AHB Articles: 2010 Funky Beer Swap

[beers]

brendanos - Berliner Weisse. I got a bottle of C - sharp/strong acidity.

Pours with a nice puffy head, which dissapears almost instantly. Light straw colour. I've poured the first glass clean with no sediment & it has great clarity. I'll swirl some sediment back in after first tastings.
I get a slight hint of apples in the aroma. At first it was reminding me of cider but now that I am 1/2 way through the first glass, not so much.
Wow.. the acidity on this one (as it says on the label) is huge. In amongst the sour I get a slight chalky, huskiness in the mid palette, but thats about it. Not sure if I can pick up any Brett. Adding some sediment rounds the flavour out a little.
Acidty is probably a little OTT, but I like it a lot - It actually reminds me of Cantillon Geuze (an all time fave of mine)

Thanks brendanos. A great beer.

 

[manticle]

brendanos - Berliner Weisse. I got a bottle of C - sharp/strong acidity.

Forgot to mention mine was 'A'.

 

[Gulpa]

9) Kabooby - Old ale with Brett 10.5% ABV

This was in the fridge, so I thought I should have it after mowing the lawn today.

No detailed notes. Tropical brett was dominant (pinapple) with a nice malty complexity there in the aroma as it warmed up a bit. Hard to believe that there was 10% lurking in there but I felt very warm and happy after finishing it.

Thanks Kaboobly, lovely beer.

cheers
Andrew..

 

[neonmeate]

having my first manticle no6.

the others' descriptions are exactly what im getting. nice clear mahogany colour but head fizzles (oils from the citrus?) - but hey this is wild beer.

tastes quite similar to my beer in this swap i think, except for the orangeyness, which adds a nice sherbety/cointreau sort of complexity. actually perhaps this is a bit roastier. tastes like a nice panforte, nuts and peel and chocolate and dried fruit. washed down with a nice italian citrusy liqueur.

definitely the funkiest out of the swap beers i've had so far - some really nice grungy dirty earthy phenols and complexity in the finish with plenty of sourness, and very very dry. i've got two more of these, looking forward to trying some more of this stuff in a year or so to see what happens. thanks manticle!

 

[manticle]

Cheers for the review. People making a good effort to describe their perception and experience makes swaps well worth while for me.

Glad it was up to standard too.

 

[Quintrex]

Quintrex: Berliner Weiss

Well it's December so I thought I'd open her up. No pellicle visible in the bottle.

Gushes out of the bottle, pours cloudy straw with a thick head that vanishes in seconds.

Aroma seems kind of apple tree and milk. Farmyard and a little rustic.

First taste is quite sour - very aceto sour which surprised me. It's very much salt and vinegar chips and I find it a little overpowering and hard to pull out other subtleties that are promised in the aroma.

However if you drink too much single malt whisky in one gulp, you miss out on the intricacies and get a mouthful of ethanol so I've applied the same principle here.

I get little bits of woodiness and some of the apple tree I mentioned. I think the vinegar sourness is a bit too heavy for me - a bit less would see this beer as very refreshing. The level of funk I think would benefit from less aceto too. I'm guessing the aceto has increased with time in the bottle.

Cheers.

Hmmm Sorry folks, I really hate overt acetic character in beers so I'm sorry that for some reason it seems to be growing

:angry:

how bizarre

 

[kabooby]

Mine was good. Not sure which on I got

Kabooby

 

[kabooby]

9) Kabooby - Old ale with Brett 10.5% ABV

This was in the fridge, so I thought I should have it after mowing the lawn today.

No detailed notes. Tropical brett was dominant (pinapple) with a nice malty complexity there in the aroma as it warmed up a bit. Hard to believe that there was 10% lurking in there but I felt very warm and happy after finishing it.

Thanks Kaboobly, lovely beer.

cheers
Andrew..

Thanks Gulpa. Glad you enjoyed it. Probably a better beer for winter but it doesn't stop me from drinking it either.

Kabooby

 

[BrenosBrews]

Gulpa's Old Ale with Brett.

A - Pours a hazy amber with a 2cm off white head that slowly falls to a thin whisp.
S - A bit of a tropical fruit note up front followed by some woody, minty & herbal character. Some caramel/toffee maltiness is in there as well. Only a touch of funk. I'm guessing Brett C?
T - Taste is more about the woody and herbal character with a touch of tropical fruit. Like the smell there is also a remaining caramel/toffee character in the taste.
M - Medium bodied, low to medium carbonation. Some bitterness is there but in a balancing way.
D - Obviously not something to session but certainly a drinkable beer that I'd drink again. Beeen meaning to brew an Old Ale for a while, this has inspired me. After I brew all the others I have planned!

 

[brendanos]

Q's Berliner - well balanced and tasty complex organic acid profile. The acetic is a bit strong but I find it pleasant. Some funky butyric notes in aroma, but as with acetic acid I think if you brew/drink enough of them it grows on you. Some savoury notes. Really refreshing with nice fruity flavours. A little tiring on the palate. Good carbonation.

I cracked one of my bottles of Neonmates weirdo Rye Kriek before the best after too (a few weeks ago) & loved it. No jelly for me. Will post proper notes with 2nd bottle!

 

[beers]

Manticle - Oud bruiny/dubbelish type thing with a bit of whisky, oak, raisins and various citrus zests and flesh fermented in secondary with roselare and orval dregs

Pours hazy reddish brown with a small head that dissapears quickly.
Picking up acetic acid in the aroma. Getting a little fruitcake like spice coming through as its warming up.
In tasting I'm not getting anywhere near the amount of acetic character that I expected from the aroma. This has got a lot going on in terms of flavour. Like others have mentioned there's fruit cake, dried fruit, cherry, chocolate & bretty funk. Finishes nice & dry with hints of whisky/oak at the end.
This is a really complex, balanced, beer. I just love how it finishes - the dryness & hints of oak drawing me back for more. The glass is empty before I would've liked.

Thanks Manticle.

 

[manticle]

Very pleased people are enjoying this one.

Cheers beers.

 

[neonmeate]

having one of beers's beers. I was lucky enough to get two of the mysterious ostrich bottles and I think this will really come together in 6 months - atm lots of the right flavours and plenty of them but they're still a bit diffuse. nice purple Brett c smells and a bit of really off the wall homeless shelter stench, hard for the malt and hops to fight their way through but I reckon with a bit of time that will settle beautifully. strong fruity flavour with caramelly
malt and a bitter, dry, sweaty and leathery finish. looks nice too though I might call it a red saison... nice head ret.
classy beer, beers, looking fwd to the second bottle.

 

[beers]

having one of beers's beers. I was lucky enough to get two of the mysterious ostrich bottles and I think this will really come together in 6 months - atm lots of the right flavours and plenty of them but they're still a bit diffuse. nice purple Brett c smells and a bit of really off the wall homeless shelter stench, hard for the malt and hops to fight their way through but I reckon with a bit of time that will settle beautifully. strong fruity flavour with caramelly
malt and a bitter, dry, sweaty and leathery finish. looks nice too though I might call it a red saison... nice head ret.
classy beer, beers, looking fwd to the second bottle.

Cheers neonmeate.
Yeah I agree. Its a strange one. It had been in secondary for around 6 months & coming around nicely but bottling has seemed to knock it around a bit. I had one a month back & it had picked up some weird disjointed flavours that were not there at bottling. I think it seemed to pick up some plasticy, even diacetyl like notes (is thats possible). Perhaps its from priming with amber candy sugar? not sure.
I was freaking out at first but I opened another bottle on the weekend (1 month after previous tasting) & it is coming together a lot better. I have a few more 375ml & 750ml bottles & will continue to sample a bottle a month & let you guys know when it's ready. Apologies for submitting one thats not ready to go guys, but I think in a few months time it should be worth the wait.

 

[Gulpa]

... and a bit of really off the wall homeless shelter stench...

Best descriptor ever!! :lol:

 

[neonmeate]

Best descriptor ever!! :lol:

i mean that in the nicest possible way

 

[neonmeate]

I think in a few months time it should be worth the wait.

Totally

 

[beers]

i mean that in the nicest possible way

& taken that way too

I've been sampling a bottle of neonmeate's brett & pedio rye altbier for half an hour or so - I got 5 bottles of this for some reason so have opened one early.

Wow... this is one great beer.

Poured hazy with nice puffy head, & is still lacing down the glass over half an hour later. Big slug of yeast left behind in the bottle - has me thinking I might try culturing up some from one of the next bottles.

Aroma took me back at first.. warhead/sour candy with a slightly offensive twist - almost like a hint of feces.. now that its warmed up that has thankfully dissapeared.

Awesomely sour but balanced with a nice mouthfeel, not too thin at all. I get marmalade, citrus rind, & a nice dry, chalky, sour finish.

Yum.. this is great. One of the best sours I've ever had.

Cheers neonmeate

 

[manticle]

A couple of people seem to have sampled this one early - since I have two bottles, I've joined the list.

Neonmate: Old lady who swallowed some rye etc.

Pours hazy with non-lasting head. I think that's par for the course with most of these beers.

Aroma of brett, slight woodiness, mustiness, hint of acidic fruit (citrus to me) and a very light hint of nappy related stuff - I guess the pedicoccus.

Flavour has similar characteristics. Mildly sour (refreshingly so - great level of sour for my palate) some woody/leatheriness and a little hint of orange zest. Overall refreshing like a pink grapefruit. Nice dry finish, leaves me wanting more.

I do get the tiniest hint of the nappy thing coming through in the first few sips (probably just related to having my nose in the glass) so I'm guessing your warning about leaving till at least feb is because of this. I'll leave my next bottle for a few more months.

Delicious balance though. I'm even getting little hints of chocolate in subsequent sips and the sourness level is perfect. Very thirst quenching.

Enjoyable beer - I look forward to the next bottle in a few months.

 

[kabooby]

Not sure what happened but I didn't receive a bottle of Neonmate's beer and everyone seems to be enjoying it

Kabooby