Nsw Xmas In July Case 2007 - Consumption

[petesbrew]

19. Petesbrew - Dark Ale

Great Label, Pete. Had me in stitches.

Slightly over carbed and began climbing out of the bottle once opened, so I poured it straight into two glasses. One glass foamed up, the other fizzed like Coke. Aroma of malt with slight roastiness. Once I let it settle down in the glasses and warm up a bit, it had some caramel and roast notes that remind me of the Highwayman at the JS Brewhouse. Once my palate got used to the flavour tho, it thinned quickly and left me wanting more body. Not a bad beer, but definitely a bit light on in the malt department.

PoMo, you've hit the nail right on the head, mate.
I cracked it open on saturday night. Fizzed up, came out with a head that dissappeared very quickly. Kinda like pouring flat coke.
The 3 months it's had in the bottle definitely helped it tastewise, but yeah, it's a bit light on body. I could've done better with this one.

Les' Saison:
Bloody lovely, mate. Nice fruity flavour, slightly spicy, and a nice deep golden colour topped with a creamy head.

Gulpa's American Amber Ale:
Thin, but persistent head, Nice light brown colour, I love the medium bitterness this one gives off. I'll have to aim for this kind of flavour in future. Kindof smokey as well. A really top beer to unwind to on a cold winter night.

Can I just say, I shared Les's and Gulpa's beers with a "friend". Bloody mistake. By the time I cracked my dark ale last, he's like "I'm not really into beer much these days", and proceded to drink Shaz's bottle, leaving her with not much wine left. Absolute Arsehole. If you're gonna share it with a mate, make it a best mate, who will appreciate it. (at least he had LCPA in the fridge).

 

[3GumsBrewing]

What did I have over the weekend ........ ah yes it's becoming clearer now -

19. Petesbrew's Dark Ale.

Pored this whilst cleaning fermenters etc, it was a bit gassy to start but I left it for a while to warm up and low and behold it turned out great!
Don't know if it was the beer or my glass but just when I thought the head had all but gone after poring I look around 2 min later and there is a lovely creamy head back again!
Tasted to me like Tooheys Old, a beer that is close to my heart.
Top marks Pete, that was a goooood beer.

9. DJR's Dusseldorf Altbier.

First Alt I have ever tried so I was not to sure what it would be like. Damn it was good, malty not to hoppy. Question is though - am I supposed to be tasting that alcohol taste like in a Belgian ale?
Anyway, after a few sips I was very displeased that I had to share this one with the brother-in-law!
Send more!

DK

 

[petesbrew]

Glad you liked it DK, and yep, I'm a big Old fan as well.
Pete

 

[crozdog]

Onya Croz, I had your Red 2nite.

When cold, the hop flavour tends to dominate. Is it Bramling Cross? It gave me almost medicinal blackberry notes in the nose and on the tongue. It may be a little too hoppy for the style, but it wasn't going anywhere but my belly.
I didn't taste much malt when cold, but as the beer warms, I smell the delicious malt and caramel typical of the style, and get hints of it in the flavour.
Great, persistent medium head, all the way to the bottom of my grubby Kilkenny glass.
The colour is more brown than red, but certainly close.
Very clean flavours, and no diacetyl detected.
I'm saving the other 1/2 bottle from tonight, and serving it warmer tomorrow, in case my tastebuds are affected by the pizza I made (and ate) tonight.


Seth

Hi Lez, glad you liked it.

No Bramblng Cross, just Fuggles & EKG (from Memory). I told you it was a better beast when it warmed up a bit.

Hope the 2nd half was great.

beers

Croz

 

[Barramundi]

im yet to try any of the beers yet , thought it best to let them sit a week or two to resettle after being transported back and forth across the state , am starting to look at fridging some real soon though after reading through these glowing reviews

 

[Stuster]

I've had a few so far. Fairly sloppy notes I'm afraid as they were consumed while/before my holiday and my recollections of them are hazy for some reason. So anything you don't like in the review is probably just my faulty memory.

Gulpa's AAA was a smooth beer that is to style, but for my personal tastes could have done with a little more body. That said, it was well balanced, slight hazy and clean. Certainly an easy drinking beer that went down well.

Shmick's bitter was fantastic. The carbonation was definitely too high, but other than that this was a great beer. I hope you've put the recipe on the site as it's definitely one I'd like to learn from. :super:

Redbeard's Pale ale is the one I'm fuzziest on. Sorry, Craig. As I recall, it was most like a summer ale. Interesting to just use base malt for this. I do believe I wanted more hops in it, but that's not unusual I guess. It wasn't undercarbonated as you put on the list though, it was just right for carbonation.

I've got slurpdog's choccy porter in the fridge for tonight to hopefully cheer the Socceroos win (I hope :unsure: ).

 

[craig maher]

SO, I thought that this beer was great. Couldn't pick any faults, unless you consider that the rye factor wasn't huge.
The head was good (to style) and white and persistent. I served it in a half litre weizen glass.
The colour was pale yellow- gold and the aroma had elements of banana, passionfruit, peppery notes and cloves and something that must have been rye. The flavour followed through on the promises made by the aroma, and it finished with a low, balanced bitterness.
I'm not too familiar wit Roggenbier, but I assume, like Weissbier, there is a range of rye percantages permitted. This beer has enough weizen character to tickle my fancy and enough rye to make it "not weizen" and oddly appealing (although "oddly" may be an inappropriate term). I recommend that case drinkers chill their "Craig's Roggenbier" and give it a run soon.

Seth

Thanks for the feedback Les :beer:
You are right I didn't take the rye to the extreme - I only used 25 % rye.
BJCP says 50% or more.
Anyway glad you liked it

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Stuster]

You are right I didn't take the rye to the extreme - I only used 25 % rye.
BJCP says 50% or more.

It might be that you are right and the BJCP is wrong on this one. According to the German Beer Institute

Roggenbier is a medieval ale usually made from a grain bill of about half barley malt and equal portions of wheat and rye malts.

Now I take that to mean 50% barley, 25% wheat and 25% rye. Not sure where the BJCP got their info from. Zwickel where are you?

 

[craig maher]

Now I take that to mean 50% barley, 25% wheat and 25% rye. Not sure where the BJCP got their info from. Zwickel where are you?

Crikey Stuster thats almost my grain bill - throw in some carawheat and thats it.
I wish I found that link when I was putting the recipe together - it would have answered a lot of questions.

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Trent]

Fair Dinkum, Stuster
How do you find so much good info on beers? Thats a good page. Do you just google alot, or what? Anyway, just to keep it OT, I didnt drink any beers from the case tonight, too busy trying to finish a keg on my beer engine (otherwise it will go sour - oh, the sacrifices). Tomorrow night, I hope.
All the best
Trent

 

[nifty]

DJR's Dusseldorf Altbier.

I had a bit of trouble cracking this one. Once I got it open, I saw that the lid was completely rusted around the inside of the crimping and had stuck quite firmly to the bottle, but it definitely didn't affected the taste of the beer, this was very nice thanks.

 

[Weizguy]

Hi Lez, glad you liked it.

No Bramblng Cross, just Fuggles & EKG (from Memory). I told you it was a better beast when it warmed up a bit.

Hope the 2nd half was great.

beers

Croz

I finished the second portion tonight after removing it from the fridge for about half an hour.
I enjoyed the maltiness, which was much more apparent, as well as a mild roast or chocolate flavour, however the other flavours still have me concerned.
Was there an extra additive which gave me that unusual flavour? It was a blackberry/menthol taste tonight. I have to ask if you put a Fisherman's Friend in the brew, coz that's a bit like what I tasted, or maybe a licorice root flavour? Hard to pinpoint, now that I'm thinking about it after having finished the beer. I just wrung the neck of the bottle, and wonder if it's anise, or blackcurrant/Ribena?

If I'm way out of line, I apologise, but that beer is a little off-beam, yet intriguing for my taste (but then again, I like sour wheat beer, so give that fact an appropriate weighting).

To be a real beer tosser, I'd say that I'd like more diacetyl, which this style can have, and I couldn't taste here. If anyone in this swap is good at detecting diacetyl, please advise if you get any in this beer. Howzat, criticising a beer for too little diacetyl. :lol:

As I said last night, still drinkable, malty and clean. But it has a twist that some may not appreciate. These opinions are only valid for my tongue and may be subject to spontaneous apology.

Cheers
Les

 

[Gulpa]

Ive been busy so a bit behind in my feedback.

9. DJR - Dusseldorf Altbier

Poured very clear with good carbonation. Dark copper/red colour. Complex malty flavour. Very integrated, no particular flavour/aroma really sticks out for me. Fantastic beer, DJR.


28. Forkboy - Chocolate Porter

Poured very clear. Nice maltyness with the dark grains less prominent (in a good way) than other porters I have had. Was very nice when warmed up a bit. Very good.


4. Barramundi - Robust Porter
Poured clear. Malty/grainy flavours with chocolate. Body was quite light compared to Forkboys. Nice beer but something lacking.


10. Trent - Dry Stout
Not much experience with stout, Im afraid. Black with nice roasty flavours. Very drinkable.


13. T.D. - Honey-Brown Lager
Agree with others. Nice beer. I was sad to see it gone.


26. Brewer - Irish Ale
Poured clean with a fantastic creamy head. Malty flavours with a little bit of something I cant describe, seemed almost Belgian like. I liked this a lot, would be a great winter session beer for my tastes.


Really an excellent lot of beer so far. Gives me something to aspire to. For my tastes, the Alt and the Irish are fighting it out for best so far. Cant wait to drink some more of the case.

Cheeers,
Andrew.

 

[Stuster]

Fair Dinkum, Stuster
How do you find so much good info on beers? That's a good page. Do you just google alot, or what?

Nah, that page was posted on AHB a little while ago. I'm doing the BJCP course at the moment and was surprised to read the info on there re roggenbiers. Not sure who is 'right'. Anyway, looking forward to trying that beer soon. I like rye. :chug:

 

[crozdog]

Thanks for the feedback Les, no need to appologise we all have different palates & tastes.

Dunno where the "other flavours" came from cause it was a simple recipe consisting of:
10kg JWM trad ale,
1kg JWM crystal
70g Roast barley
500g wheat
45g fuggles @ 60
45g fuggles @ 30
10g ekg @ 10
1 whirlfloc
Mashed @ 65 for 1 hour then mased out & batch sparged. Ended up with 55l @ 1051.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else picks up on what Les has tasted.

Beers

Crozdog

 

[DJR]

What did I have over the weekend ........ ah yes it's becoming clearer now -

9. DJR's Dusseldorf Altbier.

First Alt I have ever tried so I was not to sure what it would be like. Damn it was good, malty not to hoppy. Question is though - am I supposed to be tasting that alcohol taste like in a Belgian ale?
Anyway, after a few sips I was very displeased that I had to share this one with the brother-in-law!
Send more!

DK

DJR's Dusseldorf Altbier.

I had a bit of trouble cracking this one. Once I got it open, I saw that the lid was completely rusted around the inside of the crimping and had stuck quite firmly to the bottle, but it definitely didn't affected the taste of the beer, this was very nice thanks.

9. DJR - Dusseldorf Altbier

Poured very clear with good carbonation. Dark copper/red colour. Complex malty flavour. Very integrated, no particular flavour/aroma really sticks out for me. Fantastic beer, DJR.

Awesome, thanks guys. Was my first Alt as i said earlier so i'll definitely be making more of it here for the stocks. (the wife has told me to get all the grain out of the freezer so i have an excuse anyway)

The alcoholic taste (which i didn't get) is either the winey flavour of the Alt yeast, it adds a Kolschy sort of estery flavour to it, or the fact that i brewed it to about 6% and cut it back with boiled water (to deoxygenate at the end), which can lead to a bit more fusel production than normal.

Only thing i would have done is up the caramunich a little to increase the sweetness a bit, but it's a pretty good drop.

The rust is probably because they were sitting outside near the rain for a month or two! Didn't affect the beer inside the bottles though! Sorry to anyone that has any trouble getting the lids off.

Edit: here's my notes

Name Ab1
Type Altbier Xmas in July 2007
OG 1052
FG 1008 (84.6% atten)
ABV 5.23 (diluted 15%)
IBU 35.7
Malts JW Pils 40%
JW LM 21%
Wey Vienna 30%
CaraM II 4%
Melanoidin 4%
Carafa S III 1%
Bittering Hops Saphir/Mt Hood 20g each at 80m and 60m (80g total)
Flavor Hops -
Aroma Hops -
Dry Hop -
Yeast WLP036 - 800mL stirplate, ferment @ 18C
Others CC'ed for 2 weeks @ 2C
Primed with white sugar

 

[Trent]

Well, I figured that I had better give DJR's ALTBIER a run, after so much good reviews.
Poured a little overcarbed, but it settled down after a minute in the glass. Lovely mid copper colour, and crystal clear. Was this fined or filtered somehow?
The aroma is very inviting, toasty caramelly malt goodness, but there is an aroma in there that I cannot think of the name of, but I know! I am pretty sure it is the malty aroma, it just reminds me of something I have had (eaten, or drank) recently. I guess it is the vienna malt or something? The flavour is great, nice and malty, yet sufficiently dry to be easy drinking. The bitterness is probably not as assertive as I was expecting for a dusseldorf, but it is very well balanced none the less. Just looking at your notes, and I can see why - your OG is near the top of the range, and the IBU's near the bottom, but I like it how it is (you know the BJCP isnt always right!) The malt has plenty of complexity, and there are some fruity esters in there (OK to style), and it is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. Certainly tastes fuller than the 1008 FG suggests, and there isnt too much I can fault with this beer. Excellent contribution, makes me very happy I dont have a amber hybrid to put into the state comp this year!
There was some rust around the rim of mine, for the record, and the last half of the bottle poured fairly cloudy so it probably wasnt filtered. Very happy I chose this beer tonight, great work DJR.
All the best
Trent

 

[nifty]

16. Stephen's Belhaven Export.

A very nice beer, it poured crystal clear with a nice rich deep colour. I really enjoyed this one, thanks.

nifty

 

[Linz]

Thanks for the feedback Les, no need to appologise we all have different palates & tastes.

Dunno where the "other flavours" came from

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else picks up on what Les has tasted.

Beers

Crozdog

Les wasn't drinking my Original Razorback Red ale was he??


Which should be good to go

 

[petesbrew]

Had Trent's Dry Stout last night. Perfect weather for stouts isn't it? Well this one was awesome. Very dry as Trent said, a big full taste to it, kinda medium low bitterness, a nice creamy head with not much carbonation, so it was nice and easy to drink. Top effort, mate! I had a Cascade stout afterwards, which didn't even come close to being as nice.

Um, I've got two stubbies from someone with black caps on them. Sorry but I can't remember whos' they are. I'm a real shocker... I know one's a kolsch, but what's the other?