Nsw Xmas In July Case 2007 - Consumption

[SJW]

Looking forward to the Xmas in December swap!

 

[Stuster]

Some short reviews. :huh:

Petesbrew's Darth Ale. Rich dark ale. Very nice winter warmer. Wonderful label. :super:

Trent's Dry Stout: Definitely something not quite right here, Trent. Some vegetable aroma on opening which went away, but the strange phenolics were there all the way through. Yeast issue? Other than that, seems like a good dry stout recipe.

 

[Trent]

Stuster
I havent really gotten the vegetal aroma, but the phenolics are definietly a yeast issue. It was a standard dry stout recipe, 80/10/10, and I seem to have overpitched, cause instead of the usual 12 hour lag time and then a slow ferment, I got a18 hour lag time, then it went mental, and was completely fermented out within 40 hours of pitching! The phenols were overbearing on day 2, but had mellowed by day 7 in primary, thankfully. I actually enjoy drinking it, but I am sad to say it isnt the greatest beer I have brewed. Wouldnt have put it in if I didnt enjoy it myself, though as I said, I havent had the vegetal aroma's, if I had, I wouldn't have put it in the swap. See if I cant make it up to you next time
All the best
Trent

 

[Stuster]

Wouldnt have put it in if I didnt enjoy it myself, though as I said, I havent had the vegetal aromas

The vegetal aroma was really only apparent on opening and then faded. The bottle's contents did disappear without too much trouble though so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Stuster]

Crozdog's Irish Red: Wonderful red colour, lasting thin head. Smooth caramel maltiness, but as Les said (I think) an interesting blackcurrant aroma and flavour there. I know you said that you'd just used EKG in this one Philip, but I certainly picked up that fairly strongly. A very drinkable beer. :chug:

After looking back for Les' comments, I say more blackcurrant than blackberry for my nose/taste buds. Looking at the recipe I've no idea where the flavour came from. The yeast? :unsure:

 

[petesbrew]

Glad you liked mine, Stuster.
Tried some of Doc's Bier de Mars last week, so I'm definitely looking forward to your Biere de Garde sometime soon.

 

[mikem108]

Looking forward to the Xmas in December swap!

Hopefully the reviews will be as frenzied as the July case, unlike last years Xmas case :blink:

 

[crozdog]

Crozdog's Irish Red: Wonderful red colour, lasting thin head. Smooth caramel maltiness, but as Les said (I think) an interesting blackcurrant aroma and flavour there. I know you said that you'd just used EKG in this one Philip, but I certainly picked up that fairly strongly. A very drinkable beer. :chug:

After looking back for Les' comments, I say more blackcurrant than blackberry for my nose/taste buds. Looking at the recipe I've no idea where the flavour came from. The yeast? :unsure:

mmm dunno where the blackcurrant/berry is coming from. :unsure: i built up a 2 l starter, but didn't drain off the beer from the yeast before pitching. maybe its from that??

FWIW, There is fuggles in there as well as EKG.

 

[Stuster]

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's necessarily a flaw. In fact, I thought it worked pretty well.

I've never used that 1084 yeast. Has anybody who's used it in a paler beer got any fruity, blackcurrant/blackberry esters from it? :unsure:

 

[crozdog]

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's necessarily a flaw. In fact, I thought it worked pretty well.

I've never used that 1084 yeast. Has anybody who's used it in a paler beer got any fruity, blackcurrant/blackberry esters from it? :unsure:

Thought you'd like it (everyone I've tried it on has) however with several picking out the blackcurrant/blackberry flavour, I'd like to work out where it's coming from.

This is the 1st time I have used that yeast so I can't comment further. Anyone? Anyone?

 

[goatherder]

Thought you'd like it (everyone I've tried it on has) however with several picking out the blackcurrant/blackberry flavour, I'd like to work out where it's coming from.

This is the 1st time I have used that yeast so I can't comment further. Anyone? Anyone?

The aroma for me was like cola - my wife agreed and said more specifically post-mix cola. It reminded me of an unreconditioned corny keg with syrup still in it. Did you happen to have this beer in a corny keg at any stage?

 

[3GumsBrewing]

16. Stephen's - Belhaven Export

Again, wow! Was not to sure what to expect here never having had a Belhaven Export. But damn this was a fine drop.
I'm not that attune to specific tastes, but it has to be said that this is the first beer so far that my immediate first thought was "that has a kick arse mouth-feel" thickish and smooth.
Cheers Steve, I will be adding this to the growing list of beers to brew!

Beers
DK
:super:

 

[goatherder]

Shmick's special bitter

Awesome label Shmick. This one was a gusher. I quickly poured a glass to catch it and it was 90% head. It settled down a bit over the next half hour. The pour was a bit murky, probably as a result of the huge carbonation. The aroma was quite yeasty as expected but there was a bit of malty toffee and english hop in there. This followed through in the flavour, nice caramel malt and hop notes. The bitterness is crisp and balanced with a full mouthfeel which is spot on for style. Nice beer Shmick, I love a bitter and I enjoyed drinking this.

 

[goatherder]

Barramundi's Robust Porter

Pours with a fluffy two finger head. The beer is dark brown and crystal clear. There is lovely soft chocolate malt aroma, mixed in with some english hops - EKG?. There is a fruity up-front note to the taste which falls away to a dry malty finish. The carbonation keeps a thick paint of lace right to the bottom of the glass. Awesome beer thanks Barramundi.

 

[redbeard]

REDBEARD'S PALE ALE
The first thing I noticed about this beer, was that it was quite pale, not as pale as a budweiser, but a really faint kinda yellow. It was quite cloudy, and it wasnt a gusher (cause I opened it very carefully), but it was very lively. The aroma was quite yeasty, and I could see how others have said there is a belgian character there, cause I got it in the aroma, and definitely in the taste. Not much hops at all, just that yeastiness.
Then I got to thinking, last night I tried a beer (not mine) that had been fined, and then matured by complete accident in a fermenter that had held a lambic. The "fine" beer then went cloudy, and although it tasted surprisingly good (I like bret), it was the cloudiness that got me thinking about a possible similar accident with your beer. SO, I held the bottle up to the light, and on the bottle I received, there was a distinct ring around the neck where the beer had been, a tell tale sign of an infection, and I only know this because I have just had a run of beers that started to get that yeasty flavour, and cloud up a little. Sadly, all of them have had that ring around the neck of the bottle, right where the beer sat.
After seeing this, I changed my bottling wand, and for 6 batches had no problems, but the third last batch (an APA) I bottled had that tell tale ring form around the neck of the beer fairly quickly, so the last 2 batches are being monitored closely, and I am seriously considering throwing all the fermenters and hoses I have, and getting new ones, cause it is probably a brewhouse infection. The stout I put in the case swap seems to be OK.
I suggest that you look closely at the neck of all your latest batches, and if there are rings around the neck, also consider replacing everything. You spend 6 hours per batch making it good, its a small price to pay to make sure it gets to the glass in the same condition.
All the best
Trent

I was a bit annoyed when i 1st read this, as the bottle i opened about 2 mths ago was fine. tonight i opened the one i received back from the swap & its exactly as u describe. Ive done a few brews since that one, 2 in kegs no problems & one bottled which im waiting to carb up. so im guessing its in the bottling process. all the bottles went thru a soak in a 60gal garbo of iodophur, then drip dried. i think i used a different bottling wand to usual which maybe the problem. mmmm i guess a few days of bleach soaking might be in order. Id be curious if everyone had a gusher, or just some.

cheers

 

[PostModern]

As I mentioned way back in page 8 of this thread, there might have been a wild yeast somewhere in your bottling setup, redbeard. From bitter experience, they can be a bugger to eliminate.

 

[kabooby]

I was a bit annoyed when i 1st read this, as the bottle i opened about 2 mths ago was fine. tonight i opened the one i received back from the swap & its exactly as u describe. Ive done a few brews since that one, 2 in kegs no problems & one bottled which im waiting to carb up. so im guessing its in the bottling process. all the bottles went thru a soak in a 60gal garbo of iodophur, then drip dried. i think i used a different bottling wand to usual which maybe the problem. mmmm i guess a few days of bleach soaking might be in order. Id be curious if everyone had a gusher, or just some.

cheers

Little bit of a gusher here. Easily fixed by pouring some in the glass :chug:

Dont be concerned though. Still a great beer

Had great strong flavour from the yeast. Were you aiming for this?

Kabooby

 

[Thommo]

Thanks for all the favourable reviews guys.

No offence taken Pete, in a way I was trying to make an inoffensive beer for the masses. Not really something I'd brew for my own tastes but I thought I could use this case swap and you blokes out there to get a bit of feedback on it. Thinking of making this the house Ale for the guests.

Nothing special in the recipe either.

25 litre batch.
3.6kg JW Pils
2 kg JW Pale
1 kg JW Wheat
60 min Hallertau to 12.5 IBU
60 min Saaz to 6 IBU
Nottingham Dried Yeast.

75 min Mash,
75 min Boil.

The only reason the Pale is in there is because I used up the last of my Pils.

Cheers,
Thommo.

 

[Gulpa]

Ive been painting the house so Im a bit behind in feedback. These are in order so the older ones are a bit vague.

12. Punter - Schwartzbier
Poured clear. Dark. This reminded my of a Kozel Dark but maltier, drier, better.

15. goatherder - Bock
Maltier than the Swartz with nice full body. I liked this a lot. Great beer gh.

19. Petesbrew - Dark Ale
Poured clear with tan head. Nice roasty flavours all there but a bit lacking in body for my tastes. Still went quickly.

Also had Pete's Lily Rose Pale ale. This surprised me as Id tried one a year ago. Its lost a bit of maltiness since I last had it but still hides the Alc % well. The Nelson Sauvin comes through nicely. Nice beer.

17. beer slayer - Oatmeal stout
Dark and roasty. Full bodied. Dont know the style very well but I really enjoyed this beer. Great beer. Thanks BS.


14. Nifty - Some sort of ESB
Nice amber colour. Malty with a nice hit of bitterness. Excellent beer. Could have downed a few more of these.


27.Les the Weizguy - Gose
Had this in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Offered it to everyone who came over, no takers. Had it last weekend with some fish and chips. Wasnt as salty as I thought it would be. Brackish is a very good description. Went down well with food but was heavy going without it. Thanks for the opportunity Les, wont be making it for myself .


2. Josh - German Pilsner
Poured slighly cloudy. Nice hit of bitterness. Not sure if it is me as I am coming down with a cold but this seemed to have a yeast issue that covered up the malt flavours that I was expecting. Sorry Josh if its just my cold.


Cheers,
Andrew.

 

[Barramundi]

Barramundi's Robust Porter

Pours with a fluffy two finger head. The beer is dark brown and crystal clear. There is lovely soft chocolate malt aroma, mixed in with some english hops - EKG?. There is a fruity up-front note to the taste which falls away to a dry malty finish. The carbonation keeps a thick paint of lace right to the bottom of the glass. Awesome beer thanks Barramundi.

cant remember exactly the hop count at the moment , but im sure i used northern brewer for the bittering abd i think some cascade went in there somewhere ...

will re post when i get home and dig out the recipe , my record keeping is messy at the moment...

thanks for the kind words goatherder....

ive been a bit crook of late so i havent had a lot of the swap beers or any beers for that matter , will crack a few this week and get some reviews up here ...