VIC 2016 Xmas Case Swap Tasting Thread

[JB]

It floated my goat...

goat.jpg

Mine too!

Freaking wild colour man, nice, clear & deep plum coloured. Carb right on & hangs around like flies around a pile of spit roast meat @ kangaroo ground.

Sweet caramel & honey goat aroma & flavour.

 

[AJ80]

10. JB - Smoke on the porter

Disclaimer up front: I almost always dislike smoked beers. I want to like them, I should like them, but I don't like them.







Until now (I think the pun title helped). Most smoked beers I've tried are smoke forward in the extreme. This one isn't. The smoked component is subtly there, but in perfect balance with the base beer (which is a ripping porter by the way). Reminds me of the finish you get on a mildly peated single malt scotch whiskey. Carbonation is spot on too. Perfect for (hopefully) the last cold night the year. Ripping beer again JB and thanks for sharing. Recipe?

 

[JB]

Thanks AJ, very happy you enjoyed it mate & loved the review.


Here she is:

40lt batch, 6%, 38ibu

7kg Pale ale malt
1.5kg Manuka smoked malt
500g Chocolate malt
300g Crystal 120
200g Black patent

25g Magnum @ FWH
25g EKG @ 30min
25g EKG @ 15min

WLP004

 

[JB]

Mine too!
Freaking wild colour man, nice, clear & deep plum coloured. Carb right on & hangs around like flies around a pile of spit roast meat @ kangaroo ground.
Sweet caramel & honey goat aroma & flavour.

IMG_20161209_210736.jpg

Towards the end of the glass, couldn't help wondering how awesome this would be with a Belgian yeast going to town on it

 

[Midnight Brew]

13. Mofox1 - Thirsty Monk, Belgian Amber Ale. CPF from keg, drink fresh.

The name sold me so I had to start the swap on this.

The colour is brilliant and around the shade of amber I aim for on certain beers. Aroma was minute esters so I dumped the rest of the bottle in and then they shined. Nailed the flavour for a session ale! It's malty but balanced with the spice and bitterness. Carbonation is good, I know these styles are carbed high and I usually like them carbed low so why do I enjoy this?

Malt backbone is excellent. As Mardoo pointed out, could easily use this grain bill for an AAA. I am so chuffed I have carabo (thanks Mardoo) and abbey in the grain stores. I think a session ale has just bumped its way up in the brew order with your grain bill.

Anyway enough rambling on, I'm not comparing to a style because I dont wanna detract anything from a great beer. 3rd swap beer in a row of yours I've loved. Thank you for sharing and brew on :beerbang:

 

[technobabble66]

13. Mofox1 - Thirsty Monk, Belgian Amber Ale. CPF from keg, drink fresh.

App
Rich reddish amber. Transparent. Looks amazing!
Tight tan head, fades moderately to a slight white icing.
Tiny lacing

Aroma
Honey floral nectar, light caramel
Banana vanilla
Herbal peppery undertone
Slight citrusy note, maybe the "herbal" is now more "earthy"


Flava
Peppery light caramel and initial sweetness, quickly followed by a solid bitter aftertaste.
Solid maltiness through it all, quite “estery” with a hint of biscuit. Slight spiciness.
Effervescent but fine carbonation - nice light carbonic bite, suits style.
No noticeable alcohol

Overall
Awesome Belgian Amber!! I’d agree with everything MB said above.
Fantastic example of the awesomeness of Belgian ales - many layers come out in the complexity of both the aroma and flavour.
The grist is great. A nice solid maltiness with a touch of biscuit & caramel - read: ******* tasty.
Hops elements subtly come through to compliment the malt.
Yeast elements come through nicely to compliment the grist & hops, but shine just enough to be a bit more prominent than the other 2.
Basically a perfect balance for a Belgian ale - as MB suggested, a sessionable version of a belgian ale … though i’m guessing maybe not really as sessionable as it tastes(?). Truly impressive start to the swap tastings. I could smash the **** out of a crate of these! (see what i mean - maybe a bit stronger than the taste suggests :lol: ). FWIW, the bitterness is spot on - and i'm not someone who's big on bitterness.

… And it’s a big relief having grabbed 5kg of Abbey in the last BB - i’m now very keen to have a crack at a few beers with this malt, especially the elusive Amber, as Mardoo mentioned.

 

[reardo]

Thanks mate. Good to hear! Did the chestnut come through? The reason I said wait 'til Christmas was that the chestnut came through clear as a bell before I keg hopped it. After the keg hop it was fairly hidden, so I figured a few weeks might help it come out again.

there definitely was but it was slight. But due to this that's why I think the balance was super!

 

[technobabble66]

I should mention that I received some of the swap beers at the end of the day, as Cocko donated some that were surplus to his needs to the Head Brewer. Which is why I've reviewed the Thirsty Monk even though I had to drop out of the swap.
So a massive thanks to everyone who's beer I received - it's very much appreciated to be able to sample such a fine range of beers - even though I wasn't able to contribute one myself (trust me, you definitely didn't want mine, just ask Wiggas how the wort tasted!). And big thanks to Cocko for his generous donation.

 

[TheWiggman]

18. Awesomefury - goat amber

I thought it poured hazy but it's actually fairly clear. Bit of pine, floral and like JB said, honey on the aroma. It has quite a bit of aroma but I have no idea how to pick it. Mine's quite low carb. To taste it's a little bit thin but has that familiar amber backbone and gentle hoppiness with a bitterness I can't pick. Sort of has a mild alcoholic smoothness in the aftertaste. An interesting beer and decent rendition of an amber ale.

 

[Midnight Brew]

1. Cocko - Belgian XPA 6% - drink sooner than later

Straw and cloudy appearance with a tight little white head. Aroma has subtle spice notes backed up by bread. First sip refreshing, second sip tasty, third sip hits the spot. Carbonation, bitterness and malt prominence I find are balanced and dont steal each others thunder. Has a nice sweetness that lingers after the refreshing spritz disappears. Very sessionable. Was only gonna have one beer tonight but I'm enjoying this too much. Could smash these easy if I had this on tap.

What was the grist? Lots of wheat? What is an XPA?

Cheers for hosting and the wonderful beer. 4/5 Vietnamese rubber farmers

 

[technobabble66]

1 - Cocko - Belgian Extra Cock Pale Ale

App
Straw.
Cloudy as hell - Lazy ****, clean ya beer up. Oh no, it’s a belgian, don’t worry, it’s all fine
Moderate/small head

Aroma
Banana-ish (is this the “cock”?) estery elements initially, strong white pepper with a little over-ripe medlar at the end (how’s that for a fancy descriptor, MoFo!) - wheat (raw & malt) and it’s weird aroma/flavour elements, hey!
Earthy malt.

Flava
As per aroma, plus solid bready malt comes through strongly.
Strong lingering bitterness, relatively dry
Full mouthfeel
Low carb - good!

Overall
Dogs are cool.

Also … excellent beer, dude. Not my fav style, the wheaty belgian, but this is damn good. Tasty elements in both aroma & flavour - great how the maltiness punches through everything. I’m still not convinced i need to do a wheat-focused beer, but i’m more than happy drinking yours! Great balance of the elements and highly sessionable while watching Kiera Knightley indulging in end-of-the-world-nooky.

 

[Mardoo]

What the **** is a medlar?

 

[TheWiggman]

10. JB - Smoke on the Porter

I don't think I've had a beer with smoked malt in it before, definitely haven't come across a beer and thought "too smokey" which is often the comment made when smoked malt is discussed. This tastes like I'm sitting by a warm fire with a malty porter eating a lightly charred sausage. The choice to go with 6% is a wise one, the bit of extra oomph pairs with the smoke so it doesn't overpower, but dominates. Reminds me a lot of a Coopers Stout in drinkability - not a beer I'd buy a slab of, but would regularly grab a longneck on the right occasion (and there would be a lot of those occasions). Can pick the EKG and overall English feel. Very good beer.

 

[AJ80]

1. Cocko - Belgian XPA 6%

Man, this is perfect after a sunny day chasing the kids around and mowing lawns. Cloudy as hell and smells like spicy bananas. Carb is low and malt/bitterness perfectly balanced. Very easy drinking and obviously well brewed. Would also be keen to see a recipe. Thanks for sharing Cocko.

 

[JB]

10. JB - Smoke on the Porter

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1481434787.033794.jpg
I don't think I've had a beer with smoked malt in it before, definitely haven't come across a beer and thought "too smokey" which is often the comment made when smoked malt is discussed. This tastes like I'm sitting by a warm fire with a malty porter eating a lightly charred sausage. The choice to go with 6% is a wise one, the bit of extra oomph pairs with the smoke so it doesn't overpower, but dominates. Reminds me a lot of a Coopers Stout in drinkability - not a beer I'd buy a slab of, but would regularly grab a longneck on the right occasion (and there would be a lot of those occasions). Can pick the EKG and overall English feel. Very good beer.

Cheers Wiggy, I'm glad you liked it. I lol'd at the smoked sausage bit, you're the only one to pick the secret ingredient sofar

 

[Nullnvoid]

I suck at reviews and agree with what everyone has said, but a few brief words

1 - Cocko - Belgian Extra Cock Pale Ale

I had this at the swap out of the keg and it was really nice. Out of the bottle it was exactly how I remembered just slightly undercarbed for my liking. Nothing like a bit of Cocko swirling around your mouth.




13. Mofox1 - Thirsty Monk, Belgian Amber Ale. CPF from keg, drink fresh.

Wow what an amazing beer. This was delicious. One problem I had with it was I had to share it with my girlfriend so only got half the bottle and then had to endure the following conversation:

Girlfriend: Sometimes I wish we were married.
Me: You don't want to get married.
GF: Yeah I know, but I wish I could say the sentence "Sometimes I think I married the wrong person"
Me: Because of this beer?
GF: Yes, I mean, I like yours but you have been going all IPA lately and it's not nice, where this is just amazing and balanced and has a really nice aftertaste.
Me: But I just made you the pale ale you liked.
GF: Yes thank you but this is something else. Do we have more? Can you make this?
Me: Why don't you just marry Mick?
GF: Maybe I will
Me: I'll get his number....

So that's as higher praise as I can think to give.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Who would've thought home brewing can get a guy laid....



I had the Goat Amber last night:

Face value review - I couldn't taste Goat or anything of the sorts in it, 0/10.

Amber Ale review - quite a pleasant beer that was better as it warmed up. Well balanced but the body for me was a touch thin, only a touch though. Carb was low but you already said that. Colour was very nice. Aroma might need a tiny boost of hops. If you were going for a sessionable/smashable amber ale then you definitely nailed it. 7/10. Thanks!

 

[mofox1]

lol. I hope my wife doesn't check up on me here... (Hi love!)

 

[Midnight Brew]

18. Awesomefury - goat amber

Brilliant clarity and colour. Decent carbonation on pour and a tidy head that hangs around. Pine and resin aroma which smells fantastic by the way, which fades into a pleasant satisfying bitterness. Easy to drink. After the bitterness I get a sweet malt body that fades quiet quickly. Makes it quiet easy to drink but needs more body. Still a bloody nice beer Pat. cheers

 

[awesomefury]

Good to see some guys getting through the Goat Amber!

Thanks for the reviews.

JB, I'm no sure what Belgian yeast is but i'll give it a miss. :blink: :blink: