Vic 2007 Xmas Swap Taste Thread

[Fents]

Had Fents' Kolsch and Something from an unlabeled pet bottle that may have been a wheat (thirsty boys?)

Anyway, the unmarked bottle was badly infected, and too astringent to even drink... sorry I can't give you much feedback Thirsty. Because I really appreciated the detailed analysis of mine, if anything... I'd say that in my very limited wheatbeer brewing experience, they're best to drink really really fresh. Also the extra proteins from the wheat give the bacteria a bit more food to work with... so wheatbeers are more susceptible to an infection taking hold, low hopping rates also don't help. I'm sure you know all that though...

Fents' Kolsch looks excellent... huge rocky, lacy white head. Very pale and cloudy (I dont give a damn that its cloudy, it looks nice).
Pretty interesting aroma, cant really put my finger on it... but there are some medicinal phenols and a bit of light stonefruit or something.
Sorry fents, didn't really like this one... the flavour is too medicinal to give a proper review. If I were to give any suggestions though, I'd try and improve your yeast management... fiddle around and see what happens with different pitching rates and fermentation times. Poor sanitation could have also been a cause.

sorry to be so negative about those two, but in my opinion criticism is sometimes more constructive than praise when you're trying to design a good beer.

chris

Thats what its all abput mate. If you had of told me i had made an excellent beer and you loved it i would of known you would be lying. Respect.

 

[voota]

Squirrel Foot Bitter by 65 bellet (I think!)

Pours nice and dark, bit hazy, with a small tan head.
Great aroma, lots of dried fruit, toffee, earthy hops, and some light brown sugar/pudding/spice mix thing... Instantly made me think of Fullers 1845, which is one of my favorite beers.
Flavour is also really nice, a bit drier than I'd expected/hoped. The carbonation is spot on, and its pretty smooth to drink. Flavours are a bit more basic than the aroma, a bit more dried apricot, maybe a touch metallic in the hops. No significant faults and an excellent beer to drink, great hop profile for the style.
Suggestions: If you're an AG brewer, try mashing a bit warmer... I think that touch of sweetness you get from a higher mash temp would balance the bitterness just a touch better, and also bring through those complex pudding/spice things you have in the aroma into the flavour. I'm not sure what I can suggest if you're a K&K or Partial... the amount of crystal malt flavour/hop character is just perfect, I wouldn't touch that at all.
Thanks heaps, I really enjoyed this one...

chris

 

[brettprevans]

Hutch - "Hair of The Dog- Flying Dog APA"

very interesting beer. diddnt uite know what to make of it for the first 1/4 glass. I really dont know how to describe it either, quite dry on the finish? Head retention was good but not much head to start with in the first place. No haze.

Im thinking it must the specific charaters of the Flying Dog yeast cause it tasted sort of like an APA but sort of not. probably just my sh*thouse palate!

nice beer though. I would have like to have tried it on a cooler day.

Hutch

Dont know how I let this happen, but apparently I didnt finish the whole bottle of your APA (there was about 1/5 glass left in the bottle). So I just had it. overlooking the lossed carbination (due to it being open for over a day), I actually enjoyed it more today. Im thinking because it is cooler today (like I suggested in my post above). It still has some interesting flavours which have to be yeast specific so im not sold on it. Just thought you'd like some addtional feedback. Hopefully one of the others can give you some more specific feedback and what their tasting

 

[andreic]

Peels - Scottish Export Ale 80/ (Scottish ale 1728)

OK - my first ever Scottish Ale - so I had no real idea what to expect...

A nice dark brown colour with an off-white head that mostly disappears by 1/4 way down the glass. Light carbonation.

The aroma and taste had lots of malt, chocolate, and fruit/berries (my wife said raspberry). Medium to fullish body.

This was an interesting beer. It wasn't a good match for take-away thai for dinner tonight but that didn't stop me. I liked it but would probably enjoy it more in a cooler part of the year...

thanks Peels

Andrei

 

[Cummins]

Tried a few tonight... and here is a rundown.

Fents - Kolsch: Intruiging to say the least. My friend says "Dettol and beer". Was a bit whack.

Unmarked - Im thinking thirsty's hefeweizen. Strange aroma on this one, a bit rubbery. My friend says "Watered down wheat while chewing on plastic". I didn't think it was too bad, odd but bearable. After my drinking mates turned it down I felt a bit nervous and awkward drinking it so didn't finish the bottle.

Squirrel Bitter - Good solid drop this one. I liked it, not overly characteristic but well balanced and plenty smooth. This isnt a style I usually enjoy, but this one was nice.

Hutch - Flying Dog: Great work on this one. Great aroma, good solid APA. Can't really pick any faults with this, some interesting characteristics but all good. Could drink a lot of this one!

 

[Hutch]

Hutch

Dont know how I let this happen, but apparently I didnt finish the whole bottle of your APA (there was about 1/5 glass left in the bottle). So I just had it. overlooking the lossed carbination (due to it being open for over a day), I actually enjoyed it more today. Im thinking because it is cooler today (like I suggested in my post above). It still has some interesting flavours which have to be yeast specific so im not sold on it. Just thought you'd like some addtional feedback. Hopefully one of the others can give you some more specific feedback and what their tasting

Cheers CM2, and thanks for the feedback.

Think I might return the favour...

citymorgue2 - Kenzie Hop Ale

Pours quite dark, with a good solid head that lasts the length of the glass. Very good head retention.
Slight haze, possibly yeast stirred-up. Slightly overcarbonated - the head grew out of the pint glass...


Subtle Cascade aroma, and the Cluster works well as a combination (I've never used Cluster before).
Surprisingly dark for the use of only 250gm crystal - was this dark crystal?

Seems just slightly thin and sweet on the finish, could do with a few more IBUs for the style.
Very enjoyable for a "kit & bits" beer - certainly better than any kit beers I've made!
The Saf S-04 is slightly noticable (tart) as well, though good thing you kept it under 19 deg.
What draught can did you use?

Top work CM2 :icon_cheers:

edit: spellink

 

[hairofthedog]

thirstys wheat after reading the negative reviews of this brew i have to disagree & say i really enjoyed it light pale easy to drink & not much banana flavor that i normally associate with wheats thanks thirsty

 

[chris.taylor.98]

Having been outside in the heat working, missus leaving me with 3 kids trying to see who could destroy the most decorations on the xmas tree put up this afternoon, I was in the perfect mood to try my first case swap beer.

1. Fenton - 2565 Kolsch - Drink it now!!

Firstly I have to say kudos to you Fents for trying a style you had not done before for the case swap. Don't think that I would be so brave.

Label was very appealing ( although the missus did not seem as excited by it ).

Nice light colour, and very highly carbonated.

There was a fairly detectable phenolic in both aroma and flavour that seemed to overpower the fruity bready yeast character that I am use to with the 2656.

Noticeable alcohol warming (that was doing wonders to alter my mood), and a robust bitterness through to the finish, which surprised me for a 23IBU beer.

I got say you should give this one another go, as once you get the yeast happening, I promise you it can be a very rewarding style.

BTW as I am a BJCP judge in training, I am using all the case swap beers as "practice" (or that's what I am telling the missus). So if anybody actually interested in seeing their tasting notes send me a PM.

 

[Wardhog]

Hairofthedog - Super dry Nelson Pils

Yeesh, talk about hop flavour. This is one beer that slaps your face and dares you to drink it.
I can't get over how much flavour you've crammed into this beer, did you use 300g of hops or something?

A little bit much for me, but others might like it. That NS really gives off a fruity taste and aroma, doesn't it?
Clarity was excellent, as was head retention. I couldn't tell you what the malt tasted like.

Unfortunately, I had this first up, which meant that Spills' Dumb Blonde was not tasted. It was drunk, but not tasted.
The only thing I could tell you about it is that it was a nice, pale but slightly hazy body, with a compact head that disappeared halfway through the glass.
Sorry I couldn't give you any more than that, Spills, but my sense of taste was still in NZ.

Edit : I did have some of the blonde left, and had it this afternoon. Fents was 100% on the money, a lager on drugs. Light, pleasant, drink-in-large-quantities kind of beer. The distinctive yeast taste might put a few people off though, I found it a little bit much. A very well made beer though.

 

[Wardhog]

Wardhog - ESB

hope no offense is taken, i really did enjoy it.

Maple

No offence is or will be taken. The idea behind this case swap (for me, anyway) is to get constructive criticism about your brewing. Also, not everyone is going to like X beer style.

Blowing smoke up each other's arses isn't going to make us better brewers - at the other extreme, calling a contribution "arse juice brewed by a deep-fried fuckwit who couldn't brew a fart" isn't going to help, either. Anything inbetween should be taken as constructive criticism, given with the best possible intentions.

Last case swap, my beer was flat as a tack. People's comments about that have made me address that problem, and improved my brewing. Now none of my beers suffer from the same thing - that's why I get involved in these things.


So, if you didn't like my (or anyone's) beer, don't be scared to say so, just be sure to also say why.

 

[brettprevans]

Hairofthedog - Super dry Nelson Pils
WOW - never tried NS hops before, so this was a real treat. HUGE flavour but not overpowering (although I couldnt detect much aroma), magnificent light tight pillowy white head. quite dry finish at end (which was nice in this heat). Not sure if thats the hops or the style. I really wish I had more to drink of it.

Hutch
Surprisingly dark for the use of only 250gm crystal - was this dark crystal?

Seems just slightly thin and sweet on the finish, could do with a few more IBUs for the style.

What draught can did you use?

Not sure it was meant to be light crystal but I recon the've given me the wrong thing and just labeled it crystal. buggar. ive got another 2kg of it.

Yep agree it needs a bit more bitterness.

I hate to admit it but it was a Castlemaine Perkins Draught tin. I would normally have used a coopers but it came as a freebe with my 60L fermentor.

Thanks for the feedback,

 

[Maple]

mark_m - APA/IPA house ale

Very Taste morsel of beer this was. Nice Malt flava, and the hops were interesting. Loved the blend, but was not sure what to expect with fuggles. I have used this hop before in several iterations, and decided that this was not one of my top 5, but your use of it in this beer was nice and has put it back on the "to be used again list". Might have been a touch on the sweet side (for my pallet), and the head didn't stick around for to long at all, (which is a prevalent problem with most of my beers). Finished what I thought was very smooth, and fresh. I certainly enjoyed this one! Cheers Mark

Maple

 

[Maple]

Lavender - APA

What can I say...I love amarillo. alot of hop flava and aroma which was a treat. I did find it nice and malty, however residual sweetness was a bit more than I am use to. Maybe it's just a personal taste thing. Head was great right from the pour, don't know how long it would have lasted though, as i made my way through this one pretty quickly...and that's got to say something. Can i ask what the yeast was in this, as there is a taste in it that I can't really describe, nor it it one I've had tasted before, but keen to see if its just a difference in yeast, or something else. Perhaps a more experienced pallet can provide some insight. Nice one!

Maple

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Sorry, doing these ones from memory. Drank them on Sat morning after night shift.

Mark M APA -

Nice colour, good carbonation. Great jump out of the glass hop nose. Big and malty, a little sweet upfront, but dries out nicely. The hop flavour is right in teh pocket where I like it. The combo of Cascade and fuggles give it a real resinous, piney thing. The closest hopped beer I've had to this would be Alpha Pale ale from Matilda bay... I always think of this sort of hop character as a bit juniper berry tasting. I like it.

If I was being super picky, I'd say that the flavour profile was little muddy.... things didn't stand out really cleanly, they sort of mushed together. But thats only if I were being super picky. I cant think of anything that would really address this sort of thing.. maybe a water chemistry thing?? BUt all in all it was good beer. When it was gone, I wished there was more of it. Thanks.


Alleycat's Summer Thirst Quencher -

Oh, I liked this one. Lovely light gold colour (a little hazy) good tight white fluffy head, nice and active in the glass. Beautiful floral hop aroma, clean, light bodied, dry and as advertised, thirsty quenching. Maybe a little too bitter for such a light bodied beer, a little out of balance. The hopping ended up just a touch metallic, but noble hops will do that sometimes.

Good, clean, drinkable as all getout and just a lovely smell. Top work.



Looks like mine is turning out to be either shit or infected. It might be a case of if you like it, itd good, but otherwise not so much. Give it a couple of weeks, that odd smell (I never thought of it as rubbery, more kind of strawlike....) fades and a biot more of the standard Hefe character comes out of it. As for the infected bottle ... I'm somewhat devestated - I've never had an infected anything before. If I'm not careful I WILL get the "arse juice brewed by a deep-fried fuckwit who couldn't brew a fart" description

Thirsty

 

[Wardhog]

Squirrel's Foot Bitter

This is exactly how I like my beers. Well done. This is a brilliant beer - I hope you've posted the recipe, because I would love to have this as my house ale.
Only improvement I could suggest would be around the clarity - it was slightly hazy. However, if haze is your biggest problem, you wouldn't worry overmuch about improving, as you shouldn't. I could happily drink this all the time.

It'll be hard to choose between this and Peels' Scotch Ale for my favourite.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I'm just choking down a glass of Lucas' NS Summer Ale.

Bugger all head. Bit unclear. Could be a bit more carbonated for mine.

Now, if you thought I don't like this beer, you're 'king wrong. This is the best showcase beer for NS hops I've tried. Beats the crap out of the - Bugger, I can't remember the name of the brewery - commercial micro-brewed thingy and is just plain nice. The whole flavour thing how it builds up towards the wonderful kiwi aftertaste really works for me. Inspires me to do something with the pack of flowers in the freezer...

Immediately prior to this, I watched the last half of a movie called 'High Fidelity' and slaughtered a glass bottle of something which had 'ACA' on the lid. Nothing stood out in this beer for me to either hate or love. If it is as I suspect a Cream Ale, it was what I would expect. It was very drinkable and enjoyable and now gone.

Knappstein.

 

[wambesi]

and while I'm at it.... 22. wambesi - Honey Wheat Beer
<snip>
thanks wambesi, had no trouble finishing the bottle on this hot arvo!
Chris

Cheers Voota, sadly it didn't turn out as nice as my last one but hey you get that.

23. Cummins - IPA
Never had an IPA before so new to me and also never reviewed a beer before, so its gonna be basic too!

This case swap has got the better half of me interested in my hobby, caught her on AHB a few times over the last few days and although not a beer drinker she is now keen on sampling them more than she was "forced" to before. Still working out whether this is a good thing

Anyway her first comments was "its bloody bitter".
I thought it had a nice fruity aroma, poured well with a nice small creamy head (which didn't stick around too long) and was actually quite nice, bitter than most of the beers I have brewed before but after the first glass it really started growing on me.
Not to bad at all. Cheers.

 

[voota]

Andrei's Hefeweizen.
Really liked this stuff,,, Pretty clear for a hefe with an awesome rocky white head. Lots of bubblegum, clove in the aroma, pretty sweet and phenolic in a good way... I'm guessing it was fermented on the warmer side?
Nice fluffy feel, perfectly balanced between bitterness/phenols and sweetness, pretty quick wheaty finish. This stuff is great, perfect for summer. Well brewed Andrei, faultless.

edit: finished the bottle now, outstanding... beer of the swap for me so far, just edging past the Flying Dog APA.


Cummins' IPA
"arse juice brewed by a deep-fried fuckwit who couldn't brew a fart"
It has a few bad yeasty things going on, pretty rubbery and nutty, I wouldn't say too bitter for an IPA, just that it needed a bit more body to balance it out. I like the English hops that surface a bit in the flavour, the finish again is a bit rubbery. I'm sure the flavours are just related to fermentation issues.
Awesome label, well done with that.

chris

 

[wambesi]

17. Hutch - "Hair of The Dog- Flying Dog APA"

Ok, I guess I can sum it up with the following:
"I've copied your recipe from the other thread and have it down as one of the first to try when I go AG in the next month or two"

Hell maybe its early days in the case (2nd bottle) but really liked this one, creamy head to begin with which went down but was "lacy" (is that right terminology ) down the glass.
Love cascade and have started to get into Amarilo too.

Good stuff Hutch. I'll be round again soon, this time to take beers not just cubes

 

[Wardhog]

Kenzie Hop Ale

A nice APA. Actually, a pearler now that I've read the recipe thread and found this was an extract brew. The Cascade really stands out - if I shut my eyes, I was thinking of LCPA going by hops alone.
Maybe tilted a little too much in favour of the hops, but not overly so. I might be alone in this, but I think US-56 would do this beer justice better than S-04 does.

A good beer - ++ by virtue of it being made from extract. If I didn't read it, I wouldn't know it.

Well done.