AHB Articles: 2010 Funky Beer Swap

[Quintrex]

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

Kabooby

All the NSW beers got sent back in three boxes but beers mentioned he got five bottles of neonmeate's beer, I'd suggest that somehow he accidentally got your two stubbies.

 

[barls]

buggered if i know how that happened. as we sorted them all out in to the different bottles and i put ether one longie or two stubbies in each crate then split up the extras.
i also had the missus check to see i had the right amount in each before splitting.

 

[beers]

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

Kabooby

I got extras. PM me your address & I will send you some.

 

[neonmeate]

or i will send you some more

honestly im quite relieved this beer turned out all right

manticle you were very astute to pick the chocolate in there, that's the chocolate rye that went into the original altbier.

the nappy stuff i believe is from enterobacter or some of the wilder elements among the bacteria soup that went into it and i don't think it will go away. (pedio came out of sour beer dregs from last years swap, rather than a pure culture, so anything could be in it). basically this beer is now a rye-lambic. i just think it needs age for the flavours to mellow a bit...

 

[beers]

2) Brenosbrews - Belgian Farmhouse IPA

Fruity, funky, grapefruity goodness. Finishes dry with a lingering grapefruit tinged bitterness. Nice tight lasting head. Delicious. Thanks Brenosbrews.

 

[brendanos]

BrenosBrews Farmhouse IPA - 16/1/11

Amazingly enticing aroma of ripe tropical fruits - pineapple, apriciots, orange. I couldn't get my nose out of it to take a sip for a good 10 mins. Very bretty (fruity) & hoppy. Flavour is rich, bright, zesty & well balanced. Impression of fruit punch. Quite dry with a soft bitterness that I thought at first underwhelming (but which has grown on me immensely) lingers nicely into a dry mildly acidic finish. Highly enjoyable. Thanks!!

 

[neonmeate]

Cracked open my second and unfortunately final bottle of barls, in order to make use of the dregs in my barley wine - the Brett c doesn't seem to have taken off q, and some guys over at babblebelt actuallysaid that Brett c is not a strong finishing Brett like Brux and lambicus so that figures seeing as it's 11.5%. hoping the wyeast old ale blend does the trick.

And may I just say again what a tasty beer this is.

 

[barls]

glad to hear mate, ive probably got a pack of brett c here somewhere if you get really stuck, might even have some old ale blend as well.
i had a bottle the other night as well and it hasnt really changed that much, also finally got my sheets back from bitter and twisted of which i entered this and on one of the sheets for it, the bloke suggests that it might have an infection :wacko: :wacko: :blink: :blink:

 

[Quintrex]

Cracked open my second and unfortunately final bottle of barls, in order to make use of the dregs in my barley wine - the Brett c doesn't seem to have taken off q, and some guys over at babblebelt actuallysaid that Brett c is not a strong finishing Brett like Brux and lambicus so that figures seeing as it's 11.5%. hoping the wyeast old ale blend does the trick.

And may I just say again what a tasty beer this is.

The brett C is pretty slow to fire, it does eventually ramp up as I found in my saison a while ago but you are right, it's nowhere near as voracious as brux or lambicus.

 

[Gulpa]

Its time I started drinking some of these again.

Tried Quintrex's beer last night. Sorry, agree with others. Too acetic for my tastes.

12) neonmeate - brett&pedio rye altbier

I cant wait until February after all the reviews.

Pours a light copper with tight head that persists.

Aroma is bretty leather, light barnyard poo, some dark fruit sourness in the aroma as well.

Flavour is dominated by the sourness. Some bretty funk here as well. Light malt. Light bodied. Medium high carb. Good balance of sourness.

Very nice beer. Ive not had a lot of beers of this types but I really enjoyed this. Thanks neonmate.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[neonmeate]

kabooby's olde ale.

well interesting the brett c is slow to fire cause it certainly seems to have done plenty in this one over 18 months - 10.5% too. hope my barley wine gets this level of brettiness.

nice head ret - specially considering sourness and abv...
honestly once this is in my mouth I have a VERY hard time telling it apart from a young pinot noir.... it honestly tastes like wine. except for an undertone of solid english malt. the phenols here taste like the tannins or the stalkiness in a pinot. there's heaps of fruity flavour, and it's sour in a juicy way. it all comes together like one big enigmatic flavour, not lots of bits. very purple tasting if you know what i mean.

thanks kabooby, great job

 

[kabooby]

I have had all of my mine now and would like to thank everyone for their beers. I have come out of this case swap with a new found love of Berliner weiss. Both of them were excellent and I am going to make one for next summer.

Thanks
Kabooby

 

[manticle]

beers: Brown saison.

Pours beautifully clear, fluffy head which mainly disappears but a tiny bit remains.

Aroma of raisins and a hint of breadiness. Slight treacle/caramel notes and little hint of alcohol.

Little bit of chocolate biscuit, maybe a tiny hint of oxidation paper (not overpowering) . Light funk, good dry finish. Not getting much of the caramel in the flavour nor any of the alcohol but it does feel warming.

Overall a nice, balanced and very refreshing saison. Personally I'd like a touch more spice from the yeast (is it 3711?) and maybe a shade more funkiness and some more of the aromatics to make their way into the beer.

Small criticisms only - it's everything a saison should be - thirst quenching, refreshing, dry etc and the chocolate, bread and dried fruits are great. I just want more because I'm a greedy prick.

 

[BrenosBrews]

Brown Saison from Beers;

A - Pours a clear light copper colour, even a slow pour produces a big 3 finger slightly off white head which slowly falls away. Leaves a finger of foam on top.

S - Caramel and some dark fruit aromas, also a very slight aniseed note. Some funky and slight acidic hints.

T - More of the dark fruit character up front with the caramel taking a back seat. Brett taste is there but only a little.

M - Light bodied but plenty of character. Dry & some slight acidic tartness, just how I like Saison.

O - I get concerned whenever I see "brown" or "dark" saison as I always worry they are going to be too sweet. The brett maybe helps dry this out. Well done on a different yet tasty & funky Saison.

 

[BrenosBrews]

Quintrex Berliner Weiss.

A - Pours a slightly hazy pale straw with a 2cm white head that falls fairly fast.

S - Funky acidic apple cider like notes with some slight enteric character.

T - Thankfully no enteric character in the taste. Slightly grainy with a pretty big acidic touch and some slight apple hints.

M - Light, dry and highly carbonated - bang on for the style.

O - Apart from the slight enteric character in the smell this was a great Berliner Weiss.

 

[beers]

Cheers for the comments manticle & BB.
Bang on manticle - it was indeed 3711. Probably should have fermented a tad warmer, however I find 3711 can get a little fuselly for my tastes at higher temps.

 

[BrenosBrews]

Kaboobys Old Ale with Brett.

A - Pours a fairly clear reddish copper colour with a couple of centimetres that fall away rather quickly.

S - Lots of dried dark fruit and vinous spicy notes. A fair amount of caramel/toffee malt character. Slight bretty funk becomes apparent as it warms.

T - Also quite spicy in the taste with the dried fruit flavour coming together with the caramel/toffee malt to give quite a sweet taste.

M - Suprisingly lighter body than what I expected and a higher than expected carbonation, touch of lactic tartness. Definate chest warming alcohol.

O - I've never used Brett C but I see what people say about it not really coming through like Brett L or B tends to. Still a decent strong old ale. Just use a smaller bottle next time :lol:

 

[manticle]

Barls: I tried your second bottle last night. The extra few months has done wonders as the brett has started to shine.

Where before it was super rich and very sweet (almost extract like) now it has a more refreshing dryness and much greater complexity. Still some nice caramel overtones but the dimensions are really coming through and brett is far more present.

 

[barls]

good to hear, got the esb comp coming up so might have to find a bottle or two and enter it.

 

[Gulpa]

Its time I started drinking some of these again.

Tried Quintrex's beer last night. Sorry, agree with others. Too acetic for my tastes.

12) neonmeate - brett&pedio rye altbier

I cant wait until February after all the reviews.

Pours a light copper with tight head that persists.

Aroma is bretty leather, light barnyard poo, some dark fruit sourness in the aroma as well.

Flavour is dominated by the sourness. Some bretty funk here as well. Light malt. Light bodied. Medium high carb. Good balance of sourness.

Very nice beer. Ive not had a lot of beers of this types but I really enjoyed this. Thanks neonmate.

cheers
Andrew.

Put my other bottle of this in the fridge yesterday.

Aroma is still bretty poo but the dark fruit (sour cherry) has come up a lot more.

Sour has increased, a bit but bretty funk still there. Light malt has all but disappeared. Some nice sour citrus fruit flavours in there, finishes with lemon pith.

Still a very nice beer, approaching my limit for sourness now. Thanks neonmate.

cheers
Andrew.