Mid year NSW case swap - tasting notes

[skb]

#13 - Smoked Brown. Well what can I say split decision … l had this with my friend for beer tasting. My friend who had never had a smoked beer struggled with it, nothing in particular but just was not sure an he had an astringent aftertaste he thought.

For me I am no smoked beer expert but I loved it, just fantastic and balanced, some warm alcohol at the end but I really did love it, in my view on par with the best beer of the night and I had a few including maximus from laguntias (was a little past its best), petrus my favourite so no beer will ever meet, and about 5 others. I really enjoyed this beer and so far the best from the batch I had (albeit I really wanted to try some more #9).

Even more exiting ... I think Barls stuffed up and I had two in my case so I get to sample again !!

 

[barls]

didn't stuff up i swapped a few beers with you. i had your pale and landlord clone.
glad you enjoyed it. the hot alcohol will diminish with time. unfortunately its my own smoke malt so its kinda hard to reproduce. it was plum wood with a hint of manuka.

 

[Dan Pratt]

# 20 - Mbb - Equinox/Mosaic IPA



Aroma - nice medium level aroma from the hops used, the equinox and mosaic play well together, not overly pungent yet enough for style

Appearance - orange to amber coloured with great clarity, slight haze which may of been from the dry hop. excellent head retention and foam which persisted.

Flavour - good clean ferment, not overly hoppy and is balanced with the 7% abv, some hops resin flavours on the palate, no lingering bitterness it just has a sweet finish which suggested there was high crystal% or possibly a bigger munich addition, great if its an english ipa but not for an american.

Mouthfeel - quite smooth with a good carbonation, maybe some wheat in the grist ?

Overall Imp - I enjoyed the beer, nice hop character which wasnt over the top, clean beer to enjoy, no bittering charge that lingers, still the sweet finisih isnt how I like my IPAs but a very good beer.

 

[mb-squared]

thanks Pratty, nice review. good call on the munich -- I tend to use it at ~15% of the grain bill. I do like my IPAs sweet and smooth, so I use TFMO with lots of Munich, mash high and use American Ale yeast, which leaves the beer a bit sweet.

here's the specifics (50L batch) if you're interested:

Hops Used​

​

Hops Used

Amt

Name

Type

#

%/IBU

20.00 g

Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - First Wort 100.0 min

Hop

4

14.9 IBUs

50.00 g

Equinox [13.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min

Hop

5

15.2 IBUs

50.00 g

Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min

Hop

6

13.9 IBUs

50.00 g

Equinox [13.70 %] - Boil 5.0 min

Hop

7

6.1 IBUs

50.00 g

Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min

Hop

8

5.6 IBUs

25.00 g

Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days

Hop

10

0.0 IBUs

25.00 g

Equinox [13.70 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days

Hop

11

0.0 IBUs

25.00 g

Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days

Hop

12

0.0 IBUs

25.00 g

Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Hop

13

0.0 IBUs

25.00 g

Equinox [13.70 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Hop

14

0.0 IBUs

25.00 g

Mosaic [12.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Hop

15

0.0 IBUs

Grains Used​

​

Fermentables

Amt

Name

Type

#

%/IBU

12.00 kg

Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC)

Grain

1

81.4 %

2.00 kg

Munich Malt - 20L (39.4 EBC)

Grain

2

13.6 %

0.75 kg

Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (19.7 EBC)

Grain

3

5.1 %

 

[mb-squared]

oh wow, that was garbled. maybe this will be better?

Hops Used

Hops Used Amt Name Type # %/IBU
20.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - First Wort 100.0 min Hop 4 14.9 IBUs
50.00 g Equinox [13.70 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 15.2 IBUs
50.00 g Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 13.9 IBUs
50.00 g Equinox [13.70 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 6.1 IBUs
50.00 g Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 5.6 IBUs
25.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days Hop 10 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Equinox [13.70 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Mosaic (HBC 369) [12.25 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Equinox [13.70 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
25.00 g Mosaic [12.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs


Grains Used

Fermentables Amt Name Type # %/IBU
12.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 1 81.4 %
2.00 kg Munich Malt - 20L (39.4 EBC) Grain 2 13.6 %
0.75 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (19.7 EBC) Grain 3 5.1 %

 

[Cortez The Killer]

6) Masters - Lager - 4.90%

Pours a bright deep gold with a small tight white head. Nobel hops on the nose, some malt and a touch of graininess.

Good bitterness, finishes quite dry. Medium low carb. Typical nobel hop flavours not overpowering. Clean. Balanced my some nice sweet malt notes.

Overall a tasty beer. Would be great on a nice summers day (not the blizzard like weather in the gong at the moment). Could stand a little more carb. A good clean lager.

Cheers

 

[Josh]

just tried Josh's white stout. too sweet for me mate. I had to give it to my wife. I'm guessing you had about 5 IBUs on that one? Perhaps I'm just too accustomed to drinking my 70 IBU IPAs

That's cool. Thanks for the feedback.

16 IBU of Magnum according to BeerSmith.

I was concerned about the coffee adding more harsh bitterness. There's also the Lactose keeping the sweetness up. So I guess next time I should bitter to about 30 IBU.

I'm gonna re-brew this one and have some to share for the Summer swap. I'll be upping the bitterness and adding cacao nibs to the fermenter.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

7) Marksy - ESB

Pours a bright medium amber with a small white head which slowly collapses.

Faint malt on nose and a hint of earthy hops.

Malt sweetness dominates upfront with a long lingering bitterness. Some hints of toffee, caramel and biscuit. Also getting a very faint anise note. Some mineral notes - probably yeast driven. Very clean. Low hop flavour. Medium carb - probably a touch high for style.

Overall a very clean beer, easy drinking. Good bitterness length. Would benefit from a warmer ferment or a more characterful yeast.

Cheers

 

[Cortez The Killer]

10) Paulyman - Zythos/Mosaic APA

Pours a super bright pale gold with a small white head.

Nose full of hoppy goodness. Fruit dominates with some pine in support.

Flavour follows same. Great balance between bitterness and malt - very good drinking. Beer finishes dry with some nice sweet malt notes upfront which comliment the fruitiness. Good clean ferment.

A very well made APA. Exceedingly moreish. Would love to be drinking this in the warmer months.

Cheers

 

[Cortez The Killer]

11) reman - Hefeweizen - 5.10%

Pours a cloudy straw. Small white head which quickly dissipates.

Big sweet banana nose reminiscent of banana confectionary. Touch a sweet malt.

Banana on palate. Significant body for a pale beer. Finishes med sweet. Like liquid banana bread. Some spiciness.

Overall a really nice beer. Most banana Ive ever had in a beer. A touch sweet for a hefe - but would be nice for a one off.

Cheers

 

[Cortez The Killer]

9) Topher - Dry Irish Coffee Stout - 5%

Pours black with a small tan head which slowly dissipates. Big perculated coffe nose. Sweet roast and bitter chocolate.

Flavour has a heap of coffee. Roast and chocolate follow. Really big body tasting upfront, finishing very dry at the end. Medium low carb. Nice sweet malt notes to balance out the coffee. Has a creamy quality to it.

Like drinking an iced coffee. Delicious! Had to wrestle it back off the missus to finish the tasting notes

 

[Cortez The Killer]

14) Josh - White Milk Stout (of sorts) - 5.5%

Pours a slightly hazy pale amber with a small white head. Nose is really interesting. Picking up malt sweetness, coffee notes and some belgian type phenolics.

Body is heavy and sweet. Malt upfront. Then I get a bunch of flavours Id associate with belgians. Pear, stone fruit. There is a hint of chocolate and roast notes and a graininess to the beer. Medium carb.

Overall an interesting beer. Perhaps its syrupy nature is a bit overwhelming for my palate. I can see where you were going with it and find it conceptually very interesting. Would like to see a drier version.

Cheers

 

[Cortez The Killer]

12) Skb - Chock Chili Stout 6.80%

Pours black with a small tight tan head head. Big chocolate nose with loads of malt sweetness, roast in support. Chilli is making my nose tingle whilst sniffing.

Velvety chocolate texture. Roast and espresso highlights. Cola type caramels. Slightest hint of chilli at the back of the throat which increases to a pleasing burn the further I get into the glass. Low carb. Medium sweet.

This is a really nice stout super smooth and moreish. Probably the best I’ve had which showcases the chilli in a well balanced manner. Top job!

Cheers

 

[contrarian]

Tried a couple of these over the weekend. The chocolate chilli stout and the coffee stout.

Te chilli stout was a great beer, I've attempted this myself but overdid the chilli. As stated above there was a mild burn that built over the beer without ever being overpowering. Lovely beer.

The coffee stout was also a cracker with the coffee blending nicely with the roasty malt notes. Nice and dry for easy drinking, could easily have backed up for another one!

 

[Cortez The Killer]

13) barls - Smoked Brown

Pours a bright deep amber. Malt sweetness on the nose with some sweet esters pear apple, spicy.

Nice sweet malt. Hints of grain. Smoke is very restrained. Touch of chocolate. Some earthy notes and spiciness.

Nice easy drinking brown. Smoke appears the further into the beer I get. It compliments the other flavours well.

Cheers

 

[barls]

13) barls - Smoked Brown

Pours a bright deep amber. Malt sweetness on the nose with some sweet esters pear apple, spicy.

Nice sweet malt. Hints of grain. Smoke is very restrained. Touch of chocolate. Some earthy notes and spiciness.

Nice easy drinking brown. Smoke appears the further into the beer I get. It compliments the other flavours well.

Cheers

thats exactly what i was aiming for as I've blown people out of the water with it being overpowered.
I'm happy to share the recipe but there a small problem with the fact that i smoked most of the malt that went in to it.

 

[skb]

3) IPA ... I am no beer taster I just know what I like and I really liked this one. To be it was not that normal over bitter IPA with no body, it had body and I really liked the balance and could have drunk many more bottles. It was well balanced and nice body, I would recommend anyone that has some left that you drink it now as it is great.

I have photos ... but no idea how to attach them, when I go add pictures it asks for a URL I don't have a URL I have a file on my PC.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

15) n87 - Vienna Schwartzbeir - 4.50%

Pours a dark dark brown with a white head. Nose of sweet malt, slight hints of chocolate and roast, rich sweet stone fruits in support and a slight nutty character.

Flavour follows same. With accentuated stone fruit, plum, mixed with biscuit and nutty notes. Subtle roast and chocolate. Medium body which finishes on the dry side making is very moreish. Good clean ferment.

Overall a very tasty beer. Exceptionally sessionable and delicious. Top work.

Cheers

 

[barls]

15) n87 - Vienna Schwartzbeir - 4.50%

Pours a dark dark brown with a white head. Nose of sweet malt, slight hints of chocolate and roast, rich sweet stone fruits in support and a slight nutty character.

Flavour follows same. With accentuated stone fruit, plum, mixed with biscuit and nutty notes. Subtle roast and chocolate. Medium body which finishes on the dry side making is very moreish. Good clean ferment.

Overall a very tasty beer. Exceptionally sessionable and delicious. Top work.

Cheers

agree with this as i had it last night. really enjoyed it glad I've got a couple more to go.

on a side note I've got two bottle i have no idea on one is make with a 45 the other a pf. anyone want to claim them

 

[contrarian]

Does the pf beer have a green lid? I sent a few bottles of an RIS with cherries I had made with Ian so that could potentially explain one of them.