NSW 2013 Xmas in July Case Swap - tasting thread

[white.grant]

No. 6 Rex Banners Farmhouse Ale

Opens with a fsst and pours light gold into a chalice with a prodigious rocky foam stand atop it. Sweet bready malt and yeast esters carrying light pear/hay and pepper on the nose. Mouthfeel is bright on a low carb. Tasting, there's malt sweetness upfront and some yeast derived character, slightly phenolic, slightly funky, on a dry finish. Very interesting beer, thanks for sharing.

No. 1 CTK's Peat Monster

Opens well and pours nicely into my nonic, light amber with a slight haze. Aroma is, well, very peaty, monstrously so. Flavours follow, peat as far as the tongue can taste, so much peat. I'm struggling to think of descriptive terms, but rest assured there's a lot of peat in this beer. Dry finish, with some lingering peat. Now I know what the Tollund man tastes like, thanks Gino!.

No. 21 LittleJohns Oak Smoked Porter

Opens with a slight fsst and on a vigorous pour delivers an off white foamy head which recedes. Aroma has a pleasant smoked character and some english yeast characteristics, laid back. Carb is low, low /medium mouthfeel. Mostly wood and smoked malt up front, falling away to light bodied dry finish, with dry choc, smooth roast and a little acridity. Nice restrained smoke and wood, works well for me (no bacon ), thanks for sharing.

 

[white.grant]

No. 2 Matho's AIPA

Opens well carbed and pours dark straw with a rocky foam stand, slowly receding. Very clear. Aroma has slight perfumey hops, touch of passionfruit and, rockmelon, citrus. Mouthfeel is bright on a light/medium body. Solid bitterness confronts the palate dominating the malt, spicy and peppery, with a long drying finish. Very nice!

No. 4 Black Labbs Belgian Pale Ale

Opens with a powerful fsst and pours dark straw/light copper, some slight haze. Prodigious foam stand recedes slowly. Estery aroma, light pear and tropical fruit evident, some sweet malt and slight perfume. Mouth feel is medium to low on a bright carb, belgian perfume is fleeting before a dry finish. Thanks for sharing!

 

[white.grant]

No. 9 TVI's Bock (or a clean brown ale)

Pours clear and copper with a proud offwhite head slowly receding. Aroma has some noble hop notes and brown malt sweetness. Mouthfeel is medium on a bright carb, mellow maltiness allows the hops to come forward, definite bitterness on a long slightly sweet finish. No alcohol apparent. Tasty and enjoyable, not quite a bock however

No. 11 ScottC's Bitter

Opens well and pours light copper, slightly hazy, with a rocky white foam. Aroma of sweet malt, with hop earthiness coming through. Mouthfeel is bright, medium carb. Flavours are bang on, some simple sugars, clean malt with a growing bitterness building as you sip delivering a long and quite bitter finish. Very moorish, quite enjoyed it Scott.

 

[Josh]

8. Nick R Aconcagua Ale - 4.7% - Quinoa and Maize (and barley) ale w/ Saaz.

Interesting type of beer this one. Haze not surprising given the grain bill. I think the quinoa adds a spicy character similar to the way rye does. Saaz works well with it too.

Thanks Nick.

 

[Josh]

9. The Village Idiot - Was aiming for a Bock, not sure how good my aim is. Might be a clean tasting Brown Ale?

Nut brown, clear, big head and high carbonation. Don't pick up much aroma. Malt flavours are nice. A bit too bitter/carbonated to be a bock though. But an enjoyable beer regardless.

 

[Ester Trub]

4. black_labb Belgian Pale Ale?

Huge ice cream like head on first pour. Flavours are nice and mildly fruity with a caramel aftertaste that lasts. Very well balanced beer.
I don't get any Belgian yeast character coming through with this beer though. I agree with Gulpa, that this is more like an English Bitter.
However this is still a great beer that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Cheers
Ben

 

[Ester Trub]

5: barls honey bitter 4%

Small creamy head that lasts and lasts. Beautiful, crystal clear, dark red/brown in colour. Lightly carbonated. Lightly hopped.
Honey aromas dominate. Flavours are malty honey, with a fruity yeast character.
I absolutely love this beer.
I have always aspired to make a beer like this one, but never succeeded. I would be really interested to get your recipe, or at least to know how you use the honey and retain such aroma and flavour.

Thanks
Ben

 

[barls]

5: barls honey bitter 4%

Small creamy head that lasts and lasts. Beautiful, crystal clear, dark red/brown in colour. Lightly carbonated. Lightly hopped.
Honey aromas dominate. Flavours are malty honey, with a fruity yeast character.
I absolutely love this beer.
I have always aspired to make a beer like this one, but never succeeded. I would be really interested to get your recipe, or at least to know how you use the honey and retain such aroma and flavour.

Thanks
Ben

will post the recipe when I get back. It basically my dark mild with banksia honey added after fermention had slowed down. You should be able get 90% of the ingredients but one is sort of rare ie it's choc chit

 

[black_labb]

4. black_labb Belgian Pale Ale?

Huge ice cream like head on first pour. Flavours are nice and mildly fruity with a caramel aftertaste that lasts. Very well balanced beer.
I don't get any Belgian yeast character coming through with this beer though. I agree with Gulpa, that this is more like an English Bitter.
However this is still a great beer that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Cheers
Ben

I was dissapointed with the lack of belgian character coming through when i bottled it. My first thoughts were the heritage of 1318 as a scottish ale yeast transplanted to belgium. I started the ferment low like I do with stronger belgians. Maybe I should have fermented higher from the start.

Surprsed at the caramel comments. I guess a 250g of carabelge and 50g of spec b must go further than I thought even with all the abbey and vienna. Another month and I can find out myself. Until then it's сиъерски корона, as insipid as the mexican corona (actually there are a few decent beers around when I get to towns with more than 22 people)

 

[Ester Trub]

7: Josh Belgian Dubbel - 6.2%

Pours crystal clear, with a small head that stays for the entire glass. Colour is dark coppery brown.
Smells very medicinal but Belgian yeast aromas are also present.
Flavours are unfortunately dominated by a strong band aid flavour.
I fear you have some really stressed Belgian yeast here, or possibly excess chlorine in your water? Definitely not Brett.

Cheers
Ben

 

[Gulpa]

5. Barls Honey Bitter

Clear deep ruby colour with a nice creamy head that falls back after a little while. Honey aroma quite distinct as I was pouring and combines with a nice coffee and raisin aroma on closer inspection. flavour is honeyed raisins with a nice mocha finish. med-lit bodied, lowish carb, bitterness siuts beer. I agree with ester, this is a great beer Barls. Perfect after working ing the garden all day today. thanks for sharing Barls.

cheers
Andrew

 

[white.grant]

No.5 Barls' honey mild

Just finishing mine off now and echo the earlier sentiments, the honey has a great complexity to it which takes this beer some place else, the floral aroma and flavours coming through a very distinct and enjoyable. top beer.

 

[The Village Idiot]

In the garden with Barls(well his beer) today...... nice drop mate. Not usually a big fan of honey in beer but that's a good'n.

 

[Gulpa]

TVI, Im with you, not a big honey fan but Barls does seem to have a knack with it

3. grantw Theakston Old P

Pours with a tan rocky head. Falls away and left with floating rocks. Aroma of coffee caramel malt, fruity esters from the yeast. flavour is a complex mix of mocha, dark fruits, tobacco, and some yeast character as well. Medium body, med-low carb, firm bitterness, and a suitably dry finish. Really nice beer, thanks for sharing Grant.

cheers
Andrew.

 

[barls]

ok as promised

the recipe

• 
  

  Gravity Before Boil: 1.029 SG (7.5 Brix)
  [*]Original Gravity: 1.035 SG (9.1 Brix)
  [*]Final Gravity: 1.011 SG (5.3 Brix)
  [*]
  
  [*]Volume Before Boil: 56.00 l
  [*]Volume After Boil: 46.00 l
  [*]Volume Transferred: 46.00 l
  [*]Water Added To Dilute: 0 ml
  [*]Volume At Pitching: 46.00 l
  [*]Volume Of Finished Beer: 44.00 l
  [*]
  
  [*]Total Water Required: 62.35 l
  [*]Total Grain: 6.355 kg
  [*]
  
  [*]Batch Cost: $0.00

Preparation
If using a yeast starter prepare one a couple of days in advance.
If necessary crush the grains.
Heat 15.89 l of water to 82 ˚C.
Add the following salts.

• 7.00 g of gypsum.

Mashing
Dough in the following fermentable ingredients.

• 4.000 kg of Briess ashburn mild
• 618 g of German Carahell
• 618 g of "new batch" added to inventory 11/01/2010
  
• 
  
• 618 g of Australian Crystal 140
• 618 g of Australia Joe White Choc Chit Malt
• 618 g of "new batch" added to inventory 05/03/2010
  
• 
  
• 500 g of Weyermann Dark Wheat Malt

Mash pH should be 5.2.
Allow the temperature to stabilize at 70 ˚C. Allow to rest at this temperature for 60 minutes.
Add 18.47 l of water at 70 ˚C, mix and run off.
Add a further 28.00 l of water at 70 ˚C and mix.
Run off to collect a total of 56.00 l of wort.



Boiling
As the wort is coming to boil, add the following 'first wort hops'.

• 8.85 g of German Hallertauer Magnum

Bring the water to the boil.
Add the following hops at the times given.

• 55 g of Slovenian Styrian Goldings (15 Min From End)
• 55 g of "new batch" (alpha 4.5%) added to inventory 11/01/2010
  
• 
  

Also add the following during the boil.

• 8.00 g of Brewbrite

Boil the wort for a total of 60 minutes.
Chill the wort to the appropriate pitching temperature and rack the wort to your fermenter.



Fermentation
The desired volume at pitching is 46.00 l.
Also add the following.

• 80 g of oak cubes, hungarian

Ferment at 18 ˚C with
pitch an apropriate amount of winsor yeast.
7 days in add the 500g of banksia honey
If using a secondary, transfer when appropriate.



Racking And Packaging
Dry hop with the following hops.

• 60 g of Slovenian Styrian Goldings
• 60 g of "new batch" (alpha 4.5%) added to inventory 11/01/2010
  
• 
  

If using a secondary, the beer should be lagered for 4 weeks before racking into either bottles or keg.
If not using a secondary, the beer should be racked directly into bottles or keg and lagered for 4 weeks.
Carbonate to 1.0 volumes using 0.4 g/l (0.0 oz/gal) of sugar.

any questions

 

[Ester Trub]

8. Nick R Aconcagua Ale - 4.7%

Pours with a fizzy head that disappears quickly. Highly carbonated. Light straw colour, with a bit of haze.
A fruity aroma that reminds me of apricots.
Highly fizzy on the tongue, but a great taste and refreshing.
This would be an amazing summer quaffing beer.

Cheers
Ben

 

[Josh]

7: Josh Belgian Dubbel - 6.2%

Pours crystal clear, with a small head that stays for the entire glass. Colour is dark coppery brown.
Smells very medicinal but Belgian yeast aromas are also present.
Flavours are unfortunately dominated by a strong band aid flavour.
I fear you have some really stressed Belgian yeast here, or possibly excess chlorine in your water? Definitely not Brett.

Cheers
Ben

Just trying a bottle now. Can't say I disagree with any of that unfortunately.

Sorry about the sub-standard beer everyone.

I promise to make a better Summer beer for the Xmas Case Swap....

 

[Ester Trub]

9. The Village Idiot Bock or Brown Ale???

Opens with a gusher! I had to leave this one for a little while.
Pours a deep brown, a bit hazy. Highly carbed. Not too much aroma. Flavours are sweet, malty caramel and a touch of roast to finish.
Definitely more like a brown ale. Nice drop. Thanks

Cheers
Ben

 

[Ester Trub]

10. pimpsqueak Doppeldunkelweizenbock 8.3%

I only just realised you said to leave this until the end of winter, but I think it's ready to drink anyway.

Pours with a small head that dissipates quickly. Smells sweet and fruity, of prunes or plums.
Med-full bodied with a med carb, tastes of sweet malts and dark fruit cake, with a mild alcohol after taste.
Fantastic beer. I am inspired to make one myself.

Cheers
Ben

 

[vykuza]

Thanks for the feedback for those who have had a crack at the Aconcagua Ale. Much appreciated!

I've put some of the swap beers in the fridge to try this weekend.

A word for the curious who haven't tried my beer yet: try it cold (as an easy drinker, I recommend you drink it cold) but leave aside some and let it warm up. The quinoa comes out and gives it an "interesting" beany flavour.



:mellow:

 

[white.grant]

No.8 NickR's Aconcagua Ale

Opens well and pours pale straw, a white rocky foam stand atop the slightly hazy body. Aroma is quite unusual, sweet and spicy, hints of melon and persimmon. Carb is medium, thin/medium body on a bright mouthfeel. Dry finish and very quaffable when cold, seems to lose the promised complexity of the aroma though, give it some time and warming, it comes through adding nutty flavours and a grainy body to the zippy palate. A great summer ale to be sure. Would love the recipe as I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[The Village Idiot]

9. The Village Idiot Bock or Brown Ale???

Opens with a gusher! I had to leave this one for a little while.
Pours a deep brown, a bit hazy. Highly carbed. Not too much aroma. Flavours are sweet, malty caramel and a touch of roast to finish.
Definitely more like a brown ale. Nice drop. Thanks

Cheers
Ben

Sorry about the over carb..... should have bulk primed, don't bottle much these days and must have stuffed up the priming calculations.

 

[Ester Trub]

11. ScottC English bitter 4.9%

Mmmm. Really enjoying this one.
Beautiful English hop and malt aromas. Perfectly carbonated.
Coppery orange-red in colour with a slight haze.
Perfectly bitter without being too harsh. Tastes sweet and fruity but finishes dry. I get grapefruit and apricot to finish.
This is an amazing beer. I would like to see the recipe for this one. Particularly interested in the hops and yeast used.

Thanks
Ben
.

 

[Ester Trub]

12. nifty Some sort of Irish Red (ish brown) Ale - 5%

Crystal clear red/brown in colour.
Passion-fruit and tropical fruit aromas. Is this from the hops or yeast?
I can't get enough of the fruity goodness of this beer

Things I have learned so far from this case swap...... good, flavoursome beer doesn't have to be highly hopped or Belgian.
I am inspired to make some tasty English / Irish beers in the near future.
Recipe please?

Cheers
Ben

 

[The Village Idiot]

No. 4 Black Labbs Belgian Pale Ale - I won't try and sound like I know what I'm talking about but it's a top drop. High carb when poured, slight haze and to me a bit IPA'ish. I agree with Gulpa and Ester it's a little English but not if that makes any sense....I like it a lot!! Belgian you say... nice.

 

[Gulpa]

7. Josh Dubbel

Pours with a nice big fluffy head. Nice colour, clear ruby. Aroma is sweet malt, with a nice belgian spicy belgian aroma. Flavour is dominated by sweet malt, the finish is slightly phenolic and is a bit all over the place. Mine is not really bandaid, more fresh earth / mould / musty for me. possibly just 3787 phenolic character combining with the hops to give some wierd flavours (ive seen a few 3787 beers come up quite phenolic), hard to tell really.

cheers
andrew

 

[Gulpa]

8. Nick R Acornagua Ale

pours a hazy straw colour. head looks like its going to fall away but settles to a persistent cm head. quite a faint aroma of light grainy malt, jammy marmalade. i may have left this one warm up a bit too much, as its coming up a bit vegetal, i get the beany thing, tinned asparagus also comes to mind. not unpleasant, just weird. light malt flavours are still present. carb is medium low, finish is nicely spiced. nice beer, Nick. Thanks for sharing.

cheers
andrew

 

[vykuza]

No.8 NickR's Aconcagua Ale

Opens well and pours pale straw, a white rocky foam stand atop the slightly hazy body. Aroma is quite unusual, sweet and spicy, hints of melon and persimmon. Carb is medium, thin/medium body on a bright mouthfeel. Dry finish and very quaffable when cold, seems to lose the promised complexity of the aroma though, give it some time and warming, it comes through adding nutty flavours and a grainy body to the zippy palate. A great summer ale to be sure. Would love the recipe as I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Grant, glad you enjoyed it. And thanks all to those offering feedback! I can't wait to get in to some of the swap beers tomorrow.

Recipe is below:

Aconcagua Ale (Cream Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (°P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 4.52 %
Colour (SRM): 3.1 (EBC): 6.1
Bitterness (IBU): 14.7 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

80.81% Pilsner
10.1% Flaked Rice
9.09% Flaked Corn

0.7 g/L Saaz (6% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.4 g/L Saaz (6% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 65°C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 18°C with Safale US-05


Recipe Generated with BrewMate


The flaked corn is instant polenta and the flaked rice is flaked organic quinoa (from Woolies), the pilsner malt is BB Galaxy. The Saaz is T45 pellet. No special equipment - I brewed BIAB for the main mash and a big pot on the stove in the kitchen for the cereal mash.

I boiled the polenta with lots of (mash) water, then added more cold (mash) water to bring the temp down to mash temps, then added 1KG of the pilsner malt and the quinoa flakes and gave it a huge stir. At this point, look at it dubiously and wonder what the hell you were thinking. Leave it to mash on the stovetop for 15 minutes with some good stirring, then proceed to mash the pilsner malt as normal and add the cereal mash to the main mash and make beer as you normally would.

The hardest part is the maths to get the multiple mashes and quantities right.

I would probably add more pilsner malt to the cereal mash next time (it's almost 1:1 with the adjuncts) to ensure a better conversion (it might clear up the cloudiness).

 

[Ester Trub]

15. Gulpa. Belgian Strong Ale. 7.5%
Lovely Belgian yeast aromas, get more and more fruity as this beer warms up.
There is a nutty maltiness that I wouldn't normally expect to find in a Belgian, but it works well.
The alcohol, fruitiness, nutty flavour and bitterness combine to make an excellent beer with a finish that lingers for a long time after your last mouthful.
I really liked this.

Cheers
Ben

 

[Gulpa]

11. Scottc English bitter

Pours hazy pale copper. smallish head falls away quickly. Great aroma of sweet caramel malt, with some fruity yeast character as well. Flavour follows aroma, english hops showing now, with the malt nicely offset by the firm bitterness. Medium body. Low Carb. Everything I love about English bitter is here. Great beer, Scott. Thanks for sharing. I would also like to see the recipe.

cheers
andrew