Nsw Special Case Swap Tasting Thread

[Bizier]

6. Gulpa - American IPA

Pours a lively deep orange copper with a humongous but uneven head into a tulip. I got a whiff of the hop perfume as the cap released the pressure. Nice.

I get some caramel malt and marmalade aromas off the bat, plus something a little more exotic like papaya or tamarillo (!) or something plus some strong floral and sweet notes like a muscat. I have been sniffing this beer for easily five minutes now. To be blunt, I think I get some age and some rough edges, but small in the scheme of things.

On the tongue the beer is, as per usual, a very well balanced malt sweetness versus the bitterness, though more bitter than previous offerings I have tried of yours. It starts sweet, fruity, caramelly and creamy and ends at a dryish finish, aided by high carbonation, but not so dry that the hops are too aggressive. There are great orangey floral top notes to the hops and a lingering grapefruit pith bitterness.

Very drinkable beer Andrew, you are better at formulating a recipe than some brewmasters. Thank you.

 

[nifty]

20. Gulpa - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - 10% - wy1388 - Ready to drink - bottled Oct 09

This was a great beer, I could almost use a knife and fork on this one.

cheers

nifty

 

[Gulpa]

6. Gulpa - American IPA

Pours a lively deep orange copper with a humongous but uneven head into a tulip. I got a whiff of the hop perfume as the cap released the pressure. Nice.

I get some caramel malt and marmalade aromas off the bat, plus something a little more exotic like papaya or tamarillo (!) or something plus some strong floral and sweet notes like a muscat. I have been sniffing this beer for easily five minutes now. To be blunt, I think I get some age and some rough edges, but small in the scheme of things.

On the tongue the beer is, as per usual, a very well balanced malt sweetness versus the bitterness, though more bitter than previous offerings I have tried of yours. It starts sweet, fruity, caramelly and creamy and ends at a dryish finish, aided by high carbonation, but not so dry that the hops are too aggressive. There are great orangey floral top notes to the hops and a lingering grapefruit pith bitterness.

Very drinkable beer Andrew, you are better at formulating a recipe than some brewmasters. Thank you.

Thanks Dan. Ill be honest, I was looking for something with a little more ooomph (but not IIPA oomph). Havent really done AIPA before so I just doubled one of my regular APA hop schedules. Ill probably have another go at this later in the year with more hops. Also, ferment was a bit hotter than I would have liked which may be contributing to the rough edges.

20. Gulpa - Belgian Strong Dark Ale - 10% - wy1388 - Ready to drink - bottled Oct 09
This was a great beer, I could almost use a knife and fork on this one.
cheers
nifty

Cheers Nifty. Glad you enjoyed.

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 9. Cortez The Killer Hop Rod Rye Clone Rye IPA
Date: 7th April 2010
Details: 750ml Coopers Bottle gold cap 9 - 7%
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Amber body, quite clean, solid off-white foam persists.

Quite intense aroma, hop driven; pine sap, citrus marmalade, peach. Some malt character underneath; caramel and spicy, doughy rye bread.

Good weight to the body, sticky resinous texture, moderate carbonation, somewhat creamy.

Nice balance to the flavour; sweet biscuity malts upfront combine with zesty grapefruit and pine hops. Assertive bitterness lingers with a bready spice and hop resin.

Highly enjoyable IPA. Good balance of malt and hop character, with a hint of rye spice peaking through. Cheers Gino, top drop!

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 6. Gulpa American IPA
Date: 7th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle gold cap 6 7%, 65IBU, WY1277, 18th Feb 2010
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Loud opening, started to gush out of the top after 30 seconds, with my back foolishly turned.
Pours a hazy, chunk-laden orange-copper body with a persistent inch of white foam.

Aroma of medium intensity, nice hop fruits, unripe melon, passionfruit, guava with a good amount of pine-like woodiness. Hint of light caramel malt peaks through.

Medium-to-full palate, quite lively carbonation, bit of stickiness to the texture.

Hops drive the body, not hugely intense though; nice ripe peach and apricot, and tropical fruits. Woody hops combine with malt sweetness on a moderately bitter finish. Lingering leafy hop resin.

Solid sort of APA. Probably lacks the serious intensity of many AIPAs, but nice enough either way. Cheers Andrew.

 

[Josh]

12. floppinab IIPA - ~7.5% - Ready now has 2/10 IP on cap

Pours a deep copper colour with a rocky head. Fruity esters and earthy hops prominent in aroma and taste.

Barely seems like 5% let alone 7.5%. Seems more like an English IPA, but ridiculously easy drinking either way.

What yeast did you use Gav? Loving it.

Finished the second glass in no time and haly my mouth is numb. Prehaps it is 7.5% after all.

 

[Josh]

8. Gruntus - Where has all my EKG gone - English IPA - ~ 7.5% - Bottled 6th March.

Pours a beautiful dark gold with a big white head which wants to jump out of my glass. So bright I can actually read through my pint glass.

I get a little bit of the lost EKG but mainly alcohol from what I think is warm fermentation temps. Sorry to say it's not particularly memorable, but I've finished the bottle. Thanks Grant.

I've got your Trippel in the fridge after reading Gulpa's review. Days off tomorrow, bring it on.

 

[Josh]

22. Gruntus - Trip to Brugge - Belgian Trippel - ~9% - Bottled 19th Feb

Wow! Trip to Brugge indeed. I swear I'm back in that little courtyard with the sun shining and the smoke billowing out of the tiny cafe's.

Thick and malty sweet on the tongue early. Spicy phenols in the middle and then finishes with a lingering aroma in the top of my mouth, begging for another mouthful.

Man this is a quality beer. 1-1 Yankees @ Red Sox in the top of the 2nd. I might have to se e waht else is in the fridge.

 

[Bizier]

3. DiscoStu - Imperial IPA

Wow.

Pours an almost brown amber with a large creamy very-off-white head.

Sweet and slightly fruity on the nose.

Big caramel sweetness upfront, then the carpet is whipped out from underneath and there is a shredding bitterness. There are a lot of malt flavours, dry and toasty, sweet and caramel, but the hops really accentuate the sharper malt flavours. I am surprised how dry this finished after the caramel hit at the start. I don't get a ton of late hops, but I am really loving this bitterness - your beer is making me smile right now.

Cheers Stu

 

[nifty]

11. Bizier - Belgian IIPA

A really nice coloured beer, and a great hoppy/fuity taste.

Great beer, thanks.

cheers

nifty

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 3. DiscoStu - Imperial IPA
Date: 8th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle red cap 3 8.5% - 100IBU - US05 - Bottled 14/02/10
Sampling Notes:
Served slightly chilled in pint glass.

Hazy bronze body, tight centimetre worth of beige foam persists.

Quite subdued aroma for the style; some woody, resinous pine hop in there, but malt seems to be the star of this show with rich toffee and brown sugar, hint of spicy wheat husk in there too.

Big rich body with plenty of length. Thick resinous, sticky texture, somewhat aided by the smooth low carbonation.

Opens out a whole lot more on the body; rich toffee and mollasses malts, hint of cocoa and meaty roastiness. Resinous hops kick up a gear with a good dose of pine, bitter orange, tobacco leaf, all lingering on the finish and delivering a solid bitterness. Alcohol is warming, adding its own little bit of balance and sweetness.

Robust amber ale with a good amount of hop flavour. Highly enjoyable and well made; certainly a bit different from others of the style but I loved it. Cheers Stu!

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 12. Floppinab - IIPA
Date: 8th April 2010
Details: 650ml bottle gold cap "2/10IP" - 7.5%
Sampling Notes:
Served slightly chilled in pint glass.

Reasonably clean amber-copper body, small ring of offwhite foam hangs around.

Light aroma; flowery hops, some citrus zest, and caramel malts.

Medium carbonation, full bodied, slightly syrupy texture.

Good balance of caramel and biscuity malts, with spicy, leafty hops. Some subtle dried fruits towards a moderately bitter finish. Alcohol is well hidden!

A relatively subdued IIPA, balanced well with malt character being a more prominant component of beer that most of the style. Quite enjoyable, cheers Gav!

 

[Gulpa]

14. Muggus - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted (Jakes Return) NZ Imp. Brown Ale - 7.9% Bottled 19th Feb 2010

Pours cloudy brown with a small light tan head. Aroma is hop driven, some C hops, a touch of honey caramel malt and Im reminded of something else I cant quite put my finger on - must be all those NZ hops. Flavour is a big resiny hop blast, caramel coffee with a very assertive long bitter finish. Medium low carb. Full body with the high bitterness giving an apparent dry finish that seems a touch harsh at first. As it warms the malt sweetness comes up to help the balance but it remains confrontingly bitter . Quite a challenging beer atm and needs some more time in the bottle to show its best, thanks for sharing Mike.


Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

27. nifty - Some Sort of Belgian Golden Ale 8.1% Bottled 07/02/2010 Wy1388

Pours light copper with a big dense off white head. Slightly hazy. Aroma is ester based fruits, sweet malt with a touch of mineral. Flavour is light sweet malt, clean belgian funk, some malt nuttiness, a nice blend blend of flavours. High carb. Medium body. Slight tartness in the off dry finish nicely accentuated by the high carb. Sits well in the style. Alcohol is well hidden. Nice beer, thanks for sharing Nifty.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Muggus]

14. Muggus - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted (Jakes Return) NZ Imp. Brown Ale - 7.9% Bottled 19th Feb 2010

Pours cloudy brown with a small light tan head. Aroma is hop driven, some C hops, a touch of honey caramel malt and Im reminded of something else I cant quite put my finger on - must be all those NZ hops. Flavour is a big resiny hop blast, caramel coffee with a very assertive long bitter finish. Medium low carb. Full body with the high bitterness giving an apparent dry finish that seems a touch harsh at first. As it warms the malt sweetness comes up to help the balance but it remains confrontingly bitter . Quite a challenging beer atm and needs some more time in the bottle to show its best, thanks for sharing Mike.


Cheers
Andrew.

Haha excellent form sir, glad to see someone was willing to take the plunge. Glad to hear you made it out alive.
Certainly not an easy drinking beer by any stretch of the imagination; cracked a bottle open about a week ago and the bitterness is reminisant of a young barley wine more than anything else. At least it'll last a while with all of those hops!

 

[nifty]

27. nifty - Some Sort of Belgian Golden Ale 8.1% Bottled 07/02/2010 Wy1388

Pours light copper with a big dense off white head. Slightly hazy. Aroma is ester based fruits, sweet malt with a touch of mineral. Flavour is light sweet malt, clean belgian funk, some malt nuttiness, a nice blend blend of flavours. High carb. Medium body. Slight tartness in the off dry finish nicely accentuated by the high carb. Sits well in the style. Alcohol is well hidden. Nice beer, thanks for sharing Nifty.

Cheers
Andrew.

Hey Andrew, thanks for the comments, this was my first crack at a Belgian, so I'm glad it was drinkable.

cheers

steve

 

[Gulpa]

3. DiscoStu - Imperial IPA 8.5% - 100IBU - US05 - Bottled 14/02/10

Bizier's review is pretty spot on.

Pours hazy copper with a lovely light tan head. Aroma is caramel candy malts up front with some biscuit and fruity hops blending in. Flavour is sweetish caramel malts, slight roast with bitterness very assertive at the finish. As it warms the complex malt profile shows. Well carbed. Medium full body. Lovely balance. Finish is surprisingly dry. Awesome beer. Thanks for sharing, Stu.



Cheers
Andrew.

 

[rendo]

I apologise about the carb. 5g went in - but perhaps it wasn't retained.

I thinks its time I got a proper capper.

Glad you enjoyed it though.

Cheers

For sure, for $40 from bigw, its in the top 3 best spends ever for my homebrewing.....
Just in case you are wondering, the top 3 are:
1. temperature control/fermenting frdige
2. Bench Capper
3. My first purchase of hops (why...because that what lead me to this site and the slippery slippery slope of learning more and making shit hot beer!)

EDIT: Not to mention, after all that effort you put into making a brew, one of the last things you want to let you down is the capping.

 

[Bizier]

14. Muggus - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted (Jakes Return) NZ Imp. Brown Ale

I drank this as a primer before going out after a long brew day yesterday. No notes, but here is my dubious recollection:

Incredibly sappy, sticky resinous from big big NZ hops. Tropical flavours like passionfruit and pineapple, and however you are supposed to describe that 'NZ hop taste'.
If I did not brew so many large hoppy beers, I probably would not be able to taste the malt behind the hops, but I was happy to have some caramel, toasty and slightly roasty notes with my hop feast.

Mouthfeel sticky and smooth, decidedly resinous.

I have to say that this was a very successful primer to my night, I think I left the house with a noticeable list to one side.

Great beer Muggus, really up my alley here.

 

[RetsamHsam]

STOUT / OLD ALE List

29. Monkeybusiness - RIS - 9.6% bottled Feb 2010
30. Grantw - Anzus Wheatwine 2 X bottles - this is a vicious and unpleasant beer at the moment, 10.38% leave it for months maybe late July, years if possible
31. Cortez The Killer - Father's Falling Over Fluid - American Barley Wine - ~7.7% - Ready - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm#70
32. VACANT
33. VACANT
34. Muggus - Black Warrior Imperial Stout 7.1%, 22nd Oct, Drink now or Med/Long term cellaring
35. VACANT
36. VACANT
37. Josh - Foreign Extra Stout - ready, but could do with a few weeks in the fridge
38. Gulpa - Old Ale - US05 - 7.8% - needs a few weeks - Bottled 24 Feb
39. Thommo - Old Ale - Needs a good 6 weeks +. I will re-post when carbed
40. Syd_03
41. VACANT
42. Retsamhsam - English Barley Wine 11.1%, Bottled on the 11th March.

Out of interest, what happened to Schooey and Chappo's beers?