Sandgroper 2009 Case Tasting Notes
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Churchy- I think I tried this one too early as well way too bitter for me, but I managed to drink it all.
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
Churchy-Lots of carbonation also, and very easy to drink.
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy-Went down really fast after a long bike ride.Highly carbed, lots of bittering hops and a nice aroma smell.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-Nice beer to drink Nev and my dad loved it as well, nice light red colour, hops were well balanced.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
kook
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy-Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy-Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
Vlad the Pale Aler
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BUM!
kook
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
ausdb
Copper kettles don't kill people....
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
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WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
kook
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee – very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed – kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the… (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failed—absolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee – very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed – kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the… (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failed—absolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
kook
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
Vlad the Pale Aler
Cereal Killer
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Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Churchy- This was a little too bitter for me but still drank it.
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Churchy-Had to drink it now, nice dark colour almost black and good carbonation.Could really taste the chocolate malt and not over powering, very enjoyable to drink.
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Churchy- This was a little too bitter for me but still drank it.
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Churchy-Had to drink it now, nice dark colour almost black and good carbonation.Could really taste the chocolate malt and not over powering, very enjoyable to drink.
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
Guest Lurker, Dodgers, 3.5%, filled from keg, oxidizing as you read this, drink as soon as you can.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it!
kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
MC: Awesome aroma - to my nose more tropical and over-ripe grape than citrus. Nice toffee taste up front before the hops come smashing through with juicy flavours and a peppery grassiness which is never harsh. I found myself sucking my teeth between sips, so it must have been good..
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Churchy- This was a little too bitter for me but still drank it.
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Churchy-Had to drink it now, nice dark colour almost black and good carbonation.Could really taste the chocolate malt and not over powering, very enjoyable to drink.
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
Goat: This is a goodun. Pours a bit hazy but with a nice deep colour. Head is a bit anxious, but decanting and then into a glass sorted that nicely. Is it my imagination or is there some hops in this sucker ?! Certainly does dominate the flavour - but in a good way. While the hop flavour /nose / bitterness are all good, I would love to taste this with a less pronounced involvement, cos I'm reminded of a Fullers ESB in the malt - very nice ! Don't know how you managed the body for 3.7%, but she's a wee ripper !
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony
Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Cubbie First one for me. Poured very pale staw colour with a little bit of haze. Small tight head that lingered to near the end. Hint of banana and peach. Very easy to drink, do well as a session beer or just a nice cold referesher. For me I would like just a touch more body.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
MC: Lovely banana bread aroma. To me, the clove was almost more of a cinamon flavour which was something I haven't encountered before, but I enjoyed it. Not quite as dry as I expected, but balanced and easy drinking.
WW: following GL's advice, this was first to go. Poured with a brilliant head, great clarity. Some honey, toasty notes on the nose and a smooth, rounded malt character on the pallete. Mine did come across a little harsh (too highly carbed) but this may have been due to handling and serving on my behalf as it was a little too warm. Nice drop Simon, very quaffable.
NME: First cab off the rank for me too. Underestimated the carbonation a little, and a got a bit too much head. Once that settled, it was very smooth, nice white and delicious looking. Definitely picking up honey in the aroma. Taste is delicious! Really hard to describe as I haven't tasted anything like it, but I can taste honey and pretty malty characteristics, with very minor bitterness. It's a very full flavour and nice beer. Smooth as silk. If I did a blind taste, I wouldn't pick it for a mid-strength beer. I'd happily drink a case of this
RR: - Didn't have as high carb as the last two posters but still poured with a decent wack of head that lasts the entire pint and a bit, i'll echo the honey especially as it warms, copper/amber, medium bodied I didn't get alot of hop aroma or flavor to speak of (which is suprising as i just had a gander at the recipe) mostly malt driven flavours with a clean finish thats low on bitterness, it worked well while cooking a bbq this arvo. after recently brewing my first mid strength beer i must tip my hat just slightly to the brewer it had as much flavor and and moreish nature that you would want in even a full strength beer.
Dchap: - I drank this before reading the recipe notes and was heading in a lower alc American Brown in my head with some nice subtle roast in the background which balanced beautifully with the malt profile on which I'll concur with the honey opinion. The Head pillowed beautifully and hung around and gave off that lovely Cascade aroma which was present in taste but not excessive. Thanks GL for the tasty drop and for my first Hop Extract experience
Asher:- Dark amber, Clear, Large persistent foam stand. carbonation a little coarse. Significant sweet fruit aromas up front of black cherry/current reminiscent of a Flanders (may be time to install that foot bath?). Biscuity/Nutty malts appeared once my buds got acclimatised to the slight astringencies present (maybe stop sparge earlier & adjust efficiency down). Light Bodied, probably accentuated by carb levels. A watery flavour present also? (I'd think about adding some carapils & more salts). Despite all that, I can see a little roger in there somewhere & look forward to tasting the next generation (gen Y... the one that wasn't spanked growing up)
Churchy: - This is also my first beer, I'm good at drinking beer not describing it so here it goes.Nice golden colour with nice hope flavour, not over powering and good malty character.
sinkas: slightly hazy amber, with outstanding head retention, some mild graininess and hint of apple on the nose supported by some faint yankee hops thin body with mild carbonic bite which hunches up to the bitterness, all quite muted when at 4C, but once sitting in glass for a while, really opened up the moderate malts that it needed to make it delicious
Mika: I probably drank this a little warm and thus the first pour was wasted due to a little more carbonation than desirable. After that it settled down and was quite a nice beer. I get something weird in the background which made me think hops, but perhaps it's what Asher is picking as astrigency, though I wouldn't have called it that. Nice balance otherwise with muted hops and just enough malt to let you know it's beer. Hard to pick the midstrength rating with the body. A good effort, despite it's handling.
kook: First cab off the rank. Pours a tarnished copper colour with a persistent, medium sized off white head. Aroma starts off as earthy, dank hops then progresses to a fruit platter as it warms. A little light in body, but still quite smooth in mouthfeel. Great flavour, very good balance of malt and hops. Light hop flavours (grapes, seaweed) come through as with the nose, some light biscuity malt to back it up too. Very drinkable session beer.
MC: Dark copper with heaps of carbonation. I had trouble keeping the head down on this one but was impressed by the way it kept its shape above the rim of the glass. The best description I have for the aroma is tropical toffee very inviting. Hop flavour was good and well balanced with the malt. I liked the malt flavours I got as I swallowed kind of like buttered toast. Once the carbonation died down a little, this was lovely and very tasty for a 3.5%'er.
GB: I dropped the puppy(pun) just before pouring it. Result, a very big head and beer every where.Beer was a hazy brown/copper colour.Over carbed for a quaffer I think but still a nice easy beer to drink.I picked up the usual dark malt notes and a fair bit of spiciness on the nose, this was confirmed in the taste, reminded me of a Belgian yeast profile ?The finish was quite dry and a little harshness was evident.
VtPA: Drank this one first, clear, well carbed, plenty of flavour, toffee, well balanced.
Goat: OK - my first of the case; bottle is slightly warm (its 9 deg in the fermenting fridge) which may explain the 3-4 goes at pouring and waiting for the head to subside enough to fill the glass. Once poured though has a great colour - almost exactly the same as the empty PET bottle when both are held up to the sun side-by-side (is that at all helpful ?). Slightly hazy, but I'm not going there. Aroma is fruity with some bready type notes. The first thing that strikes on the flavour side of things is a appley / clovey spiciness with a hint of white wine - not sure what hops are in this but it sort of tastes a bit of Nelson Sauvin's cousin. As I get into it I get acustomed to the spice and other flavours become apparent. Darkish malts are definatley there, but not abundant, but there is a lovely breadyness in there somewhere. Both mouth feel and body imply a bigger beer than the alleged 3.5%. Very drinkable and intriguingy beer. Thanks GL - if they are all like this, I'ts going to be a cracker of a case !
ausdb First bottle of the case for me, no point trying to taste beers with a cold. Even after 3 weeks in my study it is very very very well carbonated even and even with a careful pour I only managed 1/3 beer with 2/3 rocky head in a pint glass. On the nose I get fruity but not distinctly cascade aroma's which is surprising considering the tweaking it received with the magic hop potion. Flavourwise there is a hint of dark malts but the carbonation was too high and the tended to overpower most of the flavours for me. I must go past GL's and have one straight from the tap, as this bottle tastes like a completely different beer to how it normally tastes for me.
NME Full Nelson, 4.8%, bottle conditioned, give it a couple of weeks
sinkas: a very drinkable if yet a little unusually flavoured beer, for some reason I assume there is only NS hops, but I got a real stone fruit flavour also, only crit was maybe a bit heavy in mouth feel for the abv, but het it was certianly enjoyable
Kook Everything but the (Belgian Dark Strong), About 10%, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Well I had this last night amongst a few others so my recollection is just a touch hazy but I do recall it being an enjoyable drop. Some lovely toasty notes, caramelisation springs to mind and warming as it took hold. Wished I had another! Top drop Kook (PS Ben Trigger also enjoyed it!)
Tony M: Most of this case has been getting the Triple B award (Bloody Beaut Beer), but this was an AAA (Absolutely Awesome Ale). There were three tasters unfortunately and cries of toast, malt, caramel, chocolate and a suggestion of liquorice were heard. The alcohol was evident both on the palate and in the knees and the head was as dense as the crema on an expresso and showed no evidence of fading even when that was all that was left in the glass. Well done.
Doogiechap, Times a bitch, keg filled, ready now
GL Nice vigorous carbonation, dark amber colour, not bright maybe hop haze, pours with a dense off white head that hangs around. Piney fruity resiny aroma. Some malt up front and then packs a piney resiny passionfruity citrusy flavour punch which finishes with a nice bitter tingle down the sides of the tongue but without any harshness. A hop driven smooth flavour bomb, very nice, and I wouldnt plan on trying a delicate beer afterwards. If anyone remembers my "Upsized Demon" from a few cases ago, and tried it fresh, this is very similar but better, and I think similar to that beer I would drink it young before it loses that fruit salad character. Edit, this beer actually clears nicely as it warms, more chill haze than anything. Edit 2. Brendan was kind enough to bring the Murrays 2IPA to swap day, and Doogies beer stands up to that very well in my opinion.
TonyM: Take an empty stomach and slide into it a glass of 7% liquid gold and all one's resolve melts away. A glass usually lasts me half an hour but the whole bottle went quicker than that. The 100 IBU was beautifully balanced with the malt yet my lips didn't stick together once. I realise it was a cocktail, but you must post some sort of recipe. It made my APA's taste like battery acid.
sinkas: great IPA, I needed a punch in the junk and this one gave it to me. not sure what more needs to be said
VtPA: I struggled to get through this, 100IBU and 7% is usually fine when tasting and swapping notes, but to drink 740ml was a challenge. Having said that, the beer itself was well made and faultless.
kook: Pours a murky amber with a short white head. Good retention. Huge hop nose, big floral, fresh cut grass, citrus rind and pine aroma. Nice medium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Firm bitterness, subtle caramel notes in the start, then a whack-and-a-half of hop juice. Seriously big flavour, juicy fruit chewing gum, floral hops, bitter herbs, fresh citrus peel, pine and dank, earthy notes. This is a serious IPA, very tasty and very drinkable. Another please? (love your description Case!).
MC: This was a lovely beer but I'm glad I shared it with a friend. Getting through 750mL of this monster would be hard work! Pine, passionfruit and unctious brown sugar aroma. Toffee maltiness and hop resin combine to make this a chewy mouth filler, then the hop bitterness bitch-slaps them into submission. There's a squillion and one flavours going on in here, but it never tastes muddled. Top work.
clay: This is my kind of beer. Can't believe some of you struggled to get through it. Savoured every well balanced drop and was left wishing I had another.Top work bloke.
Goat: nice levels of carbonation with a creamy dense head on the pour. A bit murky. <takes a slurp>.... Bloody hell, this is a nice drop ! I'm getting a toffee type caramel - there might be a hint or diacetyl there, but it works well with the caramely malts - I love the malt in this baby. I have to admit I'm not getting a lot of hops on the nose, but its there in spades in taste and bitterness. A really great beer - top darts Doug !
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have mentioned. Only things to add. On my version, Hop Aroma - Zero, Hop Bitterness - It's there. HUGE amount of a what I can only describe as concentrated hop oil in the finish, it really is quite amazing. Body seemed a bit too big to me for this much hops, hence not that drinkable. A nice beer in it's own right, just not something I'd want more of.
WitWonder, Hefeweizen, keg filled, ready now
RR- Nice carb with a big head, v/hazy straw like appearance, fair bit of sulfur on the nose. low body.
NME: Mine appeared low carbed with not a lot of head all. Cloudy, straw coloured appearance, smelt really nice, had a nice mouth feel, but for some reason had a really odd taste to it and had an aftertaste that I can't describe any other way that saying it was kind of like dead ants? I feel terrible saying that, but I don't know how else to put it. I hope someone else can shed some light on what I'm tasting? I haven't tasted anything like it before. Sorry :/
TonyM: Wheats remain a mystery to me as I only taste these at bottle swaps; but I found it most refreshing with the appropriate spiciness that is expected of this style; but for me the wonder of this brew was the aroma. I wandered around like an indigenous resident of Meekatharra with my nose stuck in the glass thinking that it was almost a shame to drink it. I expected a little more carbonation but pouring from a great height gave a long lasting head.
sinkas: unfortunately mine was very fizzy, medicinal and obviously infected
kook: Pours a nice hazy straw colour, with a medium white head. Good head retention. Aroma of bubblegum, clove, pepper and rubber / plastic. Unfortunately, the plastic comes through in the flavour as a medicinal, astringent flavour. Whilst not intense, it does show signs of infection. I can tell this was a bloody good weizen underneath, their are some great bready, malty notes but the astringency buggers up the finish.
clay: thought a nice wheat was in order while sitting around the pool. Unfortunately this beer was infected so it ended up in the garden. Shame.
VtPA:I never tasted this one but my assistant said it was very nice.
GL Figured I better try this sooner rather than later. Mine has been in the fridge since swap day. It has low carb, quite cloudy. Mostly it has the right flavours for a wheat I think, but it does have an aftertaste which is plastic/rubber/astringent/sharp. Its not that strong and without the other reports I wouldnt necessarily have picked an infection, I drank it, didnt tip it. I have another one at room temp, will check that at some point to see if it has developed more of those flavours.
antPerfect clouded pale straw/wheat colour for a hefe, poured firmly to provide a rocky 1" head that settled quickly. I get some phenolics to the nose (clove and pepper), some sweetness and raw wheat breadiness. Good prickly carbonic bite on front of palate, I get banana esters over wheat up front. I didn't pick medicinal astringency; I thought it was just some overbittering to style (~35-40 IBU???) that gave the sharpness at the back of palate, and was going to suggest that the bittering should be backed off to allow more of the esters/phenols and the wheat tartness carry through. The body is mid range, possibly an increased carbonation might make the mouthfeel feel more dry. Personally I like hefes a little more attenuated, maybe an adjustment to mash temp might help. I enjoyed it - love these as summer beers.
Dchap Sorry WW mine was flat and clearly infected too :-( Mate, I truly hope you have better luck next year !
Churchy- Had a nice straw colour but had a really lemon bittery taste.
Goat, Pea Soup Pale, Keg filled, ready now
GL Goat does this every year, talks it down. It might not be crystal bright, but it aint that murky. There is a c hop aroma but with a fruit salad component, not harsh citrus. Its not overly bitter but there is a nice citrus and fruity hop character, and there is just enough smooth malt to back it up. Its very well balanced for me and very tasty. Only comments would be carbonation is a little under, and (probably consequently) head is a little thin. Nice work Lincoln.
RR - i drank this in low light as suggested on the back of the (award winning) label while sitting and relaxing in the spa mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of Christmas to hit, A full bodied dark amber ale bursting with american hop flavour and aroma with plenty of malt backbone to back it up, not overly hoppy or overly cloying just slightly balanced towards the hops.
Mika - Floccing hell ! If this is cloudy, I need to start filtering ! Low hop aroma, but they all show up in the taste, malt's in the background and nothing I can really pick, but it's not out of balance with the hops. I think Asher's dry hopping schedule might fix all your aroma issues, but then I can see hop matter sticking to the sides of his bottle, so maybe somewhere in between. Otherwise GL's comments pretty much explain my own tasting. If this is the worst beer of the case, it'll be a good christmas.
NME: This was my first pale from the case, so I was looking forward to it. Didn't open with much of a "psst", but the armoa was very quick to find my nose. Poured a really nice, deep amber colour, with a very light head that stuck around for the whole thing. Like the people above, I wouldn't really call it cloudy. Aroma wise, it came across as really complex for me. It was quite prominent, which I loved, and smelt somewhat fruity and grassy. If you really dry hopped with 6g/l, I need to step it up a little
The taste was really smooth, and the hop flavour matched the aroma, and it was all backed by a nice malt flavour. I could recognise the cascade in it, and i assume the rest is the Chinook (but I'm not sure as I've never really experienced it before). It wasn't nearly as bitter as I'd set myself up for, but the whole thing just worked. Very smooth, and very drinkable. Pale ales are my style of choice, and I will definitely aspire to make something like this. Love it! kook: What are you talking about. This is no pea soup! Pours a (slightly) hazy deep copper with a persistent, fluffy tan head. Great aroma, juicy fruit, grapefruit and citrus. Quite floral too. Great firm bitterness, but not over the top. Subtle caramel-like malt character, but the real showcase is the hop flavour. Fresh squeezed citrus, almost some mango there too. Nice light peppery hop spice and a long dry finish. Another pint please?
Churchy-Ruby in colour, nice bitterness with very distinctive fruity hop flavours.
VtPA: Clear, copper, nice firm head, lacing to the end, lively carbonation, very enjoyable, left me wanting another.
TonyM: Once again he failedabsolutely no evidence of pea soup anywhere, I could have read a newspaper thru it. The mouth watering presentation of clear bronze capped with a dense head heralded a great treat and we were not disappointed. The Irish/Prague son-in-law rated it the best so far and who could be a better judge. I could not gauge the longevity of the head due to the race to the bottom of the bottle. BTW, I nearly had to reach for the pliers to get the cap off!
sinkas: goat needs fuggin glasses, a nice rich and sparkling body, not cloudy, spritzy carbonation amplified the bitterness, but all together a great pale ale
MC: Awesome aroma - to my nose more tropical and over-ripe grape than citrus. Nice toffee taste up front before the hops come smashing through with juicy flavours and a peppery grassiness which is never harsh. I found myself sucking my teeth between sips, so it must have been good..
ausdb, Captured Rabbit Red, Bottle conditioned, (This has the White Rabbit yeast), Bottled on swap day
brendanos 27/12 I cracked this one at 10:30am today as I'm reculturing the yeast for a West Coast style AAA. Caramel, red berries, and a grassy, resinous hop aroma greet. The flavour is quite malty/caramel with a light lolly berry like sweetness, though the bitterness overwhelms. Resinous hop bitterness, I would say only moderate, but quite sharp and biting at this point. Lingers and makes it difficult to enjoy in any quantity. I know I opened this one early, and it should definately smooth out and become a much more balanced beer as it ages - but my yeast starter needed feeding!!
sinkas: nice punchy IPA, with a creaminess from the rabbit juice
Churchy- This was a little too bitter for me but still drank it.
Mika, Saison du Tondeuse a gazon, bottle conditioned, ready now - Or Belgian Dubbel, bottle conditioned, ready now
kook: Saison. Pours hazy golden in colour, with a persistent medium white head. Great aroma of pineapple, rotting fruit (in a good way!), apples, pears and spicy pepper. Mouthfeel is wonderful. Silky smooth in the beginning, yet still dry in the finish. Huge pineapple flavour, almost with some coconut there. Light peppery alcohol spice and some fruit derived sweetness too. Very drinkable stuff mika!
Randyrob , Halfluck steam beer, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Considering the flack I have copped in the past from this bloke and his video camera, I was surprised to get an explosive hiss on opening, and vigorous big bubble carbonation. To be fair it didnt climb out on to a new carpet, so no real complaints. Aroma is malt and esters, dark gold colour, reasonably clear but not bright. Head holds well. Tastes malty, estery and clean, balanced towards malt, little hop character. Its a slightly fuity malty beer with little hop presence which is well balanced and quite refreshing, quite delicious to drink, and a credit to produce such a beer with grain....but...if I dug round at the back of a few cupboards I suspect I could find an old kit beer brewed without temperature control that might have a similar character although not as clean.
VtPA: First gusher of the case, luckily opened over the sink, it pulled up most of the yeast into the beer which dominated the flavour once it had settled down, the Northern Brewer hops were evident.
MC: Opened with an explosive hiss which sprayed my hand, but didn't gush. Amber and not quite bright, with plenty of carbonation feeding the head which lasted until the end. I'm more familiar with the history of this style than with the style itself, but this came across quite clearly as an ale rather than a pseudo-lager thanks to the esters. Clean, balanced and enjoyable. Thanks Rob.
Mika :- I heeded the advice of others and let the cap off slowly, big hiss. Then tried to pour it... big mistake. Left it on the bench to off gas and it finally calmed down. The opening must have stirred up the yeast though and I had some chunks dancing in my glass, which probably contributed to the poor clarity. I get some of the woodiness, I get the ale character coming thru more than any sort of pseudo lager thing, I wouldn't go as far as GL's description of the old Kit brewed without Temp control, but it's far from clean, in fact I've tasted ales with cleaner characters. Maybe I'm just habouring a resentment towards that yeast strain.
Goat: Based on the above comments, I opened this baby over the sink. No gushing, though there was a healthy hiss - a slow pour resulted in a decent pint with an inch of fluffy white head. Slighlty hazy copper colour. Sweet maltiness on the nose. Maltiness carries through to the taste with a hint of fruit. Not much in the way of bitterness or hop flavour. Like GL suggests, its a bit of a nostaglia trip for me.
kook: I didn't read any of this, and opened it haphazard. There was a little initial "spray" of beer, but no gushing or foaming. Took a little bit of time to off gas in the glass, but I think it adds to the experience. Colour is a slightly hazy light amber, with a huge (60% of glass) fluffy white head. Initial aroma is quite spicy, with light peppery alcohol notes. As it rests a bit, some great malt notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Nice light body, dry finish. Flavour is quite clean, nice honey-like malt notes, very balanced bitterness level. Some light earthy hop notes come through, along with light fruity esters. Very quaffable halfluck offering!
clay, Belgian Blonde, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Got some vanilla, orangey, alcohol notes on the nose with the taste reflecting same. Nice, light quaffable beer which hides the relatively high alcohol well.
GL Basically what witwonder said. Reasonably clear but not bright, thin head, love that belgian pear ester aroma. Fruity (oranges and pears and vanilla) clean slightly candy ester, and very tasty beer with the alcohol very well hidden. Bit more body than a tripel, a very nice beer.
MC: As noted above, aroma was pears and a grand marnier like orange. Flavour carried on from the aroma and had a nice alcohol warmth without any harshness. I sipped this slowly while watching the sky turn pink over Matilda Bay - magic.
Goat: Not huge carbonation, but enough to develop a thinish white head. Not sure about the "belgian pear ester" - I think its more French/Swiss border pear... but there is definately that sort of fruit in the aroma in there. slightly hazy in with a golden straw colour. Nice full mouthfeel, slightly sweet - which works well with the moderatly alcoholy aftertaste. Nice beer.
Churchy- Lightly carbed and a honey kinda colour!Fruity flavour to hide the alcohol.Is that why my head is starting to spin and the fact I haven't eaten anything!
kook: This should have won the label comp (no offense Linc); boobs should always win. Pours a hazy orange colour with a short white head. Initially some light banana in the nose, then pear and peaches come through. As it warms a little, spice becomes more evident. Big mouthfeel, personally a little too full in the finish for me. Great flavours, pear, peaches, toffee apples and light peppery spice. Some citrus flavours there too. As noted by others, the alcohol is very well hidden. Personally I'd prefer this a few points drier, as I think there is a little too much sweetness. Still a great beer though, thanks Clay!
brendanos, Sticke Berliner Weiss, bottle conditioned, ready now but let it get really gassy for a bit
barfridge, labelless, IPA, bottle conditioned, leave 3 weeks at room temp
Asher, IAPA, bottle conditioned, ready now, best to fridge for a week to drop the hop chunks
TonyM: Bad stuff first. This may have been the bottom of the fermenter, but this beer had the turbidity of the Gascoyne in spate and I'm not talking about the hops, as the few transferred flakes dropped quickly to the bottom of the glass. Having said that, the flavour department was up to the standards expected of Asher. A blind man would love it.
sinkas: great hop aroma and flavour, and layered hops affect, another pint please landlord!
VtPA: A bit hazy, reasonable head considering the amount of hop oil swimming around in there, very drinkable as you would expect.
kook: Left this right at the back of the fridge since case swap day. Reasonable clear actually, very slight haze, deep copper colour. Persistent, fluffy, medium sized white head. Great hop aroma, nice pinecone, juicy fruit and grapefruit notes. Medium body, very smooth feel. Still dry enough in the finish to make it quaffable though. Quite a nice sweet malt note there, with a balanced hop flavour (ok, I just had doogies, so it's probably huge). Pine and floral come through, along with some fruit derived hop notes (not estery though). Another great Junctyard beer.
RR Just cracked this monster, while i'm waiting for the hop chunks to settle PICCY thought i'd come and have a read thru this thread!
LexP, Oatmeal FES, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp 3 weeks
Churchy-Had to drink it now, nice dark colour almost black and good carbonation.Could really taste the chocolate malt and not over powering, very enjoyable to drink.
Sinkas, Pointed and Weighty Arguments:Imperial Mild, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Wow this is a ripper of a beer, maybe my pick so far. Explosive decompression on opening, took three glasses to pour it, head eventually settles down and hangs around. Dark amber to mahogany colour, not bright but only a bit of haze, maybe hop haze. Aroma grassy citrusy fruity hoppy. Rich melanoidin malt character, folowed by citrus grapefruit big hop flavour, assertively bitter in the finish but clean and not over the top. I want to see the recipe and if this really is 3.7% then the body, malt flavour and hop flavour is very well done. Very nice work Case. Ok I looked at the recipe, wow I used to find JW caramalt way too sweet, but thats a amazing to get away with that much. If I can afford the hops I will give this a go.
kook: Pours a deep, dark copper colour, with extremely good head retention. Huge, fluffy off white head. Aroma is bonkers - pure hop juice. Intense, fruity grapefruit, citrus, pine and stonefruit. Flavour is just as full-on. Big hop assault on the palate, but suprisingly clean bittering character. Just enough malt backbone to support it, with some nutty notes there in the background. Really drinkable, and amazing to pack this much flavour into 3.7%. I'd love to try this on cask. Great effort Case, though next year if you brew this again I'd prefer a 1.5-2L bottle :lol:
Churchy- This went down really well after a bike ride, nice aroma hops and bittering hops.
VtPA: The case of Cases case beer, loved it. More of a hop cordial really, totally imbalanced with a hop overload that worked well in a lower gravity beer.
Goat: This is a goodun. Pours a bit hazy but with a nice deep colour. Head is a bit anxious, but decanting and then into a glass sorted that nicely. Is it my imagination or is there some hops in this sucker ?! Certainly does dominate the flavour - but in a good way. While the hop flavour /nose / bitterness are all good, I would love to taste this with a less pronounced involvement, cos I'm reminded of a Fullers ESB in the malt - very nice ! Don't know how you managed the body for 3.7%, but she's a wee ripper !
GB Dunkel wiezen 4.6% bottle conditioned ready to drink
RR: Pours with a nice pillowy / foamy head that dissipates quickly, dark brown w/ruby highlights, fair bit of banana/clove/bready notes on the nose, med/full boded very refreshing.
kook: Pours a deep brown, with nice amber/ruby highlights when held to light. Persistant medium-sized tan head. Aroma is magnificent! Banana cake dominates, though there are some other darker fruit notes (raisins) and nice spice too. Body is medium, with a nice soft feel (presumably accentuated by the wheat) though dry finish. Balance of flavours is perfect. Rich melanoidins, banana cake, light fruit and spice. Nothing is over-the-top though, bitterness is there to balance, but is quite restrained. Very drinkable beer. Thanks GB!
WW; A well balanced wheat beer. Hop bitterness blends nicely with the background notes of raisins and stonefruit and the malt bill gives the beer some nice body but still light and sessionable.
GL OK I am sure we all know I dont do wheats. Not getting the head, maybe Fleur and her lip gloss intervened. Love the bready banana aroma. Very balanced, nice fruity wheaty beer. Very Christmasy in fact. Let me say balance again.
MC: Beautiful mahogany colour and a lot brighter than I expected. Aroma of banana, toffee and fruit cake. Flavour follows the tone set by the aroma but with a chocolate flavour popping up just before swallowing. Toffee becomes more prominent as the beer warms. Overall, a very rich and nourishing beer. Pity it's too hot to enjoy this one in front of a fire. Thanks Nev.
Churchy-This was a nice beer Nev and my dad loved it as well.Hops were all together and carbonation just right.
Vlad, Double Demerits, bottle conditioned, keep at room temp to end Jan
Tony M , Aussie Lager, keg filled, ready now
NME: Very lightly carbonated, nice light colour and a little hazy. Smells like banana, tastes like banana. I freaking love banana. This is dangerously easy to drink and I would love to have it on tap over summer. It's just very clean tasting and goes down a treat. Thanks Tony! Looking forward to seeing your recipe.
RR: Went down well with a homemade Jal frazi, light straw/yellow quite clear with a slight haze @ 2*c, delicately carbonated with the aroma of pears and peaches that flollow thru to the flavour, light bready notes also, well balanced medium-low body good drinking lager. Thanks again tony.
Clay: first beer of the case. after talking to Tony I expected this to have some serious haze issues but bugger me it pours brilliant clear. Maybe my frige aint cold enough. Not normally a style I enjoy but this beer hit the spot. Maybe it was the smoke in my head from stoking the pizza oven or from working in the heat all day but this beer hardly hit the sides. Another great quaffer from the old fox.
kook: Pours a light yellow colour, with a slight chill haze. Nice short but persistent white head. Big banana in the nose, along with grapefruit, apples, pears and floral hops. Whilst technically the banana could be considered a flaw, I actually quite like it, the flavour blends well with the other fruits. Light in body, though not watery, still quite soft in feel and a good dry finish. Flavour is a blend of honey, pungent, bitter hops and light fruits. All work well together to make a very quaffable beer. Cheers Tony!
sinkas: modest lightly flavoured and bodied, clean and drinkable
Churchy-Very bright colour,little carbonation, drank this with ease
VtPA: Slightly undercarbed for an Aussie lager, luckily the POR was very restrained too. Looks like the research trips behind the curtain have paid off.
GLBet this goes down well at parties. Like an Aussie mega lager, but a bit more concentrated with a discernible malt character and a bit of hop flavour and a couple of esters. Not completely bright but one of the more clear beers in the case, nicely balanced, very smooth, very drinkable.
Dchap: Banana aroma, which like Kook worked for me too
I wouldn't have picked POR just a nice balanced neutral bitterness. A lovely refreshing drop on a hot afternoon. Thanks for a stellar contribution Tony Goat; Pours very well with a white dense head that is lacing very well at the halfway mark of this pint. Nice clear straw colour with a very slight haze. I don't get any banana, but the first thing I thought of on the aroma was icypole or perhaps lolly (? - I'll take that up with my shrink...). Bitterness is lowish, but there is a bit of flavour in there - mercifully not POR. Very quaffable beer. Bready malt is in there also, but doesn't dominate. A great summer, watering-the-lawn-with-the-other-hand type beer
MC: Slight hint of banana bread in the aroma and a clean, bready flavour with the right amount of bitterness for an easy drinker. Disappeared in a flash.
Cubbie First one for me. Poured very pale staw colour with a little bit of haze. Small tight head that lingered to near the end. Hint of banana and peach. Very easy to drink, do well as a session beer or just a nice cold referesher. For me I would like just a touch more body.
Malty Cultural, Beached whale ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
GL Extra points for the label. Squishy bottle in fridge, subdued pfft on opening, a little undercarbed. There is a head and it hangs around, but a bit thin. Dark amber to chocolate colour. Not bright but not chunky. Lovely NZ hop stone fruit in the aroma. Slightly thin body, with a subdued dark malt flavour up front, then a fruity hop flavour comes in, then it finishes crisp and clean without anything harsh. Choice as, Bro. No idea what the style is supposed to be, but for me same hops, a little more crystal/body, or a little less dark malt would balance it better to my palette. Ooops, just looked at the recipe, no shortage of crystal, I think its just that tiny 1% of roast that knocks it slightly off balance, but is a choice beer none the less.
Clay: grabbed this from to fridge. A bit soft so checked the list...ready now it says. Twist the top. Oh dear, not much going on here. Sniff the bottle. Smells alright. Pour fron a good hieght to get a decent head. Take a swig... hey thats not bad. Great blend of that NZ fruit salad taste and balanced beautifully by crystal with a slight chocolate after taste. Oh, and the carbonation is spot on. Enjoyed this alot.
RR light bodied, medium-low carb, slightly murky copper/light brown appearance, amazing hoppy aroma tho flavour is a little unbalanced too much bitterness and not enough malt body/backbone to support it, other than that a very clean beer i'd say if you give it another bash you will nail it! oh nice theme
Mika :- Slight hiss on opening, but a head that you'd miss if you blinked. Lovely hop aroma with a nice bitterness and a malt character that seemed to complement the hops, but without that carb to lift it up, for me it didn't work and being in the mood I was in, didn't finish the glass.
kook: Quite dead on opening, squishy bottle. Poured with a bit of distance and it generated a tight, small off white head. Looks like a good cask ale actually, slightly hazy deep dark amber in colour, edging on brown. Brilliant hop aroma, juicy fruit, tropical fruits, fresh cut grass and floral notes all come through. Medium bodied, mouthfeel is accentuated by the low carbonation. Great melanoidiny background malt character, with some light toasty notes. The hops are the show here though, big, juicy fruit flavours and a nice firm (but in no way harsh) bitterness. Great beer, very drinkable and moreish.
churchy, extra special bitter, bottle conditioned, drink after Jan
Simo, commercial offerings! Samuel Smiths.
GL- Nut brown ale. Usually only get the India Ale which is a great beer, so it was nice to try the nut brown ale. Very smooth, some English hops, bit of chocolate malt character. Like an ESB with a bit more dark malt. Nice. Doesnt seem to have suffered that much in its transport.
RR - NB. Just finished cutting a heap of firewood with a mate so we shared this, both really enjoyed it, if i was a kid this would be like eating a piece of chocolate and a toffee apple at the same time. easy drinking.
kook: - Well done in standing up to the swap commitments. I got a bottle of the India Ale. Aroma is very fruity, tropical-punch style. Hard to discern the fruits, well blended. Flavour is vastly different. Caramel/toffee like malt flavours, some burnt toasty melanoidins, strong, earthy, woody hop flavour. A little bit of cardboard in the finish, but to be expected from SS ;-) Enjoyable though, thanks Simo.
Churchy: Nut brown ale. Rich honey colour and great carbonation.I let it warm up in the glass as I was watching Magnum pi and tasted alot smoother and less bitterness.
Mika :- Pretty much as the others have noted. I get the Carmel/toffee stle malt flavours that Kook talks of, but only if I search for them. Seemingly no carbonation, but it works for this beer. Very smooth with a well balanced malt to bitterness ratio. A nice beer, hopefully next year we'll recieve one of your own creations.
Cubbie, Portland Robust Porter, bottle conditioned, give it 2 to 3 weeks at room temp
Kenworthy, Pale Ale, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; High carbonation resulting in a large fluffy head with couple with a mahogany colour made for an enticing beer. I felt the bitterness was a little harsh but nonetheless supported with some toasty notes from the malt. As it warmed I noted a brett-like sourness on the back of the pallete but somehow this complemented the beer and didn't really detract too much from an enjoyable drop.
GL Exuberant carbonation, big bubble pillowy head that dies down but has good lacing. Bit cloudy and doesnt clear when it warms. Aroma is gooseberry lychee and cats pee (in a good way). Light malt presence, nice fruity hop flavour, finishes with a bitterness that is maybe slightly high for the malt, but overall a very tasty clean enjoyable beer
antBottle opens with a reassuring hiss and I poured probably a bit firm for a big bubbled rocky head. I get stonefruit, citrus/mango and passionfruit on the nose. This Nelson Sauvin hop os going to get a hammering my me next year. Sharp carbonic bite on front palate - it even forms a head in my mouth as it warms. I get marmalade sweetness up front. Nice light/mid body - leaves a subtle smoothness over the roof of my mouth. Same mouthfeel and taste through the mid palate where it's joined by a citrus like tingle on the sides of the tongue. Finishes with an assertive, even aggressive quinine/grapefruit bitterness on the sides of my tongue through the back palate. Lingering bitterness that reminds me of a straight Cascade hopped beer (to my muddled perceptions I often confuse this with oxidation - don't ask me why). This adds a real complexity to the beer; a clever balance between the fruit salad sweetness up front to the sharp bitterness at the back. Definitely a hop driven beer - very subtle malt and clean yeast characters.
TonyM: This beer started out great, good colour, clarity and head. It started well in the mouth as well, with pleasing hops and malt, but to me the back palate was a disaster, with a totally unpalatable sourness from some alien microbe. A pity as it began so well.
RR highly carbed, massive carbonic bite with a huge sourness that lingers, going off the other reviews maybe i just got a dirty / bad bottle?
VtPA: Highly carbed, would have been a gusher at higher opening temp, nice big head that stayed the distance and left a nice lacing, grapey, stonefruit aroma up front, fruity and lively upfront but when that harsh bitterness hits it takes the shine off. Back off on the 60min hop and this would be a very good beer.
ausdb I think I tasted this beer at the swap day as I remember Kenworthy pouring me a glass of something with Galaxy and NS at some stage, but this one to me was completely different. I pick a distinct NS gooseberry and cats pi$$ aroma and it is a lovely pale gold and straw colour but I am torn between deciding if it is just too overbittered with the Galaxy overload effect or signs of an infection when I taste it. I can taste the quinine/grapefruitiness that ant tastes but also get the sourness that others have picked. It would be really nice to see your recipe to compare your hopping schedule with my taste perceptions.
sinkas: unfortunatley my bottle opened, with a 2 foot gush, threid to drink the geiser,and it had a really odd harsh flavour, so vented the rest outside
Steggles, Phils wheat, bottle conditioned, ready now
WW; Probably shouldn't comment given my evidently poor effort sufficed to say this was an uncomplicated, fairly easy drinking wheat beer.
sinkas: nice bananary aroma, drinkable but quite heavy in the clove flavour to me
MC: Lovely banana bread aroma. To me, the clove was almost more of a cinamon flavour which was something I haven't encountered before, but I enjoyed it. Not quite as dry as I expected, but balanced and easy drinking.
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