2014 Vic Xmas Caseswap TASTING

[Mardoo]

OK, some catching up to do. I'm going from memory here so I apologize if notes aren't very detailed.

5. Tahoose Rye IPA, Drink now -- Really balanced, great hopfruit flavors. I couldn't pick the rye, try as I might. Great balance, again. Not as much bittering as I was expecting. Really well brewed. BTW Tahoose what was the rye percentage on your rye pale ale you had on tap at the swap? That was the bomb. I could drink that all day.

8. Damn - Golden Ale or APA -- Liked it, a good, crisp drinker. Nicely dry at the finish.

4. Brewnut - Fruity Hopped Saison with Brett -- This was really well done Brewnut. A great blance of yeast and brett flavors. I passed this around at Christmas to a number of beer and non-beer drinkers and they were well-fascinated. Crisp, fruity, "bretty" (Bitty!) What yeast/blend did you use? This was really fantastic. One of the guys who tried it manages a liquor store and wanted to get it in to sell. Great job. I'd have a couple pints.

10. Mayor of Mildura - IPA -- Mate, fantastic job. Commercial level. I raved about your Flanders Red on the day of the swap and this is great too. If you have any aspirations to brew commercially I'd guess you have a good shot. Seriously feckin' great beer. Hop aroma, hop flavor, solid bitterness against a properly malty background. I really loved this.

 

[Mardoo]

Oh, and I had a bottle of mine tonight. Dead straight about the licorice allsorts MoM. Definitely leave this one til' the end of Jan if not longer. One of the oddments about brewing with oats as the majority grain is that they throw more acetaldehyde than other grains just by their composition. That odd fruityness will fade after 4 to 6 more weeks, and if experience serves me, will leave a nice smooth berry quality against the malt background. Sorry to put the drinking date so far out, but I brewed this far closer to the swap than I wanted to, and oat beers need some time to settle.

 

[Tahoose]

It did start life as the same wort mardoo, so basically the swap rye IPA recipe just diluted down to about 5% and 40ibu.

Rye was 13% of the grain bill.

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

The recipe is on my old computer. But I have roughly what it is in my hand notes.

25L batch
OG 1060
5kg Maris Otter
2kg Munich II
.1kg Acidulated
60g First gold @ 60
20g/20g/20g blend of Simcoe/Chinook/Centennial @10
20g/20g/20g blend of Simcoe/Chinook/Centennial @0
20g/20g/20g blend of Simcoe/Chinook/Centennial Dry hop day 5
20g/20g/20g blend of Simcoe/Chinook/Centennial Dry hop day 10 (turn fridge down to CC)
US05 @ 18

I'm almost finished with my swap beers. When I'm done I have a tasting note dump that I'll post up.

 

[Mardoo]

It did start life as the same wort mardoo, so basically the swap rye IPA recipe just diluted down to about 5% and 40ibu.

Rye was 13% of the grain bill.

Cheers Tahoose. They were both fantastic beers. You're well on your way to that pub!

 

[kcurnow]

This one is from last night
21. Foon Saison - DJ_L3THAL
Aroma: smelt spicy and phenolic and to me smelt just like a saison should
Appearance: golden orange / Amber in colour and hazy. Head was large and fluffy but did not last as long as it should (possibly needs more carbonation to help the head stay).
Flavour: soft spicey and slightly sour (saison) flavour. Dry finish with minimal hop character.
Mouthfeel: medium body with a soft carbonation fizz. I think the carbonation could be a bit higher as saisons are normally highly carbed.
Overall: a great saison that reminds me of DuPont. Very drinkable without being overly alcoholic. I would happily drink this beer everyday.

 

[Mardoo]

23. poggor Dr Pratt's Wit's End
I always like a good hefeweizen, and I really enjoyed this. I'm kicking myself that I didn't stir the yeast up properly. The phenols were well balanced, bit of clove, bit of banana, bit of bubblegum. I could have gone for a bit stronger phenols, but that's just personal taste. I felt this was well brewed. I think if I had stirred up the yeast it would have had more of the "richness" or creaminess that hefe's can have. That was the only thing I missed, and as I say I think that was my fault, as the beer had been at 2 degrees since the swap thread went up. Thanks for this one. It's the first hefe I've had in years and I think it's time for me to have a crack at one.

19. AndrewF - Northern English brown ale
Lovely. I drank this over the course of an evening going through old photos, and it was really the perfect beer to just relax and sip and see. Lovely depth to the malt, perfect carb and bitterness to my tastes. The esters backed off as it warmed and let the malt take control. I found the esters a little full on at first, but as the beer got to proper temp it all fell in to place. The head was superb, creamy, thick and long-lasting. I'd love to try this on nitro! Really well done. I look forward to being able to brew some brown ale as good as this.

 

[Mardoo]

12. Navarau Summer Beer Swap Ale II - Smashable! This was exactly what I needed after working on moving and sorting stuff in the garage and driveway in 38c heat for five hours. I smashed the first half of the bottle, then slowed down to consider the beer a bit more closely, then couldn't resist and smashed the last half of the glass. This is nearing my ultimate summer smasher. I fully enjoyed it with great gusto and focused intention. Totally drinkable, clean and well fermented. A really well made extract beer Navarau. I look forward to trying your all-grain beers once you get your system sorted.

 

[Siborg]

10. Mayor of Mildura - IPA
Smashed this last night and it was amazing. I had to pour it really slowly as it was foaming up heaps. I could tell as soon as I (eventually, with the help of multigrips) opened the bottle that this was gonna be a ripper. That hop aroma! Wow! It was quite hazy, I'm guessing from all the hop resins. The huge head eventually settled down but left a large pillowey head sitting on the top. Mouthfeel was interesting: it was quite heavy on the carbonation, and felt kind of thin. But on the carbonation, it wasn't really harsh, like coke. I'm finding it hard to describe properly. It definitely wasn't unpleasant. The flavour had a honey-like sweetness, and heaps of pine/citrus flavour. It's the first hoppy beer I've had in a while that has that massive hit of hops without any lingering bitterness. It was like a massive bang of hops, then stopped as it fizzed away.

Superb work! I want to make more beer like this.

 

[AJ80]

23. poggor Dr Pratt's Wit's End (Hefeweizen)

Mate, very nice drop. Very cloudy with a persistent fluffy white head that is lasting very well. Spritzy out of the bottle and super refreshing. Really enjoying this one and it's perfect for a humid evening.

 

[Tahoose]

I really enjoyed that on Xmas day also.

Honestly can say that there hasn't been a beer which I haven't enjoyed from the swap.

Had the red Saison last night, which at a first glance my 19yr old did not seem keen on. Should have seen the look on his face after a sip.

 

[technobabble66]

Liked?
(I think I've decided it's best chilled right down then allowed to warm steadily as you slowly drink through it - the last glass has the darker malts come through a bit more.)

 

[manticle]

Mardoo - quoting a specific bit is a pain but can you elaborate on oats being a contributor to acetaldehyde levels (which I understand to be solely the province of yeast function)?

Definitely understand the berry thing though. I did an all oat beer that ended up very apricot/berry mueseli. Styrians added to the apricot.

 

[Mardoo]

Feck, I thought I had that paper bookmarked Manticle. I'll try to track it down again.

 

[Tahoose]

Liked?
(I think I've decided it's best chilled right down then allowed to warm steadily as you slowly drink through it - the last glass has the darker malts come through a bit more.)

Yeah mate we both enjoyed it, how you said is pretty much how we drank it. My brother wanted more, I think he is becoming a Saison addict haha

 

[AJ80]

14. GrumpyPaul - Red IPA

Really nice drop Paul. Amazing deep red hue with lots of fruit on the nose + some malt sweetness. Taste - fantastic. Lots of body which holds up well to the very firm bitterness which I'm definitely enjoying. Again, more citrus in the flavour. My only gripe was that this was a bit over carbed, but once it had settled down was quite enjoyable.

 

[AJ80]

1. Midnight Brew - Sons of Zeus IPA

Very nice beer mate. Aroma of fruit and some toffee-like sweetness. Very deep amber colour and some fantastic head retention. Full bodied with plenty of bitterness. The red x malt is really interesting. Yet another top notch swap beer!

 

[Midnight Brew]

1. Midnight Brew - Sons of Zeus IPA
Very nice beer mate. Aroma of fruit and some toffee-like sweetness. Very deep amber colour and some fantastic head retention. Full bodied with plenty of bitterness. The red x malt is really interesting. Yet another top notch swap beer!

Thanks for the feedback AJ, I'm stoked that you enjoyed it. Sons of Zeus II is being planned and will feature some CTZ whilst sticking very close to the recipe. Wish I had some more of this spare as I only kept one bottle and impatiently consumed the half keg I had of it before it's prime.

 

[JB]

Hi, I was a bit concerned using a couple of carb drops in the Zombie Dust. I had the last one yesterday & it seemed alright, so if anyone wants to open theirs & let me know, that'd be great. Cheers

 

[Tahoose]

No probs at all mate, had it the other day, seemed appropriately carbed.