Vic 2007 Xmas Swap Taste Thread

[wambesi]

Wambesi - Honey Wheat

Would be a great easy drinker except for the mediciney flavours. However, I can still taste the honey through it. Other than the mediciney fault, this would be a very good summer refresher.

Yeh I'm not happy hey!
The last one was a corker (well I thought anyway). Oh well, make sure I take better care next time and not rush so much, thanks for the other comments on it though.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

7. Thirsty Boy - Hefeweizen ( well I presume this is the one as it has no number or label)

Cloudy straw colour (just the way I like it).

Not much banana on the aroma, some phenolic but somewhat muted (little bit of clove), almost a woody musty element to it (can't really think of a good description) but definitely not unpleasant.

Light body, somewhat muted esters would be stretching it to say banana, and some phenolic again in the flavour. Almost a bit flourery to taste ( most probably because I stired the yeast up in it before opening to get the true appreciation of the hefeweizen)

Slight sourness in the finish which is not unpleasant. A little bit dry in the finish.

Overall a somewhat unusual example of the style but still quite refreshing on a warm summers evening. I guess I would describe this as more of a farmhouse version of the style and was actually appreciating it more as it warmed up.

Would be interested to know which yeast you used Thiristy Boy and what temperature you fermented it at.

Some suggestions ( baring in mind that we all have our own preferences when it comes to the Hefewiezen taste )
- If you want more bananas try the Wyeast 3068. If you think this one is a bit full on try fermenting it at a lower temperature ( I only go as high as 18C for the first 5 days).

- I strongly recommend pitching this one at the normal rate. I know a lot of people suggest to severely under pitch for this style, but I went the other way and did a starer (~ 1.5L) for the one I entered in Vicbrew and it ended up taking first in Wheat Beers.

- Carbonation should be upped a bit to carry some of the aroma a bit more, and fill out the beer, as it has a fairly thin body otherwise. I actually prefer this to be moderately carbonated ( 2.5 volumes ) rather than 3 or above as is recommended.

- As already alluded to, I am a big fan of the lower temperature ferment for this style, as I think the yeast can be a little unpredictable above 20C, although saying that I have tasted some really good ones brewed above 20C (just that I have never been able to do it).

- If you want more cloves you need to do ferulic acid rest ( ~ 20 mins @ 43C ). I was amazed what a difference this made.

 

[andreic]

Allycat - light summer quencher

Light straw colour. Slight haze. Not much head and what was there disappeared very quickly. Light carbonation. Citrusy smell. Flavour had some lemon/fruit. Light body.

An easy drinking beer. I think you've achieved your goal of a light summer quencher

Thanks Allycat

 

[andreic]

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

Golden-amber colour with a nice looking head that lasted. Left a little lacing on my glass. Smells a little perfumy, then really pine-y. Taste was a little spicy, but also pine-y if that makes sense. A nice level of bitterness - not over the top. Was medium bodied and felt a little creamy.

I really enjoyed this beer. It looked great and was very tasty. Thanks Hutch

cheers, Andrei

 

[Thirsty Boy]

7. Thirsty Boy - Hefeweizen ( well I presume this is the one as it has no number or label)

Cloudy straw colour (just the way I like it).

Not much banana on the aroma, some phenolic but somewhat muted (little bit of clove), almost a woody musty element to it (can't really think of a good description) but definitely not unpleasant.

Light body, somewhat muted esters would be stretching it to say banana, and some phenolic again in the flavour. Almost a bit flourery to taste ( most probably because I stired the yeast up in it before opening to get the true appreciation of the hefeweizen)

Slight sourness in the finish which is not unpleasant. A little bit dry in the finish.

Overall a somewhat unusual example of the style but still quite refreshing on a warm summers evening. I guess I would describe this as more of a farmhouse version of the style and was actually appreciating it more as it warmed up.

Would be interested to know which yeast you used Thiristy Boy and what temperature you fermented it at.

Some suggestions ( baring in mind that we all have our own preferences when it comes to the Hefewiezen taste )
- If you want more bananas try the Wyeast 3068. If you think this one is a bit full on try fermenting it at a lower temperature ( I only go as high as 18C for the first 5 days).

- I strongly recommend pitching this one at the normal rate. I know a lot of people suggest to severely under pitch for this style, but I went the other way and did a starer (~ 1.5L) for the one I entered in Vicbrew and it ended up taking first in Wheat Beers.

- Carbonation should be upped a bit to carry some of the aroma a bit more, and fill out the beer, as it has a fairly thin body otherwise. I actually prefer this to be moderately carbonated ( 2.5 volumes ) rather than 3 or above as is recommended.

- As already alluded to, I am a big fan of the lower temperature ferment for this style, as I think the yeast can be a little unpredictable above 20C, although saying that I have tasted some really good ones brewed above 20C (just that I have never been able to do it).

- If you want more cloves you need to do ferulic acid rest ( ~ 20 mins @ 43C ). I was amazed what a difference this made.

Thanks Chris - Bizarrely enough.. it is 3068. And I was shooting for strong banana with a bit of clove (Franziskaner style). So it was a dismal failure!! I've done one with a ferulic acid rest and it was too clovey for me, like the weiheinstephaner. The woody/musty thing is a mystery to me ... I'm picking it out as a straw/dried grass like flavour and I don't really like it. It seems to fade a bit with time. But not enough for me. I'm not happy with this batch at all.

I'm also with you on the proper pitching rate and lower temps. I go a little hotter than you cause I like the nana flavour more. I start at 19 for the first few days then 20 for 2 or so and up to 21 to finish off. But thats how I ferment most of my beers. Start low and raise.

Carbonation is just a function of me having an off bottling day ... sounds like the beer is undercarbed.. I was shooting for about 3 volumes.. pah; and it seems I have had my first ever infected bottle. All that work and its half spoiled on bottling day. Oh well, at last I didn't screw up a beer that was any damn good in the first place.

I'm glad you didn't think it wasn't completely terrible... and Fents liked it... so maybe its just a personal thing and Its just that I brewed an ok'ish beer that I just dont like??

Oh well, such is. Cheers

Thirsty

 

[therook]

I think that might be me. I've gone though my case with the list and I think that's the only beer not accounted for. you're not missing one of alley cats summer quenchers are you? I have two of those.

that said, you can probably hang onto it. I'm not sure I can be arsed traveling to "the bush" to swap beers

Lucas,

I work in the city if thats any help or if someone can pick it up for you. your call

Rook

 

[lucas]

Lucas,

I work in the city if thats any help or if someone can pick it up for you. your call

Rook

Nah, it's ok. you can keep it.

 

[Wardhog]

Nah, it's ok. you can keep it.

Dude, you're giving me a complex. The beer's not that bad

 

[lucas]

haha.. to be honest ward, your's was the first beer i picked to drink after i printed out the list. I was looking forward to it, but I'm too lazy to run around after it

 

[andreic]

Squirrel Foot Bitter

Brown - fairly dark. Slight off-white head which disappeared in my glass by half way down. Low to medium carbonation. Smells caramel / malty - and so is the taste with a good bitter finish. Medium bodied, but quite easy drinking.

A well made beer - thanks 65bellet

cheers, Andrei

 

[Wardhog]

mark_m's house ale

If this is your house ale, can I come over? A lot?

One of the better APAs I've had. Actually, one of the BEST I've had.

Unbelievable clarity, and a lovely whack of Cascade hops over a gentle bitterness. Really good levels of malt to go with it.

Comparing this with one of my best APAs (a hopburst Chinook/Cascade job that I was exceedingly happy with), it made me think my APA was more of an American IPA. This beer, while being less hoppy and malty, is what I think an APA should be.

You should be extremely happy with this beer. If I wasn't looking for an English Ordinary/Special Bitter to become my house ale, I'd steal this recipe so fast your head would spin. In fact, I may just steal it for the hell of it.

Well done.

 

[Wardhog]

24. All Amarillo Ale

Come on guys, it's Friday night, get tasting and posting, you're making me feel like a pisspot.


Very nice aroma of Amarillo, very nice flavour of Amarillo that sits very nicely with a healthy amount of malt. A very good beer I'd be happy to drink any time.

Peels, I think someone's broken into your shed and stolen your AAA recipe. It's made as well as yours, too.

 

[andreic]

Come on guys, it's Friday night, get tasting and posting, you're making me feel like a pisspot.

just you and me tonight wardhog... only one tasting for me tonight (much earlier), plus a few tastings of some of my own beers. I can report that my case swap Hefe is good to go!

 

[voota]

Citymorgues Kenzie Hop Ale,

Pretty dark copper with a massive tan head. I feel like I smell amarillo, but look at your recipe and its cluster and cascade.. bit of toffee and toast notes in the background but its mostly about the hops.
Perhaps I'm a little over American hops, but this one didn't really do it for me, it also had a little bit of that ballpoint pen thing you get from using kits that are a little too old. Also, it felt way drier than what you FG in the recipe states. I don't really know what to suggest other than perhaps fresher ingredients. Its not a bad beer at all though, finished the bottle with ease.

Thanks Citymorgue

,Chris

 

[hairofthedog]

maple rye ipa i just paid $20 for a sixer of mountain goat ipa & honest not sure which ones better top brew maple couldnt pick a fault if i tryed cheers

 

[apd]

Flying Dog APA
Excellent level of hop flavour and bitterness. Great as it warmed up.

Kenzie Hop Ale
Was really look forward to this but it seemed to lack something. That's not to say it was bad. Just didn't hit me with the aroma and flavour that I was expecting from others' descriptions.

Andrei's Hefe
Great banana aroma and flavour! Head was lacking but I'd had other beers in the glass previously so that's hard to judge.

 

[AUHEAMIC]

Finally back from NZ.

Time to catch up.

Allycats Light summer ale

Very clear, plenty of hops on the nose and pallet(?) with low bitterness. It was perfect for this long hot summer night as far as my eyes could see.

Wambesis honey wheat

Sorry mate I dont like wheaties. Its not your beer its just my taste buds.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Just managed to finish a bottle of something with 'ESB' written on the crown seal.

First whiff out of the bottle, I got a major crystal hit and my expectations were set that I wasn't going to enjoy the beer. I let the thing sit for a couple of minutes then tasted. The aroma had changed and was not so crystal driven.

The taste was good. I really like smoked malts and this probably had some in it. The sweetness worked with this smoke very nicely. Not much in the way of hop flavour - but well enough balanced.

I would prefer a poofteenth more carbonation. Otherwise, very enjoyable.

 

[Fents]

Flying dog apa.

weird as, looked up the recipe and couldnt smell/taste any of those hop's. tasted yeasty weird. is that the FD yeast?

 

[Wardhog]

Flying dog apa.

weird as, looked up the recipe and couldnt smell/taste any of those hop's. tasted yeasty weird. is that the FD yeast?

I got a fair amount of hop flavour out of it, another quality APA. There was a certain tang to it that might have been the yeast or the generous carbonation. The carbonation was maybe a little too pronounced on this one, but that tang certainly adds an interesting and not unpleasant twist to a well made and enjoyable beer.