Qld Xmas In July 2007 - Case Consumption

[Chad]

2. Screwtop - Klsch - Bottled 30 Jun 2007, drink after 01 Sep 2007

Appearance - A light and very white head that lasted. The style states they are usually brilliantly clear, but being bottle conditioned this was pretty darn clear.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation, but a high bitterness balanced it out. Had a nice dry finish which didn't linger.

Aroma - A very subtle fruity aroma, and I got hints of pear. For a very light beer, the aroma was just right.

Flavour - Almost no hop flavour which is good because it would have over powered the light fruity/spicy flavours. Had a slight tartness to it.

Overall - This is my first case swap which I was really looking forward to, not only to taste some great beers, but to also taste styles which I haven't had before. This beer is another fine beverage that covers both of these reasons. I had to read the BJCP while drinking this beer and found it to be a fine example. Well done.

 

[Chad]

8. Bonj - Bohemian Pilsner - filled from keg - lagered 4 weeks in keg. Drink whenever you want

Appearance - Very light white head, but disappeared pretty quickly.

Mouthfeel - Medium to full bodied. Carbonation was probably just a bit under.

Aroma - Fantastic light hop aroma.

Flavour - Definitely had that rich malty flavour. Hops and bitterness were just a little under, maybe up the bittering slightly next time.

Overall - Pretty close to style and a very easy drinking beer in which the maltiness was just the right level to easily put down a few of these.

 

[Tyred]

17. NickB - Very Ordinary Bitter.

Poured nice and clear but very little head. Looking through the glass it's a hazy, amber colour. Faint aroma but I'm not sure what it is (citrus ?. Slight bitterness up front which doesn't linger. I'm probably have it too cold (not cellar temp) to pick up more. Low carbonation but I understand that's what it's meant to be.

Another very nice beer to consume. Thanks, NickB.

 

[NickB]

Wow, I'm fairly surprised that people are picking up the citrus. I used First Gold to bitter which is probably where it's from. I have to say that this beer was much better after a few months in the bottle. The recipe is in the Xmas in July Recipe thread as well.

And yeah, I preferred it at cellar or room temp that's for sure!

Cheers

 

[Screwtop]

Woohoo, my case swap Witbier is now award winning, placing 2nd at the QAAWBG.

Look at you go! That was a fine example of the style Chad, congratulations.

PS: Thanks Chad, glad you enjoyed the Klsch.

Screwy

 

[Tyred]

9. bconnery - Dark Mild

Large white frothy head. I got less than half a glass before the head filled it up. Very deep ambery brown colour. Almost unable to see through, but still appears to be very clear. I can't pick up any hop aroma but the head appears to keep on lasting. Definite malt hit in this one. Minor bitterness that only seems to be noticed a little after, but that may be a roast flavour I'm picking up on.

Never tried a mild before (like so many other types of beer) and I'm finding this quite to my liking. Thanks for introducing me to this style.

 

[bconnery]

9. bconnery - Dark Mild

Large white frothy head. I got less than half a glass before the head filled it up. Very deep ambery brown colour. Almost unable to see through, but still appears to be very clear. I can't pick up any hop aroma but the head appears to keep on lasting. Definite malt hit in this one. Minor bitterness that only seems to be noticed a little after, but that may be a roast flavour I'm picking up on.

Never tried a mild before (like so many other types of beer) and I'm finding this quite to my liking. Thanks for introducing me to this style.

Glad you liked it. Hop aroma isn't a feature of the style, generally at least, roast or chocolate etc flavours are...

Carbonation like that isn't Not sure what happened there.

It's a style I love. Check out the flavour of the week thread, I think there's one or else search the recipes and/or site. There are a few recipes around for this style...

 

[Tyred]

15. Zizzle - Schwarzbier

Too dark to tell if it's clear. Further down the glass maybe. I got a small tan head, which appears to be holding. Can't smell any hops, but then I've just finished operating the BBQ. Light carbonation on the tongue. Light burnt taste (but that could be the BBQ as well). I think it's well balanced as nether hops or malt comes to the fore. A very easy beer to drink and a very nice beer to end the weekend with. Thanks.

 

[Tyred]

7. InCider - Captain's Daughter Porter

Looks clear pouring from the bottle. Got a fair head from initial pour. Almost amber colour that appears to be well carbonated. Can't really pick much aroma from it. I can't pick any bitterness from hops. Perhaps a little sweetness partway through, but nothing overpowering. Head is lasting very well. There's some sort of flavour in there, but I cannot pick what it is. It's almost like a little sweetness but not enough for me to be able to nail down.

Another very nice beer, just wish I could work out what the flavour is.

 

[Tyred]

18. Fixa - Bourbon Vanilla Porter

Quite dark, but appears clear when pouring from the bottle. Small off-white head that disappeared quite quickly, leaving a thin ring around the edge of the glass. Faint smell of vanilla. The vanilla smell is almost overpowered by an 'alcohol' smell. Not too sure how to put it. Quite a strong taste of bourbon (to me) evident at the front and throughout the mouthful. Body appears to be quite strong and there is moderate carbonation, even tho the head hasn't held. To my taste the bourbon is masking the hops.

Normally, I don't drink bourbon, but the blend of bourbon and porter is quite nice. Thanks Fixa for introducing me to a very nice blend.

 

[BrewWench]

Would like to say Cheers to Ned for letting me try each of these beers with only a few to go. I reviewed each one with him and it was a lot of fun.
Enjoyed all so far , some of the very sweet were not to my style, but still enjoyed,
but do remember Fixas and was very yummy.
I did plan to review each beer , but it got lost some where from drinking it and then getting to the computer.
Perhaps i need the lap top at the bar fridge.
Just wanted to say thanks for the top beers :beer:

 

[Jye]

Screwtop - Klsch

Great beer mate :chug: no winy characteristics which I dislike in this style, the only thing I can ding you on is the clarity but Ill let that slide since you bottle conditioned and I cant talk after the american rye :lol:

 

[Screwtop]

Screwtop - Klsch

Great beer mate :chug: no winy characteristics which I dislike in this style, the only thing I can ding you on is the clarity but Ill let that slide since you bottle conditioned and I cant talk after the american rye :lol:

Thanks Jye, appreciate your comments. Filtered then bottle conditioned with cane sugar trying for as good a clarity as possible. The colour was not what I expected from 87% WPils and 13% Powells Wheat. Directly heating the mash tun and the 90 min boil could have contributed to that. Liked the flavour produced by the Wyeast better than the prev batch using WL.

 

[Tyred]

14. Stillscottish - Belgian Brown

Small head which while thin appears to be holding. Light aroma - alcohol and maybe a little malt ? I can't smell any hops.
Deep brown colour which appears to be clear. Quite sweet with a little bit of bitterness later on.

Overall, very nice. Yet another style of beer that I have never tried before.

 

[Tyred]

2. Screwtop - Klsch

Nice big white head. Very clear. Very faint smell - something sweet, possibly apple ?
I can't taste any hops or notice any bitterness, but there is no sweetness either. I would assume that it is incredibly balanced between hops and malt.
Noticed lacing around the glass as it was emptied.
This is very nice.
Thank you for introducing me to yet another style of beer that I have never tried before.

 

[Screwtop]

2. Screwtop - Klsch

Nice big white head. Very clear. Very faint smell - something sweet, possibly apple ?
I can't taste any hops or notice any bitterness, but there is no sweetness either. I would assume that it is incredibly balanced between hops and malt.
Noticed lacing around the glass as it was emptied.
This is very nice.
Thank you for introducing me to yet another style of beer that I have never tried before.

Thanks Tyred,

Reviews by other brewers is why I take part in swaps.

Cheers,
Screwy

 

[bonj]

#2 Screwtop's Koelsch

Aroma - wine like, perhaps some alcohol. No hops, a little malt.

Flavour - subtle breadlike flavour, a little malt. No perceptible hop flavour. Malt is definitely there, but quite light and dry.

Carbonation is perfect. Lovely head, that my glass just isn't doing justice to.

I quite like this one Screwy. It's only the second of this style that I've tried, so I can't comment too much about that end, but it seems to match the description I've read. SWMBO likes it too (She's finding it hard to find one of our brews that she doesn't like... a successful beer convert.)

Cheers :beer:

 

[bonj]

Number 9, Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 (couldn't resist doing that)
bconnery's dark mild.

Aroma - malt and yeast driven
Flavour - delicious. malt and yeast flavour here too (well not yeast, but yeast derived). I'm getting some sort of Belgian character... can't describe it, or pinpoint it, but I like.
Appearance - Dark and heady. Head retension is great. Carbonation is quite high, which I like.

SWMBO didn't like it. Said it tasted like over ripe avocados

 

[Screwtop]

#2 Screwtop's Koelsch

Aroma - wine like, perhaps some alcohol. No hops, a little malt.

Flavour - subtle breadlike flavour, a little malt. No perceptible hop flavour. Malt is definitely there, but quite light and dry.

Carbonation is perfect. Lovely head, that my glass just isn't doing justice to.

I quite like this one Screwy. It's only the second of this style that I've tried, so I can't comment too much about that end, but it seems to match the description I've read. SWMBO likes it too (She's finding it hard to find one of our brews that she doesn't like... a successful beer convert.)

Cheers :beer:

Thanks for the review Bonj, pretty well spot on for this batch. When it comes to an unfamiliar style I bring up the BJCP guidelines for a bit of a prelim of what to expect.

Screwy

 

[Chad]

I've been pretty slack with my reviews so here are three more that I've had written down for a while;


1. winkle - Smokey IRA - bottled 19/6/07, drink it now big boy.

Appearance - Nice red colour.

Mouthfeel - Medium carbonated, with no astringent finish.

Aroma - I didn't get a great deal from the aroma. There was a very light malt, but no hop or smoke.

Flavour - This is where this beer exceled. I'm not a big fan heavy smoked beer so fortunately for me the smokiness was low. I got a medium malty flavour, and there was a slight earthiness to it.

Overall - Smooth!! This was a really great beer and went down so easy. I think a bit more on the aroma hops would make this beer.


17. NickB - Very Ordinary Bitter. Ready to drink (yes it's carbed LOW), consume at cellar temps for best result!

Appearance - I didn't think it was quite clear enough.

Mouthfeel - Had to let it warm up a bit to drive some of the high carbonation off. I would have liked it to be just a fraction drier on the finish. Had a high bitterness.

Aroma - I don't know if it's a fruity aroma that you want in an ordinary bitter, but this has such a fantastic banana aroma. I don't know if banana is the flavour of the month for me, but I just loved it.

Flavour - I got a low malt profile. I couldn't get much more out of it due to the bitterness.

Overall - I thought it was a good beer, although I think it could be great if the carbonation and bitterness levels came down quite a bit.


3. SQYRE -Caps Lock Porter

Appearance - Light tan head which was very thick due to high carbonation, but didn't retain. Medium brown colour.

Mouthfeel - Very low bitterness. Had a very thin body.

Aroma - I had to let the beer warm up to release the aromas. I got a low roast and no burnt. There was a really low fruitiness, and little bit of toffee.

Flavour - Coffee on the back palette, with a light burnt and malty up front. Once again the beer had to warm up to get the goodness.

Overall - I originally poured a first glass and was all set to write a rather disappointing review. But then I poured a second glass after it had warmed up and this is when the beer came to life. For a porter I thought it was on the 'safe' side, as I was expecting just a little more out of it, but it would serve as a really good introduction to porters for newbies who want to try the style. The second glass went down so well compared to my first.