Get Together/Case Swap 7th July

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Hi Lads,

Looks like my Vienna x Munich Ale (if that's what it is)is ready to drink. It will do better with age, but the bottles are adequately carbonated and the yeast stays fairly put upon decanting.

If you have my IPA and haven't drunk it yet, why not?

I'm sort of doing a Anti-alcohol August, to make up for missing dry July this year, so when I get them (probably with the bulk buy), my notes won't be until september.

 

[dago001]

Drinking Nathans Wit as I sit here trying to figure out how I am going to fix the new window that doesnt fit properly.
Anyway - I really like this beer, and could have a session on it. ( Session is how I rate a beer).
I can definately taste the tea in the beer, and agree with jlm, that it does fit in very well. I'm not getting much coriander, but the orange is there. My bottle could use a little more carbonation, but doesnt overly worry me, as I dont carb my beers up too much anyway.
I just wish that they were serving this at the boxing day test - would make for a great day to compensate the Poms floggings us.
I could see myself brewing this, although I would probably try a 3068 yeast as I have it on hand.
I will try the others over the next frew days.
Cheers
LagerBomb
p.s. post some thoughts on the beers you slack prix. Thats what this is all about.
And Goomba - there is no such thing as anti-alcohol August. You are a brewer, you brew, you drink - thats all there is. Get stuck in.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Yeah, post some thoughts on the beers. With the lotto entries being drunk and rated, and the case swaps on the mainland in full swing with tastings listed, we're looking a little like yokels.

Goomba

PS. Lagerbomb, I haven't enough bottles to warrant brewing and drinking to the level possible. I'm in a pickle, because I'm having to drink to free up the few bottles I have to start brewing again, whereas I much prefer a stockpile (another good reason to give my liver a month off), so I have lots of variety (and lots in general) on hand.

 

[jlm]

Haven't really touched my beers yet......Have had the taps at home pouring some good stuff so sort of forgot about them. Will have a few tonight to ease the pain of a fishless morning at 4 Springs.

Goomba.....I can bring a handful of bottles out on Friday. I'll see if Scott's got any lying around too.

 

[jlm]

Right.....That was about the best idea I've had today. Currently drinking Spork's Oatmeal stout......I think. Greer reckons it is and she was a big fan of it on the night.
It's quite sweet and fruity not really roasty which made me think I have the wrong beer (David.....was your beer a brown ale, which is what this is reminding me of). Its a well balanced beer and quite good.....malt forward, fruity, reminds me of a lot of a Hobgoblin but its lacking the roast of a stout IMO.
Still not sure I've got the right beer......

 

[dago001]

Reckon your drinking the Brown ale. It isnt my swap beer, it was one that I had for the day for people to have a sample. My swap beer was an APA kinda. From memory, Sporks stout wasnt overly roasty, and had a distinct oat flavour to it. Now I'm thinking that I just might have to go and drink it, instead of the 6.9% baltic porter. Tough decision.
LagerBomb

 

[dago001]

I'm in a pickle, because I'm having to drink to free up the few bottles I have to start brewing again

The more you drink, the more empty bottles you have ???

 

[jlm]

Ok, have just looked back at Sporks recipe and there's no way what I drank was his beer......I vaguely remember you saying it was Orfey's Hobgoblin clone Lagerbomb? If so that's on the to brew list.

Now the ball's rolling i'm into Goomba's APA/IPA. She's got the hop of an IPA with the bitterness of an APA IMO, which I guess is what Chris sort of said......its crossing style boundaries.

The malt's got a nice caramelyness about it, and naturally there's a tonne of hop flavour and aroma.....No chill? Argonaisse method? I'd wager there's some galaxy in there among some C hop. But I'm getting a bit of spicy-ness too. Interesting combo.

Good beer, although not really something I drink a lot of, mainly due to my dislike of US05 as I like a bit of yeast character in my beers. Well, the ales anyway.

****. I'm a bit tipsy and there's a tonne of cricket to watch tonight.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

The more you drink, the more empty bottles you have ???

But no variety.

I get sick of a whole batch of the same beer without any change.

Plus there are some recipes I want to try.

And somewhere along the line I want to make some beers for ageing....

Sitting here drinking soda water, watching cricket. Loving reading about what I'm having next month.

Oh jlm, not sure about the abv% of that APA, because I hadn't obtained a hydrometer but it 'feels' like a 6-6.5%er. That was 0 min no chill, which I don't normally do for APAs, hence why it was more a 50IBU IPA.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

In the spirit of keeping this thread going, I'll post the recipe for the APA/IPA - I've been asked a couple of times for it.

At least I think this is the recipe:

Keep in mind this is the first beer I brewed on the new system and getting used to grinding grain with a coffee grinder until I can get hold of a mill. Hence the small batch size. I reckon the OG was probably higher than stated. All this means it was a seat of the pants brew, so I've exercised a little creative licence to adjust to what I think it should be, given most of my APA are generally along a similar formula.

Volume: 16L

OG: 1.057
FG: 1.014
EBC: 25.8
IBU: 52.8 (no chill adjusted)

JW Pilsner Malt 87.9% 3.63kg
Medium Crystal 12.1% .5kg (this is more than I normally use, but I was allowing for the fact I was using Pils malt, rather than a solid Ale malt like MO)

Summit 15.9%AA 20g 0 minutes (no chill)
Mosaic 11.0%AA 20g 0 minutes (no chill)
Citra 11.9%AA 20g 0 minutes (no chill)

After 7 days fermentation:

20g each of Mosaic, Citra and Cascade for 4 days as a dry hop

US-05 (This beer is about hops, not yeast flavours, so I do like the clean profile).

My post note - normally with my APA or IPA - it is generally 88% base Ale malt, 8.8% crystal and the balance some rye or wheat, depending on body. As mentioned, I adjusted for the lighter body of JW Pils.

 

[dago001]

Seeing as Goomba cant/wont drink, and I am stuck at home with a torn calf muscle, (dont ask, you wont believe it), I am drinking his Vienna/Munich thingy.
I'm pretty happy with this beer. It has a lovely burnt orange colour and despite it being in the fridge all the time I have had it, it is carbonated quite nicely. About where I carbonate all my beers, which is slightly lower than normal. This is fairly malty ( to be expected) with a slight sweet after taste, almost cordial like. Not in a bad way, its just more of a flavour/taste I havent come across in a beer before. Hard to explain, but doesnt detract from the beer. If I was to brew this, I might up the bitterness a little, not much, maybe a few IBU. Could I have a session on it, yep, but it is more of a lawnmower beer for me. It would be great on a hot summers day in tassie (about 21c for all you northerners) after doing something in the garden. Like watch your wife mow the lawn. Well at least my wife mows the lawn anyway. You blokes gotta train em a bit better.
Good sessionable beer goomba - I enjoyed it.
Cheers
LB

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Thanks LB. Sorry to hear about the injury. At least the recovery session is good.

I thought it was too sweet and it's a bit sneaky abv wise.

I'd up the IBU a bit and lower gravity to really improve it.

replying on the mobile because power is out & we're about to be flooded in I reckon.

 

[dago001]

Had a crack at DanteHicks IPA. Initial thoughts were that it was better through the hop rocket, and on retrospect, I think it was. However, in saying that, I still enjoyed it. I shared this beers with Mrs LB, and her first comment was, "mmm fruity" . She drank it quite happily, which going on her past IPA experiences, means that it is a decent beer.
My thoughts were that initially it was fairly bitter, but I had been drinking Goombas swap beer, which was malty. I drank this in a "pot" which meant that I got 2 and the mrs got 1. By the second I felt that the bitterness was reasonably in balance with the malt, but to me it was still a little on the bitter side. I certainly enjoyed the the B Saaz that came through, and despite it being a bit bitter to my taste, it was quite a sessionable beer. For me it was a bit light on for for flavour/aroma hops, which is why the beer thru the hop rocket appealed to me more. All up a pretty easy drinker.
Cheers
LB
Edited for bad spelling and dodgy "a" button on the laptop.

 

[dago001]

So I have finished all my swap beers. Judging by the lack of reports on here, it seems that the Launnie boys have joined the Chardonay set. Harden the **** up boys and drink some beer.
jlm - Your beer was the worst beer I have ever tasted. Please send me the rest of the keg for correct disposal.
Great beer this, however in saying this, this is my favourite style of beer. Malty with just the right bitterness. It was great on the day and it travelled pretty well despite it being decanted with a $5.00 homemade decanting rig. Very similar to one that I brew, and I will have to brew your recipe in the near future. I could have many sessions on this beer.

spork - I really enjoyed your beer on the day, with a distinct oat taste to it. Pretty mellow on the roast side but it made it an easy drinker. Nice malty aroma and a thick creamy head which laced all the way down the glass. Sessionable beer, suited to a cold winters night by the fire.

Cheers
LB

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Some months are 28 or 30 days long, so I reckon I've served my time:

Coffee something (I think this was jlm's) - I really liked this one. I drink my coffee black and strong, and it was like a thinnish, bubbly, non-sweet liqueur of coffee. Di Bella coffee do a cold coffee like this, unsweetened - great beer. Couldn't taste much beer, but it was balanced, not a gimmicky beer.

Bergamot Wit - again, really really liked this. SWMBO says that this finishes with nothing, no bitterness or aftertaste - all the refreshment comes at the start. Great body, good carbonation, not a massive amount of retention, bittersweet and slightly tart and the bergamot came through nicely without, again, being gimmicky. Melds really well.

Rye Bitter (jlm) - liked this lots. The rye came through and I love the oily, spiciness that rye imparts. I probably wouldn't call it a bitter, more just a good roggenbier with English hops, rather than continental hops. Rye always impairs head retention for mine, so I expected it, but carbonation was spot on, refreshing, dark enough, but not heavy darkness, just a richness that didn't overpower the beer. Aroma was spicy again. Overall an excellent beer and a good, balanced use of rye.

 

[jlm]

Thanks Chris, both of those were extras that I threw into your beer package. Both don't really fit into a "style" as such....but you know.....you've just gotta tag beers with something at some point. I've just got into the second keg of each beer after having a break from them for a few weeks and an extra month in the fridge has done a great deal for both. Really happy with the coffee dark ale/brown ale/porter/something now, I thought it was a bit **** at first.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

No worries, James. Bit sketchy on descriptions, as I wrote them after I'd had them all. Plus a month off affects one's tolerance (which I see as positive).

Ok, Scottie's B Saaz IPA. Again, a nice beer, good for a session. I would call this an American Amber, as I found this balanced but not bitter enough or aromatic enough to consider an IPA, nor the body of one. I reckon it would have had the same balance figures as an IPA but balanced the same due to lower IBU and OG/FG figures. I blame the B Saaz for the lower aroma. But I could sit in for a session of these off tap quite happily as this was an excellently brewed beer.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Lagerbomb - I think it's an old school Australian Ale.

Loved this beer. A bit like what you hear BribieG and Dave Line describe old school XXXX and the like to be. Body, a bit of crystal and there you are.

Pours nice and clear, medium head, dissipates moderately.

Hops, understated hopping, but something new age. It starts off fruity (a little melon and something else) when cold and gets more earthy as it warms up. Don't ask me to pick hops, because this is so balanced, they don't stand out enough to ID them.

Again, excellently brewed beer.

On a side point, hoping all my comments are doing you all justice, because I've really enjoyed doing this.

 

[dago001]

Thanks for the comments LRG. The beer is kind of a confusion of styles. Your right about the Aussie Ale, but it is also based on an APA, but it doesnt fit into either style as it has a fair wack of wheat in it, about 12%. I brewed this one for my BeerFest, so it was a little subdued with the hops, as I didnt want to scare away my guests. It was filtered which is why it was clear. On tap at home I serve it cloudy (a bit like my head this morning). From memory the hops were Northern Brewer for bittering, then Cascade, Chinook and Amarillo. Cube hopped, no chill. 18 litres had about 12.5g each. I chnage the recipe each time I brew it, as it is a regular on tap here, but thinking about that brew, it definately was balanced a little better than my latest effort, which could be classed as more of an APA.
Recipe is
JW Ale 79%
Wheat 12%
Vienna 9%

Bittered to15 IBU at 60
Then hopped with whatever type of C hop, or similar to around 27 IBU
US05 yeast, fermented in my study at around 16 degrees

As a side note, I brewed a Vienna, Munich Ale the other day, with Nottingham yeast. Turned out very similar to yours, although I didnt have the recipe. Quite easy drinker, but still just shy on the IBU's at 21. I will do it again and try for 24 - 26 IBU.
Cheers
LB

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

My first VM was about 30 IBU, I reckon 35 is about ideal. Vienna and Munich is so much sweeter than most non-ale base malts.

Your APA sounds similar to what I do as standard,except your 60 min addition is 30 min for mine. Total IBU is generally around 35.

I thought I tasted a hint of something roasty or dark in there.