Hag Christmas Case Drinkin'

[///]

1 - Les - W3638 (Schneider weisse)
3 - Goathurter - W2001 (Urquell H strain)
4 - David L - Flying Dog Ale
5 - Keith AIPA - WY1028 London Ale
7 - Sammus - WY1968 London ESB Ale
18 - Shmick - Belgian Ardennes
19 - Leeboy - Fat Tyre
26 - Fingolfin - W1332 Northwest Ale
A few there so far!

2124 - sorry whats my number?

Glad no one has died from a lager made by me. Never really made them and i was dammed if there was not going to be any hops in there!

Scotty

 

[Trent]

1 - Les - W3638 (Schneider weisse)
3 - Goathurter - W2001 (Urquell H strain)
4 - David L - Flying Dog Ale
5 - Keith AIPA - WY1028 London Ale
7 - Sammus - WY1968 London ESB Ale
18 - Shmick - Belgian Ardennes
19 - Leeboy - Fat Tyre
26 - Fingolfin - W1332 Northwest Ale
2124 - sorry whats my number?
11 - Trent (saison) WY3624, or whatever the regular saison yeast is

I tried my contribution last night, it is pretty much done carbing. It isnt as dry or tart as it tasted out of secondary, so MAYBE there is still a bit of priming sugar running around? Anyway, it isnt the best saison in the world, but it is drinking OK, and will be more approachable to those that dont like their beer dry and tart (but who likes a dry tart anyway?). Only came down to 1005 from 1047, was expectin 1002
Hope someone enjoys it, looking forward to getting into a few more beers over the next week or so
All the best
Trent

 

[Offline]

Just a list of brewers who have already suggested there beer is ready to drink. I know there are more than this that are ready, could you please add yours to the list if it is ready (plus any special instructions ie refrigerate for a week before drinking)


3. goatherder - Imperial Pilsner. Wyeast 2001. 6.5% abv. Bottled 20/11/2007. Ready to drink.
5. Keith - AIPA, Wyeast 1028. Bottled 07/12/07 DRINK NOW; 5s A Foreign extra stout, Yeast S04, 5.5% DRINK NOW
6. Scotty - Ninny Lager
11 - Trent - Saison - give it 2 weeks to carb. Also a Belgian Pale Ale - ready to drink.
17 - Snagler - ESB OG 1.055 FG 1.008 Bottled 25/10/07 (Ready to drink, carbonation higher than I would have liked) Critisism welcome!!!
19 - Leeboy - American Amber Ale READY TO DRINK


Mmm what to drink next

Offline

 

[leeboy]

Tonight I tried...

15 - Craig - American Rye
This was quite a good beer of the APA variety with a bit of rye substituted into the grain bill. Did certainly add a little rye "bite or spice" however you best like to describe rye. This beer was still a little green, my bad. Guess I just wanted to try it too bad. Subsequently it didn't hold a head or lace the glass. My bad on that one. I thought the hop aroma was great and the in mouth feel spot on. Nice beer. Haven't had too many ryes so this certainly was a good experience and a very enjoyable one at that.
Lee

 

[Tony]

Well i got through a few today.... working around the house on holidays needs a few beers to wash down the dust and sweat.

First up was Stephens English Pale Ale No. 24.

IU poured this beer cold into a glass and it was a bit over carbed. It frothed over the edge of the glass for a while so i just let it settle down on the drip tray. I de capped the secong half to let some fiz out. On first sniff i picked up a smell i king of dont like in beer. It reminded me of when i started brewing and firmented with kit yeast at high temp..... that hot firmentation smell. it sort of traslated into the taste too. I thought....... its cold..... let it warm up so i went and shoveled sand into the kids new sand pit with my old man and came back to it. Its was still cool but more like the temp it should be for an EPA. Some of the haze was gone but not all but i dont think haze is a problem. I cant see it once i drink it. The taste was still there. I did some serious sniffing to see if it was hops ect but it still cam back to that character im not keen on. I finnished the bottle and it was a well made beer, nice bitterness, malt ballance, smooth mouthfeel but it just had that taste. Id be interested to know what yeast and temp this was brewed with and at?

No.25 Ms Thirsty Wench - Dark Ale.

Poured this cool as well to start and got a beer the same colour ar Tooheys old and very clear. very impressive apperance. The head faded to almost nothing fairly quickly but that could have been my glass. It was very light boddied.... almost thin si id say this is where the head went. Perfect carb, light and smooth roast character with some residual sweetness which holds the bitterness up well in the light body. well ballanced. It has a dusty taste in the background that i got all the way through the bottle as it warmed up. Not sure if it was hops or yeast but i think it was both. I could pick up some light hops in there and i think some yeast character added to it but it was definatly a dust flavour. Other that that it was a great beer that was drank and enjoyed. Once again i would be interested to know hops and yeast in this beer.... was it brewed with Nottingham?

No. 21 Poc - Golden ale thing

I cracked this one and had a sniff and liked the aroma from the bottle. It was fresh, clean and aromatic. Poured it in a clean glass and the beer was well carbed.... perhabs a tad low, clear and aromatic to the nose. The head didnt last long and on first tasting i was presented with the memory of extract brews. Was it an extract brew Poc? It had that sweet slick finish you get from malt extract, and none of the grainy wholesum mouthfeel you get from a mash beer. The beer was well ballanced, but tending towards the hops. My first taste saw green hops in the mouth but after that it was very nice. clean, crisp and flavourful. didnt hold much of a head but was a good beer non the less. Well done.

Thanks for tha bees folks.......Its great to sample other peoples wares.

cheers

 

[pokolbinguy]

No. 21 Poc - Golden ale thing

I cracked this one and had a sniff and liked the aroma from the bottle. It was fresh, clean and aromatic. Poured it in a clean glass and the beer was well carbed.... perhabs a tad low, clear and aromatic to the nose. The head didnt last long and on first tasting i was presented with the memory of extract brews. Was it an extract brew Poc? It had that sweet slick finish you get from malt extract, and none of the grainy wholesum mouthfeel you get from a mash beer. The beer was well ballanced, but tending towards the hops. My first taste saw green hops in the mouth but after that it was very nice. clean, crisp and flavourful. didnt hold much of a head but was a good beer non the less. Well done.

cheers

Hey Tony.

'twas a extract beer, at the moment I am still building my AG brewery so still fiddling with cans of goo etc. The reciepe is on the back of the bottle tag, it is the on that MHB has made up. I wanted to put something in that most would enjoy and not offened and allow me to see what everyone else is doing.

As im in asia at the moment (in the north of thailand at the moment....off to ride elephants tomorrow ) I haven't had a chance to drink any of the swap beers, hopefully all will be good.

On the note of the carbonation, this was my first go at bulk priming so aslong as it didnt completely fail then all is good i guess.

Would love some more feedback.

Pok

 

[schooey]

Howdy Folks,

Hope everyone had a good Chrissy. Just a quick note to give you all a heads up that you might want to stick my entry #23 in your fridge now. I cracked one today and its carbed fairly high already. It's not bad drinking at the moment, but could do with a week or two extra in the fridge to be better.


Cheers,

Schooey

 

[Tony]

Had a couple today while i was working on some "projects" in my garage.

28. Colin Hassell - Irish Red Ale.
Poured a fantastic clear ruby red with a firm tan head that subsided to a nice wispy lace that complimented the colour of the beer well. Smooth clean flavour with a hint of hops in the background behind some deep caramel and subdued roast malt character. Great for style. It doesnt have that crystal sweetnes which is perfect... its deeper and roastier without being roast if you know what i mean.
I really enjoyed this well made beer........ Thanks Colin.

22. Loftboy - Hahn clone.
This Beer poured nice and clear with a nice head..... carbed perfectly. Sweetness from extract on in the mouth but a nice bitterness and carbonation ballances it well. Some fresh hops on the nose and tonge round out a good clean beer. It may have that extract thing happening but the main thing to making a good beer is a good yeast character to suit the beer style. This didnt have any odd yeast character which was great.
Nice beer..... thanks.

Cheers

 

[leeboy]

14 - Punter- American Amber

This was a very well presented beer. Perfect for colour (and i mean perfect) carbonation was spot on. Laced the glass beautifully. For an american Amber though i thought the grain bill was a bit unbalanced. Tasted a lot of roasted/toasted characters even toffee which suggests that there wasn't any crystal in their because I could not taste any residual sweetness. Had the body of what i would expect an english amber to have. Kind of like that of old speckled hen. To me the malty body of the beer masked the hop character which smelt great, I just couldn't taste much of it due to the big in your face choc malt character. Others will probably love this beer! As I mentioned before colour A1, Carbonation A1 and aroma hops A1.
Lee

 

[Punter]

14 - Punter- American Amber

This was a very well presented beer. Perfect for colour (and i mean perfect) carbonation was spot on. Laced the glass beautifully. For an american Amber though i thought the grain bill was a bit unbalanced. Tasted a lot of roasted/toasted characters even toffee which suggests that there wasn't any crystal in their because I could not taste any residual sweetness. Had the body of what i would expect an english amber to have. Kind of like that of old speckled hen. To me the malty body of the beer masked the hop character which smelt great, I just couldn't taste much of it due to the big in your face choc malt character. Others will probably love this beer! As I mentioned before colour A1, Carbonation A1 and aroma hops A1.
Lee

Cheers Lee,
Thanks for the feedback.
There is actually a truckload of crystal in there.
Yes it is balanced more towards the malt than hops.
I will post the recipe for people to scrutinise when I pull
it out.
This is exactly the feedback im after to improve my brewing.
Thanks mate.

 

[puffer_pics]

The first beer of the swap for me .. 14. Punter - American Amber Ale.
Poured 2 glasses two for me of course!!! A nice beer overall i really enjoyed it
A Clear Coppery~Brown coloured beer with an off-white ~ light tan coloured very fine head , good head retention. A Citrusy hop aroma as expected with a light toffee background aroma is present. Carbonation is just right. A Lingering citrusy bitterness on the tounge with a light caramel flavour present. Although tastes like a dryish finish maybe due to the bitterness
I enjoyed Punter, Thanks for your beer Good to see you again after all these years Cheers Colin

 

[leeboy]

A couple more to report on...

8. MHB - LCBA clone
Poured a lovely straw colour and was very clean. Lacking slightly in carbonation at this point however this will obviously improve over time. Held a head about way down so those who can keep their hands off another 2 weeks probably would be great for this beer. Great refreshing beer that looked and tasted pretty damn close to LCBA. The hop aroma was present and residual sweetness that you expect from LC was also there. Very nice beer, I should of waited another few weeks.

10. Tony - Golden ale
Poured well with a lovely pale golden colour. Not quite as clean as the other two beers in this review but still a mighty fine, transparent beer. The highlight of this beer for me was the in mouth feel. Definitely a good malt and hop bite on the tongue that persisted a little longer than most of this style. Carbonation not quite there yet however getting close and a pleasant beer for a day like yesterday.

22. Loftboy - Hahn Premium Clone
Poured a beautiful golden straw colour with good carbonation. Didnt lace the glass but held a head the whole way down. Very clean, very crisp and to the point. Good malt body with a distant hop zest. Great and to style for a lager.

20. Danny Boy - Scottish Heavy
This beer poured a hazy dark brown with an minimal fizzy tan head that mostly lasted with fair lacing. It had a rich sweet malt aroma with a strong earthy note, rich malt flavor, nice carmal sweetness balanced by a good dry smoky peat quality. Medium to full smooth body. Flavor was a good toasted balance of bitter and sweet with an average bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good beer overall. Clarity could be improved slightly otherwise very well balanced. Id like to know how this came in %wise. Didnt taste that strong but these beer usually are and the darker malts tend to mask the alcohol content well.

 

[stephen]

Well i got through a few today.... working around the house on holidays needs a few beers to wash down the dust and sweat.

First up was Stephens English Pale Ale No. 24.

IU poured this beer cold into a glass and it was a bit over carbed. It frothed over the edge of the glass for a while so i just let it settle down on the drip tray. I de capped the secong half to let some fiz out. On first sniff i picked up a smell i king of dont like in beer. It reminded me of when i started brewing and firmented with kit yeast at high temp..... that hot firmentation smell. it sort of traslated into the taste too. I thought....... its cold..... let it warm up so i went and shoveled sand into the kids new sand pit with my old man and came back to it. Its was still cool but more like the temp it should be for an EPA. Some of the haze was gone but not all but i dont think haze is a problem. I cant see it once i drink it. The taste was still there. I did some serious sniffing to see if it was hops ect but it still cam back to that character im not keen on. I finnished the bottle and it was a well made beer, nice bitterness, malt ballance, smooth mouthfeel but it just had that taste. Id be interested to know what yeast and temp this was brewed with and at?

No.25 Ms Thirsty Wench - Dark Ale.

Poured this cool as well to start and got a beer the same colour ar Tooheys old and very clear. very impressive apperance. The head faded to almost nothing fairly quickly but that could have been my glass. It was very light boddied.... almost thin si id say this is where the head went. Perfect carb, light and smooth roast character with some residual sweetness which holds the bitterness up well in the light body. well ballanced. It has a dusty taste in the background that i got all the way through the bottle as it warmed up. Not sure if it was hops or yeast but i think it was both. I could pick up some light hops in there and i think some yeast character added to it but it was definatly a dust flavour. Other that that it was a great beer that was drank and enjoyed. Once again i would be interested to know hops and yeast in this beer.... was it brewed with Nottingham?

No. 21 Poc - Golden ale thing

I cracked this one and had a sniff and liked the aroma from the bottle. It was fresh, clean and aromatic. Poured it in a clean glass and the beer was well carbed.... perhabs a tad low, clear and aromatic to the nose. The head didnt last long and on first tasting i was presented with the memory of extract brews. Was it an extract brew Poc? It had that sweet slick finish you get from malt extract, and none of the grainy wholesum mouthfeel you get from a mash beer. The beer was well ballanced, but tending towards the hops. My first taste saw green hops in the mouth but after that it was very nice. clean, crisp and flavourful. didnt hold much of a head but was a good beer non the less. Well done.

Thanks for tha bees folks.......Its great to sample other peoples wares.

cheers

Tony

You are quite correct in the assumption that this was fermented at a rather high temp - actually got up to 26 before I could muster some control over it - unfortunately damage was already done. As for over carbing I find it quite difficult to believe as it was bulk primed at 60 gm after 2 weeks in cold conditioning with a 2 week ferment: But then again stranger things have happened...

 

[Insight]

5. Keith 5s A Foreign extra stout, Yeast S04, 5.5%

This was a killer beer. Tastes like a slightly drier version of Coopers Best Extra Stout. There's not a thing I would change on this.


25 Ms Thirsty Wench - Dark Ale

Strong metallic taste which I found it tough to get past. Are you treating your water?

 

[Trent]

Gday all
Had a bit of a stomach bug over the silly season, so wasnt really drinking. Thankfully, a new year bought a new tummy, so I had the two 3's tonight (one from each swap case).

#3 Goatherder's Imperial Pilsner
Poured a lovely straw colour, with a really dense, white head that looked really, really nice. The bubbles were kinda large, and the head dissipated before I had gotten through half the glass, though it could have been oils on my mouth. Or something.
PLenty of malt and hops on the nose, smelt really nice. Fairly sweet malt on the palate, to be honest, probably not QUITE enough bitterness there to balance it out like a czech pilsner, but still a fair bit of bitterness present, enough to keep it from being cloying. I would also like to have seem some more flavour hops in there, but to be honest, lagers are not my strong point, so that could make it too unbalanced. The alcohol was well hidden, though had a moderate warming effect as you drank onwards. there was some chill haze evident, but that was no real problem.
Overall, a very nice beer, that I think could be improved with some more hops, but was far from problematic. Clean and well made, it was a very nice beer to finish the first day of the year with.
Thanks for sharing
Trent

 

[goatherder]

19 - Leeboy's American Amber Ale

There was plenty of carbonation in this one - it took me a few minutes to get a glass poured. As a result the head was enourmous and well lasting. The colour is copperish with excellent clarity. There is a good balance of citrus American hops on the nose along with some caramel malt and a slight tartness in the background. The tartness continued and was quite pronounced up front in the mouth, bordering on sourness. I suspect a mild infection which would also explain the huge carbonation and the super dryness. I had a close look at the bottle and there was a faint ring around the shoulder, also a good sign of infection. Behind all this, there is quite a nice malt flavour with a hint of graininess. This was going to be a very nice beer but it looks like I've scored a bung bottle. Cheers Leeboy, I look forward to your next contribution.

 

[goatherder]

12 - Peve's Golden Ale

Golden in colour, brilliantly clear with a smallish white head. There are some nice tropical fruit and citrus hop aromas with some background maltiness. The flavour is a clean balance of hops and slightly sweet malt with a hint of dusty graininess in the background. The bitterness and carbonation are perfect. This is a great session beer thanks Peve, much enjoyed. Is this the same beer as the NSW swap?

 

[leeboy]

Thanks for the feedback Goatherder. Not sure how wide spread that infection is. I had two spare bottles and just had one to see what mine was like and it seemed ok. Will be interesting to see who else has bad ones. Guess it was probably bad not to of bottled for over 4 years and then enter beer in a case swap. Sorry Goatherder! Others I'd like to hear from to see if its just a bottle here and there or not.
Lee

 

[Tony]

Can i ask a silly question.

Who.... well which number is the 2 x stubbies. It has some letter code on it (not going downstairs again to see) just making sure what im drinking.

cheers

 

[head]

I think it was number 20