Nsw Special Case Swap Tasting Thread

[Gulpa]

10. Josh - Imperial IPA

Pours clear dark red copper with a nice dense head that persists and laces. Aroma is lovely, citrus hops with a floral presence underneath, caramel malts. Flavour is a nice blend of hops, quite floral, sweet caramel finishing with an assertive bitterness. Medium full body, perfect carb, no sign of alcohol. Its a touch sweet but the bitterness helps it from being cloying. Lovely beer, Josh. Thanks for sharing.

Regards
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

25. Bizier - Belgian Blonde Ale ~6%


Orange gold in colour. A bit of haze with a lively head. Aroma is a little difficult to describe, spicy belgian phenolics, pepper with a distinct lemonyness about it. Flavour is very creamy, almost to the point of egg custard (weird, I know but it is), pepper again, slight banana with a sweet malt finish. Medium body, medium carb, low bitterness, well balanced. This is a very distinctive beer which Im assuming comes from yeast choice. Not like anything Ive tried before and I like that. Delicious. Thanks Dan.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 8. Gruntus Where has all my EKG gone English IPA
Date: 16th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle gold cap IPA/8 7.5% 6th March 2010
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Copper body, slight haze, creamy beige head persists as 5mm of foam.

Good pungency about the nose; toasted cereals, orange and mango juice, peach and apricot nectar, tobacco leaf hop character.

Rich, syrupy texture, quite low carbonation. Alcohol adds dryness to the finish.

Nice, juicy hop flavour about this beer; orange, mandarin, guava-like tropical hop fruit notes, subtle eucalyptus-like leafiness in there too. Sweet biscuity malts mix in, almost like those Wheaten(?) biscuits. Finishes with a pepper alcohol note and decent bitterness.

Really enjoy the hops in this beer; serious proper English-style IPA with a good amount of body and bitterness to boot. Cheers Gruntus, great drop!

 

[gruntus]

22. Gruntus - Trip to Brugge - Belgian Trippel

Pours with a large white head which persists. Copper in clolour, cloudy. Some lovely phenolics, spricy, some fruity notes from candy sugar.

Sweet upfront, revealing some great belgian phenolics. Some fruity notes orange, banana in the background, all mixed up with some tasty peppery spices. A lot going on. Medium body. Only a hint of the alcohol content as the beer warms.

This is a very delicious beer, very complex and well bodied. The only thing letting it down is clarity; sort this out and you are onto a winner.

Cheers

Glad you enjoyed it Gino. :icon_cheers:

I have got to go back to the basics to sort out my clarity/haze issues...especially for this style. You can get a bit lazy after doing wheat beers all summer.

 

[gruntus]

Beer: 8. Gruntus Where has all my EKG gone English IPA
Date: 16th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle gold cap IPA/8 7.5% 6th March 2010
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Copper body, slight haze, creamy beige head persists as 5mm of foam.

Good pungency about the nose; toasted cereals, orange and mango juice, peach and apricot nectar, tobacco leaf hop character.

Rich, syrupy texture, quite low carbonation. Alcohol adds dryness to the finish.

Nice, juicy hop flavour about this beer; orange, mandarin, guava-like tropical hop fruit notes, subtle eucalyptus-like leafiness in there too. Sweet biscuity malts mix in, almost like those Wheaten(?) biscuits. Finishes with a pepper alcohol note and decent bitterness.

Really enjoy the hops in this beer; serious proper English-style IPA with a good amount of body and bitterness to boot. Cheers Gruntus, great drop!

Wow....wish I could write a review like that.

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Gulpa]

2. Grantw - An English IPA at 4.7%, bittered with EKG and Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin for aroma Bottled 19.3

Colour is a clear copper. Starts with a small offwhite head that dies down to a film. The mix of hops comes up quite earthy in the aroma, Sauvin gives it a distinctive character. Malt is there with a light fruityness underneath, not sure if its from the hops or yeast. Flavour follows same, sauvin is dominant at the start but as the beer warms the other hops come forward. Malt flavours are quite light. Mediumish body. Low carb. Finish is dry enough. A good level of bitterness but possibly not IPA levels. Nice interesting beer Grant. Drinks more like a Special Bitter, you get that sometimes :icon_cheers: .

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Bizier]

23. Cortez The Killer - Devil's Ink - Belgian Imperial Stout

After a hard day's brewing, this is hitting the spot dead on.

Loads of dark fruit notes, liquorice, plum, and a great cocoa-biscuit malt background. I get some vanilla type aromas, which is very nice. I like the alcohols, they are noticeable, but very complimentary to the rest of the package and not harsh or hot, more of a sherry note.

It is very drinkable, and even perhaps slightly needing a little more warmth than my current serving temp, because this seems slightly thin for something along the lines of an RIS. That said, it is a well brewed, complex, roasty Belgian beer that I would happily have as a regular on tap.

I would like to see your recipe Gino.

Cheers
Dan

 

[Bizier]

21. Monkeybusiness - Belgian strong 9.5%

Drank this while transferring wort and yakking with mates, so no notes sorry. I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was left with an impression that there was a high proportion of simple sugars used in the grist, which took the edge off for me. But other than that, I enjoyed the beer very much. A good dark, fruity beer with a bunch of spicy phenols.

Thanks MB

 

[Bizier]

A blur of other beers that are gone
Josh, I loved your golden strong, loads and loads of apple and pear esters, very juicy and lush. I really enjoyed it.
I was not a big a fan of your IIPA, while I loved the huge hop profile, I found it a little too chewy and worty for me to consider it drinkable. But if it were drier, I would love it completely.

Gruntus, I drank your IPA and really enjoyed it. To me it had everything in the right place. I am not as well versed in UK IPA as I am US IPA, but I thought yours fit the bill well and I remember that the carbonation and dryness really finished the beer well. I think it was your Belgian that I opened and it nearly emptied itself in my sink, but I am not sure if it was yours.

Some other beers have been drank with no notes, I apologise for not giving the same consideration to all beers.

 

[Gulpa]

28. Muggus - Belgian Chocolate Ale '09 - 8.4%.

Colour is close to black with ruby highlights. A vigorous pour created a smallish head that died down pretty quickly. Big belgian aroma, perhaps phenyls to the fore. A slight mineral/metallic edge to it that I sometimes find with belgian yeasts. Flavour is sweet malts, belgian yeast flavours, dark fruits, coffee/chocolate comes up as it warms with the mineral/metallic thing showing on the finish. Medium light body. Low carb. Belgian balance. Nice beer Mike, but I found the metallic thing threw the finish out a bit.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Bizier]

16. Grantw Belgian tripel may be ready to drink around June

Pours a brilliantly clear yellow with a white head that soon dies.

Tripel is not my favourite style. This is a fantastic one that gives hope.

Moderate light fruity apple-ish esters and some spicy phenolics, and a grassy note in there. Alcohol is a pleasant presence, and is evil in its strength.

Dry, dangerously quenching, fruity. Great.

I don't really see the difference between this and a golden strong, perhaps it would do better under that title, though I might be wrong.

Mark Rothko doco on telly, and this is winning, really great beer Grant. Thanks.

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I would like to see your recipe Gino.

Glad you liked it - I wasn't a big fan of this beer initially but haven't tried one for a while - may need to pop one into the fridge

Recipe here - http://hyperfox.info/allgrain01.htm#75

Cheers

 

[Josh]

14. Muggus - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted (Jakes Return) NZ Imp. Brown Ale - 7.9% Bottled 19th Feb 2010 - Probably carbed by swap date, but bloody brutal!

Brutal indeed.

Cloudy brown with a tan head.
Quite a sweet caramel aroma with hops in the background.
The flavour is very full on. Big hit of sweetness, burnt toast, chocolate, citrus and summer fruits. And a big whack of bitterness that lingers with the rich sweetness long after I swallow.

Thanks for the beer Mike. Interesting to try this style. I'm planning on brewing the CYBI Nogne 100 clone tomorrow and JZ categorised that beer as an Imperial Brown Ale.

If you guys haven't had it yet, I'd consider storing for a while longer.

 

[Stuster]

I'm too slack to post up my review(s) today but I thought Muggus' beer was good now. Intense, sure, but in a good way. Great beer. :super:

 

[Josh]

11. Bizier - if it has a 'B' (majority) it is the Belgian IIPA ~>9% A week in the fridge.

Relatively clear, gold with a hint of red and a thin dense off white head. Hop flavour and bitterness are abundant. Slick mouthfeel, Belgian phenols are there, but not too over the top.
Finishes dry and bitter, very tasty beer, thanks Dan.

 

[white.grant]

I'm with Stuster!

No. 14 Muggus' What becomes of the broken hearted

Pours darkly into my nonic pint with a white head that slowly dissipates. Hop aroma is noticeable from over 1 metre away from the glass, so its nicely fragrant. On the tongue I am impressed by the balance of malt and hops, big everything here, subtle hints of warming alcohol as the glass warms, handwritten notes become very difficult to read. Loverly beer.

Make no mistake, this is a challenging beer to consume but I really enjoyed it, I don't think leaving it longer will make it easier to drink and may well compromise the hop aroma action which is outrageous and the malty goodness which I found most agreeable.

Muggus, you really do chance your arm on these epic beers and kudos to you, it is unlikely that I will ever drink such a gorgeously balanced over the top beer again.

cheers

grant

 

[white.grant]

16. Grantw Belgian tripel may be ready to drink around June

Pours a brilliantly clear yellow with a white head that soon dies.

Tripel is not my favourite style. This is a fantastic one that gives hope.

Moderate light fruity apple-ish esters and some spicy phenolics, and a grassy note in there. Alcohol is a pleasant presence, and is evil in its strength.

Dry, dangerously quenching, fruity. Great.

I don't really see the difference between this and a golden strong, perhaps it would do better under that title, though I might be wrong.

Mark Rothko doco on telly, and this is winning, really great beer Grant. Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback Bizier and glad you enjoyed it.

I was hoping for a little more yeast character and a little less attenuation so the golden strong comparison makes a lot of sense. It is ridiculously easy drinking for 10% gives me a heightened sense of self worth every time I drink it :icon_drunk: .

cheers

grant

 

[Muggus]

28. Muggus - Belgian Chocolate Ale '09 - 8.4%.

Colour is close to black with ruby highlights. A vigorous pour created a smallish head that died down pretty quickly. Big belgian aroma, perhaps phenyls to the fore. A slight mineral/metallic edge to it that I sometimes find with belgian yeasts. Flavour is sweet malts, belgian yeast flavours, dark fruits, coffee/chocolate comes up as it warms with the mineral/metallic thing showing on the finish. Medium light body. Low carb. Belgian balance. Nice beer Mike, but I found the metallic thing threw the finish out a bit.

Cheers
Andrew.

Thanks for the feedback Andrew.
I tried a bottle of this over the weekend and definately know what you mean; has a definate phenolic sharpness about it. Also found it very vinous, "Like a red wine" as one of my mates put it.


Good to hear feedback on my brown ale too! Glad that people actually enjoyed it! Can't say as much about my unsuspecting friends and family...

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 5. Retsamhsam - AIIPA
Date: 18th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle gold cap IPA 8.2% 65-70IBU Bottled 11th March 2010
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Copper body, decent clarity, retains a decent beige head.

On the nose I get a fair bit of ripe yellow peach, pine, grapefruit, slight caramel malt sweetness; quite intense overall.

Moderate carbonation, very smooth, quite creamy texture with excellent length.

Excellent amount of hop flavour on the body; bitter orange, pine, apricot skin, peach. Finishes somewhat phenolic, very bitter, lingering spiciness.

Intense and rich IIPA; highly flavourful and enjoyable. Good stuff, cheers Damo!

 

[Muggus]

Beer: 11. Bizier B Belgian IIPA
Date: 18th April 2010
Details: 750ml Bottle gold cap 11/B 9%
Sampling Notes:
Served chilled in pint glass.

Quite clean copper gold body. Big persistent yellow-tinged foam.

The aroma of this beer is majestic; freshly grated orange and lemon peel, mandarin, subtle green spices. Hugely citrusy, as my notes mention twice; mightve been trying to make a half-drunken point.

Serious body about it, relatively low carbonation, sticky, resinous malt and hop texture.

Intense flavour; lots of pine, pepper, peach, apricot and leafy herbs. Finishes highly bitter, dry and warming.

Full on, big flavours; right up my alley! Awesome beer, cheers Dan!