Nsw Xmas In July 2006 Case Consumption

[Stuster]

I'm a 4, Steve. Pour whole bottle into two glasses. Sometimes SWMBO drinks one of them, but if it's not to her taste I get two. I don't want to have beer too cold to taste it. The second glass is often the best.

Last night I had Shmick's ESB. Yummy stuff, Shmick. This was a really nice bitter. Dark, great head all the way down. I only had one glass of this one. :angry:

Josh's Pilsner was nice. Rather overcarbonated, but after it sat for a while it was a good beer, malty but clean with a good body.

Kong's Bitter. It didn't taste like rubber to me, though there was some aftertaste. :unsure: Clear, good head, slight aroma. A good bitter to my taste.

Stickler's APA. An easy drinker, clean etc. IMO it could do with a lot more hops for flavour and aroma, but this would be a good, light session beer as is.

Sorry about the poor quality of the reviews. Enjoying the drinking and not writing down my thoughts on the beers until later. :chug:

 

[Steve]

I think I may have to give this non chilled method a go....

I just always used a frozen jug and frozen glass to serve h34r: :blink: dont know why just always have :unsure:
Cheers
Steve

 

[KoNG]

into a Non chilled glass for me.

 

[warrenlw63]

I like to drink my beers from a nice "astringent" non-coated paper cup. h34r:

Warren -

 

[Gough]

I like to drink my beers from a nice "astringent" non-coated paper cup. h34r:

Warren -

:lol: :lol: A sense of humour can get you into trouble Warren... This is a very, very serious thread don't you know...

Shawn.

 

[Borret]

Perhaps one could sanitise their tounge to eliminate it as the source of those infected flavours....

Has anyone just sat and enjoyed a beer yet?

Oh and when's the poll starting on 'Who's being banned form the next case swap"?

:wacko:

Brent

 

[berapnopod]

For Steve, I pour the beer into a non-chilled glass - the same one each time.
Thats pretty much what I would do for any beer, although I might use a different glass.


Anyway...


Barry's Robust Porter

Aroma: Overall muted aroma, which consists mainly of malt, choloclate malt and some esters. I don't get any hops, and theres a hint of caramelly/toffee too.

Appearance: Almost black, but I can just detect ruby highlights through the glass. Nearly no head, which forms a crescent around the edge of the glass. Nice tan colour. Clarity is very good.

Flavour: Dominant toffee flavour. Very complex. Certainly toasty flavours in there. Not much hop flavour, but the bitterness is well placed and balances out the toffee malt character, leading to a bitter and dry finish.
Perhaps just a drop of diacetyl which adds a bit of buttery sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium/light body, and tastes well attenuated, even though your recipe has it down as less than 75%. I can smell the alcohol in there, but it is only a very slight warming feeling, and certainly nothing harsh about it. There's a touch of astringency from the hops I guess. Lends another layer of yummy complexity.

Overall: A great beer, Barry! Very well balanced and well made with no obvious faults. Balance is the hallmark of this style and I think you've done a very good job of hitting that mark. The complexity of flavours in the beer makes it a real nice ponderous sipper. Just to add a couple of suggestions: I would have preferred more in the way of hop flavour. But that one is a personal preference of your porters. Also a bit of silky smoothness would have rounded it out nicely. Maybe up the oats to 250g or more? I understand you have been tinkering with this recipe for quite a while, so you probably prefer it as it is now though.


Berp.

 

[stephen]

Has anyone just sat and enjoyed a beer yet?


:wacko:

Brent

the last couple of nights I haven't finished work until about 1.00 Am. Added into that is getting up at 6.30 am to get 16 yo (going on 32) daughter up and off to school.

When I get home I have just grabb a couple of bottles from the case and drink for relaxation/pleasure. I open the first one up and drink it at the temp my shed had it at and place the remainder into the fridge: The nights here have been getting into the low single figures! I then consume the beer and pour the second after the first is finished - I know, stating the obvious , and then note the difference in flavour between the first and second. The second bottle gets a little cooler and is consumed like the first.

So for the last two nights I have had the pleasure to relax with the following beers, not to mention that I thoroughly enjoyed them! I have not performed any tasting analysis, just enjoyed them. Thanks to the brewers. They were:

Night one:
TD's Boston lager,
Nooch's dark mild.

Night two:
Beerslayers APA,
Schmick's ESB.

As I said I drank these for relaxtion and not for analysis and found them to be fanatstic beers. Thanks again.

One very tired Stephen

 

[berapnopod]

Perhaps one could sanitise their tounge to eliminate it as the source of those infected flavours....

Has anyone just sat and enjoyed a beer yet?

Oh and when's the poll starting on 'Who's being banned form the next case swap"?

:wacko:

Brent

Borret, I really don't understand where you're coming from.
Whats the problem?
Who do you think might be banned from the next swap? Or who would you like to see banned?

Berp.

 

[T.D.]

Stephen, I think you have the right idea - no need to analyse, just enjoy!

But alas, I have started, and now I must continue!

Josh's Pilsner: I would really just like to reiterate KoNG's comments on this beer - this is a freakin Duvel clone!! Geez its similar. I was a bit slow drinking it as I was doing some work on the computer as I was drinking and had the odd 10-15min stint where I realised I hadn't had a sip! But anyway, as the beer warmed up I started to get a few of those more "traditional" pilsner flavours coming through. I really enjoyed the beer, but more as a Duvel clone than a Bohemian Pils.

Drew Carey's Pils: Well, first off, I don't want to start a war here or anything, but this is a fairly typical kit beer. But having got that off my chest, I am really enjoyiong it. I must say its a hell of a lot better than 99% of the kit beers I used to make. I would say you have the fermentation/sanitation/carbonation etc etc side of things pretty sorted. Your problem is that kits suck - AG is so much better!! h34r: :lol: :lol:

 

[T.D.]

Oh, and both of these beers either did or didn't have significant levels of astringency... h34r:

 

[stephen]

For those interested in the recipe that I used for my Special bitter, just do a search for Tony's Special Bitter.

For Tony, thanks for the recipe I have had only had positive responses regarding the beer I brewed with your recipe - except for my personal touch - overcarbonation.

regards

Stephen

 

[PostModern]

Perhaps one could sanitise their tounge to eliminate it as the source of those infected flavours....

Has anyone just sat and enjoyed a beer yet?

Oh and when's the poll starting on 'Who's being banned form the next case swap"?

:wacko:

Brent

I've enjoyed every one of the beers I've had so far. Some I liked, some I didn't but I sure enjoy drinking all these beers and writing about them. As a drinker it's about testing your own senses against the beer. But drinking and tasting is just one part of it. As a brewer, I like getting feedback from other brewers (which is why I'm so disappointed with my contribution). What a waste it would be for brewers to give their beers to other brewers and not give each other critical feedback.

 

[PostModern]

Shmick's ESB
Unreal work on the labelling, Shmick!

Poured with lots of fizz but no head. My nose is been a bit blocked up, so I didn't detect much in the aroma. Flavour is very dry with a crystal hit behind it. Nice and bitter with English hop aroma. Perhaps a slightly harsh bitterness. Could possibly do with more flavour hops but that could just be my palate at the moment. Dunno about the head. I thought it could be my glass, but the next beer I poured has a fine head? Overall, a nice drop, but too bitter for me to drink one after the other.

 

[PostModern]

PoMo's Bitter

Other people have been drinking this and reporting that it's not totally foul, so I thought I'd taste and review it Totally impartial.

Pours a amber with a small bubble head that quickly drops thin but persistent. Aroma is slightly hoppy and slightly oxidised. Dry and astringent taste, some hop taste, perhaps slightly soapy. Definately needs more crystal, Seth, I agree. Nowhere near as damaged as the first two I tried, and unlike those, this one is out of the case, so it's done the same travelling as the ones in all the other cases. Seems that the yeast is indeed cleaning up the oxygen in the bottle, so hold off drinking this for another week or two (or more). Would brew this again with more crystal and gentler treatment.

So the ugly duckling isn't really an ugly duckling... it's not a swan, but just a less ugly duck...

EDIT: or some bottles are worse effected than others... lucky dip?

 

[Stuster]

I've enjoyed every one of the beers I've had so far. Some I liked, some I didn't but I sure enjoy drinking all these beers and writing about them. As a drinker it's about testing your own senses against the beer. But drinking and tasting is just one part of it. As a brewer, I like getting feedback from other brewers (which is why I'm so disappointed with my contribution). What a waste it would be for brewers to give their beers to other brewers and not give each other critical feedback.

Totally agree with this. :super:

Maybe it was your glasses, PoMo, because I drank Shmick's ESB last night and there was a great head on that lasted to the end. :unsure: I liked that beer a lot.

 

[PostModern]

Maybe it was your glasses, PoMo, because I drank Shmick's ESB last night and there was a great head on that lasted to the end. :unsure: I liked that beer a lot.

Looks like Shmick's beer washed the glass for mine, although it's still not holding any lace at all. It was my least recently used pint-glass... will have to take some time to bi-carb some glasses before my Friday Night Three.

 

[stephen]

Fellow case brewers,

I know I have said that I am enjoying your beers and unable to provide a serious taste analysis. Sounds even worse when you hear that I'm part way through a BJCP course, so, therefore should utilise this opportunity to practice what I'm learning.

Unfortunately there are more sinister forces at work in my life that tend to detract me from providing a detailed report.

To those who have responded to my beer, I thank you. To those of you that have contributed, I really thank you. To those I don't respond to, My apologies, but I still thank you.

Stephen

PS Thank you.

 

[Steve]

I put my name down for a case swap with the Canberra Brewers Club at Christmas.....I cant wait after following this thread...it'll be like having a shelf from Jim Murphys in my Fridge (hopefully )
Cheers
Steve

 

[berapnopod]

Nifty's California Common

Aroma: Light hoppy and fruity nose. Very clean and low esters.

Appearance: very slight haze. very thin head supported by medium carbonation from the beer. Light orange colour.

Flavour: Balanced slightly towards the malty side, but with a medium bitterness to keep the beer from being too sweet - a good balance for the style. The palate is very clean and with a bit more carbonation would be lightly refreshing. There's a subtle bitterness that gets you right at the back of the throat when you're not looking. Hops/ Malt? I dunno. The finish is bitter and slightly drying with a good earthy flavour that lingers for a short while.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and feels appropriately attenuated. Medium carbonation.

Overall: This is a very good example of what I remember Anchor Steam to be, although its been a few years. Light and refreshing with a bit of malt backbone to give it some character. Nice one, Nifty! Not sure about the odd feeling at the back of the throat. I am slowly coming round to the idea it is a bit of bitterness and a bit of maltiness combining in an unusual way, although I am still not clear what it is. Probably not worth worrying about anyway.


Berp.