Nsw Xmas In July Case 2008 - Tasting Notes

[sah]

Just out of interest, how strong is this beer? Certainly goes down a treat anyway, cheers Sah!

5.7% ABV.

I need to practice more with getting the carbonation right when force carbing.

 

[sah]

#5 Crozdog - American Brown

Wow Crozdog this is a cracker. I haven't tried anything like this style before and I like it a lot. It's given me some ideas.

The american hop aroma hit me when I popped the cap. Clear brown with cream head which stayed to the end. Tasted toastier than the colour would suggest however the hop flavour dominated. Not short on bitterness or carbonation either.

I hope you post the recipe. I'll be brewing one of these.

Thanks Croz.

regards,
Scott

 

[sah]

#6 Kaboody - Xaviers Bock

Wonderful complex malt aroma. Dark brown to black and very clear. Moderate carb with low tan foam.

This is a fantastic beer. Hard to describe what I'm tasting, an excellent balance of dark roasty malt, alcohol bitterness and warmth, hops lurking but hard to finger, carbonation significant, and there's a subtle sourness that may come from the yeast?

A bloody good beer, top class. I can't wait to see this recipe.

Thanks Kaboody.

regards,
Scott

 

[Gulpa]

16. Schooey - English Mild

Clear dark amber. Not over carbed for me. Nice chocolatey aroma with some caramel. Same on the palate. Light to medium bodied which could be a bit fuller. Nice easy drinking beer. Thanks Schooey.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv

Nice amber colour. A touch cloudy. Starts with a nice head. Aroma is a bit muted with only the yeast coming through, almost Belgian (it may be a bit cold). Assertive bitterness is the first thing then the earthy hops come through with slight citrus. Yeastyness is less obvious on the palate. Carb is low. The warmer it gets, the more I like it. Thanks Tony.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Gulpa]

26. Doc - Schwarzbier

Had this a couple of nights ago so my note is from memory. Sorry.

Never had a Schwarbier so Im not sure how to describe it. Almost black. Rich roasty aroma with a sweet maltyness to it (much like a porter, except for sweet malty germanness B) : . Taste is dry with the roasted malts coming through. The sweetness doesnt come through on the palate as expected from the aroma which is good. Everything else seemed to be in place and I enjoyed it very much. Excellent beer Doc. Thanks.


Cheers
Andrew.

 

[Stuster]

Gulpa - English Bitter

Caramel sweetness, fruity esters which develop well as the beer warmed. Rich red colour, very clear, tight head which fell back to a thin, good head. Dark fruity flavours, light esters, some slight astringency noticeable as the beer warms. Raspberry nearly. (Any BC in this or is it just the dark crystal?) Medium body but the low carbonation makes this very drinkable. A nicely made beer with some dark fruits. Really to style, a very drinkable session beer.

DK - American Amber Ale - All Amarillo Hops

This is from Friday and SWMBO was on the computer so I couldn't take any notes sorry. Noticeable Amarillo aroma and taste, and there was a nice balance of malts and hops. Probably a bit light on bitterness for an AAA but I thought it was nice like this. I wasn't sure about the low carbonation. I grew up on bitters so that's normally not really a big issue for me, but I think a little more carbonation might have lightened this up a bit and got the most out of the delicious hops. There was quite a dry finish. Did you use some dark malts, roast barley perhaps? Anyway, overall this was an interesting, delicious beer.

 

[crozdog]

#5 Crozdog - American Brown

Wow Crozdog this is a cracker. I haven't tried anything like this style before and I like it a lot. It's given me some ideas.

The american hop aroma hit me when I popped the cap. Clear brown with cream head which stayed to the end. Tasted toastier than the colour would suggest however the hop flavour dominated. Not short on bitterness or carbonation either.

I hope you post the recipe. I'll be brewing one of these.

Thanks Croz.

regards,
Scott

Glad you liked it Scott. I was worried about it as I cracked a bottle the other day & it was dead flat :angry: I recall I had a bad bottling day (aren't they all) but hope that I got the only dud bottle.

The mash temp dropped a fair bit (67-62 as I had to use my monsta tun & didn't float some foam on top to retain the heat) which has helped dry it out a bit & enhance the hoppiness, but i was aiming for a bit more maltiness / balance. I added the carafa special III for the last 15-20 mins of the mash.

The recipe is here post #122.

Tony - I hope you can overcome your "C" hop aversion

 

[crozdog]

Docs Schwartz.

had this the orther night. Very dark with some ruby highlights when held up to the shed fluro at night. Firm fine head which lasted well, moderate carbonation. Sweet roasty malt aroma. Enough malt body to support the roast. I found it slightly thin and dry with the roast dominating then dissipating into a slightly dry bitter aftertaste.

Most enjoyable Doc thanks

 

[crozdog]

Nifty's some sort of stout.

Great to see that the dog lives on!

Poured very flat almost no head & very little carbonation. A very dark almost blackness filled my glass. Moderate roast aroma with some burnt notes/fruit. Tasted fairly dry noticable bitterness with some roast malt sharpness again with some fruitiness. Smooth medium full mouthfeel .

The lack of carbonation let it down.

If we had to vote, i'd call it a cross between a Dry stout & Foreign extra stout

Edit - typo

 

[sah]

2. Tony - ESB, Wyeast 1469 TTL yeast... about 6.5% abv

Subtle bready aroma. Firm bitterness, strong resiny hop flavour with a tang. Hazy brown with a sticky off white foam.

A serious beer.

Cheers Tony.

Scott

 

[Muggus]

Brew: DK - American Amber Ale
Date: 5/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml PET bottle. All Amarillo Hops WLP001 Bottled 03/05/2008 5.2% Alc/Vol

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. I keep going to get my bottle opener...whoops!
Nice deep amber body with off-white foam collar and the odd chunk. Has the distintive aroma of Amarillo; grassy, spicey, zesty grapefruit, passion fruit, theres also a bit of liquoricey malt in the mix there too. Only a tiny tickle of carbonation, body seems a bit lean as well, sticky malt texture. Spicy citrus hops upfront, maybe not as promising as the aroma suggests, quite fruity overall, maltiness in the takes a backseat, flavour is what i'd describe as liquorice and toffee. Reasonably bitter finish, slight astrigency, dry and certainly begs for another sip. Quite similiar to the beer I submitted in last years Xmas Caseswap, though not as robust. I love the Amarillo hops, makes for a particularly tasty beer. Cheers Dk!

 

[nifty]

Nifty's some sort of stout.

Great to see that the dog lives on!

Poured very flat almost no head & very little carbonation. A very dark almost blackness filled my glass. Moderate roast aroma with some burnt notes/fruit. Tasted fairly dry noticable bitterness with some roast malt sharpness again with some fruitiness. Smooth medium full mouthfeel .

The lack of carbonation let it down.

If we had to vote, i'd call it a cross between a Dry stout & Foreign extra stout

Edit - typo

Thanks for the feedback Crozdog. The last few batches that I've made have been a bit over primed, so I think I was a bit cautious with the priming sugar this time. Maybe another week or two in a nice warm spot will fix them up.

cheers

nifty

 

[Muggus]

Brew: 19. Josh - Brown Ale
Date: 5/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 800ml bottle.

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. Pours a beautifully creamy medium-sized offwhite head leaving sparce lace atop a deep bronze body. Bready aroma, nutty malt, a faint fruity/floral note. Good carbonation, creamy texture, solid body. Particularly nutty maltiness about the flavour, plenty of bready yeast in there too with hints of toffee sweetness and citrus-like fruitiness that I can't seem to put my finger on. Finishes with a slightly metallic drying breadiness, bitterness is relatively low. I quite like this one, malty and easy, dark without having any particularly roasted flavours, I reckon I should be drinking this maybe a bit warmer. Nice one Josh!

 

[kabooby]

#6 Kaboody - Xaviers Bock

Wonderful complex malt aroma. Dark brown to black and very clear. Moderate carb with low tan foam.

This is a fantastic beer. Hard to describe what I'm tasting, an excellent balance of dark roasty malt, alcohol bitterness and warmth, hops lurking but hard to finger, carbonation significant, and there's a subtle sourness that may come from the yeast?

A bloody good beer, top class. I can't wait to see this recipe.

Thanks Kaboody.

regards,
Scott

Cheers mate,

Glad you enjoyed it. I will put the recipe in the recipe section.

Kabooby :icon_cheers:

 

[Josh]

Thanks for the reviews guys. A couple have mentioned hops or fruitiness but couldn't put their finger on it. Probably the 5 minute Saaz addition.

Recipe is now in the database

My alcohol free month lasted 5 days. Couldn't sit on the couch with my Panthers fan housemate and not share a beer with him while his team outplayed my Eels. So... I have put the first few in the fridge and will get to them in the coming weeks.

 

[Muggus]

Brew: 21. Jon W - NZPA
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml Coopers PA bottle 10th June 2008, black cap

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet. Excellent lasting rocky white head leaving dense lace atop of clean copper body. Fantastic fruity hop nose; ripe passionfruit, orange, rockmelon, peach, lemon...the list goes on, particularly grassy and herbaceous too, not a great deal of malt in there. Dry body, reasonably thin bodied, creamy carbonation, assertive bitterness manifests itself early on and lingers long afterwards. Body is full of grassy and ripe fruity hop character, maybe not as fullon as the nose suggests, some caramelly malt makes a brief appearance, not enough to cut through the big bitterness. Bloody ripper of a beer Jon, NZPAs are my favourite style at the moment and its great to get to try another one. Cheers!

 

[Muggus]

Brew: 16. Schooey - English Mild
Date: 7/7/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, gold cap "16"

Sampling notes:
Served chilled in goblet. Another one of these styles that i've never tried an authentic commercial example of.
Clean deep amber body with offwhite foam leaving sparce lace. Toffeeish malt on the nose, biscuity, nutty, milk chocolate malt character emerges with rising of temperature, some dark berry fruitiness which i'm not sure is derived from hops or yeast esters, not that it matters! Lively carbonation without too much bite, reasonably lean body with chewy creamy maltiness. Nice dark fruits on the palate; plum, black grapes and blueberries, florishing moreso as I get through the bottle, nutty toffeeish malt takes a backseat with some creamy dark chocolate in the mix. Finish is moderately bitter, a touch dry, incredibly clean. I thought this beer was fantastic! Smooth, creamy, malty yet distintly fruity, suprisingly complex and delicious, all packed into a "midstrength" beer. Great job Schooey, this has been my pick of the case thus far!

 

[schooey]

wow... Thanks for the wrap, Muggus. I was really worried about this beer being over carbed. It scored ok in the HAG comp, but it was probably a little young at the time and has developed since. I'm glad you enjoyed it, it is/was only meant to be a 3.5% beer

 

[Tony]

I have tried a few so far and all have been great beers. Havnt had time to get on here and really talk about them.

I wont go into "dewberries and tangarine" as its only memories now.

5. Crozdogs American brown.
Really nice beer. Smooth, clean, malt and hops in harmony, with malt pocking its head out in the end. I really liked that about the beer. The hops were there but the malt was there too. Sweet and choclotly but dry and refreshing.
Clear as a bell nice head retention. Tops drink mate.......... thanks!

20. CtK - almost dark ale.
Great saturated colour, clear, and nice head on pouring. Malt biased, with a touch or hops. Not to bitter, not to sweet. Very nicly ballanced. round mellow malt really made me keep picking up the glass. I drank it while cooking dinner and i had to get something from my keg for the meal as it seemed to evaporate. Hops seemed to have a slightly spicy, minty edge...... there was just that pressence leurking in the background that kept it interesting.
Geeat beer......... thanks.

21. Jon W - NZPA

YUM

I love NZ hops........ they rock. This beer really impressed me. My favrouite colour.......... that darker than golden, lighter than amber colour. Clear, clean, crisp, and most enjoyable.
Hops came across very american........... but better. They had they resinious spicy character that they yank hops seem to lack.
Im going to have a guess at the hops and be completly wrong......... again

sothern cross, NZ cascade and Nelson Sauvin....... or any mixture of such there in? am i close?

Probably not. I would never have won that mars bar!

back to the beer:

YUM........... nothing more to say. wish i had a keg of it!

thanks!

22. DK - American Amber ale

Well my bottle was 3/4 full which was better than some of them in the swap. I think you won he dogiest fill job award and Schooey won the dirtiest bottle award

The beer however was great! Deep amber, nice malt backing up the firm hop pressence. Very pleasant to drink....... even for an APA nazi like me. Clear, clean, smooth and hoppy with a nice malt backbome making it even more drinkable. Nice head retention and glass was empty in no time flat.
Great beer, thanks.


cheers