Lcba

[Nick JD]

I'm this second drinking a Little Creatures Bright Ale and I'd swear it's got PoR in it, but I see the clones are B Saaz and Cascade.

What's goin' on - can't smell or taste any cascade.

Has the recipe changed?

I hate to say it but there's even a hint of VBish mercaptan on the nose...

 

[Silo Ted]

Motueka & Cascade, according to their statement.

 

[Hatchy]

Motueka & Cascade, according to their statement.

I was at the brewery on Saturday & that's what the bloke behind the bar said as well (motueka is b saaz right?). He certainly seemed more knowledgeable than a lot of bartenders when it comes to beer.

Having said that it definitely tasted different to the last time I'd drunk it. Not sure if that was from drinking it on tap at the brewery rather than in stubbies in Adelaide or if they've changed the recipe. Maybe I was still tasting the pints of feral hop hog from the night before.

OT but they serve from what looked like about 5000L fermenters there. That must save them from washing a LOT of kegs.

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

I agree with you nick. The last few lcba's that i've tasted are absolute rubbish. I'm not sure if it is the ingredients or poor handling or whatever. Very underwhelmed.

 

[bignath]

yep, as far as i know, motueka is b saaz.

This is usually my house ale, and i have used flowers, but last time i used pellets in both motueka and cascade and came out the same. I think it's craftbrewer's site that lists them as the same variety. that and wiki...

 

[Nick JD]

yep, as far as i know, motueka is b saaz.

This is usually my house ale, and i have used flowers, but last time i used pellets in both motueka and cascade and came out the same. I think it's craftbrewer's site that lists them as the same variety. that and wiki...

When was the last time you bought a stubbie of it, Nath?

I have a horrible feeling that a company can release a great beer and then "twist" the recipe until it's also a "cheap" beer.

IMO, LCBA is Coopers PA without the CPA yeast.

 

[Silo Ted]

When was the last time you bought a stubbie of it, Nath?

I have a horrible feeling that a company can release a great beer and then "twist" the recipe until it's also a "cheap" beer.

IMO, LCBA is Coopers PA without the CPA yeast.

Why not, they are part owned by a multinational more intent on profit over all else.

Watch white rabbit suffer the same fate.

 

[peterl1981]

yep, as far as i know, motueka is b saaz.

This is usually my house ale, and i have used flowers, but last time i used pellets in both motueka and cascade and came out the same. I think it's craftbrewer's site that lists them as the same variety. that and wiki...

big Nath, what's the recipe you use?

 

[bignath]

When was the last time you bought a stubbie of it, Nath?

I have a horrible feeling that a company can release a great beer and then "twist" the recipe until it's also a "cheap" beer.

IMO, LCBA is Coopers PA without the CPA yeast.

I would agree with you Nick. I'm not necessarily saying the recipe has changed, but it wouldn't surprise me if it had.

The last time i bought one of these was about two weeks ago, enjoyed it alot, but something wasn't quite as i remembered it.

Not sure about the CPA / LCBA comparison though. To me, two hugely different beers...

CPA is often my "go to" beer when i don't need to buy beer to get bottles out of the deal aswell. I was raised on it all the way through uni and has stayed with me, faithfull companion ever since. I don't necessarily believe it's a high quality beer, it's just that i'm very familiar with it. I'd rate the bright ale much higher in quality to my tastebuds.

 

[dr K]

I hate to say it but there's even a hint of VBish mercaptan on the nose...

Great nose..does this mean that VB has a particular mercaptan (known perhaps as the VB Mercaptan) or that mercaptans are an indicator of VB. I ask this as it seems at odds with the conventional wisdom (perhaps derived from CUB web site but generally tossed around the hb scene) that VB does not use hops as such but extracts, added after the boil, and being as how the most common mercaptan we in this skunk free land of Oz, after leaking gas bottles, smell is light struck beer....???

K

 

[bignath]

big Nath, what's the recipe you use?

This one....

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=301

Tony's highly regarded recipe. It's beautiful. The last time i purchased a stubbie of the original to compare my recipe to, and it was not quite how i rememberd it. Something tasted different. I started drinking the bright ale ages ago, and then went looking for a recipe for it. Tried this one and it was very comparable. But i do feel that the original has changed a bit over the years....

Either way, this recipe is an absolute cracker. As i said in earlier post, it's my house ale at the moment and has been for some time.

I have used flowers, i have recently done it with pellets, always comes out great. Just need to work out quantities for your batch size unless you are doing a big batch like this.

Try it mate, if you like the original, you'll like this recipe. Can't recommend it enough....

 

[Nick JD]

Great nose..does this mean that VB has a particular mercaptan (known perhaps as the VB Mercaptan) or that mercaptans are an indicator of VB. I ask this as it seems at odds with the conventional wisdom (perhaps derived from CUB web site but generally tossed around the hb scene) that VB does not use hops as such but extracts, added after the boil, and being as how the most common mercaptan we in this skunk free land of Oz, after leaking gas bottles, smell is light struck beer....???

K

VB has a thiol whiff - that can be said for sure. Whether it's a product of high temp lager fermenting and PoR extracts or not is anyone's guess. Maybe the secret ingredient is the CEO's Monday morning dump?

Sure tastes like it.

 

[Hatchy]

VB has a thiol whiff - that can be said for sure. Whether it's a product of high temp lager fermenting and PoR extracts or not is anyone's guess. Maybe the secret ingredient is the CEO's Monday morning dump?

Sure tastes like it.

I'm not sure that I want to know how you know what CUB's CEO's Monday morning dump tastes like.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Great nose..does this mean that VB has a particular mercaptan (known perhaps as the VB Mercaptan) or that mercaptans are an indicator of VB. I ask this as it seems at odds with the conventional wisdom (perhaps derived from CUB web site but generally tossed around the hb scene) that VB does not use hops as such but extracts, added after the boil, and being as how the most common mercaptan we in this skunk free land of Oz, after leaking gas bottles, smell is light struck beer....???

K

Dr K - there's no reason at all a VB or any other beer made with hop extract should not have a lightstruck character if its been exposed. You need to use exclusively reduced iso-alpha acid extracts to proof your beer against light strike. Most beers, VB included don't use that sort of extract unless they are destined for clear or perhaps green packaging. I know that in our flavour training sessions, they demonstrate light strike by taking a VB and putting it in the sun for an hour... it gets light struck alright.

That said, while I know some people get an offensive aroma from VB (most seem to describe it as mousy or mouse cage) I am almost 100% certain that its not an actual mercaptan. I'd be leaning towards a combination of class 6 & class 8 flavors if i were on the hunt for the actual culprit. I personally don't get either mercaptan or mouse from VB... but i do think i know the character that people are referring to - and i actually wouldn't know how to describe it properly.

sorry to go OT - I'll go away now and bother this thread no more.

 

[HoppingMad]

Fresh beer is the best beer.

If you can't taste cascade - what's to say it wasn't there originally? Check the brewed on date and you might find you're drinking old beer. Hence no hop flavour.

You'll also find the worst offenders are usually on special too.

But all this has been said before (hop character dimishing, hops being substituted etc). If you don't know what I'm saying check the 'What's wrong with JS Golden Ale' thread that regularly gets revived here.

Hopper.

 

[Yob]

...its a long way to come to you nick.. warm time of year too.. :blink:

is there a comparison done between the same brew shipped at diff. times of the year? curious...

cheers
:icon_cheers:

 

[Nick JD]

The LCBA bottle was best before 15 APR 11. Is that old? I'm not sure how long a commercial beer lasts - I only drink the stuff to find out if its recipe should go in the Big Blue Book 'o Brews.

The Pilsner Urquell I had immediately afterwards was supurb, and it had come from the Czech Rep. It's gone in the book. Damn! I feel the need to use the words fo, and shizzle.