Trent
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 16/6/04
- Messages
- 1,258
- Reaction score
- 2
Gday all
My beer seems to have caused a little mystery a page or two back, as to whether or not it is infected, so I have decided to try it out myself. I was going to read all the reviews, and then try it, bearing most peoples comments in mind, but decided to check out to see if it was worth drinking, or telling everyone to throw out. Here is my honest review (and it may get a little long - sorry)
TRENT'S IPA
The aroma is malt with a slight hint of caramel, some yeast aroma, and a mde-high hop aroma. The aroma has an almost "citrusiness" to it, and I can see why several people have mistaken it (this one, and the IPA I made after it) for American hops. The colour is a mid amber, with a slight orange hue, and would be close to the clearest beer I have ever made! It poured with a thick white head, that subsided to a thin white head with reasonably large bubbles. The flavour? Well, it is very bitter, possibly too much so, with a med-high hop flavour that slightly masks the malt, but there is still enough malt backbone to make a showing. The flavours seem to not have melded together as they usually do, almost tasting seperate (as my mrs put it), and there is a distinct minerally flavour (possibly from the Wyeast 1028) that is very noticeable, and COULD be mistaken for a low level infection. Here, I will have to disagree with the infection prognosis, as after 3 months in the bottle, I feel that an infection would have a much more dominant than the mineraliness. There is also a flavour that could almost be described as "salty", though I think this is also to do with the yeast profile, and I could just be imagining the saltiness (I am looking fairly hard for infection flavours). There is a moderate fruitiness, and the finish is med-dry, probably partly due to the high attenuation, and partly due to the extra high bitterness, that is somewhat out of style. The bitterness lingers long into the aftertaste, though I do not find it harsh, at least not for such a high bitterness, I actually think it is kinda smooth :blink: The alcohol flavour is very clean, and not at all hot. Anyway, I think this beer displays attributes of higher sulfate water, as per BJCP guidelines, but I am pretty sure my water is low in sulfates.
It has a medium body and medium carbonation, some alcohol warming, that is smooth for 7.4%. High hopping rate could be perceived as astringent, though I dont think it is.
Overall, this beer is too bitter to be an english IPA, and needs a less assertive bitterness to allow more malt flavours to show through. The flavours have not melded together well, and the minerally flavour is too strong (it is also in all other beers I have made with 1028, though not as dominant as here). I will concede that this is not the greatest beer for the style and gravity. It is at least 10-12 IBU's too high, and the hallertauer in the dry hop didnt really do it any favours. I thikn that this is a beer almost stuck between two styles - too much bitterness and not enough maltiness to be an Engligh IPA, and not enough hop flavour, nor clean yeast profile, to be American. This beer is not great, but it is not bad, and I am certain that it is not infected with anything. Attenuation is perfect for style, and appearance is great. For improvements, I will suggest dropping the IBU's by 15, cutting down the late additions by 1/3, and dry hopping with a single type of hop. Possibly use all EKG, but to be honest, Fuggles should be fine.
I will say that this beer will probably only be liked by those that like very hoppy, agressively bitter beers, and even then, it isnt as good as it could be. It is definitely NOT for everyone, but as far as style goes, it fits the score I gave it - "generally within style parameters, some minor flaws". By that logic, though, I should have given Barry 45+ for his robust porter (world class example of style). If anybody can convince me there is an infection, and point me to a way of avoiding the same again, please do so. I am quite open to criticism of any kind, and if you have suggestions on improvement, please let me know. I will be honest and say though it is a little full on, I enjoyed it. I hope others do aswell, but if not, my apologies for putting in a beer I KNOW I can do better than. Thanks to those who have already discussed their honest opinions on my beer, it really is appreciated. I hope my spiel didnt come off as angry or defensive, as it wasnt inteded that way.
I gave this beer 33.5/50
All the best
Trent
My beer seems to have caused a little mystery a page or two back, as to whether or not it is infected, so I have decided to try it out myself. I was going to read all the reviews, and then try it, bearing most peoples comments in mind, but decided to check out to see if it was worth drinking, or telling everyone to throw out. Here is my honest review (and it may get a little long - sorry)
TRENT'S IPA
The aroma is malt with a slight hint of caramel, some yeast aroma, and a mde-high hop aroma. The aroma has an almost "citrusiness" to it, and I can see why several people have mistaken it (this one, and the IPA I made after it) for American hops. The colour is a mid amber, with a slight orange hue, and would be close to the clearest beer I have ever made! It poured with a thick white head, that subsided to a thin white head with reasonably large bubbles. The flavour? Well, it is very bitter, possibly too much so, with a med-high hop flavour that slightly masks the malt, but there is still enough malt backbone to make a showing. The flavours seem to not have melded together as they usually do, almost tasting seperate (as my mrs put it), and there is a distinct minerally flavour (possibly from the Wyeast 1028) that is very noticeable, and COULD be mistaken for a low level infection. Here, I will have to disagree with the infection prognosis, as after 3 months in the bottle, I feel that an infection would have a much more dominant than the mineraliness. There is also a flavour that could almost be described as "salty", though I think this is also to do with the yeast profile, and I could just be imagining the saltiness (I am looking fairly hard for infection flavours). There is a moderate fruitiness, and the finish is med-dry, probably partly due to the high attenuation, and partly due to the extra high bitterness, that is somewhat out of style. The bitterness lingers long into the aftertaste, though I do not find it harsh, at least not for such a high bitterness, I actually think it is kinda smooth :blink: The alcohol flavour is very clean, and not at all hot. Anyway, I think this beer displays attributes of higher sulfate water, as per BJCP guidelines, but I am pretty sure my water is low in sulfates.
It has a medium body and medium carbonation, some alcohol warming, that is smooth for 7.4%. High hopping rate could be perceived as astringent, though I dont think it is.
Overall, this beer is too bitter to be an english IPA, and needs a less assertive bitterness to allow more malt flavours to show through. The flavours have not melded together well, and the minerally flavour is too strong (it is also in all other beers I have made with 1028, though not as dominant as here). I will concede that this is not the greatest beer for the style and gravity. It is at least 10-12 IBU's too high, and the hallertauer in the dry hop didnt really do it any favours. I thikn that this is a beer almost stuck between two styles - too much bitterness and not enough maltiness to be an Engligh IPA, and not enough hop flavour, nor clean yeast profile, to be American. This beer is not great, but it is not bad, and I am certain that it is not infected with anything. Attenuation is perfect for style, and appearance is great. For improvements, I will suggest dropping the IBU's by 15, cutting down the late additions by 1/3, and dry hopping with a single type of hop. Possibly use all EKG, but to be honest, Fuggles should be fine.
I will say that this beer will probably only be liked by those that like very hoppy, agressively bitter beers, and even then, it isnt as good as it could be. It is definitely NOT for everyone, but as far as style goes, it fits the score I gave it - "generally within style parameters, some minor flaws". By that logic, though, I should have given Barry 45+ for his robust porter (world class example of style). If anybody can convince me there is an infection, and point me to a way of avoiding the same again, please do so. I am quite open to criticism of any kind, and if you have suggestions on improvement, please let me know. I will be honest and say though it is a little full on, I enjoyed it. I hope others do aswell, but if not, my apologies for putting in a beer I KNOW I can do better than. Thanks to those who have already discussed their honest opinions on my beer, it really is appreciated. I hope my spiel didnt come off as angry or defensive, as it wasnt inteded that way.
I gave this beer 33.5/50
All the best
Trent
h34r: 
