Vic 2007 Xmas Swap Taste Thread

[Maple]

A few more to comment on:
Allycat - light summer quencher
This is indeed THE summer session beer. I reckon I could watch the boxing day test with this on tap. tell me you put the "how i made this in the other thread. Certainly lived up to it's name in that it was perfect for a day like today. lighter in colour than i expected, and maybe a touch to hoppy for the body of malt, but that's how i like em. spot on, really enjoyed this one.

Citymorgue2 - Hop Ale
now, tis one was different. really dark and slick, in a silky way. the dominant malt look and initial flavour subside to a nice refreshing but faint lemony spice. can't pick it, but seems familiar. leaves a nice aftertaste, didn't mind this one either.

Maple

 

[chris.taylor.98]

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

Having never tried a homebrew in this style before, it was with some anticipation that I ripped into this one. And I would have to say that I was not disappointed.

Great smoke phenolic in both aroma and flavour.

Good malt hop balance with a some caramel as well.

All round a great beer.

My only criticisms would be that the smoke phenolic could be a little on the high side for the style, carbonation was probably a touch high. Might possibly make it a touch dryer in the finish.

Reckon this one could easily score 40/50 in a comp.

Note I have tried the Bellhaven St Andrews before, but your beer was much more interesting and lively.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

3. Wardhog - ESB - ready to drink now

Earthy musty hop aroma, some malt and low floral aroma, with a hint of caramel and some fruity esters.

Slight diacytel flavour (which is absolutely fine for an ESB), medium level of bitterness, good hop malt balance.

All round very drinkable, and great example of the style.

Only things that might be improved upon would be a bit more emphasis on the malt flavour, and lower carbonation.

Another one that would score quite highly.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

6. Maple - Rye IPA

Having never had a rye beer before, this is another one that I was really keen to try.

Really clean beer with no noticeable fermentation faults.

Big hop aroma with a hint of bubblegum and some spicy and floral notes.

As would be expected with an IPA, very dominant hop flavour with a strong bitterness present. Bitterness was never overpowering, and was well balanced against the malt.

The rye flavour seemed to be somewhat muted by the strong hop flavour, but never the less could still pick up the rye flavour, and some spicy notes.

Would love to try a less hoppy version of this beer, as the rye seemed to have a really unique character that I could imagine would be really interesting if allowed to come through more.

 

[voota]

Rooks Alt,

Tried a few commercial alts and have never been particularly impressed with the style, but this one was just great... still to style but done so well.
Nice and dark, not much head on it. Soft toffee/caramel aroma, lots of fruit leather and barely any detectable hop aroma. Soft taste, more toffee sweetness and a hint of bitterness to round off the finish. Its pretty hard to review because its so subtle, but it just seems to work together so damn well.
The quality and variety of these case swap beers is pretty damn good.

cheers and thanks,

chris

 

[hairofthedog]

flying dog APA really liked it well balanced flavorsome brew exactly the style i like thanks hutchy

 

[hairofthedog]

i agree calling someones brew "arse juice brewed by a deep-fried fuckwit who couldn't brew a fart Dettol and beer Watered down wheat while chewing on plastic isnt positive criticism especially if as my friend says your brew has the look of runny dog shit & a trub flavor no amount of hops could kill

 

[andreic]

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.

Glad you liked it. It was indeed fermented a bit warmer to try and get some banana (20c on the fridgemate with the thermostat on the side of the fermenter, so probably more like 22c). I was suggesting people wait until mid-December but I guess if people want to "drink it fresh" it sounds like its good to go!

 

[voota]

Glad you liked it. It was indeed fermented a bit warmer to try and get some banana (20c on the fridgemate with the thermostat on the side of the fermenter, so probably more like 22c). I was suggesting people wait until mid-December but I guess if people want to "drink it fresh" it sounds like its good to go!

Sorry, I didn't read that... I just love hefeweizens as fresh as possible so just threw it in the fridge and drank it. It seemed to me that you got mostly different esters to banana coming through, banana was pretty subtle imo. Which yeast did you use? I recently fermented a weihenstaphener wheat yeast at 23c and got plain banana juice, another one fermented with the same yeast at 20c was heaps more balanced, but I still reckon it had a touch more banana than yours. It's tricky balancing those esters I reckon, thats one of the reasons I was so impressed with your beer, it was just spot on for balance.

i agree calling someones brew "arse juice brewed by a deep-fried fuckwit who couldn't brew a fart Dettol and beer Watered down wheat while chewing on plastic isnt positive criticism especially if as my friend says your brew has the look of runny dog shit & a trub flavor no amount of hops could kill

Pot, kettle, Black?

 

[Cummins]

Sorry, wasn't trying to be too critical, I thought people wanted honesty?

I haven't tried mine yet, but sounds to me like it's shit! Was only my 2nd AG so I'll say that's why

 

[Hutch]

Allycat - light summer quencher

Let me just say - perfect beer for a hot night like tonight!
Very pale, slight haze, poor head retention (in fact no head to speak of), but perfect carbonation level for a fast quaffer.
Absolutely loved the hop balance - perfect IBU's, and good aroma to suit the "summer quencher" name. I can taste POR in there, and perhaps a little NS to finish it off? Subtle grape and passion-fruit on the nose. This one went down SO well with shelled prawns and avocado. YUM!

Great job Allycat - would love to see the recipe.
Hutch.

 

[lucas]

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.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and fully understand the complaints. I'll definitely try and get my submission fermented and bottled a good deal earlier next swap, rather than leaving it until the last minute. as for the clarity, either it's clearing up a bit or you're being generous

 

[Fents]

Alleycats beer was good. I enjoyed it very much yesterday in 30c heat.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

just scanned over the last few pages, i really should try have a look over the weekends so i don't have to read 3 pages on a monday

am i the only one who didn't get a bad taste from fents beer? i thought it was good, must have been distracted.

i'll write up some proper reviews tomorrow, peels and maples beers are at the top of the list for beers i had over the weekend, great beers

-Phill

 

[Cummins]

I think the one I got was mildly infected with something? I should have made that clearer in my description. It has a 'medicinal' type flavour, that is probably the word I was looking for. Same with the other, had a bad sour-plasticy thing going on. Not sure how to describe it but it was overbearing. It was not just some kind of slightly off taste that would mellow with age! You guys make great beers (judging by the ones on swap day) so it was just a bit unlucky with these.

:beer:

 

[voota]

Peels' Scottish ale.

Stunning looking amber brown in my weizen glass, the tan head rises about 3cm over the top of the rim. Aroma of tobacco, plum, potting mix... quite dry and earthy. Great to drink, so smooth and malty... lots of interesting character to it, peaty flavour is there but is in no way overdone imo. Great earthy flavours and a light sweet malty finish. Nutty aftertaste... I'm not even going to suggest any way to improve this because I reckon this is about as good as a Scottish ale gets... even better than Red Hills.

Awesome stuff Peels.

chris

 

[Fents]

Everyone can chill out.

Cummins - You got the same beer as everyone else. I get the "medicinal" taste too and so do others, not heaps but enough to know where your coming from. As for your friend who said it was dettol and wack tell him / her if they can produce a better Kolsch then go for it (wont be hard i obv f*ed up somewhere).

I dont know if it was infection i reckon it was more the yeast. I'll tell the story again...

I brewed a simple kolsch recipe that Quintrex was extra nice enough to give me a 2565 starter for. The batch was 33 or 34lt's all up.

Everyone knows (and now so do i) you need a massive starter with 2565 yeast. I only pitched about 500ml into it all. Got it down to 1.030 in a week and a half.

I got back from a holiday to Coffs harbour stressing it wouldnt move at 1.030. Quintrex said come grab another starter to finish it but i was lazy and didnt. So i pitched a pack of W34/70 to finish it. Bad move as i cant control ferment temps in my house and it got up to 22-25c with a lager yeast in it...Medicinal much?

Now this is for everyone. With this case swap obvisouly not everyone is going to like your beers. I dont like stouts much so my taste is different. Its all a matter of opion at the end of the day. If you dont like it say so and maybe why, if you think somthings wrong with it try and explain. As for insulting a beer or a brewer....keep it off here.

 

[Fents]

Mark M's house ale.

Not hard to know why this is your staple ale. Lovely.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I'm glad you enjoyed it and fully understand the complaints. I'll definitely try and get my submission fermented and bottled a good deal earlier next swap, rather than leaving it until the last minute. as for the clarity, either it's clearing up a bit or you're being generous

Perhaps I got the Good One? It is not like me to be generous.

I have a theory that yeast drops quicker in my Storage Facility than it does anywhere else in the house. I've put bottles in the room where my fermentation fridge is, in the kitchen fridge and in the Storage Facility and the latter wins every time. I think it is because it is always dark (except when I am ratting around for a beer) and the temperature is somewhat stable (no temp control, but kind of insulated from the elements and currently housing something like 120 litres of beer and a lot of glass).

 

[wambesi]

Sipping on Allycats Summer Thirst Quencher tonight.
Maybe not exactly a summer evening but nonetheless an enjoyable beer.