Nsw Ahb Xmas Case 2005 - Consumption

[berapnopod]

Shmick's Australian Strong Ale

Aroma: Rich malty aroma with some esters and some alcohol.

Appearance: Clear. Deep red/brown colour. Thin off-white head composed of medium sized bubbles forms a thick ring around the glass.

Flavour: Initially a malty flavour which develops to a strongly bitter taste, finishing dry, bitter, with a touch of residual sugar, giving a cloying feeling - OK in a beer like this. The bitterness lingers for a long long time and I can still find it hiding under my lips after finishing the mouthful.

Mouthfeel: Full body, with medium/low carbonation. Good and strong alcohol warmth. A touch of astrongency from the high hopping level.

Overall: Decidedly bitter strong ale. The bottle says 50 IBUs, but I would have though there would be more here. In any case, I like the bitterness at this level, but it is a touch too strong as it masks other characteristics of the beer. In which case, I would say increase your hop flavour, as well as your malt flavour. Other than that, I think this is a great beer that I am gonna enjoy sipping away at!

Berp.

 

[Doc]

I'm thinking of splitting the recipes off to another topic. Wading through 14 pages to find a recipe for the beer I'm drinking is getting a bit much.
Thoughts ?

Doc

 

[berapnopod]

I'm thinking of splitting the recipes off to another topic. Wading through 14 pages to find a recipe for the beer I'm drinking is getting a bit much.
Thoughts ?

Doc

[post="100462"][/post]​

Good idea, Doc.
Sorry for majorly contributing to the 14 page clutter, but thoroughly enjoying it

Berp.

 

[berapnopod]

Stickler's Old

Aroma: Light malty/chocolatey aroma with some alcohol.

Appearance: Had a dark tan head of large bubbles when poured, but collapsed quickly. Dark brown/black. Opaque.

Flavour: Malty up front with some underlying hop character. Just a hint of roast. Finish is dry and mildly bitter. No overwhelming in any aspect of the finish, which shows good balance. There is also a subtle cloying affect after drinking the beer.

Mouthfeel: Medium to med/full. High carbonation gives a carbonation bite as well as a bit of a foamy mouth. I think this is too high. Good smooth/creamy texture.

Overall: Very nicely balanced beer. I really like the creamy texture to it and it goes well with the chocolate malt flavour. The carbonation is a bit high. Not sure what happened with the head - could be my glass. But a well rounded beer all over. Nice going, Stickler!

Berp.

 

[Stuster]

Great idea Doc. I have had exactly the same problem.

Berp, I have found your reviews really educational and have also found myself trawling through those 14 pages looking for your review of the beer I am drinking. Maybe we could siphon off your reviews too. Thanks for doing them. :super:

 

[berapnopod]

Great idea Doc. I have had exactly the same problem.

Berp, I have found your reviews really educational and have also found myself trawling through those 14 pages looking for your review of the beer I am drinking. Maybe we could siphon off your reviews too. Thanks for doing them. :super:

[post="100468"][/post]​

Sounds like a good idea to siphon off mine as well. I am all for it, although I have no idea how it is implemented. But anyone out there with the power and knowledge, I say go for it!

...oh yeah, and willingness

Berp.

 

[Weizguy]

G'day,

This is my second attempt at my first beer review. PC issues...don't wanna talk about it, suffice to say that I was about to post last night and the PC locked up. Hope I can recapture the sentiments.
BTW, this is not my first taste of the Xmas case, but I'll get back to those others later.

Redbeard's Imperialist Pale Ale

To answer your question young Red, the odd flavour in your beer is not a wild yeast infection, in my opinion. In my experience with yeasts which are POF+ (phenolic off-flavour positive), including the three W's - Weizen, Wit and wild yeast, I don't get the same flavour from your beer. Comparing it to my weizen last night and the Hoegaarden clone the night before, it stimulates different parts of my tongue, and actually gives me a chlorine-y aroma and taste. So I declare it to be chlorophenols and would blame it on Sydney Summer water or perhaps bleach sanitising of your brew/bottling vessel(s)?
* Note: I hope chlorophenols aren't toxic in these amounts, coz I have consumed about 4 cm of beer to provide this evaluation. Sorry fella, the rest must feed the bacteria in my septic tank. I left the beer in the glass overnight and the aroma has only dissipated slightly.*

Back to the beer: - The beer demonstrates a thin, creamy persistent head, with good lacework down the glass. Not much hop aroma is detectable under the initial chlorine aroma.

Other tastes aside, I get malt with a balance of hop. This is no over-hopped APA, for sure. No real hop flavour, as it's probably masked. If anything, I would call this a malt-driven beer, as the hop balance leans that way, to my tastebuds. Good, strong malty backbone, supported but not dominated by subtle hop bitterness and flavour (I think).

Mouthfeel: Malty, creamy and delicate. Reminds me of nitro-gassed pommie beer.
Not to mention the carbonation, which is obviously muted and well suits this beer. The maltiness lingers on the tongue, with llittle alcohol evident.

In the last few sips, about half hour later, and with a warmer beer I get some of the hop flavour. It's a little flowery and perfumey. Did U say that you had Willamette in here? Very nice, and it suits the style well.

During this tasting, I went and opened a stubbie of my Weizen, which was brewed for the National comp, to cleanse my palate. Did the job admirably too, and allowed me to get more out of Red's Ale, over 30 or so minuutes of sipping and evaluation.

Overall, a nice sipping ale with plenty of body. Not a quaffer, but more of an after-dinner beer to be sipped like a fine port. I would have bottled it in stubbies if I made it for anything other than the Xmas case.

Shame about the "other" flavour. I look forward to your beers in future, and the real experience of malt and hop that you were hoping to provide.

As suggested elsewhere, maybe we could do an Xmas in July case, and U could make this again?

Cheers

Seth

 

[redbeard]

So I declare it to be chlorophenols and would blame it on Sydney Summer water or perhaps bleach sanitising of your brew/bottling vessel(s)?

ok, this rings a bell. i used bleach to sanitise the bottles. i did rinse them out but obviously not enough, and/or i used too much bleach. not having 'bottled' for x years, was out of practise. my bad. sydney water probably doesnt help either.

thanks Weizguy for the detailed review despite an off putting flaw.

cheers

 

[Weizguy]

You're welcome , Redbeard.

Seems that I may have provided a piece of useful feedback. Big first 4 me.

When I sanitise bottles. I add 1 capful of bleach to my kitchen sinkful of water and submerge bottles in it for 10 minutes. Then I drain and rinse with hot water, placing the bottles neck-down on a clean tea-towel in a cardboard or plastic strorage box. Sometimes I may leave them for a few days before bottling, but usually within 24 hours.

BTW, I usually smell the bottle opening to detect remaining bleach. If it's still there, I rinse the inside of the bottle again (as well as the outside, to ensure that the bleach smell isn't coming from there).

R U gonna make the beer again?

Seth out

 

[berto]

Kongs mild

Poured with a thick creamy head. Tight white bubbles which lasted the entire glass. Very light straw coloured beer below.

Initial appearance indicates it is a quaffing beer due to being so light. Im yet to have a light beer which is full bodied. Maybe with experience itI will find one.

Find it interesting that you used a strong ale yeast for what is essentially a mid strength. Any particular reason?

Has a dominant hop flavour. Im not a huge fan of the initial hop flavour, but as it subsides in your mouth find it to be quite pleasant.

Definately a beer best served cold whilst sitting in the sun around the pool or the likes. Good flavour for a mid strength beer too.

Cheers, Rob

 

[berto]

Sam's Golden Ale

Poured a little darker than i would have thought, although i think it is quite similar to amber ales I've had previously. Maybe a tad lighter. Reasonably clear. Slight haze to it though.

Not too sure of the aroma when sniffed, but wasnt overly strong. Had a thich head which held for a long time.

Took a sip, and I knew i had tasted something like this before. Now call me crazy, but it tastes like musk sticks. Im about to go check the recipe for it for what hops you have used, but i am getting a strong musk flavour which hasnt eased for the last 15 minutes as the beer is warming, however it started extremely cold.

Strong hop flavour in there which i think dominates over any malt flavour, but im not sure. I may be able to taste something malty in there, i just can't detect it.

Interesting hoppy beer. Wish i had another to try a bit warmer and see if i get some different flavours. However still went down very well.

Cheers, Rob

 

[Hopsta]

Kungys Amarillo APA

Hazy golden appearance nice head large bubbles floral hop aroma flavour is true to style very
refreshing on a hot day. Nice one Kungy!

Niftys Very nice Pale Ale

Lives up to its name very similar to coopers pale ale thoroughly enjoyed!

Kongs Benchong

Dont know what a benchong is but damn this was a nice beer. Light amber appearance tight small bubbles good head sweet aroma very confusing but refreshing taste bastardization at its best! Another great summer thirst quencher.

Berapnopods Wit

Small head nice amount of carbonation not much aroma can taste slight clove and spice beautiful wit Ill have to give this recipe a go myself. Great beer Berapnopod thanks.

Pomo Porter

Small head very dark black colour mild toasted aroma really nice porter. I havent brewed a porter as yet but this has encouraged me to do so. Thanks Pomo.

Shmicks Aussie strong ale

Little head cloudy appearance pronounced toffee and caramel aroma nice amount of bitterness melds perfectly with sweet caramel taste, definitely on the to brew list.

Sticklers old

Big foamy light brown head large bubbles nice toasted aroma pitch black in appearance tastes quite reminiscent of tooheys old with a bit more hop flavour . I really enjoyed this beer.

Stusters Pacific Bitter

Good head aroma could be POR hazy golden appearance crisp aussie ale taste. Nice brew.

Duffs kolsch

Slight haze fine tight knit creamy head. Really nice beer went down nice with BBQ chilli prawns. One of my favourite beers of the case.

Now I did have some more reviews written down on various pieces of paper which I have lost, other memorable (memory being the key word) beers which I must mention are Docs Kolsch very nice and Sams golden ale, Sam that was a beautiful beer Ill have to have a look for the recipe if its in here? All the beers in the case had their qualities, thanks to all, cant wait till xmas case 2006!

P.S My Belgian golden strong ale is ready to drink now, dont worry about the 3months I stated earlier, my error in judgment.. let me know what you think.

 

[berapnopod]

Axle's Amber Ale - by BeerSlayer

Aroma: Light hop aroma with an underlying caramel/crystal malt aroma. Maybe a bit of raosted grains too?

Appearance: Clear. Brown/red colour. Poured a bit foamy and now has a thick head of off-white bubbles that are very fine and supported by high carbonation in the glass.

Flavour: Balance of flavours is just on the hoppy side with some good malt character. Its hard to judge the flavour in this one because the carbonation is so high (see mouthfeel). The finish is moderately bitter.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. Carbonation is over the top. This gives a strong carbonation bite as well as a very bubbly mouth. The unfortunately overpowers most of the other characteristics of this beer.

Overall: You have a sound recipe here. Good malt/hop balance and I think the bitterness is at the right level. Cut back on the carbonation next time and I think you'll have a great beer.

NOTE: after a while of drinking this, I am getting an odd flavour in there. Its so weak I can't put my finger on it. I am not game enough to say this is a hint of infection, but it would explain the high carbonation, so I wonder if the carbonation was always high like this, or has it developed over the last few months since you made it?

Berp.

 

[PostModern]

Pomo Porter

Small head very dark black colour mild toasted aroma really nice porter. I havent brewed a porter as yet but this has encouraged me to do so. Thanks Pomo.

P.S My Belgian golden strong ale is ready to drink now, dont worry about the 3months I stated earlier, my error in judgment.. let me know what you think.

[post="100785"][/post]​

Cheers. Are you sure it was my porter tho? Mine is a reddy/brown colour. Trent's was a really nice robust porter.

I drank your Strong Ale on new years day. Apologies for not posting comments (and everyone elses that I drank that day) but I went thru a good part of the case on NYE and New Year's day (damn wasn't it hot????!!!??!). Remember your Strong Ale tho. Everything after it was a blur, but really enjoying drinking your brew. Excellent drop. Really nice and smooth for its strength.

To everyone in the case, thanks for your contributions. It was a great way to taste a lot of beers and a welcome addition to the holiday season. I second (third? fourth?) the motion to have a Christmas in July Case.

 

[berto]

POL's Vienna Lager

Poured with a large head with large bubbles. Has slowly diminished, but now smaller bubbles below. Surged for a while when first poured, giving a good appearance, but carbonation was not over the top from what i could tell.

Nice colour, yet a little hazy. Hasnt improved with the beer warming up. had to let it sit a while. I couldnt taste it at all over the curried snags i was eating.

Good level of bitterness which hits you. Possibly a little too much. Undecided on this at the moment. Was very smooth though, blending well with the malt. Just had another go. Id say there is a little much bittering there for my likes. Others may disagree here though.

Has a hoppy aroma when you put your nose to it which is quite pleasant. No idea what the hops used are. Will have to check the recipe for that.

Overall a very pleasant beer which i could drink continuously if it was a shade less bitter.

 

[berto]

Beranopod's Astrobrew Witbeer

Poured well. Beautfiul light colour. Not much hop aroma at all. Head was smallish bubbles and lasted well.

Pretty clear. Not completely, but close.

WOW. Very different taste. Only other time i can describe a beer with a taste sensation like this was the Berliner Weiss. This is a different taste however, but still has the same effect of taking you away from what you are used to.

Very fruity sort of taste toward the end. From the rhind and corriander i guess. I was never keen to try these in a beer before. Ive made stir frys with corriander and they were bloody dreadful. But this has brought me around. Wonderful summer beer for by the pool. If i were to be drinking it all night i would probably ease off a little on both corriander and rhind and make it a touch more subtle, but try and keep the taste there all the same.

I remember trying a beer like this at Castle Hill Tavern one night called White pointer. Would love to give you more details. But if you ever saw a group of bartenders from a neighbouring establishment at the tav on a thursday night, you would know why my memory defeats me. I honestly thought i was buying wine when i went to the bar. I was told to buy, and dutifuly did so. Why they wanted 6 bottles i had no idea. But soon enough realised it was beer i was getting.

But back to this beer. Very nice fruity blend. Not sure what others will think, being away from the more trad. styles of most beers in this case. But its something i might have to try some time now i think.

I can see myselfy buying a fair few 15L fermenters for 10 L batches so i can try a few different things.

Cheers, Rob

 

[berto]

Beer Slayer Amber Ale

Poured darker than i expected. I think i have fond this of all the Amber ales. Maybe my thoughts of what one would look like are different to what they actually do look like. Poured with a good head and medium sized bubbles.

Good hop aroma.

Overall flavour is predominantly hop based with a slight malt profile building towards the end of the mouthful.

Nice easy drinking beer you have here beer slayer.

 

[berapnopod]

Sam's #2 Golden Ale

Aroma: Mild citrusy hop aroma. Some underlying malt and a touch of spiciness. Overall, a very clean aroma.

Appearance: Medium head of fine and large bubbles. Retention seems solid. Gold colour, clear.

Flavour: Assertively bitter right up the front there. Hop flavour is muted in comparison. Some malt flavour too that balances out the hop flavour. Bitterness follows all the way through to the finish which is strongly bitter and clean with some lingering hop flavour, as well as the bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium/light body, maybe a touch on the thin side? A little alcohol warmth. The carbonation is on the high side with a clear carbonation bite and some foaming in the mouth.

Overall: I really like this beer, Sam, although the bitterness is too high. What I mean by that is its out of balance with the rest of the beer characteristics, like the hop flavour and malt flavour, as well as esters. Obviously I would suggest bringing down your bittering hop rate, but I would also suggest leaving the bitterness where it is and just bumping everything else up: double your late hop additions, add more grains to the tune of about an extra 30-50% and I think you'll have a great IPA on your hands!

Berp.

EDIT: after a bit more of this, the bitterness is growing on me and doesn't stick out so much. In fact, its getting better all the time

 

[Weizguy]

Me again. Second attempt again. Must be doing something wrong each time I post a review. Hard to save every few minutes. Might need to try making a word processing document first, then post from it. Aaaaah...maybe.

Axle's Amber Ale from the Whacky Brewery:

First perception - bit gassy when opened. Not a prob for a Weizen-fancier.
Poured carefully and got a nice creamy head on my pint.

Appearance was good. I liked the colour. Not sure if it's to style. So what?

The aroma gave me hits of amber malt extract and caramel. Hint of hops may have been there, but strongly camouflaged beneath the malt. Liked it, too. Reminded me of something. It took a while to work it out, but we'll get to that soon.

The taste was bit bubbly (almost weizeny), and the bubbles were large, and then I got the malt. Amber, it was. Well-balanced bitterness wove itself amongst the malt and they went down my throat side-by-side. I assume that the hops was a meld of bitterness and flavour hop, which suited the malt backbone. Plenty of amber and caramel too, with a lingering maltiness and bitterness

On the second pour, I got a large head, as I thought may have lost a bit of gas, and I poured it roughly, without due respect. Did I mentioned the lacing down the glass, which was fair. Glassware was rinsed before pouring, so that may have affected the lacing, perhaps.

...And the overall impression. Good brew. It came to me that this reminded me of homebrews that I've made, and others that were not made by me. Hope this isn't taken in a negative way, but it reminded me of homebrew. Good homebrew. Pleasant memories of drinking in the sun while playing Boules.

As with the previous evaluation, I pre-consumed a 1.25l bottle of my Hoegaarden clone. This appears not to have done anything to my tastebuds, as I feel I got a pretty clear snapshot of the beer, except for maybe getting the serving temp a it cool.

Just went back in this thread to look for a recipe. Couldn't find one.

Either way, fine beer, and I'd suggest less carbonation or a keg with nitro-gas would give this beer the head it would have in a pom pub.

Cheerz
Seth

 

[berto]

Tim's Brown Ale

Ill be quick. i think ive been rambling in a lot of my earlier posts. FANTASTIC. Wonderful hop flavour belnding with the malt. Nice deep colour. Can be drunk nice and cold at normal fridge temps around 3degs.

Good head retention.

Hop flavour to the nose.

Cheers, Rob

Edit:
As this beer has warmed, im getting a rogue taste. Not sure if its an infection or a strong alcohol taste in the mouth.