VIC 2016 Xmas Case Swap Tasting Thread

[Mayor of Mildura]

11. thearn - Citra sumptin' sumptin'
I was hit by a massive hop aroma when i cracked open the bottle. Holy cow this is a hell of a beer. Juicy hoppy awesome.

 

[malt junkie]

6. Reardo - Robust Choc Porter

Another good drop, fantastic head retention, though more roast than choc, great brew none the less, I again started a little cold for this one but as it warmed it certainly grew on me.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Idzys Black Summer

What a wonderful beer. Enjoyed in the spa at about 2am this morning to cap off an awesome Xmas. Thanks heaps idzy!!! There was a good sweetness about the roast, what was the recipe?

 

[AJ80]

22. Mardoo - heady snipper

Juicy dank goodness. My word this is an impressive beer. Very clean ferment and the ABV is dangerously well hidden. Did I mention the aroma and flavour?? Rich grapefruit. Firm bitterness that I'm really digging. One of the best DIPAs I've ever had. Thank you very very very very much for sharing. Recipe?

 

[GrumpyPaul]

7. Nullnvoid - Rye Pale Ale Surprise - Drink after 16th December @ 2:38pm

Nice Amber colour. Nice tight head. Carbonation a bit on the spritzy side (which I think suited the beer just right). Nicely balanced. Aroma was beautiful - Im guessing citra?

Drank this on a really hot night first with my fish and chips.....a delicious pairing.

thanks Russ - what was the surprise?

 

[Nullnvoid]

7. Nullnvoid - Rye Pale Ale Surprise - Drink after 16th December @ 2:38pm

Nice Amber colour. Nice tight head. Carbonation a bit on the spritzy side (which I think suited the beer just right). Nicely balanced. Aroma was beautiful - Im guessing citra?

Drank this on a really hot night first with my fish and chips.....a delicious pairing.

thanks Russ - what was the surprise?

Thanks Paul! Nah no citra, don't have any. I think it was all cascade. Cascade in the cube then a dry hop as well.

The surprise is because I made two batches if the same thing, when I was weighing the grain out I couldn't remember if I had already added the required carapils so to be sure I added more. And then the other one got the right amount. Then when I was milling (grain is stored at my folks as its cooler in their garage), I couldn't remember which drum had the extra carapils. So the swap beer could be the correct one or the added goodness one. Don't know

As a side note, since tasted the other batch and it's tastes alright and similiar so obviously didn't make much difference.

 

[Mardoo]

22. Mardoo - heady snipper

Juicy dank goodness. My word this is an impressive beer. Very clean ferment and the ABV is dangerously well hidden. Did I mention the aroma and flavour?? Rich grapefruit. Firm bitterness that I'm really digging. One of the best DIPAs I've ever had. Thank you very very very very much for sharing. Recipe?

Awesome! Glad you liked it. This was a collaborative brew by Mofox and myself. It was based closely on a Heady Topper clone recipe from HBT. After a bunch of hours of research each, we worked out final recipe and technique. I'll post that stuff in the next couple days. Gotta run ATM, but thanks for the input! I was very, very stoked with how this one turned out, and I give a lot of the credit to dry hopping under low pressure. No O2 means little degradation in hop aroma or flavour.

 

[thearn]

Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[TheWiggman]

Had a few over the week.

1. Cocko - Belgian XPA 6%

Pictured below:


Low carb, tasted overtly wheaty to my palate and sorry didn't enjoy it. I don't like wheat beers and understand this may not have been one so could have all been in my head. Tasted better on tap at your place, so those who enjoyed it missed out. Please disregard my review in light of my taste.

11. thearn - Citra sumptin' sumptin'
I'll do my best to recall. It was a balmy afternoon with dry heat starting to set in, and amongst all the dark beers in the fridge to select from this swap I decided to whip out some citra action. As I walked to the bench, fending off children with one leg and delicately pouring into my favourite beer glass, malty aromatics with some classic citra tartness escaped from the glass. Unlike the others' remarks, it was the malt character of this beer that got me. I found the hops to be a little too overt, it was bitter sure and needed to be at 6%, but for mine the citra on its own stood too far in front of the rest of the beer. Perhaps it was the balance and needed more late with less dry hopping or vice versa, but not being a citra junky personally it didn't work for me. The malt on the other hand... I don't know what your base was in this recipe but the malt aroma was a standout that reminded me a lot of Pintail Pale. There was a really good backbone that was just spot on for a pale ale and made the 6% hold its head up high. I kept whiffing the glass even though it was empty to get more grainy goodness. If I were brewing a pale ale for myself, this malt and yeast combo I would go for.

2. Idzy - Black Summer



This one caught me by surprise. 'Black Summer' - is it dark and features Summer hops? Is it a summer beer but dark in colour? Is it an ode to the bushfires of 2009? One thing was for sure, it looked and smelled like a porter with a dense head that layered well. To begin with I picked up a heap of roast character and tasted a bit thin, but then I figured I was judging it like a porter. It's not. It has English character but pulled no punches when it came to near charcoal-like roast. I wasn't sure if I liked it, then looked down and noticed most of the beer had gone. The head was still thick and lustrous. This is a beer tailored to be consumed that gives a finger to the typical light, fizzy inoffensive lagers in favour of ROAST. If I had to pick I would say this is an ale, but not really sure if it was American and brewed with UK hops and malt or some local US hops with an English yeast. It could well be a lager, which reminds me of the same battle when trying to pick Toohey's Old (disregarding the PoR which I know Idzy loves). It made me think this is what swaps are about, learning about different beers styles and trying things I didn't know existed.

 

[TheWiggman]

6. Reardo - Robust Choc Porter
Feared the Wignall Effect might be in full force here because bottle taughtness and protecting cap spelled trouble.

Chilled, I poured it ever so gently.

I took a deep breath, withheld rage, and had a smell. All good. Carbonated with an estimated 9 carb drops but otherwise not a hint of the I faery. While I waited for the head to dissipate it warmed up which suited.
Like malt junkie I'm not getting much choc but plenty of roast. Bitterness comes on strong but I think it's in combination with the crystal malts. Pushes the boundaries between porter and stout but that's robust yeah? Not to dry nor sweet in the finish and ever so slightly hot (perhaps because I got 1.5% ABV of carb drops). Less crystal and more choc and this would be a winner, this example sadly let down by the carbonation.
Tops cover art too, rivals WarmerBeer's.

 

[Midnight Brew]

Cap has no number and the only beer I havnt accounted for is number 23. I know it says drink Feb but its been in the fridge since the swap.

23. TheWiggman - Radieuse, drink Feb - I think

Nice spritz and hissed when open. Good carbonation. Pours a coppery colour. Aroma is sweet, bready and spicy. Love the aroma. Okay my fears are confirmed. It is your beer and if i knew i would of let it condition but owell. So much flavour, first you get the puckering bitterness that quickly mellows out to a nice firm malt character. Bready, sweet, and a hint of dark fruit. After this I get a funky yeast flavour that ties it all in beautifully. I love this beer! If my memory serves correct you had something similar on the day in the bottle and we drank it by the fire. Absolutely loved it mate. Thanks for sharing.

Ps if theres any left over and your coming to the next swap, you know what to do.

 

[reardo]

6. Reardo - Robust Choc Porter
Feared the Wignall Effect might be in full force here because bottle taughtness and protecting cap spelled trouble.

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1482915788.080340.jpg
Chilled, I poured it ever so gently.

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1482915826.250250.jpg
I took a deep breath, withheld rage, and had a smell. All good. Carbonated with an estimated 9 carb drops but otherwise not a hint of the I faery. While I waited for the head to dissipate it warmed up which suited.
Like malt junkie I'm not getting much choc but plenty of roast. Bitterness comes on strong but I think it's in combination with the crystal malts. Pushes the boundaries between porter and stout but that's robust yeah? Not to dry nor sweet in the finish and ever so slightly hot (perhaps because I got 1.5% ABV of carb drops). Less crystal and more choc and this would be a winner, this example sadly let down by the carbonation.
Tops cover art too, rivals WarmerBeer's.

Cheers mate. Sorry about the carb! Not sure what the hell happened. May have been 3 drops in it.
In reference to the roast hints from yourself and malt, I'm not sure if any of the grain I used has this characteristic. Correct me if I'm wrong, because I intended not to have any roast at all. Cheers

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Choc malt and carafa (which is a German version of choc malt) are both highly roasted malts, that's where the roast comes from.

Made the same error when I tried to brew a 'choc stout', went 20% of the grist as choc and got a huuuge roasty and bitter/astringent stout. Not a super chocolatey one that I hoped for...

 

[TheWiggman]

Surprised at that recipe, to me it had dark crystal characteristics. I haven't used midnight wheat before but looking at that it's bloody dark. Choc malt's a bit deceptive because I've found it hard to push choc flavours unless it's the only roasted malt at about the 3-5% mark. With other dark malts it can become hard to pick.
Looking at an old recipe I got a fair bit of dark chocolate flavour from this grist -
82.5% ale
7.2% dark crystal
6.2% brown
4.1% chocolate
First gold for hops, yeast was 1028.

I looked at the bottle afterwards and there was some funny streaks on the inside that didn't rinse off with water but could be scraped off with a brush. Perhaps there was something foreign in there but it didn't taste bad to me. If this was infected whooooooooa what a beer it must have been before

 

[Nullnvoid]

Had a couple more over the last week

2. Idzy - Black Summer

Nice one mate. Is this the beer we brewed at Bandicoot on their system? Tastes somewhat similar to mine. I really enjoyed this, it went down perfectly on Chrismtas day night after everyone had ****** off and the little ones were in bed, and the SHMBO and I were debriefing about what went right (food) and what went wrong (my family).

11. thearn - Citra sumptin' sumptin'

Had this last night with a pizza and a movie. Little undercarbed for my liking but I'll tell you, with storms all around and what felt like a dam coming out of the sky, this went down a treat. I really enjoyed the flavour of this. Could have gone a few more bottles!

 

[TheWiggman]

7. Nullnvoid - Rye Pale Ale Surprise - Drink after 16th December @ 2:38pm

Slightly hazy copper with an amber hue, a touch darker than is par for a pale ale. Clearly spritzy. On the nose I'm getting classic APA hops that don't overpower and sit in the land between pine, citrus and earth. Reminds me of Bridge Roads pale but more balanced and in tune with 'beer' than juice or resin - the malt's there as well.
To taste... now let me start by saying I served it at 3°C. Clean, balanced, bitterness just right with a slightly odd medicinal-like warmth in the aftertaste. Maybe this is the rye? I've never tried/used rye before. After it warmed up a touch this melded into everything else and became a real pleasure. The malt started to shine, the hops just worked and overall the beer is an absolute pleasure. As far as I'm concerned this is an APA done right. The kind of beer I'd want on tap at home for the visitors when they asked for a pale ale. The kind you can enjoy on the first glass, and see the rest of the evening away chatting to friends while sipping away forgetting about how good it is. Genuinely one of the best pale ales I've ever had. Makes me want to dye my hair black, curl it into ringlets and run away to my family just to try and replicate it.

 

[VP Brewing]

Freaking loved it too Nullinvoid!

Recipe. NOW!

 

[Midnight Brew]

7. Nullnvoid - Rye Pale Ale Surprise - Drink after 16th December @ 2:38pm

Copper in colour, piney in aroma but not overdone. Flavour: bitterness is perfect, perfect middle ground and complements the malts which usually get left out in APAs at most micro breweries. The malt is solid and provides a really good backbone and supporting the bitterness. Mouthfeel is excellent.

Excellent beer Russ. Call me picky but a vast majority of beers I try when I'm out disappoint me. There's so many pale ales on the market that to me are out of balance and just bitter fruit flavoured beer. I find them soulless. Unfortunately for them you've just raised the benchmark. Your beer is how I interpreted APA's. Keen for a recipe.

KUDOS mate!

 

[Nullnvoid]

**** guys, wow! Wasn't expecting that sort of feedback. I'm genuinely surprised as I expect people who actually know what they are doing to get that sort of feedback.

They are all really helpful comments too and it's great to know I am on the right track with what I am doing.

Now I have to go through the fridge and see if I still have a bottle that I can submit into vicbrew

I'll jump on the computer later and get the recipe as I can't remember it off the top of my head

Thanks again, it was really good to see such wonderful words.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

+3 on those words too Russ, really nice beer (had it last night after seeing the comments!). Thank you