Nsw Xmas In July Case 2008 - Tasting Notes

[Tony]

James Porter

Chilled and cracked it in the garage while bottling beer a couple of nights ago.

cap almost blew out of my hand and i put the cap back on as fast as i could.

Gushed big time.

took bottle to the kitchen sink and let it rip. Gushed for 15 min and lost half the bottle.

ended up with some in a glass, was a bit yeasty by then but that wasnt a problem. I found the sweet hopiness of this a bit off puting in a porter. I recal you saing something about amarillo and its just not right for me in a porter. A bit light bodied. smooth roast that was taking a back seat. nedded to be a bit bigger in the roast department to ballance IMO.

Well made beer, clear, clean and no faults but the carb needs work in my book.

cheers

 

[Tony]

9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)

Cracked the cap with a big Ppppssshhhhhhhhhhht

Didnt gush but a bit over carbed when poured. Took my time and lefr it to de gas a bit.

Glad i did.

Rich slightly sweet crystal driven maltiness, clear, great colour of deep amber/copper. Big fluffy head but takes a few goes to get the pint glass full. Background but firm bitterness ballances the beer well and prevents sweetness stealing the spotlight. Earth character in the finnish, combo of mild hops, yeast and malt contributes to this.

Nice beer mate, enjoyed it. But back off the carb sugar a bit.

cheers

 

[Flex Broker]

James Porter

Chilled and cracked it in the garage while bottling beer a couple of nights ago.

cap almost blew out of my hand and i put the cap back on as fast as i could.

Gushed big time.

took bottle to the kitchen sink and let it rip. Gushed for 15 min and lost half the bottle.

ended up with some in a glass, was a bit yeasty by then but that wasnt a problem. I found the sweet hopiness of this a bit off puting in a porter. I recal you saing something about amarillo and its just not right for me in a porter. A bit light bodied. smooth roast that was taking a back seat. nedded to be a bit bigger in the roast department to ballance IMO.

Well made beer, clear, clean and no faults but the carb needs work in my book.

cheers

That's weird. Jez and I have opened probably 5 bottles that we had left over and the carb has been fine on all of them. I think you got a dodgy bottle. Sorry about that.

On the issue of the amarillo, it's actually hopped with cascade as far as I remember. Our original intention was to use amarillo, though. It's definitely a US-style porter, which basically don't exist here. The whole idea of citrusy hops with dark beers was originally sold to me by a brewer from LA. The combination of coffee/chocolate with the citrus of US hops is very popular over there. I was doubly sold when I went to Tassie and had the Moo Brew dark ale at the brewery. Big citrus hop aroma with plenty of roasted character. I guess it comes down to what you dig in the end, but you should give the US hops a chance. I think they have a flavour that really complements dark beers, rather than taking a back seat like the British varieties.

 

[Tony]

crook bottle....... that explains it..... no problems these things happen.

True what you say about what you dig! I love my porters with a good whack of hops....... up front........ in english varieties, but thats me.

I think porters go really well with lots of hops, it all comes down to taste.

Cheers

 

[Muggus]

...and I finally got around to sampling the last of the swap...
Brew: 24. James - American Toasted Oat Porter
Date: 2/9/08
Beer info: Bottled in brown 750ml bottle, cap "24"

Sampling notes:
Served slightly chilled in goblet.
Open with only a slight pop, pours a sinfully dark, damn-near opaque black body with a ring of suprisingly white foam. Aroma is a mixture of burnt grain and citrusy hops; doesn't really give all too much away, grapefruit zestiness stands out, possibly some liquorice and alcohol, and I guess it has an overall 'woody' character about it. Reasonably full body, subdued carbonation, texture is slightly gritty with roasted malt astrigency, which seems to go hand-in-hand with the sharp zesty bitterness of the American-style hops. Alot happening on the body; charcoal, wood, liquorice, leafiness, grapefruit rind and unripe stonefruit. Odd sensation on mouth, finishing with an assertive bitterness and lingering smokiness.
Reminds me quite a bit of an Imperial Stout I did a few years back with heaps of Cascade and Amarillo; heavy going and a bit overpowering/overcomplicated at first, but matured and smoothed out to be fantastic 6-12 months down the track.
Really nice James, though I reckon you'll be rewarded with some extended bottle maturation on this puppy...if you have any left!
Cheers!

 

[Flex Broker]

Unfortunately almost all the porter went in the case swap . I think Jez and I each have like one bottle left. I'll see if I can leave it alone for a few more months.

Also, I tried the French Oak Porter last night. I think if any brewers want to find out exactly what French oak tastes like, this is a good educational beer for them. All the hallmarks of oak are there - vanilla flavours, spiciness, and a drying tannic quality. Super assertive at first, almost overpowering. It settles down after a while, but I think the beer itself would have benefited from being more robust prior to being oaked. For a 7% beer, I thought the body and the malt flavours were rather subdued. I think the oak out-competes the other flavours for dominance.

I reckon if you increased you mashing temperature somewhat and your content of chocolate malt to produce a more robust porter, the oak would be better balanced out in the finished product. But a good first attempt at producing an oaked beer, which is not easy to do.

Incidentally, with the oak chips, I don't think you need such a long secondary. I read recently that pretty much all the oak favour has been extracted after 2 weeks. Having said that, a long secondary usually doesn't hurt a beer, except for the possibility of oxidation if the extended secondary is in a plastic vessel rather than glass or stainless steel.

 

[Muggus]

Unfortunately almost all the porter went in the case swap . I think Jez and I each have like one bottle left. I'll see if I can leave it alone for a few more months.

Also, I tried the French Oak Porter last night. I think if any brewers want to find out exactly what French oak tastes like, this is a good educational beer for them. All the hallmarks of oak are there - vanilla flavours, spiciness, and a drying tannic quality. Super assertive at first, almost overpowering. It settles down after a while, but I think the beer itself would have benefited from being more robust prior to being oaked. For a 7% beer, I thought the body and the malt flavours were rather subdued. I think the oak out-competes the other flavours for dominance.

I reckon if you increased you mashing temperature somewhat and your content of chocolate malt to produce a more robust porter, the oak would be better balanced out in the finished product. But a good first attempt at producing an oaked beer, which is not easy to do.

Incidentally, with the oak chips, I don't think you need such a long secondary. I read recently that pretty much all the oak favour has been extracted after 2 weeks. Having said that, a long secondary usually doesn't hurt a beer, except for the possibility of oxidation if the extended secondary is in a plastic vessel rather than glass or stainless steel.

Thanks for the input, James!
The beer itself was a very small partial. (1kg of Ale malt + ~500g of specialty grains)...so my mash probably didn't do a great deal for the brew as far as body goes though.

Oak in beer is a very uncommon character to find in beers...at least down under anyway....but I love the flavours it can give a beer!
According to my logs, this beer would have actually been my 9th 'oak chipped' beer to date.
I've used various types...american, french, whisky barrel, rum barrel, bourbon barrel, tennesse whiskey barrel...experimented with them them in at various stages of brewing; be it the actual boil, primary or secondary...and left them on the beer from 2 weeks up to 6 months.
Some of which have been brutally oaky, and others almost undetectable.
Anyway, as far as this porter goes, it was probably one of the more subtle and mellow brews of the lot.
I find the longer you're willing to leave the brew on the chips, the more the oak mellows out, which is the reason i'm willing to let it mature for so long. Takes alot of patience though! :blink:

 

[Flex Broker]

The whole oak thing is something I've considered but never done, mainly because we brew primarily huge IPAs or Belgian ales, neither of which need oak. I've become a fan of oak ageing through my love of lambic beers, though. I think French oak is the right way to go, since it tends to be less vanilla-smelling than US oak, and I think if you pumped the beer up a bit the oak would really add a lot.

 

[floppinab]

9. floppinab - Nthn English brown, WLP004, bottled 12th June filtered out of necessity, needs 4-6 weeks in the bottle)

Nice beer mate, enjoyed it. But back off the carb sugar a bit.

cheers

Thanks Tony. I'm currently using this yeast on an Irish Red and I'm finding it takes a looooong time to get through the last 5 or so points. It may be something to do with my break problems as well with the break and yeast tending to coagulate together which may be slowing the ferment down a bit.
I've just sent it to a secondary to try and hurry it up. Those that had my beer early found it OK but yours and couple of others who've had it in the last month have reported overcarbonation, no doubt with the yeast picking up some of those points in the bottle resulting in the high carbo.

 

[Flex Broker]

Just tasted Stuster's tripel. Blew my head right off. A really good beer, if a little heavy on the citrus. Nice spice character, could do with slightly more body. Excellent head, lacing and clarity. Very drinkable. Reminds me of Unibroue - specifically, their Frigante. My pick of the case so far.

Good work, Stu.

 

[Stuster]

Wow. Glad you liked it, Mr Broker. There's definitely some spice notes in there as you say, but in fact no spices were harmed in the making of this beer and that's all down to the yeast.

 

[Josh]

Shared Muggus' Half Century Barley Wine with a mate the other night. This was an extra bottle I received as host of the swap.

Served in two half pint handles.

Gotta say I've never had a smoother beer, it just slid over the tongue. We were both really impressed with the flavours. Plum and berries prominent. Has a bit of kick as expected but the alcohol taste isn't over the top.

Fantastic beer Muggus.

 

[Muggus]

Shared Muggus' Half Century Barley Wine with a mate the other night. This was an extra bottle I received as host of the swap.

Served in two half pint handles.

Gotta say I've never had a smoother beer, it just slid over the tongue. We were both really impressed with the flavours. Plum and berries prominent. Has a bit of kick as expected but the alcohol taste isn't over the top.

Fantastic beer Muggus.

Wow thanks alot for the feedback Josh! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

[Tony]

6. Kabooby - Xaviers Bock

Ive been looking forward to rying this. I am really keen to brew a nice bock and wanted to try someone elses effort to see if i liked it.

I did, and still am.

Big munich malt character, both flavour and aroma. Sweetly bready, toasty and then sweet again. No hops, perfect carbonation, and i mean PERFECT! Creamy smooth in the mouth but not cloying.

Perhaps an IBU or 2 over but i like that. It ballances the beer and makes it drinkable.

Its big, darkly malty, sweet and smooth but almost quaffable!

I want the recipe! Tastes like a simple beer, and i think thats what makes it great. Bock should be simple!

cheers

 

[kabooby]

Thanks mate,

Glad you liked it. Recipe is in the recipe section here

Kabooby

 

[Doc]

Finally trying to knock off the remainders from the case swap.

Crozdog - American Brown
Poured aggressively and was rewarded with a great beig bready head.
Lovely deep amber colour with some ruby highlights.
Caramel/Crystal aroma. No real hint of American C hops.
Nice mouth feel. Residual sweetness. Virtually no hop presence.
Easy drinking beer, but lacking in the hops department to really step up to an American Brown.
No other faults though. Nice clean malty beer.

Doc

 

[Doc]

Cortez The Killer - Almost Dark Ale
Big pour, medium head that lingers.
Deep deep brown. Just opaque.
Sweet roast aroma.
Instant hit of cardamon on first sip. Not over powering but taste forward. Haven't looked up the recipe yet.
Interesting spiced dark ale. Light body on the finish, cardamon dominates but still not in your face.
Ok, looked up the recipe now. No cardamon added, but I'm still getting it. Maybe the SO4 threw it through fermentation temp ??
A drinkable beer. Would be great down at the ski lodge.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Doc]

Thirstywench - IPA
Poured with a low head that dissipated quickly.
Crystal clear and a deep straw colour.
Hint of hops on the aroma.
Good mouthfeel and body. Residual sweetness with a dry finish.
Up the hops a little and the FG and you'll be on to a cracker for the style.
Nice and clean.

Doc

 

[Tony]

I have preety much finnished my case swap....... appologies if i missed commenting on some. only a couple of the double up "mystery beers" left.

I have to say that it was the best case swap i have been involved in. my beer was probably the worst of the lot, Only one i didnt drink as i couldnt get the gusher in the glass but shit happens

I remember the first swap i was involved in saw about 1/4 of the beers tipped out.

Congradulations to all brewers on some fantastic beers and styles brewed......... great work!

And thankyou.

cheers

 

[Doc]

nifty - Stout
Poured as aggressively as I could. Just got a head.
Black.
Roasty chocolate aroma.
Deep chewy body without being cloying or oversweet.
Lower carbonation.
Very smooth and easy drinking.

Doc