Sandgroper Xmas 2007 Recipes And Tasting

[Simon W]

Cheers RM, not sure if I like it yet. Will be having another tonight, tho the low carb isn't inspiring. Did you get glass or PET?
Just got back from 5 days with the rellie's down your way(Yunderup), spent most of boxing day afternoon 'till sunset swimming, doing bombies off a boat and floating around in the estuary to keep cool. Great stuff.


Tasting notes: I'm sure you've all heard me say this before, but I'm crap at describing what I smell and taste so read this post with both eyes shut. To add to the problem, I think my glass of choice is phukt! I must've rinsed it 5 times with hot water but with the exception of Asher's NS Ale, it never held a decent head for longer than 3 seconds. Zero lacing with any beer. I'm back home now so will clean it properly for remaining brews.
Cloudiness was an issue with many of the brews but they all got a bit of a shake and a stir in the esky in the car for an hours drive.

Asher's NS Summer Ale
Very very nice, my pick of the pack to date.
Poured with a large-ish big-bubbled head that dropped to two-finger width and held there to the bottom where it was about half-finger width. Highly carbonated which wasn't a problem.
Here's where the problems start(with me, not the beer!) Hop aroma + flavour was awesome, but buggered if I know what it's like, Definite Grapefruit base but overlayed with maybe passionfruit? or could it be lychee? lime? no idea, but I loved it, will be giving NS a go myself eventually. Maltiness was nice and finished dry I thought(good for 46 deg day!). The bitterness wasn't over the top - tart but pretty smooth and rounded if that makes any sense - and lingered for some time without getting annoying. Very noice!

Goat's Hefe
Poured with little head, carbonation was low, a faint but v.nice aroma of who-knows-what(Sorry!), slightly spicy, definite wheat taste that I enjoy. A good drop and refreshing on the killer day.

Barf's IPA
A malt flavour that was pretty strong, but excellent!. Not my idea of an IPA at all, but what do I know(not much!) Was still a good drink tho, Cheers.

Fletch's Lite
No body, no head, no carbonation, nothing. I've had heavier water. Infact I've had heavier air.

Tony's Ale
This was quite nice but seemed low on carbonation, went down well nevertheless. I forgot to jot down some notes but remember a nice malty taste and being well balanced.

Kai's Cream
Definitely a cream aroma.... let me clarify:
It was pretty much total darkness for this one, sitting on the verandah in the cool night air with the lights off.
Being a small bottle I tried to pour all into my glass, so with a little head it pretty much filled to the very top. In the darkness I decided to have a sniff, forgetting it's fill, and snorted a decent amount of beer up my left nostril ! It was not entirely unpleasant!
The aroma(after I blew out the liquid bush-hanky style) was extremely strong and full of what can only be described as.... cream! You know the creaminess you smell/taste in Red Creaming Soda? That.
It could be described as vanilla or something? dunno.
Was kinda nice but kinda wierd.
Anyway, afterwards there was no aroma(my nose was shot!) and the flavour had no cream but it was a nice refreshing beer.

Rob's APA
By this stage of one night I was getting pretty sloshed(might have had something to do with Kai's Cream Blow!) so the notes were thinning, but this beer poured with good carbonation and a little head that disappeared slowly. The aroma was there but wasn't the grapefruit I've been conditioned to expect from an APA. A nice malty balance, very good.

Recharge's Rural Golden
Great American hop aroma, good smooth bitterness that lingered, I'd guess hopburst-like addition schedule? Will have to check the recipe.
Good maltiness but a lingering caramel-like sweetness that I didn't know what to do with. Good Carbonation but minimal head(poss. glass prob.)

Vlad's TPA, Doogie's Klsch and DeeBee's Beer
Dave is gonna kill me(you get one free hit at the next meet), but I've lost my notes for these three on the trip home today.
Let it be known though that all beers were great, with the exception of cloudiness(stirred) and head(my fk'd glass) never had a negative thought about any while drinking.

Simo

 

[Guest Lurker]

Fletch's Lite
No body, no head, no carbonation, nothing. I've had heavier water. Infact I've had heavier air.

Teehee, nice review

 

[roger mellie]

Cheers RM, not sure if I like it yet. Will be having another tonight, tho the low carb isn't inspiring. Did you get glass or PET?
Just got back from 5 days with the rellie's down your way(Yunderup), spent most of boxing day afternoon 'till sunset swimming, doing bombies off a boat and floating around in the estuary to keep cool. Great stuff.

Yep - sure is a crap part of the world we live in down here. We went out into the Estuary on Xmas eve and got 20 crabs - I still maintain that fresh crab is the sweetest seafood when eaten fresh. Went well in a crab salad for Xmas - washed down with a few very cold pints.

I got a PET - it did stand on its own.

I drank mine early - no issue there - but given time I reckon it will be superb.

RM

 

[Guest Lurker]

GLs BX bitter vs Ruddles county
First up, let me say that I wasnt trying to make Ruddles, burt saw it in the International Beer Shop yesterday and thought I would try it since it is supposed to have the same hops.
Second up, for someone who claims to brew with MO without chill haze, I seem to have produced a MO beer with a shitload of chill haze. Not sure what the source is, the only change that I can see is going back to flaked maize which I had been leaving out.

So anyway, the two beers do have a similar hop flavour, fruity, black curranty. But when cold, the Ruddles is definitely a better beer. The colour is darker, more red, and the malt flavour is more biscuity, slightly toasty, and as Kai suggests there is about 5 more IBUs dangled in there. When warmed up, (and for those who tried it on the first cyclinder from the hand pump, you know I have been drinking it pretty warm) I like mine better. The hop flavour is more prominent, and the softer malt profile works.

Two photos, cos I like the way the Ruddles shows my glassware.

 

[recharge]

Kai's CACA

This beer didnt last long in my glass this arvo i had just finished digging a 30+m trench in Bakers Hill dirt (AKA hard clay and gravel).
I was hot and the beer was very clean and refreshing with a nice peppery finish. Like others have said i would have liked more. 1.25's for you next year i think
Sorry i didn't pay more attention.

Regards

Richard

 

[deebee]

Well I got three cartons of beer for Christmas presents so have been laying off the sandgroper case a bit, but did drink recharge's bottle, Rural Khazi...

Fairly bright, almost clear, bronze-amber colour, cream-coloured bubbly head. US hops aromas and also something sweet, very honey-like, making me think caraaroma, although the recipe says melanoidin. Tastes good, might do with more time in the bottle, finishing too sweet, perhaps too much specialty malt or just underattenuated.

 

[deebee]

Le Marteau Divin
Mine is carbonated well enough, in fact it fizzes like coke and the head is gone straight away. It looks cherry black, clear but dark. It smells all Belgian and sherry. Up front the flavours are big with all those brandied fruit and Christmas pudding flavours, molasses, alcohol, has me thinking this is real night-night juice. After the swallow something thin and puckering creeps in, I can't name the flavour, but it does detract from the beer. Something comforting for the close of the evening, though perhaps past its best.

 

[Simon W]

Ignore the label on mine; RM is spot-on, give it more time. Another week maybe, even more if you can hold out.
Can set a stubby aside for you RM, will be passing that way again around Aussie day.

 

[sinkas]

Beer By David:
seemed to be a very pleasant mild mannered APA, but it certinaly felt like more than 4.8%, crisp hop finish, really nice summer drinker.

Tony's Ordinnary:
Well rounded yet heavy on the malt, not too much in the hop profile was evident, some of the finishing flavours reminded me of my CC contribution.

 

[Kai]

Mike B's halfwit

Firstly, boggled by the OG on the bottle. That's a halfwit all right. Very clean and refreshing though, I was worried it was undercarbed when I cracked the cap but carries just enough gas to lift it up. Nice cloudy lemon colour with no head. Spiciness lifts right out of the glass on the aroma and seems to balance well on the palate. At first taste I thought it was to peely but that seems to be balancing out as I drink.

I'm sitting with this beer and a few dried dates for a midday snack and the beer suits the situation very well.

 

[Kai]

roger_mielle's rude kid pilsner

I don't get any DMS fortunately, but the D Saaz does throw up some interesting stuff. Seems like a little light honeyed diacetyl merging with a blackcurranty flavour from the hops. Lower carbonation is emphasising that slickness. Bitterness is also very smooth, I barely noticed it on the first few sips. It's nice though I think I'd like it more with a little more carbonation. And perhaps I should have left the bottle out at room temp for a few more days before drinking.

 

[Kai]

Ignore the label on mine; RM is spot-on, give it more time. Another week maybe, even more if you can hold out.
Can set a stubby aside for you RM, will be passing that way again around Aussie day.

Sorry!

Simon W's Amber ale

Nice colour, ok clarity, good head though pours coarse lingers well. Drinking at around 10C.

VERY malty. Heavy dark bread-crust and dry coffee-toffee. Hopping is present but to me definitely takes a back seat -- more noticeable when I burp. Bitterness is prominent at the end. Have thrown the second half of the PET into the freezer to see what it's like at cooler temps.

[edit] Down around 4 now, it's showing a bit of chill haze and still quite malty. Is emphasising the bitterness more now too.

 

[roger mellie]

roger_mielle's rude kid pilsner

I don't get any DMS fortunately, but the D Saaz does throw up some interesting stuff. Seems like a little light honeyed diacetyl merging with a blackcurranty flavour from the hops. Lower carbonation is emphasising that slickness. Bitterness is also very smooth, I barely noticed it on the first few sips. It's nice though I think I'd like it more with a little more carbonation. And perhaps I should have left the bottle out at room temp for a few more days before drinking.

I should have put on the label - this was kegged and force carbed - then decanted into PET's and given some more squirts of CO2. Obviously not enough - sorry. The 2 weeks I recommended was for CC.

I think it must be changing Kai - all I got was Peaches and Nectarines - I did a diacetyl rest but obviosly not for long enough.

RM

 

[roger mellie]

Time 4 a beer

Tony M's Justan Ordinary Ale (or something)

Light coloured almost apricotty, clarity OK (little bit hazy), mine had lowish carbonation but with an elevated pour got a nice fluffy head.

I got a gingery/spice flavour early doors that subsided - not a lot of hop flavour detectable - this is summed up in one word 'delicate' - I was searching for that compost smoke pipe flavor - but not to be. Malt is subdued - I gather this is at the lower end of the ABV scale (I could be wrong).

During me tasting this one of my spotty wonders dropped their guts under the desk - throwing me completly off my focus - I had to vacate. So in summing up - I liked it - I like delicate beers where you need to search for flavours - I think this is well made and far from Justan Ordinary.

Cheers

RM

 

[deebee]

Mike B's Halfwit
Looks just like the real thing, light lemony straw coloured, lovely white head, a little coarse bubbled. I'm not a big wit drinker, but this seems to have all the right smells and tastes right there in the right places, only a very light-bodied version and finishing extra tight, tart and crisp. So crisp it almost crunches. A little something in there might be too sharp right at the end after the swallow. This would have been much better opened at the start of the first over of the last session of the first day of the next Test; a perfect hot day beer, all dry and refreshing.

Edit: only just checked the gravity for this beer and have to add that this is a pretty remarkable effort for flavour:alcohol ratio. You really could drink this beer all day as long as you were near a loo. Pretty flash label too.

 

[Kai]

I should have put on the label - this was kegged and force carbed - then decanted into PET's and given some more squirts of CO2. Obviously not enough - sorry. The 2 weeks I recommended was for CC.

I think it must be changing Kai - all I got was Peaches and Nectarines - I did a diacetyl rest but obviosly not for long enough.

RM

Yeah I read the force carbed bit after I finished the post. I'd wait to see if anyone else thinks it's [diac] there first... if it is then it's faint. It'll be interesting to see how everyone else interprets the hop flavour too.

 

[Tony M]

Time 4 a beer

Tony M's Justan Ordinary Ale (or something)


During me tasting this one of my spotty wonders dropped their guts under the desk - throwing me completly off my focus - I had to vacate.
RM

Thanks RM for blaming the dogfart and not the beer.

 

[ant]

Been working my way through a few of these beers, and really enjoyed them. Such a top idea, and a great way to try some inventive interpretations on styles... please excuse my overuse of words like "palate" and "carbonic"... the beer ****** in me clearly likes to come out after a beer or two. Hope you all get something out of the comments anyway

Goat Hefe
Classic hefe colour and firm rocky head. Bready nose with sight banana ester, prickly carbonation on front of palate, with clove and a subtle ~22-25 IBU'ish bitterness from the mid palate back. Fantastoc balance with clean phenolic finish. Crisp, clean, esters and phenolics - what more do you want from a hefe?

Mike B Halfwitz
Most impressive pale straw colour for a wit I've seen outside something from Belgium. Maybe tad undercarbed for mine, head pours small and dissipates quickly. Sweet candi aroma with some coriander evident, prickly carbonation on front palate, helps lift the coriander and bring light bitterness across the palate. Tartness from the wheat and a residual sweetness throughout. Blanced, light, summer quaffer. Incredible amount of taste for the low OG.

Asher Summer Ale
All hail the JYD. Love the label. Pours cloudy straw colour with firm fine head. I get a tangerine/rockmelon aroma, a mild carbonation, and once in the mouth, a light body with a sweet candi sugar kind of an approach at the front palate, a mandarin peel and grapefruit type bitterness, finishing dry and crisp through the rear palate like you'd expect from a Lord of Lagers. Bloody good.

Rob Lucky 13 APA
Pours with thick pillowy head, hazed amber colour. When I see this colour in an APA I expect a hop bomb, but this delicate approach was better suited. Citrus (tangerine?) and some sweetness to the nose, mild carbonic bite front of palate and Cascade citrus with smooth caramel malt giving way to clean finsih with an almost sweet (Sauvin?) and 25-30 IBUish finish on rear/side of my tongue. Fruity with malt backbone, clean bitter finish. Nice balance, and the label is sensational.

Vlad Trans Pale Ale
Pours a copper/amber colour with nice size head. Aroma smella vaguely familiar - almost wit like? - and a bit bready.Nice sharp carbonic bite at front of palate, with citrus/grapefruit bitterness asserting itself. body has enough malt to carry the bitterness, but is still quaffably light. Finishes with a grepfruit bitterness sharp enough to remind me of quinine in tonic water and each mouthful has me reaching for the glass again to quench the bitterness. Balanced. Surprised me - it's a failing I know, but I automatically think APA every time I see the words "Pale Ale", and this was one out of the box. Thanks for taking me there.

Doogiechap Faux Kolsch
Poured cloudy amber colour with quickly dissipating head. Slight estery (not quite banana?) aroma, great assertive carbonic bite. Thought I got a touch of diacetyl, with a rounded sort of mouthfeel at the roof of my mouth, but a nice dry kolsch finish. I sort of thought it tasted like a hefe/kolsch combo; the fruitiness of the hefe and the crispness of the kolsch - anyway, it worked for me! Would have liked another glass or two as I sat in the sun...

Clay APA
Beaut straw/light amber colour, nice size head. Floral and citrus aroma, carbed nicely with solid carbonic bite, enough malt to carry the body through (tasted maybe heavier than it is cos of tiny bit of diacetyl?) and a floral type finish which reminded me of the LCPA hop combo. Great dry finish, I love that in an APA and I really wished I hadn't shared the bottle with my bro. Had a LCPA afterwards, but it just didn't hit the spot, which is an indicator to me that this is a very tidy beer.

Chilla Haze Altbier
Pours with a fair haze - almost murky (could be in part to conditioning on it's side in the fridge - just never enough room for all the beer), with a low carbonation. Some faint citrus hop aroma, with a tad more carb these probably would have become more prominent. I'm not sure what to expect in a malt profile form an alt, but it seems to be the dominant flavour, and I'm pretty sure I get some butterscotch sweetness from diacetyl in there. I think I failed to do it justice by not leaving it another week or two, but time is of the essence, and I only have a small window to get through them!

GL Bramling Cross Bitter
Pours copper colour with firm head that eased off quickly. An unusual stonefruit (peach/nectarine) aroma sort of sits with a dark berry smell I can't place, but it's good, and keeps me sniffing the whole glass through. Strong english malt (GP or MO - I struggle to pick them) profile, with a roundedness to the body which fills it out, but doesn't strike me as being a fault. Nice malt driven bitter with a fresh, clean finish.

RM Rude Kid Pilsener
Beautiful crisp/clear light golden colour, pours with a nice head that sinks quickly. I get a noble Saaz aroma, but with something sweet there that reminds me a bit of candi? Great sharp carbonic bite, some roundedness to top of palate (diacetyl?), but a hop bitterness across the top palate that lingers and gives a dry crisp finish - went great with some chilli!

Kai's CACA
Got to love a poo joke in the name of your beer. Pours a cloudy straw colour with a mid size head. Citrus aroma, and some noble Saaz in there too. Sweet mouthfeel with a good prickly carbonation, then a tartness that reminds me of a 40-50% wheat beer, but is less, well, wheaty, and more, well Belgiany. Good dry finish with a lingering tartness sitting along with the hop bitterness. I like the tartness a great deal. I want more.

Ausdb Lost Mojo Blonde Ale
Pours a hazed amber/copper colour with just a little head. Smells sweet and maybe a bit estery, no real carbonic bite, which made me think of an underattenuated effort I've made previously. Malt backbone is prominent, giving a clean light body that belies the gravity readings, and a harsh bitterness that sits all along the sides of my tongue. I should have left it later to firm up and marry the malt and hop, but alas time waits for no man.

Kook Saison D'Eclater Houblon
Pours a golden colour with a coarse white head. Citrus aroma like an APA, sharp quinine/grapefruit bitterness from the first mouthful carries across the top, side and back of the palate (think it's an Amarillo taste?). Definitely hop driven, not much malt profile evident, although I can get a bit of wheat there. Less of the spices and phenolics than I was expecting from a saison, but in declaring my hand, I have very limited experience with the style.

Sinkas Divine Hammer
Dark amber/ruby colour on pouring, and crystal clear. Good size head on pouring which "Guinnesses" up quickly and settles. Let this warm a bit and got cherry, raisin, plum, prune type aromas, and a hint of something that reminded me of lactic. Carbonation gives a slight zing on the front palate, super rounded, full mouthfeel with the same dark fruits across the palate, with a sharp lambic sourness that is a great foil. Not sure if this was a late yeast addition, and infection or what, but I loved it. Love the contrast between the sweet, fruit driven start and the sour finish. I might add that leaving the beer to age for 12 months sets a new standard.

 

[ausdb]

Been working my way through a few of these beers, and really enjoyed them. Such a top idea, and a great way to try some inventive interpretations on styles... please excuse my overuse of words like "palate" and "carbonic"... the beer ****** in me clearly likes to come out after a beer or two. Hope you all get something out of the comments anyway

Ausdb Lost Mojo Blonde Ale
Pours a hazed amber/copper colour with just a little head. Smells sweet and maybe a bit estery, no real carbonic bite, which made me think of an underattenuated effort I've made previously. Malt backbone is prominent, giving a clean light body that belies the gravity readings, and a harsh bitterness that sits all along the sides of my tongue. I should have left it later to firm up and marry the malt and hop, but alas time waits for no man.

Thanks Ant, sounds like it needs more time in the bottle if its sweet and maybe I didn't get enough yeast carry through for it to carb up properly as the fermenter samples were bone dry, the Nottingham had flocced right out before I bottled it. I also got pretty liberal with some saaz plugs at end of boil and in the hopback so the IBU's are just a guess really. Cheers for the feedback at least it wasn't infected like the one that killed my mojo

 

[deebee]

Amitas Wit
Doesnt seem overcarbonated but gee it has a big head on it for a while. A very bright beer for a wit, a lovely golden amber colour that might remind Guest Lurker of taking a berocca the night before. Its the kind of wit I could drink more of, has the light mouth, low bitterness and tart finish of a wit, but little of those girly bubblegum and medicine flavours that always Make Me Go Hmmm when I drink a wit. I can just pick up coriander when I gaze wistfully into the distance. Can taste the orange zest, but not at all prominent. This would make a fantastic session beer; very easy drinking. Kind of a cross between a wit, a redback and a soda water. You have done a bloody fantastic job getting the extracts in this beer to ferment out so well, especially as there doesnt look like a whole lot of diastatic power in that minimash. Hats off.