2014 WA Winter Case Swap -- ** Tasting **

[Velu]

Combined for everyones reading pleasure.

1. dent - Baltic Porter (10%) - CPBF + ready to drink, but feel free to see if it changes over time in the fridge if you've already sucked on the tap

2. jyo- Oatmeal Stout- Bottle Conditioned for just over a month. Give it another couple of weeks if you want.

3. Milk Lizard 84-Golden Ale ready to drink

4. Nev**** Fat Albert Belgian Amber 8% - bottle conditioning

5. keifer33 – Dry Stout - Bottle Conditioned and ready

6. Mitch_76 - ?Dubbel Choc 8.7%

7. twocansam - American Wheat Bottle conditioned, ready to drink now

keifer33 - Good beer but could do with a little more hop character for me personally. A dry hopped version would be tops.

8. Recharge - London brown ale

9. Rad - Amber ale - Ready to drink

StalkingWilbur - I did enjoy this, but I found it had a little bit of a cloying sweetness. When I had sips i enjoyed it. When I took a bigger mouthful is when I found it too sweet. Aroma was good and reminded me of endeavour amber ale, although I haven't had one of those for quite a while so could be way off.
Recharge- Poured perfectly clear and looked great in the glass. Enjoyable beer. Thanks
Ned- I enjoyed this, I don't drink a lot of amber ales, so the sweetness was different for me, I think I will try more amber ales after drinking this beer

10. lanerigg - IPA

keifer33 - Sorry mate my bottle was rock solid and a gusher. Waited for it to settle but wasnt drinkable. Very Phenolic and Solventy unfortunately.

11. StalkingWilbur - Robust Porter - give it some time. Three weeks in bottle, but was left outside in the cold so was still undercarbed when I tried one before the swap.

12. danestead - american IPA hop hog clone - CPBF ready to drink


StalkingWilbur - Damn. I really enjoyed this. If I had known what I was in for I would've made sure I had a hop hog on hand so I could do a side by side. The aroma jumped out of the bottle andreminded me of hop hog. I think the taste was pretty close too and packed a nice hop flavor and punch. Will be looking to brew this at some point.
lanerigg - a bloody good clone! really enjoyed it. Will be making it soon
keifer33 - Great beer mate. Maybe a little drier and slightly more hop aroma and it will be an even better beer.
recharge - hop hog clone. I had a feral hop hog in tap at the kalamunda hotel on Wednesday for lunch, was disappointing. Not so with your beer, it was very enjoyable good balance of malt and hops I was looking for more. Thanks.

jyo- yup- this is tops. I shared this with a mate who is a Hop Hog freak and we were both impressed. If you truly want a clone, then I agree with Keiffer with there maybe being too much body, but flavour and aroma were pretty damn close. A great beer.
Ned- I enjoyed this, well balanced, not quite as aggressive as the real deal, but pretty bloody good

13. wilkens - choc/vanilla porter

14. Ned - Rye APA. bottle conditioned, ready to drink because I thought the swap was on in June for some reason

17. Neanderthal Black IPA - Bottle Conditioned - ready to drink.

18. Rickcobba - American IPA - needs more conditioning time, bottled 2014-07-10

19. Jono- Oatmeal Stout
jyo- Mine gushed out of the bottle and carbonation was dangerously high for a glass bottle- maybe get these in the fridge ASAP. Once settled down it had a deep rich, roasty stout flavour and was pretty good. I can feel the 6.5%....

 

[danestead]

Combined for everyones reading pleasure.
1. dent - Baltic Porter (10%) - CPBF + ready to drink, but feel free to see if it changes over time in the fridge if you've already sucked on the tap
2. jyo- Oatmeal Stout- Bottle Conditioned for just over a month. Give it another couple of weeks if you want.
3. Milk Lizard 84-Golden Ale ready to drink
4. Nev**** Fat Albert Belgian Amber 8% - bottle conditioning
5. keifer33 – Dry Stout - Bottle Conditioned and ready
6. Mitch_76 - ?Dubbel Choc 8.7%
7. twocansam - American Wheat Bottle conditioned, ready to drink now
keifer33 - Good beer but could do with a little more hop character for me personally. A dry hopped version would be tops.
8. Recharge - London brown ale
9. Rad - Amber ale - Ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - I did enjoy this, but I found it had a little bit of a cloying sweetness. When I had sips i enjoyed it. When I took a bigger mouthful is when I found it too sweet. Aroma was good and reminded me of endeavour amber ale, although I haven't had one of those for quite a while so could be way off.
Recharge- Poured perfectly clear and looked great in the glass. Enjoyable beer. Thanks
Ned- I enjoyed this, I don't drink a lot of amber ales, so the sweetness was different for me, I think I will try more amber ales after drinking this beer
10. lanerigg - IPA
keifer33 - Sorry mate my bottle was rock solid and a gusher. Waited for it to settle but wasnt drinkable. Very Phenolic and Solventy unfortunately.
11. StalkingWilbur - Robust Porter - give it some time. Three weeks in bottle, but was left outside in the cold so was still undercarbed when I tried one before the swap.
12. danestead - american IPA hop hog clone - CPBF ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - Damn. I really enjoyed this. If I had known what I was in for I would've made sure I had a hop hog on hand so I could do a side by side. The aroma jumped out of the bottle andreminded me of hop hog. I think the taste was pretty close too and packed a nice hop flavor and punch. Will be looking to brew this at some point.
lanerigg - a bloody good clone! really enjoyed it. Will be making it soon
keifer33 - Great beer mate. Maybe a little drier and slightly more hop aroma and it will be an even better beer.
recharge - hop hog clone. I had a feral hop hog in tap at the kalamunda hotel on Wednesday for lunch, was disappointing. Not so with your beer, it was very enjoyable good balance of malt and hops I was looking for more. Thanks.

jyo- yup- this is tops. I shared this with a mate who is a Hop Hog freak and we were both impressed. If you truly want a clone, then I agree with Keiffer with there maybe being too much body, but flavour and aroma were pretty damn close. A great beer.
Ned- I enjoyed this, well balanced, not quite as aggressive as the real deal, but pretty bloody good
danestead- cheers for the feedback guys, really appreciated. I also agree that the body needs some thinning and a dryer finish and the aroma needs a boost which it what I've adjusted for my planned version 3.
13. wilkens - choc/vanilla porter
14. Ned - Rye APA. bottle conditioned, ready to drink because I thought the swap was on in June for some reason
17. Neanderthal Black IPA - Bottle Conditioned - ready to drink.
18. Rickcobba - American IPA - needs more conditioning time, bottled 2014-07-10
19. Jono- Oatmeal Stout
jyo- Mine gushed out of the bottle and carbonation was dangerously high for a glass bottle- maybe get these in the fridge ASAP. Once settled down it had a deep rich, roasty stout flavour and was pretty good. I can feel the 6.5%....

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Combined for everyones reading pleasure.
1. dent - Baltic Porter (10%) - CPBF + ready to drink, but feel free to see if it changes over time in the fridge if you've already sucked on the tap
2. jyo- Oatmeal Stout- Bottle Conditioned for just over a month. Give it another couple of weeks if you want.
3. Milk Lizard 84-Golden Ale ready to drink
4. Nev**** Fat Albert Belgian Amber 8% - bottle conditioning
5. keifer33 – Dry Stout - Bottle Conditioned and ready
6. Mitch_76 - ?Dubbel Choc 8.7%
7. twocansam - American Wheat Bottle conditioned, ready to drink now
keifer33 - Good beer but could do with a little more hop character for me personally. A dry hopped version would be tops.
8. Recharge - London brown ale
9. Rad - Amber ale - Ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - I did enjoy this, but I found it had a little bit of a cloying sweetness. When I had sips i enjoyed it. When I took a bigger mouthful is when I found it too sweet. Aroma was good and reminded me of endeavour amber ale, although I haven't had one of those for quite a while so could be way off.
Recharge- Poured perfectly clear and looked great in the glass. Enjoyable beer. Thanks
Ned- I enjoyed this, I don't drink a lot of amber ales, so the sweetness was different for me, I think I will try more amber ales after drinking this beer
10. lanerigg - IPA
keifer33 - Sorry mate my bottle was rock solid and a gusher. Waited for it to settle but wasnt drinkable. Very Phenolic and Solventy unfortunately.
11. StalkingWilbur - Robust Porter - give it some time. Three weeks in bottle, but was left outside in the cold so was still undercarbed when I tried one before the swap.
12. danestead - american IPA hop hog clone - CPBF ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - Damn. I really enjoyed this. If I had known what I was in for I would've made sure I had a hop hog on hand so I could do a side by side. The aroma jumped out of the bottle andreminded me of hop hog. I think the taste was pretty close too and packed a nice hop flavor and punch. Will be looking to brew this at some point.
lanerigg - a bloody good clone! really enjoyed it. Will be making it soon
keifer33 - Great beer mate. Maybe a little drier and slightly more hop aroma and it will be an even better beer.
recharge - hop hog clone. I had a feral hop hog in tap at the kalamunda hotel on Wednesday for lunch, was disappointing. Not so with your beer, it was very enjoyable good balance of malt and hops I was looking for more. Thanks.

jyo- yup- this is tops. I shared this with a mate who is a Hop Hog freak and we were both impressed. If you truly want a clone, then I agree with Keiffer with there maybe being too much body, but flavour and aroma were pretty damn close. A great beer.
Ned- I enjoyed this, well balanced, not quite as aggressive as the real deal, but pretty bloody good
danestead- cheers for the feedback guys, really appreciated. I also agree that the body needs some thinning and a dryer finish and the aroma needs a boost which it what I've adjusted for my planned version 3.
13. wilkens - choc/vanilla porter
14. Ned - Rye APA. bottle conditioned, ready to drink because I thought the swap was on in June for some reason
Nev- a good balance of hops and malt, easy drinking, didn't realise it was bottle conditioned so last glass was thick but overall a great beer.
17. Neanderthal Black IPA - Bottle Conditioned - ready to drink.
18. Rickcobba - American IPA - needs more conditioning time, bottled 2014-07-10
19. Jono- Oatmeal Stout
jyo- Mine gushed out of the bottle and carbonation was dangerously high for a glass bottle- maybe get these in the fridge ASAP. Once settled down it had a deep rich, roasty stout flavour and was pretty good. I can feel the 6.5%....
Nev- Ended up with 1/4 of a bottle after the gush stopped. Nice beer but potentially a bottle bomb !

 

[dent]

It had to be the one in the glass bottle that was ready to rip, didn't it...

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

It had to be the one in the glass bottle that was ready to rip, didn't it...

Got to be PET only from now on, I get too nevous

 

[dent]

Neanderthal - Black IPA

This is pretty good. Not super hop aromatic on the nose but enough to get it over the line. Nicely fermented, very drinkable at 6.6%. Kind of a mini-flavour country for me, since they share some hop varieties, and black malt character. I reckon another month in the bottle might smooth it out a little more but that is splitting hairs really. Well done.

 

[dent]

Recharge - London Brown Ale

This one is mostly good, but there is a strange character to it that I can't quite put my finger on. Closest thing I can come to is those milk bottle lollies - I wouldn't even call it a defect, it is just a bit odd - someone else might consider it a feature. Apart from that it is a good recipe and well brewed.

 

[dent]

Velu / Ned - Rye APA

This one could have been good but I think it suffers from a mild infection - you can drink around it but I think that's what it is. It is a little on the bitter side, but balanced enough. Decent malt character, though the aroma side leaves me wanting more hops - but I am greedy. Shame, would be a good beer.

 

[dent]

Keifer - Dry Stout

I think this one may be infected too It has a hint of "old beer sitting in glass for a couple days while fruit flies breed in it" - there's probably a fourteen syllable German word for that. Seems like it would be a pretty great beer otherwise. Hopefully it is just this one bottle - luckily I have another - see you in 2016!

 

[dent]

Milk Lizard - Golden Ale

Pretty hard to get a head on this one! Carbonation pretty low. Seems like a fairly low-alc beer - fairly dry too. Not much hop character, which is OK. Pretty decent quaffing beer - I reckon a keg of this would go down rather nicely on the handpump actually. Thanks.

 

[Twocansam]

Wish I read these comments before tonight.... Spent an hour washing out my cutlery draws after leaving the oatmeal stout to get a couple of glasses. Stout everywhere! The bit I did get to taste was nice tho.

 

[keifer33]

Keifer - Dry Stout


I think this one may be infected too It has a hint of "old beer sitting in glass for a couple days while fruit flies breed in it" - there's probably a fourteen syllable German word for that. Seems like it would be a pretty great beer otherwise. Hopefully it is just this one bottle - luckily I have another - see you in 2016!

I don't have much luck with these case swaps it seems.

 

[Neanderthal]

Combined for everyones reading pleasure.
1. dent - Baltic Porter (10%) - CPBF + ready to drink, but feel free to see if it changes over time in the fridge if you've already sucked on the tap
2. jyo- Oatmeal Stout- Bottle Conditioned for just over a month. Give it another couple of weeks if you want.
3. Milk Lizard 84-Golden Ale ready to drink
4. Nev**** Fat Albert Belgian Amber 8% - bottle conditioning
5. keifer33 – Dry Stout - Bottle Conditioned and ready
6. Mitch_76 - ?Dubbel Choc 8.7%
7. twocansam - American Wheat Bottle conditioned, ready to drink now
keifer33 - Good beer but could do with a little more hop character for me personally. A dry hopped version would be tops.
8. Recharge - London brown ale
9. Rad - Amber ale - Ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - I did enjoy this, but I found it had a little bit of a cloying sweetness. When I had sips i enjoyed it. When I took a bigger mouthful is when I found it too sweet. Aroma was good and reminded me of endeavour amber ale, although I haven't had one of those for quite a while so could be way off.
Recharge- Poured perfectly clear and looked great in the glass. Enjoyable beer. Thanks
Ned- I enjoyed this, I don't drink a lot of amber ales, so the sweetness was different for me, I think I will try more amber ales after drinking this beer.
Neander - I had a few when I drank. Still well carbed but head didnt last long. Enjoyable, would of made a good afternoon / deckchair beer.
10. lanerigg - IPA
keifer33 - Sorry mate my bottle was rock solid and a gusher. Waited for it to settle but wasnt drinkable. Very Phenolic and Solventy unfortunately.
11. StalkingWilbur - Robust Porter - give it some time. Three weeks in bottle, but was left outside in the cold so was still undercarbed when I tried one before the swap.
12. danestead - american IPA hop hog clone - CPBF ready to drink
StalkingWilbur - Damn. I really enjoyed this. If I had known what I was in for I would've made sure I had a hop hog on hand so I could do a side by side. The aroma jumped out of the bottle andreminded me of hop hog. I think the taste was pretty close too and packed a nice hop flavor and punch. Will be looking to brew this at some point.
lanerigg - a bloody good clone! really enjoyed it. Will be making it soon
keifer33 - Great beer mate. Maybe a little drier and slightly more hop aroma and it will be an even better beer.
recharge - hop hog clone. I had a feral hop hog in tap at the kalamunda hotel on Wednesday for lunch, was disappointing. Not so with your beer, it was very enjoyable good balance of malt and hops I was looking for more. Thanks.

jyo- yup- this is tops. I shared this with a mate who is a Hop Hog freak and we were both impressed. If you truly want a clone, then I agree with Keiffer with there maybe being too much body, but flavour and aroma were pretty damn close. A great beer.
Ned- I enjoyed this, well balanced, not quite as aggressive as the real deal, but pretty bloody good
danestead- cheers for the feedback guys, really appreciated. I also agree that the body needs some thinning and a dryer finish and the aroma needs a boost which it what I've adjusted for my planned version 3.
Neander - I thought this was a great clone. Nice aroma and easy drinking, would of like a few more.
13. wilkens - choc/vanilla porter
14. Ned - Rye APA. bottle conditioned, ready to drink because I thought the swap was on in June for some reason
Nev- a good balance of hops and malt, easy drinking, didn't realise it was bottle conditioned so last glass was thick but overall a great beer.
17. Neanderthal Black IPA - Bottle Conditioned - ready to drink.
18. Rickcobba - American IPA - needs more conditioning time, bottled 2014-07-10
19. Jono- Oatmeal Stout
jyo- Mine gushed out of the bottle and carbonation was dangerously high for a glass bottle- maybe get these in the fridge ASAP. Once settled down it had a deep rich, roasty stout flavour and was pretty good. I can feel the 6.5%....
Nev- Ended up with 1/4 of a bottle after the gush stopped. Nice beer but potentially a bottle bomb !

 

[danestead]

Zig, you are a hard ass on judging! I hope you aren't going to be a judge at the royal show this year!

 

[Neanderthal]

Zig, you are a hard ass on judging! I hope you aren't going to be a judge at the royal show this year!

The best feedback is honest. At least people know where you need to look to make it better.

 

[danestead]

The best feedback is honest. At least people know where you need to look to make it better.

Yeah I agree, that's the kind of feedback I want also. I want to know what I can improve on next time.

 

[dent]

I think my reviews are generally kind, with some notes on how that particular beer could be improved (if possible). I guess that might make it seem like I am accentuating the faults -- but, I think, as a brewer, if you're not interested in improving your beers, you're not interested in brewing.

Believe me, the PRBS judges are much less kind.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Believe me, the PRBS judges are much less kind.

Depends on who brewed the beer.

 

[danestead]

I think my reviews are generally kind, with some notes on how that particular beer could be improved (if possible). I guess that might make it seem like I am accentuating the faults -- but, I think, as a brewer, if you're not interested in improving your beers, you're not interested in brewing.

Believe me, the PRBS judges are much less kind.

Don't worry, my comment was said light heartedly

 

[dent]

Twocansam - American Wheat

Interesting beer this. There isn't anything about it that screams wheat beer (apart from the super haze I guess). A sort of unique perfumy combination of yeast esters and hops in the aroma. Tangy in the mouth. A bit of green beer flavour in the aftertaste is really the only bad point of the beer. Overall this beer is pretty good, maybe some more time in the bottle will help - I kind of feel like the endemic haze in this brew is part of the same problem though.