Nsw Xmas In July 2006 Case Consumption

[berapnopod]

Pint of Lagers Dortmunder

This one poured foamy. I managed to get just over half a glass of beer and just under that for head.

Aroma: Malty nose initially with a distinct aroma of bubblegum (ester?) Difficult to get much out of the aroma through the big head. Theres a bit of smoke there as well. From your wood fired brewery, perhaps?

Appearance: Very thick head that looks like it will hang around for a long time. Very fine white bubbles. High apparent carbonation in the beer is keeping the head up and is forming a surface like ice cream. Slight haze. Dark gold colour.

Flavour: Crisp and dry flavour all the way through. Medium/subtle malt flavour goes together well with subdued hop flavour. Theres also a harsh flavour in there that I am guessing is the minerally side of it. Did you add salts to get hard water for this? The finish is dry, bitter and slightly mouth puckering.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. Carbonation is very high too high for this beer. Some alcohol warmth but was expecting a little more from a Dortmunder. Maybe this is because the high carbonation is masking it?

Overall: The carbonation is too high. But after that, I think its a very well made beer that is clean and fresh with a good bitter finish. I am still confused by the bubblegum in the nose. My first impression is that PoL has given us a Belgian and tried to trick us. But I will be the first to admit that esters is not one of my strong points. Overall, its a great recipe and a great beer!


Berp.

 

[Trent]

Gday all
Havent been drinking much lately, so I havent had any beers to write about, but had drewcarey82's pilsner on the weekend, didnt keep any notes though, as I took it with me to a mates house. Hate to say it, as others have, but it did taste like a kit beer to me aswell, I have a fair idea it is the yeast that causes that "homebrew" flavour, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it was pretty clear, low bitterness, and not much hop or malt flavour. That said, it was obvious that Drew had fermented it well, as there was no fruitiness, no off flavours, or anything like that. I am sure that drew will come up with some very good beers now that he is getting into partials. Drew, maybe you should also look into some liquid yeasts, or at least some good quality dried ones. The cheaper ones wont do any beer justice.
All the best
Trent

 

[Trent]

Gday
Tried Chilled's Aussie Lager last night, and thought it was quite nice. It was just what I needed after a long day at work. The malt and bitterness was balanced well, but if I am gonna be picky, I thought it was a touch too full bodied and sweet at the end, but these are minor criticisms. Fairly clear, medium carbonation, could do with a touch more carbonation, but tasted very much like a Premium Aussie Lager to me. Well done.
If you want my "anal retentive" :blink: notes, just shoot me a PM, as with anyone else who's beer I review from now on, saves me all the typing, but happy to type it if ya wanna hear it.
All the best
Trent

 

[Trent]

Gday
Tried Stickler's APA last night, and thought that it was quite enjoyable. It wasnt too overbearing in any way, it was quite smooth, and about "medium" in all facets, like hop aroma, flavour, maltiness, carbonation, etc... and it went down very quickly. Would be a good quaffer, thats for sure. I think that you said it had a kit as a base though? I could definitely taste that, but still quite enjoyed the beer. If ya want my full review, just PM me
All the best
Trent

 

[nifty]

Well, I'm just about at the end of the Xmas in July beers and I must say, I've really enjoyed them. I just want to thank everyone who contributed to it, I've really enjoyed the different styles involved.

I also wanted to thank the people who appraised the beers, it was most interesting hearing from the more experienced brewers. I don't have any experience in judging beers but I know what I like, and I enjoyed all these beers.

Hopefully I can be part of the Xmas in December case 2006.

Cheers

nifty

 

[kungy]

Nifty's Cali Common

I had you beer last night Nifty and it was a very nice beer. Nice clean taste, with a moderate and appropriate level of hops and with a decent dash of fresh malty graininess. Whilst others didn't personally rate the carbonation levels, i thought it was spot on, giving it some life but not hiding and overpowering the flavour of the beer. My only thing which is probably just personal tastes was that it was a little to sweet to go a whole lot of it in one sitting. If it was dried out a tad, it would be a very quaffable and still full flavoured beer. Excellent effort.

Will

Three down, twenty five to go.

 

[Thommo]

Three down? Twenty Five to go?

I just polished off no. 28

Berp's Mum's Stout. I saved all the dark beers for last.

Thanks everyone for letting me be a part of this. Sorry I haven't contributed as many tasting notes as I wanted too...got a bit busy at work and started drinking these as a wind down instead of using them for practice for my BJCP course.

My faves were probably Doc's Irish Red and TD's boston lager. Great to experience different beers I normally wouldn't brew and to get ideas about what I can do down the track. Thanks to the lager's I've tried in this case I've finally brewed my first one with a proper lager yeast!!!

My contribution was my first ever all grain... so I hope it wasn't too dodgy.

Can't wait for the Xmas case to roll around in December. I've already decided what I'm going to do - a bitter. (Or an IPA, but probably a bitter.)

Cheers and Beers,

Thommo.

 

[Weizguy]

Thommo,

Hope U don't mind me asking, but did U gag on the Berliner Weisse? Did I get close to the mark?

BTW everyone, the Berliner is drinkable, but should get better with age. But it's a case beer, so tuck into it and brew a batch yourself if U wanna age some.
Hmmmm, I might have 1/2 of mine with a dash of cherry liqueur.
Seth

 

[Thommo]

Weizguy,

No mate, didn't gag - didn't mind it at all.

I had just had a Gueuze for the first time at our BJCP meeting earlier in the week (THAT made me gag), so I found yours a lot more drinkable than that. It's not something I would brew myself, or buy, but if you put something like this in the next case I'll drink it and enjoy it.

 

[nifty]

Hi Weizguy

I enjoyed it as well, light and refreshing.

Thanks

nifty

 

[berapnopod]

JBs New (I assume thats Joshs Pilsener)

Poured foamy (about 2/3 beer 1/3 foam)

Aroma: Strong grassy and vegetal aroma, which I am guessing is a combination of the variety of hops and a decent amount of DMS (dimethyl sulfide). DMS is a common constituent of lagers. Some alcohol in the nose. The foamy head is getting bigger in the glass, so its difficult to smell the beer. After a while of sniffing, this reminds me of a weizen I believe it has the clovey aroma of 4-vinyl guiacol (ok, I am being a bit wanky on the chemistry here).


Appearance: Very thick head forming ice cream texture on the surface. Supporetd by high carbonation in the beer. Beautiful straw colour, Almost clear.


Flavour: Light malt flavour with some hop flavour backing it up. Very low esters, as youd expect in a lager. The bitterness is very low for a pilsner. It is enough to stop the beer tasting too sweet, but its not enough to give it a crisp edge I would associate with a pils.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. A touch of alcohol warmth. High carbonation is not too overwhelming in the mouth (just in the head). The finish has quite a bit of astringency, so I would check that youre not oversparging or anything like that.


Overall: Its a good beer all right. Not quite to style since its low on bitterness and has an unusual aroma for a pils. Also a little too gassy But the overall flavour is what I would expect for a lager. Youve done very well with the fermentation!



Berp.

 

[berapnopod]

Nooch's Dark Mild

Aroma: Very low aroma overall. A hint of alcohol and esters is all I get.

Appearance: Poured very close to flat (thats a good thing in a mild) so no head. Clear. Beautiful deep red colour.

Flavour: Subtle malty flavour, no hops that I can tell. Medium/high esters. Finish is dry and somewhat bitter. All these things are what I would expect from a mild. There's a hint of sourness and harsh drying sensation at the end, which I am guessing is because its a kit beer? There is also a very faint smokey character in there thats very nice.

Mouthfeel: Medium to med/light body. Carbonation is low. No alcohol warmth.

Overall: I think this is a very good representation of the mild style. Subdued and easy drinking. All the characteristics seem to be in the right place with this one - well done! I could suggest just a bit more malt flavour with perhaps a bit of brown or crystal malt. Love the colour!


Berp.

 

[berapnopod]

Homebrewworld.com's Irish Red

Aroma: Light malty and fruity aroma - crystal malt? No hops. Overall subdued.

Appearance: Clear. Gold colour (could be darker for an Irish Red). No head formed on the glass, but reasonable carbonation in the beer. Not sure if this is due to the glass or not.

FLavour: Light malty flavour initially. There's some oxidation in here as well. Little hop flavour. Finish is light, clean and dry - very well done on the finish!

Mouthfeel: Medium bosy. Carbonation is medium/high which contributes a slight carbonation bite. A hint of alcohol warmth.

Overall: From the oxidation I assume I am drinking it past its peak. This also tends to reduce any hop flavour/aroma. The beer tastes clean and refreshing which means it is very easy to drink. It is close to the Irish Red style, but I would prefer a darker colour and probably some more malt flavour in there. ie. a bit of crystal/brown or Munich malt.


Berp.

 

[n00ch]

Thanks for the feedback Berp. Nope she's not a kit beer.

I am going to brew this one again next weekend with a new and improved recipe based on all the feedback/recommendations.

Hopefully the next turns out a bit better then the first.

Cheers

 

[Josh]

JBs New (I assume thats Joshs Pilsener)

Flavour: Light malt flavour with some hop flavour backing it up. Very low esters, as youd expect in a lager. The bitterness is very low for a pilsner. It is enough to stop the beer tasting too sweet, but its not enough to give it a crisp edge I would associate with a pils.

Overall: Its a good beer all right. Not quite to style since its low on bitterness and has an unusual aroma for a pils. Also a little too gassy But the overall flavour is what I would expect for a lager. Youve done very well with the fermentation!

Berp.

Thanks for the review. The low bitterness will be due to it only being FWH. I have adjusted my hopping schedule for the next Pils I make.

 

[berapnopod]

Thanks for the feedback Berp. Nope she's not a kit beer.

I am going to brew this one again next weekend with a new and improved recipe based on all the feedback/recommendations.

Hopefully the next turns out a bit better then the first.

Cheers

OK, then I guess the sour tinge and harshness might be an early stage infection. Or the harshness might be due to a high temp fermentation?

Both of these were really very subtle, so I wouldn't worry about them too much.

Berp.

 

[Trent]

Gday all
Just finishing off Duffs Dunkelweizen, and beer that I have been fortunate enough to try twice. First at our BJCP class (cant remember whose generosity I have to thank for that), where it was the first beer I have ever described as having a "toast" flavour. Couldnt detect that tonight, strangely, where the bubblegum flavours were a little more dominant. Grape bubblegum, mmm, takes me back to being a grommet. Anyway, this beer fits all the requirements of a dunkelweizen, and is very very tasty. I didnt realise I wanted to steal the yeast till after I had poured it, and looked at my "yeast to steal" list! Hopefully I didnt muff it. Anyway, my only real concern about it as far as style goes is the bubblegum flavour and aroma is a little too dominant. That said, I like it alot. A damn fine drop that I would be proud to make myself, so thanks for sharing it Duff. As always, if you want my full review, just PM me.
Very sad to see the arse end of this one. Bloody lovely.
All the best
Trent

 

[berapnopod]

Beer Slayer's APA

Aroma: Clean aroma with clear US hops there. Not much else - thats not a bad thing though.

Appearance: Very thin head forms a thin ring around the glass but seems to be lasting. Beautifully clear. Dark copper colour.

Flavour: Hops are dominant in the flavour as well. Some malt flavour to keep it from getting one dimensional. Very clean, a touch crisp. Finish is moderately bitter, dry and refreshing.

Mouthfeel: Medium body. Medium/low carbonation. Well attenutated. A touch of astringency, probably from hops.

Overall: An exceedingly clean and refreshing beer. My type of session beer! Its got a good hop flavour to it and enough malt to keep it from being too boring. I would have preferred a bit more bitterness to it, to just cut through it a bit and give it more character as a bitter beer. But other than that I think its an excellent beer. Well done BS!


Berp.

 

[Trent]

Hombrewworld's Irish Red
Just finished this beer, and I must say that I quite liked it. It was heavily overcarbonated, giving me half beer and half foam (in 2 different glasses - had to check), but eventually settled down after a while in the glass to a medium-highly carbonated beer, that has some nice malt character and balancing bitterness, but still balanced towards the malt, if that makes sense. There are a few points that push it a little out of the style of Irish Red, but if HBW wants to hear my "spiel" he can PM me. Despite that, I really enjoyed this beer and found it went down a little too quickly. Good job
All the best
Trent

 

[berapnopod]

Kungy's Crazy Horse Pale Ale

Aroma: Strong hop aroma up front: earthy smell. Maybe a little oxidation.

Appearance: Thin head of fine bubble that lasts. Clear. Deep copper/brown colour.

Flavour: Initially hoppy flavour which quickly develops to an assertively/intensely bitter beer. Some underlying malt to balance out all the hops, but definitely a hop driven beer. I find the same earthy flavour of the hop variety. The finish is very bitter, dry and clean.

Mouthfeel: Medium/full body. Medium carbonation (just about perfect). Mouth puckering astringency which will almost certainly be from the hops. Some alcohol warmth

Overall: A very assertive pale ale that shows a good balance of underlying malt, underlying alcohol and punch in your face hops. In fact, a great balance! Can't find anything wrong with this one except that the hop variety is not to my tastes. Better check up on which ones you used. Nice one, Kungy!


Berp.

Edit: Just checked the varieties were Cascade, Chinook and Centennial. The first two I am familiar with and love them. Its unlikely I wouldn't like Centennial, but there is something there that I am smelling and tasting as unusual. At this stage I will have to guess and say its a bit of oxidation, but I really don't know.