Sa Mid Year Case Swap 09

[buttersd70]

An Idea for a theme could be "Global Warming" considering it would be winter when we do it. The format for the theme, we choose 6 style regions of the world (i.e. AUS US ENG GER BEL IRL) that have atleast 2 distinct styles (ie. Lager/Ale/Stout/etc) and do a hat draw or preference list (first in First Served) and select 4 brewers per region. Each brew a beer of their choosing from that region. It would be nice if we could get 2 or more different styles per region.

I don't like that idea at all, I see it as pretty restrictive. I wouldn't want to get lumbered with a beer style I'm not even all that familiar with dirinking, let alone brewing.....and I know I wouldn't want to get something similar in return. It's a prelude to experimentation, and we all know how that can turn out.

someone will need to fill me in on the details/requirements.

Brew beer, bottle beer. Do enough to fill enough longnecks for 1 for each person on the swap list, and preferably a few extras for tasting on the day. Everyone brings their case up, then takes it in turns to take 1 bottle from each of the other brewers, so we end up going home with a mixed case.
Other than that, it's like the AMB meet the other day....have a feed, have a chat, drink good beer. Bring along samples of other non-swap beer, if you have them, for others to try, and try other peoples beer as well....

 

[jonocarroll]

Cheers for the advice buttersd70. Sounds easy enough. On the theme though - I agree that it sounds a bit restrictive; I'm new to AG, and I'm still finding my feet (despite the fact that the first 2 came out stunning no less) so I'd also hate to get handed a style that I had no idea about.

What if there were say 4 styles - precise styles - and we split up the pool into who wants to do those styles? Someone who reckons they're the duck's nuts at Irish Red or ESB or whatever could put their best effort into that style with some confidence that they know what they're doing. (Edit: I'll point out, I don't mean who can brew the best 'to-style' or who can do a 'creative' interpretation of the style, I mean who can make a damn fine beer that kinda fits into that style). Picking the 4 styles and who does which may need to be settled by fisticuffs, but c'est la vie. Just a suggestion.

 

[Effect]

I think a broad theme (just like the 'summer session beers' from the xmas swap case) will allow brewers to find a beer worth swapping. 'Anything dark' was the theme from last years 'christmas in july case swap' - so I thought that maybe this year it could / should be different. BTW I have no objections with 'anything dark' - I am actually planning to make a dark ale...but just want a theme that will get the best out of us all - and hopefully not a case swap where all the beers are DrSmurto's golden ale...or variations thereof

 

[buttersd70]

Bollocks to 'precise styles'.......not everyone brews to style. I certainly don't. I brew for taste, and balance. I refer to my beers, to other people, by the style they happen to most closely resemble (or sometimes fit into perfectly, but thats a secondary consideration). But I never look at style guidelines (note the slight emphasis there) until I'm at least a good way into the recipe formulation. And then, I don't look at the 'specific' part of the guideline, where it has all the ibu, gravities etc. I look at the flavour profile description. How is it meant to taste, what are the predominant flavours, and character. Not what the friggin OG is...."oh dear, my american amber is OG 1042 but the style guidelines say it needs to be at least 1045 . I've roont it...".....bollocks and shyte.

edit in a slightly calmer tone......
Perhaps the theme could be just simply "Your best effort of a beer type (note the absence of the word 'style' :lol: ) that is appropriate for drinking within the winter season.

 

[jonocarroll]

Ummm... Someone pour some gelatine over butters please? Maybe then he'll settle?

I put the 'precise' bit in there (half just for you butters) so that there was a decent definition of what was to be brewed. Otherwise I'd imagine you end up with anything vaguely beer. I didn't mean (and edited as such before you posted) that the people should brew 'precisely' that beer - but something that you could say 'now that's a tasty <insert style>' about. The point of people picking which style they're good at is that they would be able to find something they can make that is a pretty good example of the style.

If you had 6 people all making an ESB, and none of them adding anything crazy, you could see how different people make that style, and you'd have a 6-pack of uniquely different ESBs to compare. In some way, you could call it 4 mini-competitions for tastiest beer. I agree that counting the IBUs of each beer would be a bit of a w**k so that's not what I'm suggesting. I would be surprised in any case if 6 people tried to brew a 'specific' beer exactly to style and all ended up with something that tasted the same across the board. Picking styles with a lot of flavour would help this.

Trying to make beer, not war.

 

[np1962]

OK I'm in, this is just the push I need to get the rest of my AG setup and get some brews down.
Butters ... you can expect loads of questions over the next few weeks

Nige

 

[buttersd70]

OK I'm in, this is just the push I need to get the rest of my AG setup and get some brews down.
Butters ... you can expect loads of questions over the next few weeks

Nige

nyuk nyuk nyuk. A pm at the right time does wonders :lol:

 

[np1962]

nyuk nyuk nyuk. A pm at the right time does wonders :lol:

Name went in before the PM arrived

 

[Effect]

So will anybody get upset if we make the theme 'beer appropriate for drinking within the winter season'?

 

[peas_and_corn]

That's crazy. I NEVER have stouts/dark beers lying around.

 

[Goofinder]

OK I'm in, this is just the push I need to get the rest of my AG setup and get some brews down.

The last swap is the reason that I actually got around to setting myself up for AG.

QB: The bit that Butters failed to mention about the swap is that at some point you'll end up talking to him about styles, guidelines, balance etc. and learn not to get him started about that stuff . He does have a point most of the time though, and I definitely don't reckon a swap should be about trying to fit beers into styles. If you want to pick a style and have a crack at it then go for it (that's basically what I did for the last swap as I'm new to this AG thing), but I don't think we should be allocating styles to people or anything like that.

I reckon a general 'beers for winter' is a good enough theme. That should leave it pretty much open to interpretation. Brew a beer you like that fits in that general theme and hopefully the rest of us will like it too.

 

[buttersd70]

:lol: to dan...
Yeah, I go on if I see an opening
.
To save me several hours of talking on the night.....lets just say, I'm not anti-style, nor anti-bjcp. Lets just say I'm "anti- overly literal adherance to 'style', which is, afterall, a compromise decision by a panel as to the basic comparable atributes of regional beer varieties, which have been categorised with the sole aim of being able to judge beers of a like nature fairly against each other in a competition format"........but that won't fit on the label. :lol:

 

[Murcluf]

Settle petals....... I only made a suggestion for an idea for theme as was requested earlier in the thread, just thought it was a way to brake up the select that all. I wasn't expecting it to be a BJCP Nazi Party gathering where everyone must conform to strict style guidelines I was talking about regions and styles very loosely. I wounldn't expect anyone to brew something they didn't too or have no interest in. Was just trying to avoid 2 lagers 3 wheats 4 APA' 15 English Bitters and encourage a bit of variety in the swap selection.

Anyway most of what I brew is considered out of style and so are a large number of commercial beers also, I learnt to take BJCP guideline with a pinch of salt when I'm brew these days.

Perhaps we just brew what ever we want and never mention the word "THEME" every again just incase it might offend someone.

Looking forward to the Politically Correct or Public Liablity Awareness Case Swap

 

[raven19]

Variety in beers is what I am hoping for, so my vote is for no specific theme.

Did the last case swap utilise glass longnecks (750ml)? or was it more dominated by PET's (not sure of mls)?

2c.

 

[Effect]

Glass

I think PET is frowned upon

 

[muckey]

last swap was mostly glass - hence my earlier post.

On the theme issue and not to beat a dead horse but I will be brewing a version of what I prefer at the time. It will be a winter beer but will be something nice and easy to drink and probably something fairly sessionable. So themes and style guidelines mean very little to me. I brew the beer and then try to work out where it kind of fits, not the other way around.

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

There was at least a couple of beers I thought were really nice but the fact they were flat took all the enjoyment away from the experience.

Maybe they used the "Dribble Method" to fill. :lol: h34r:

BYB

 

[~MikE]

That's crazy. I NEVER have stouts/dark beers lying around.

LOL dude

Glass

I think PET is frowned upon

i went through and turfed the PET i had and any i get these days go into the recycling. although i can see how some brewers might have trouble sourcing glass given how long i spent building up my longneck collection.

 

[Effect]

Trouble finding long necks...

I'm going to go and buy 24 long necks of Coopers - that shouldn't be to hard to find :chug:

 

[Timmsy]

How many long necks are you after?? I might be able to give you some if your keen?? coopers and or pick axes........ if not try the scouts bottle depots the one in the port sells long necks and grolsh bottles