Hag Christmas Case Drinkin'

[m_peve]

25. Ms Thirsty Wench - Dark Ale

Medium head that lasted the whole beer - laced the glass nicely. Very attractive beer. Light aroma (not sure what it is - I'm in my squash shoes not drinking boots). Thinnish body but much appreciated after running around like a lunatic hitting a little ball. Well balanced, low bitterness but the malt is not overpowering. Something in the background, probably the cause of the unrecognised aroma (It might be yeast??). Sorry I can't be more definitive, but I've enjoyed the beer greatly and look forward to more offerings. Thanks Ms TW.

Pete

 

[m_peve]

From Notes

27. michael mosely - cascade / amarillo IPA, bottled 04/12/07

Tight white head that lasted the whole beer. Clear golden colour. Very light citrus in the aroma - could have used some more maybe??. Light-Medium body with neither hops nor malt prominent. I would have prefered more citrus from the American hops. Medium bitterness. Having said all that, I've picked up a 'dark' taste (not unpleasant just unusual) at the end of a mouthful. I think it might be from the hops. What hops did you use Michael? Overall, a good beer that I quite enjoyed!! Thanks.

Pete

 

[m_peve]

From Notes

20. Danny Boy - Scottish Heavy Ready to Drink

Medium head that lasted for a while. Dark brown in colour. Sweet malt on the nose. Thin bodied beer where malt is the dominant factor in the taste department. Low bitterness. A great sesssion beer. Thanks Danny Boy!!

Pete

 

[m_peve]

From Notes Again

26. Fingolfin - UK Double IPA - Double IPA with a british twist

Long lasting head. Poured a very murky brown that reminded me of muddy water. Can't find any more of my notes sorry, looks like the alcohol in it got me :blink: . Thanks Fingolfin

Pete

 

[m_peve]

11 - Trent - Saison

I've only had a couple of Saison's before and was expecting something a lot more tart. Very nice!! Thin white head that lasted a short while. Slight honey aroma - (a slight sour note on opening but it disappeared quickly. Generally on the sweet side but not cloying. Some peach flavours.Not tart at all. Extremely refreshing!!! Thanks Trent, I enjoyed this beer a LOT!!

Pete

 

[m_peve]

28. Colin Hansell - Irish Red Ale

Very clear mahogony brown (black?? - in fact the darkest red I've ever seen)Thin head that maintained itself well for the life of the beer. Little aroma. Honey up front. Then port-like character appeared. YUMMMMM!!!! A buttery feel (doesn't detract from the beer at all). Caramel as it warmed. VERY impressive Colin. Thanks heaps

Pete

 

[goatherder]

8 - MHB's LCBA

A nice golden colour with brilliant clarity and a fluffy white head. Citrus hop aromas dominate with some malt in the background. Up front there is some hop flavour mirroring the aroma. The middle and finish are slightly sweet with the malt flavour falling away a bit towards the end. The bitterness is on the low side but balanced, making this an easy drinker. The carbonation is spot on. I found this a tasty and very easy drinking beer. Thanks Mark, I reckon your customers will love it.

 

[schooey]

11. Trent's Saison

I opened the case swap beer and drank it first Trent, it was carbed spot on, had a thin white head that didn't seem to last too long. I was a bit lost looking for a description for it, but it did have a slight tartness, but nothing over the top. I thought the hop/malt balance was good and I enjoyed it

Then I opened the stubby you gave me the other day... Whoa, what a difference! It held a better head all the way to the bottom of the glass. the flavours seemed to be so much more developed, the mix of tartness, developed malt and hops were all intertwined. I'm guessing this style of beer develops well with a bit of age, or the stubby was from a totally different recipe. It made the case swap beer's flavour seem watered down or greenish in comparison. I really, really enjoyed it

Thanks for sharing mate.

Cheers,

Schooey

 

[m_peve]

1. Les/ Weizguy - Aventinus weizenbock-style

Pardon my ignorant tastebuds. I can hardly compete with the descriptions expressed by Uncle Les earlier.

It is thelast bottle for me. A medium head that lasted for a reasonable time. Clear dark copper-brown colour. Raisin toast and alcohol on the nose - 5 yr old son said it smelt of black grapes.
Medium-full bodied. Big and malty, but extremely well balanced, an excellent way to finish off the evening (because at after all that alcohol all I want to do is sleep :blink: )
Thanks Les for a fantastic ending beer and to all contributors!!

Pete

 

[schooey]

26. Fingolfin - UK Double IPA

It poured a beautiful deep amber coppery colour with a light tan bubbly head that lasted about half the glass. This IPA is a lot different to the others I have tasted as the hops seemed more in balance with the malt in the beer and didn't leave such a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. The mouthfeel was excellent and carbing was excellent. It went great with the steak I had for dinner and I really enjoyed it. I wish I didn't have this blocked nose so i could have appreciated the flavour and aroma a little better, but it's been one of the better IPA's I've sampled to date

Thanks fingolfin.

 

[schooey]

9. Nooch - AIPA

There was nothing wrong with the carbing in mine Nooch, if anything maybe just a tad too much, but only a tad. It held a really persistent fine bubbled silky light amber head that just wouldn't die. I thought the maltiness and the hops in mine were well balanced with a hoppy aftertaste. Flavour was typical of previous reviews. The mouthfeel was really really good, smooth as anything. I'm really glad I gave this one the extra time. Thanks for sharing and it was nice to have a chinwag with you on the day mate.

Cheers,

Schooey

 

[loftboy]

Here's some catchup reviews from me. I can't add much to what has already been said about these beers, except to say that I have enjoyed each one so far. Great job, one & all.

4. David L - AIPA
I'm not a big fan of big bitter beers, but still enjoyed this one. Carbonation was perhaps a little too high. Left a little bit in the bottle in a effort to be able to farm the 'Flying Dog' yeast from it. Thanks David.

6. Scotty - Ninny Lager
Holy hell - this is one interesting beer :blink: . Huge bitterness for my tastes, but still refreshing.

8. MHB - LCBA Clone
Great result for a K&K beer. Very refreshing & a great summer beer. Thanks Mark.

10. Tony - Golden Ale
Simply a beautiful combination. The only thing I would like to get from this beer, is more carbonation/head. This recipe is going "straight to the pool room" & will be one of my first brews when I go AG.

14. Punter - American Amber
Lovely colour & flavours. Good carbonation. Great beer.

15. Craig - American Rye
Didn't get the big fluffy head that others have reported. Interesting flavours from the combination of malts. Great effort.

17. Snagler - ESB
Huge head, but settles down after a few minutes. Seems to be towards the bottom end of the bitterness scale for this style, which suits my tastes. Great result. Very nice beer.

 

[Trent]

#1 Les' Double D
Extra Points go to you for the label, mate, quite enticing! Poured a lovely deep brown colour, with a fairly thick head that disppated quickly, but my glass isnt the cleanest (had previously had a lovely glass of O'fest from some kindly soul that donated me a whole KEG!). Some clovey phenols on the nose, no banana, and very nice deeper toasty, plum, raison notes, actually, maybe a low hint of banana as it warms. Some alcohol on the nose.
Tastes pretty much just like the smell, some melanoidins, toasty, dark fruits and some phenols, with some firm alcohol, but it isnt hot. Tastes delicious, and complex. There is a slight metallic taste at the back of the palate, but it isnt enough to detract from the overall beer.
Fairly full body, moderate bitterness, yet it tastes fully attenuated and malty, not at all cloying.
The alcohol is starting to bite me on the arse, and I must say I am quite impressed with this beer. Shoulda seen it coming, though, as you are the weizguy after all.
Thanks for sharing, makes me wanna try and do one of these myself, and soon.
All the best
Trent

 

[Insight]

14 - Punter- American Amber

I drank this one in about 15 minutes flat after getting off a conference call last night. Needless to say, it went down well! I didn't take any notes, but I remember thinking, christ thats chocolately! Certainly more balanced towards the malt than the hops. Many thanks for a very tasty beer Punter.

 

[goatherder]

14 - Punter's American Amber

It's very much on the brown side of amber with a nice ruby hue when held up to the light. The clarity is great and there is a smallish off white head which didn't mind sticking around. I got some good hints of citrus hop aroma with some very nice caramel and chocolate malt undertones which increased to dominate as the beer warmed up. The flavour is full and sweet up front with plenty of hops and dark toffee malt flavours. The finish is sweet but is well balanced by a solid bitterness. A very clean and well made beer thanks Punter. As an American Amber I reckon it makes a perfect American Brown. Either way, it was great drinking thanks mate!

 

[schooey]

As promised, here's my review of the "Double D"...not to be confused with a brand of Eucalyptus oil.

Aroma: - upfront sweetness due to malt and alcohol. Looking (sniffing) deeper, I get malt, bread, raisins, alcohol and a low banana aroma. Very bock-like and frankly gorgeous.

Appearance - The head pours big and moussey, but failed to hold in my glass, although there was a moderate (3 mm) persistent head with reasonable lacing.. May be rocky in a clean weizen glass (highly recommended).
Colour is medium brown and clear until I added the yeast...then was mid-brown and hazy/cloudy.

Flavour - Can anyone say "big"? Malty, bready, with some mild chocolate character. Dark fruit and vanilla. No hop flavour and very balanced bitterness. More malt in the aftertaste, along with a lingering bready, melanoidin flavour that invites you back for more ( a quality which pronounces a beer to be balanced, IMHO).

Mouthfeel: medium-full and somewhat creamy, with medium/moderate carbonation.

Overall Impression: Malty, rich, flavoursome, complex, balanced, more-ish, sweet without being cloying. Keith should lurv it !!! Wished I had more, so if this sounds nasty to you, I'm happy to swap you for a longie of a commercial beer. :lol:

Very happy, although the alcohol can get a little bitey (until you get used to it). So now someone else can taste it and confirm or debunk my results.
It may be better after a week in the fridge (or it may not...).

old Uncle Les out

I'm not even going to bother trying to describe it in my terms. It's all up there ^

This has been the beer of the swap for me thus far, I really really enjoyed it, drank it painfully slow to make it last. If anyone else doesn't want theirs, I'll double Uncle Les's offer to two longnecks of Toohey's New for it

Thanks for sharing such a fine beer Les

Cheers,

Schooey

 

[Tony]

The DD

Mate...... great beer.

Poured perfectly into my old franziskaner glass........ perfect carb that held.... and even grew a smooth creamy fluffy head.

clear (i didnt shake it) and a lovly amber colour...... not as dark as adventinious (spelling... its late).

First imression was sweetness and yeast aroma........ both were fantastic! I got alcahol in the finish, smooth but prominent.

I would have liked some more malt in there to ballance out the alcahol. not more sweetness..... some more colour and depth of malt character........ perhaps some deep flavours like caraaroma and chocolate.

But not much..... just a tad.

GReat beer mate.....well done.

Cheers

 

[loftboy]

11. Trent - Saison

Wow - so many complex fruity flavours & amazing aroma once it warms up a bit. Lovely amber colour, low to medium carbonation & slightly spicy.

From my totally uneducated amateur beer palate, this Saison seems very close to style, maybe with the exception of slightly low carbonation.

Well done Trent - care to share the recipe :super:

 

[Weizguy]

The DD

Mate...... great beer.

Poured perfectly into my old franziskaner glass........ perfect carb that held.... and even grew a smooth creamy fluffy head.

clear (i didnt shake it) and a lovly amber colour...... not as dark as adventinious (spelling... its late).

First imression was sweetness and yeast aroma........ both were fantastic! I got alcahol in the finish, smooth but prominent.

I would have liked some more malt in there to ballance out the alcahol. not more sweetness..... some more colour and depth of malt character........ perhaps some deep flavours like caraaroma and chocolate.

But not much..... just a tad.

GReat beer mate.....well done.

Cheers

Tony,

Sweetness was my first impression, too! Do you need malt flavour or maybe more melanoidin? Maybe a triple decoction?

I received some feedback from David L regarding the inclusion of some Cara Wheat.

Yeah, I'm quite happy with this recipe and look forward to brewing it again with minor adjustments.

An Imperial Dunkelweizen is not on the cards until at least next Christmas, though :lol:

Les out

 

[Tony]

Tony,

Sweetness was my first impression, too! Do you need malt flavour or maybe more melanoidin? Maybe a triple decoction?

I think more malt flavour.........yeah....... but not melanoiden. that woukd make it........mmmmm i dont like melanoiden. thats what decoction mashing is for!!!

I think it needed a deeper darker maltiness............... not much........... just a hint of deep dark crystal like cararoma and some light smooth chocolaty flavours in there.

these would work in well with the sweetness and also hold up the alcahol warmth a bit more.

The beer was a 1st class beer mate.............. i loved it! i would leave it as is with the addition of 2% of both caraaroma and carafe spec 1

and yeah a double decoction would be great.

52, 64, 71 (infuse, decoct, decoct) mashout and spage at 74 deg.

too easy

cheers