ok too mate (Rye IPA & an oatmeal stout). No rush, though - I know your drinking time is limited with work etc.
 
I haven't received yours yet. How long ago did you send it? I'll get in contact with the post office today. If you have a tracking number send it through in a PM and I'll get onto it.
 
StalkingWilbur,
one of mine should be good to go (the Hefe), the belgian I think I put a "dont open til Xmas" on it, though I'd say it will age well beyond this.

MB
 
I sent about a week after the draw, so it should have arrived weeks ago. I'll see if I can find the receipt & tracking number. I'm not sure if I included my user name anywhere, you don't have any you can't account for? 2x500ml bottles in a double Aus Post wine pack?
 
I'll ask the girlfriend to go through the cupboard tonight and double check, maybe she put some away for me while I wasn't home.

The only ones sitting on the shelf were grainers, one eye and LRG's and they're all stouts I've been trying to give enough time to. And I've got a porter from Ian H that I've been giving some cold conditioning time in the fridge after a conversation with him.

MB yours are the same. I haven't seen any Grolsch bottles. I will get her to check. If there's been a mix up and there is drinkable beer there then I'm sorry guys! Been cutting back the spending on buying commercial beers, so I would've demolished anything I thought was ready to drink.
 
No drama, if they haven't turned up & I can't find the tracking info I'll resend. I had a few gushers with the stout, so it's possible it got excited en route & was asked to leave the flight. (I did post the stout to my brother & it was ok, so may not have been that).
 
If something has happened and you're willing to resend, give me your account details and I'll pay for the postage. I don't expect you to pay for that twice! Hopefully there's just been a mix up either on my end or at the post office.
 
I was slightly inebriated and on the phone when I posted last night.

What I was trying to say was that with the moving about and the fact that I want to give all beers their due (rather than polish off 6 a night and only give 2 good reviews), when I was asked what beers I would like and given approx time periods, I tried to get some that were immediately ready, some ready later, so that I could stagger them tasting wise.

Poor stalkingwilbur is being panned because all his are "open later" beers - and that just isn't his fault. It could easily have gone the other way.
 
Stalking..if your not getting your beers then simply pm all the people..It is unusual for people not to send them.. I won last year and I got 100% of the beers..although some came through 2 months later, but all the people PMd me to let me know they were going to be late..
 
StalkingWilbur said:
If something has happened and you're willing to resend, give me your account details and I'll pay for the postage. I don't expect you to pay for that twice! Hopefully there's just been a mix up either on my end or at the post office.
No need to do that mate, though it's generous of you to offer. I've been a place-getter twice, so I've done pretty well out of the lotto.

As Grainer says, most blokes are pretty good at sending them (I had about 2 unsent over both wins), so if there's guys you haven't heard from, a gentle nudge isn't rude. After all, I'm sure they'd want the beers if they'd won.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top