Christmas Lotto 2013

[philmud]

Nibbo- mongrel ale

Appearance: pours a deep rust amber, required a long pour to coax out a head, but this was persistent when I did. As I drank this, the glass got a lovely lace coating.

Aroma: sweet, malty with a decent whack of piney hops.

Taste: really prominent, caramel/toffee malt profile. IPA-esque, followed by piney, resiny hop flavour, pineapple. Medium hop bitterness that builds nicely.

Mouthfeel: slick, chewy, big bodied, low (but adequate) carbonation.

Overall: really nice, strong IPA elements to this beer, big bodied, well balanced. Delish

 

[Fat Bastard]

Far *******- red IPA

Appearance: Poured very dark, except for amber-red around the highlights, could have been a dark beer. Had to coax a head out of it with a long pour, but this hung around once I did.

Aroma: hoppy, notes of citrus, pine. Decent malt aroma too, sweet, caramel. All IPA!

Taste: hop flavour is dank and resiny, a strong, smooth bitterness - doesn't have the in-your-pace hop climax that lots of IPAs seem to have (not a bad thing IMO). Good strong malt profile, notes of caramel and toffee. Fairly sweet, though not unbalanced. I wonder how some rye would go in the grist? Special mention for the beer being 8.5% ABV, with no real alcohol warmth to speak of.

Mouthfeel - this is a pretty big beer and it's built accordingly. It's well textured - a slight slickness in the mouth, but not what I would describe as chewy. Carbonation is low - medium, but I'm aware that FB filled from keg, so it may have lost some fizz. Certainly a long way off undercarbed though.

Overall: Very enjoyable, hides it's 8.5% well (though I bet it'll catch up with me!). No faults I could detect. FB mentioned that this is a beer he's still not entirely happy with - well, I would be, but I with a bit of X factor, I'd be bloody ecstatic. Thanks again Piers, you're a gentleman.

Thanks Paul, What a great review!
Rye is something I've been thinking of adding, but what I really need to do is stop fiddling with the recipe and concentrate on making the aroma hops really pop!

Cheers again!

 

[jyo]

Thanks for the feedback, Grainer. I had one of the bottle conditioned versions a few weeks ago and was unhappy with it compared to the keg, so glad it still pleased.

Cheers.

 

[Nibbo]

Nibbo- mongrel ale

Appearance: pours a deep rust amber, required a long pour to coax out a head, but this was persistent when I did. As I drank this, the glass got a lovely lace coating.

Aroma: sweet, malty with a decent whack of piney hops.

Taste: really prominent, caramel/toffee malt profile. IPA-esque, followed by piney, resiny hop flavour, pineapple. Medium hop bitterness that builds nicely.

Mouthfeel: slick, chewy, big bodied, low (but adequate) carbonation.

Overall: really nice, strong IPA elements to this beer, big bodied, well balanced. Delish

Thanks for the review mate. Whilst not my best beer, it is nice to tuck into when i'm after something a little different to my usual line up.

The carb level is where i enjoy it and it took several months to get there. I think this was brewed last April or May...and took probably 3 - 4 months to hit it's carb level.

Glad you enjoyed it mate.

Cheers
Nibbo

 

[Kudzu]

Kudzu B-Saaz & Cascade IPA

Appearance: pours a golden/straw colour, opaque but not cloudy. A thick white head that receded to about 10mm and lingers.

Aroma: citrusy hops, grapefruit. Faint ly sweet.

Taste: hoppy, moderate bitterness. Lots of citrus as per aroma. A malty, sweet presence. I think also some DMS ( I can pick this out now, thanks to Josh detecting it in my DSGA) a hint of cooked corn - doesn't overpower the beer though.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied with a relatively sweet finish. Nice spritzy level of carbonation gives the illusion of dryness.

Overall: solid beer, perhaps needs to be more bitter for the style, but it drinks well, especially on a Barmy brew night!

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the DMS, I can't pick it yet. There was a fair wack of pilsner malt in their so maybe a 60 minute boil wasn't long enough.

 

[philmud]

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the DMS, I can't pick it yet. There was a fair wack of pilsner malt in their so maybe a 60 minute boil wasn't long enough.

Don't apologise, it was a nice beer, and I was only able to detect it because Josh pointed it out in mine. I was like, "ahhh, so that's DMS". I'm going to change to a 90 min boil in future when I use a pils base.

 

[Kudzu]

Glad you enjoyed it. Pity I don't have any left, so can't go back and see if I can pick it up.

 

[Grainer]

Joyo:APA
Appearance: Poured light copper, Head was a creamy copper with a good amount that lingered to the glass
Aroma: Cant pick the hop at this stage but it is subtle with more bitterness.. I would like to see more aroma in the glass.

Taste: The bitterness hits you straight up and overpowers the subtle tastes underneath and I almost get a soapy consistency??? Carbonation remains good.

Mouthfeel - Mouthfeel is good

Overall: Pleasant, however I prefer more flavour profiles with a little less bitterness.

 

[Grainer]

Golden Ale: by I don't know who:

Nice copper golden colour with medium white head that lingers to the glass. Nice gentle hop aroma with florals and a little citrus??. Good flavours ... Sorry quite a few beers in so this is a short review...

Overall a nice easy to drink summerish beer...

 

[robv]

Golden Ale: by I don't know who:

Nice copper golden colour with medium white head that lingers to the glass. Nice gentle hop aroma with florals and a little citrus??. Good flavours ... Sorry quite a few beers in so this is a short review...

Overall a nice easy to drink summerish beer...

Hopefully its the Golden I sent

 

[Grainer]

Hopefully its the Golden I sent

Yes it was.. I looked at the bottle this morning.. I was pretty smashed LOL

 

[Grainer]

Triache: Black larger

Colour: nice dark and malty

aroma & Taste: chocolate malt, low bitterness with a slight fruity backbone of deep plum.

Mouthfeel: Nice and rounded

Overall... Exactly what I expected and a great drop.

 

[NealK]

NealK - Vienna Lager

Drinking this while I brew.

Rich cookie dough and toasty maltiness. Just enough bitterness to balance it although still towards the malt. Then finishes dry so I want to take another sip.

Malty lagers are my favourite styles to brew. I'd love to see the recipe as I would definitely brew this one.

Thanks very much for sharing.

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This just scored 120 points and came first in the dark lager category at Melbourne Brewers Beerfest 2014! Woohoo!

 

[Josh]

This just scored 120 points and came first in the dark lager category at Melbourne Brewers Beerfest 2014! Woohoo!

This just scored 120 points and came first in the dark lager category at Melbourne Brewers Beerfest 2014! Woohoo!

Not hard to see why. It was delicious.

 

[Grainer]

Josh : Smoked red ale

WOW.. great smoked meaty flavour when opening the bottle

Colour: A deep woody red similar to a deep red wine. with a a light smokey head that diminishes.

Aroma: Now this doesn't smell like beer.. This smells like warmbeers smoked chicken wings.. and they taste friken brilliant !!! It has a great meaty smell like great smoked bbq.

Taste: medium mouthfeel with medium malt and an initial crispness that leads to a deep smokey flavour that deepens to a fuller mouthfeel as the carbonation drops. Has the distinctness behind the smoke of a red ale.

Overall a very nice beer that I would defiantly try again.

 

[Grainer]

Beersuit: Black as Pilsner Kohatu schwarzbier

Colour: Black as ****** !! deep black/red with a tan super head..

Aroma: Floral pine as one would expect with the hops: Kohatu although challenged by the deep character of the dark malt

Taste: Overly carbonated and hiding som elf the characteristics, no obvious defects in the beer other than carbonation level, malty goodness behind the carb, although I feel it could do with a little more something..I find the taste a liitte one directional ..although I have been having some crazy beers lately and drinking my pliny the elder...Not sure if the hops suit the style of beer...

 

[Josh]

Josh : Smoked red ale

WOW.. great smoked meaty flavour when opening the bottle

Colour: A deep woody red similar to a deep red wine. with a a light smokey head that diminishes.

Aroma: Now this doesn't smell like beer.. This smells like warmbeers smoked chicken wings.. and they taste friken brilliant !!! It has a great meaty smell like great smoked bbq.

Taste: medium mouthfeel with medium malt and an initial crispness that leads to a deep smokey flavour that deepens to a fuller mouthfeel as the carbonation drops. Has the distinctness behind the smoke of a red ale.

Overall a very nice beer that I would defiantly try again.

Glad you enjoyed it. I originally brewed this beer for the WSB Smoked Beer Challenge. For anyone interested, here's the recipe.

4.5kg Weyermann Smoked malt
1.5kg Simpsons Golden Promise
300g Weyermann CaraRed
100g JW Roasted Barley

30g EK Goldings 5.3% 60min

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

 

[philmud]

Lmccrone - amber Ale

Appearance: pours a dense amber/brown with an enthusiastic off white head that held well.
Aroma: nutty/malty aroma - caramel tones, smells delicious!
Taste: sweet and nutty, caramel/toffee flavours come through strongly. Reasonably bitter towards the end, smoothe bitterness, rounds out the flavours well.
Mouthfeel: medium-big body but buoyed considerably by spritzy carbonation. Residual sweetness builds on the tongue, not unpleasant but fairly pronounced.
Overall: good example of style, I'd love something like this during the winter (drinks just fine in Feb). 1st place in category at Beerfest, well deserved, a privilege to drink.

 

[lmccrone]

thanks mate

 

[Grainer]

HBHB: Baltic Porter

Appearance: Looks like a glass of Coke ..LOL had it sitting next to a glass of coke and my wife grabbed it and went to drink it..Missing the creamy tan head, which is one of the only faults of the brew..Deep dark rich brown/copper.

Aroma: Medium alcohol effervescence, with roasted coffee/toffee malt

Taste:: Rich malts with dark ripe fruit and coffee/toffee. Sweet with a distinct alcohol as expected which gives a warming sensation from this medium bodied brew. Medium-low carbonation which is spot on with a little bitterness that lingers on the sides of the tongue.

Overall: Very nice brew except for the absence of that creamy tanned head, which lifts the experience