Sandgroper Xmas 2007 Recipes And Tasting

[Goat]

Finally got around to cracking open the case.Tasted so far:

RM's Rude Kid Pilsner
Pours bright with a very slight haze and thinish head. Hop taste and aroma are quite prominent and at first were a little distracting with some interesting flavours - almost sweet, but by the second mouthful became very moreish and that continued to the last. Good bitterness with a very clean and dry finish. A great beer - I'll be following up the recipe on this one. Well done Roger Mellie

Vlad's Transylvanian Pale Ale
Due to circumstances beyond my control, the pour was not ideal. However it poured a nice coppery colour with a good head that faded slightly. The taste at first was slightly sweet with a hint of spiceness. and the malt was a little subdued though noticeable. The beer had a very refreshing feel to it which was not really expected from a Pale, I think that might be the hops used. An easy drinking, quaffable beer, its a shame the pour was stuffed up though.

 

[amita]

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.

thanks deebee,yes its my fav at the moment and I wonder why it has comeup so clear,,did use wyeast wit and was expecting some cloudiness but he, its very nice indeed.
cheers amita

 

[recharge]

OK was looking forward too this one:
Barfridges Deuchars IPA
I drank this beer from very cold to letting it warm up (and with flame suit on) i can honestly say i did not enjoy this beer in fact i struggled to finish the 500ml but i gave it to the end to pass judgment.
I'm sure there are some who like this beer but it's not for me and not like any IPA i've ever tried.
I don't know how to describe the flavour other than somewhat medicinal.

Rich

 

[Guest Lurker]

Tony M Ordinary Ale
Orange/amber colour (to achieve this in your pee I recommend 6 pints and 3 baroccas the night before). Reasonable head. Aroma subdued malt and mild hops. Moderately bready malty with restrained (English? Marmalade?) hop flavour and nice bitterness level. A restrained, balanced and eminently drinkable beer.

Chilla Haze Altbier
Quite low carb. Thin head in this particular glass. Colour in terms of pee is in the territory of end stage malaria, as is the clarity. Aroma is caramel malt. A bit of toffee/caramel malt up front, then the subdued bitterness comes in, with a little citrus hop flavour I think and the caramel malt continues in the finish. Balanced to the malt, which I imagine is how it is supposed to be, first alt I have tried, very drinkable.

 

[Guest Lurker]

Vlads Tranny Ale
Brightest beer so far. Estery aroma. Small head. Lowish carb. Malarial pee colour. Yeast driven, malty, fruity, Belgiany beer with a dryish, crisp, tangy finish. I like the quinine analogy for that finishing flavour. Very tasty.

 

[roger mellie]

Goats Hefeweizen

Bottle number 1/22

What artistic writing you have Goat.

This was the 2nd case beer fo the day - unfortunately for failure to read instructions the first attempt was 'still' - so it will hopefully carb up.

Light Yellow, little bit hazy, carbonation little bit low - consequently the head was not a feature - but this is no problem. I know as soon as I smell a Hefe whether I am going to like it - if it has the 'sweet composting orange' aroma it is my kind of beer - it was there in spades. I get cloves and pears on the palate with a lovely crisp acid tartness to carry the flavours through. Excellent beer, well balanced - thoroughly enjoyable - I could drink a lot of this.

If I could find one fault is that it was a little non hefe - mine was nearly Kristal - I didnt roll the bottle - and this is not a fault IMHO.

Good work Goat - very well made - was this WB-06. Would you post the recipe.

Cheers

RM

 

[Goat]

Thanks for the kind words RM.

The recipe is posted (erroneously) here and as you will see from the post, I can take very little credit for it. Yes the yeast was the WB-06 dry from Ross and Kook.

Oh and as for the writing - it took 2 degrees and 5 years at Uni (with no parole), to be able to do that. I obviously failed miserably though, cos you can read it.

 

[ausdb]

Oh and as for the writing - it took 2 degrees and 5 years at Uni (with no parole), to be able to do that. I obviously failed miserably though, cos you can read it.

But as you are an architect not a doctor being able to read it is acceptable

 

[Asher]

Here's my Summer Ale Recipe.

Nelson Sauvin Summer Ale

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 55.00 Wort Size (L): 55.00
Total Grain (kg): 11.00
Anticipated OG: 1.050 Plato: 12.28
Anticipated SRM: 4.7
Anticipated IBU: 27.8
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 70 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
92.7 10.20 kg. TF Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt UK 1.037 3
4.5 0.50 kg. JWM Wheat Malt Australia 1.040 2
2.7 0.30 kg. Hoepfner Caramel Malt Pils Germany 1.036 2

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
110.00 g. Czech Saaz Whole 3.80 22.7 60 min.
35.00 g. Nelson Sauvin Pellet 12.20 5.1 10 min.
55.00 g. Nelson Sauvin Pellet 12.20 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1007 German Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

66 with HERMS Mash out
3:1 liquor to Grist Ratio

 

[Tony M]

Tony M Ordinary Ale
Moderately bready malty with restrained (English? Marmalade?) hop flavour and nice bitterness level.

Give yourself a gong Simon. It was flavoured and finished with Fuggles and Goldings but I didnt use any marmalade.

 

[roger mellie]

Thanks for the kind words RM.

The recipe is posted (erroneously) here and as you will see from the post, I can take very little credit for it. Yes the yeast was the WB-06 dry from Ross and Kook.

Oh and as for the writing - it took 2 degrees and 5 years at Uni (with no parole), to be able to do that. I obviously failed miserably though, cos you can read it.

I see - reading the notes in that post:-

Notes:
------
Screwed up dough in temp and ended up doughing in at 50.
Skipped acid rest. Added water to raise to 62. Decocted to 68.
Unable to recirc initially, false bottom dislodged. Transferred mash to kettle, reassembled mash tun.
Transferred back, mash stuck. Added ~ 400g rice hulls.
Boil without issue. No whirlpool. OG 1.052.

Sounds like an uneventful brew day

Still a top drop.

RM

 

[Goat]

Yep - it was a bit RM. Unfortunately my (?) best brews usually work out that way. That is; unrepeatable.

 

[Simon W]

...
Hopping is present but to me definitely takes a back seat -- more noticeable when I burp.
...

Hehe, the warning went out....

...
Just had one and is only just carbed.
Burps like a fruit salad :huh:
...

NYE beers:

MikeB's Halfwit
Very pale almost rice-lager like colour, poured pretty clear with a big-bubbled head that slowly thinned out to nothing.
Carbonation was low but still had a surprising sodawater like tang on the tongue. I remember thinking on the night that it was like a Redback with Sodawater, then I see today that DeeBee wrote that for Amita's wit!
A light, full-taste but crisp and very refreshing, great beer with a great name. I like it. Well done.

Amita's Wit
Poured with a thick head that thinned and lasted and was pretty clear(didn't roll it).
No sulphur smell for me but then the only sulphur smell I know is rotten-eggs -- definitely was none of that up my nose!
Finished a bit thin? Still very nice and refreshing tho.

Captains Brambling Cross Bitter
Poured with a head that thinned right out but lasted. Hazy copper-red colour. An appealing aroma that I can't name, nice and malty, with a clean finish. I think thats my first Brambling-Cross experience, wish I had more to try and work it out. Sorry thats a piss-poor effort of a review.


EDIT:
For those that are yeast farming:

Asher - WY-1007 German Ale
Doogs - WY-2565 Klsch
Kook - WY-3726 Farmhouse Ale
Mika - WY-1338 European Ale
Amita - Wyeast Wit (WY-3944 - Belgian Wit?)
MikeB - WY-3944 Belgian Wit
Vlad - WLP500 Trappist Ale
Sinkas - WLP530 Abbey Ale + ? -- "...the undisclosed late yeast addition..."
Goat - WB-06 SafWheat
Kai - US-05 Saf American Ale
Rob - US-05
Recharge - US-56
SimonW - US-05
Clay - US-56
DeeBee - W34/70 Saf Weihenstephaner Lager
Roger - S-189 Saf German Lager
GL - CraftBrewer Windsor (Danstar)
Barf - n/a
Tony - ?
ausdb - ?
Chilla - ?

 

[deebee]

Saison dEclater Houblon

Can I start by observing how intimidating it is to critique a beer when you are not familiar with the style, (this was my first sip of a saison) especially when it was brewed by Anthony "The Palate" Kook. Anyway, you should all be used to me by now, so here goes...

This is a bright and attractive-looking beer, mid amber with a hint of orange or bronze, clean white head like egg whites whipped to soft peaks and enduring throughout the drink. It seemed adequately carbonated to me, thin beads like champagne and plenty of head. There is some hops in the aroma but it's really dominated by sweet malt, alcohol and spice aromas. After starting to drink this beer, I realised that Kook had recommended it sit for a couple of weeks to carb up. I can definitely taste a trace of priming sugars and wish I had waited longer. My impressions of this beer changed as I drank it and, perhaps, as it warmed up. At first I thought it was underattenuated yet overbittered. Then I realised I had opened it too early (hence sweetness) and the bitterness was there to match a well-bodied beer. And it is a complex bitterness, not at all harsh but full of a range of hops flavours, and it finishes all tight and marmaladey - very nice indeed - a real gourmand's beer. And the sweetness is highlighted by the big alcohol and those spicy warm-fermented flavours. By the end of the bottle I am fairly pissed and rather bathing in its glory: big, spicy and bitter, but also clean and bright (like Edelweiss!). I really wish I had waited for this beer to condition up more; with a slightly tarter and drier finish, it will be a fantastic beer.

 

[deebee]

Is it just me or has the standard lifted for this year's case? I have only tasted eight 2007 beers but every one of them would place in the top 5 of my memories of last year's and previous years' cases.

 

[roger mellie]

Im with you DB - nothing approaching Corellions efort of last year.

RM

 

[Kai]

I can't comment on other years but I have definitely enjoyed the standard of the beers in this case that I've tried to date.

WRT yeast farming, I fully intended to save cultured of everything that interested me but was about halfway through the case before I remembered. D'oh. Nonetheless there are still a few strains left here and there that I will definitely be saving and reculturing.

 

[Doogiechap]

Beer by David,
Again, being digging trenches and laying limestone blocks has made this a much appreciated drop. Beer poured slightly cloudy but I ain't going to throw any stones in my glass house . Nice aroma, too, mmmmm Amarillo, lovely refreshing carbolic bite up front with the Saaz keeping a nice tang. Balance wise it was slightly hop driven but for my situation it was sheer perfection :icon_cheers: .
PS My second glass of this was about 1.5 hrs later so the carbonation had dropped a fair bit and brought things into balance much better.


Kai's Caca

Light carbonation which didn't really support a head post pour but a lovely light bready flavor in what is quite a delicate beer. I couldn't pick u the cream that RM was raving about but it's certainly a style that I'm looking forward to having a play with. A fantastic beer to finish my day off with Kai, thanks bloke !

Cheers
Doug

 

[Doogiechap]

Sorry, the above post doubled up for some irritating reason... You don't need to read my reviews twice
Cheers
Doug

 

[recharge]

Vlads Transylvanian Pale Ale

Not what i was expecting, whilst it poured a nice clear amber colour, i was expecting something a little more to the RED end of the scale. Was also lacking the warm salty taste i was anticipating.
That said it had a lovely body with a decent head and had quite a BITE to it. I thought it was reasonably malty but not sweet with a distinct bitterness in the finish.

I think i'll go COUNT some stars now. HA HA HA

Recharge