VIC 2016 Xmas in July Case Swap - TASTING

[AJ80]

10. Grainer - Viennella Saison

Deep golden colour with a slight haze. Tight white head with great retention and lacing the glass nicely. Can pick up the fruity hops on the nose as well as the expected saisoniness (that is an official word by the way). Light mouthfeel and well carbed. Quite refreshing. A little surprised to have read earlier that this had been soured with lacto as I don't get any acidity, but that could just be me. Nice drop mate and thanks for sharing.

 

[Midnight Brew]

18. Curly 79 - choc and rum oatmeal stout

Sorry mate but this gushed like all hell and when I savored some for the glass there was a big thick layer of trub at the bottom and smelt infected. Sorry mate was really looking forward to this.

 

[Curly79]

18. Curly 79 - choc and rum oatmeal stout

Sorry mate but this gushed like all hell and when I savored some for the glass there was a big thick layer of trub at the bottom and smelt infected. Sorry mate was really looking forward to this.

Ahh, ****. I'm sorry too mate. I've never had a problem with infected bottles until this batch. I scored a heap of second hand PET's locally. Never again! Just had one this afternoon that was bottled in glass and it was nice. Apologies mate. And to Wiggman and anyone else who copped a dud.

 

[mofox1]

8. Mofox1 - ICBM (Inter Continental Bloody Muther) freakin' Stout
If I were to describe a stout, this would be it. There's no mistaking the roast. Bitterness bang on, roast bang on, aroma dank and complex, balance with alcohol just... well... I can't tell how strong it is. It works. Honestly a great example of a stout and a great way to finish my swap beers.

Wow.. cheers, big ups there. I didn't really think it was an epitome of style (I don't style good). It did turn out well, but.

 

[AJ80]

18. Curly79. Chocolate and Rum Oatmeal Stout. 6%

Expecting a gusher I opened this one slowly over the laundry sink. Glad I did as this one is definitely a boy. Managed to get nearly all of it in a glass and then did a secondary pour to tip it off some pretty hefty yeast trub that had been kicked up.

Once past the gushing, however, this is a top rate beer. No hint of an infection in mine and it is just like it's label - a chocolate rum oatmeal stout. All of the flavours are perfectly balanced and I'm glad I've saved this for a wet and cold evening in front of the fire. Very enjoyable mate and thanks for sharing.

 

[Grainer]

Ahh, ****. I'm sorry too mate. I've never had a problem with infected bottles until this batch. I scored a heap of second hand PET's locally. Never again! Just had one this afternoon that was bottled in glass and it was nice. Apologies mate. And to Wiggman and anyone else who copped a dud.

I have had the same with PET once and never again.. now they go in the bin after each use.

 

[technobabble66]

^^ a good long multi-day soak in hot sod perc *should* remove all the nasties.
Just gotta make sure you sterilise the lids properly though - many of them have a little placky disc inside the lid so maybe bugs stay under there. Stupid design!

 

[Curly79]

I always buy new lids and sterilise them but I should never have bothered with those ******* bottles. Got a heap of them cheap and spent hours soaking and scrubbing. Lesson learnt.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Heath sorry mate mine was same [emoji24]

 

[Curly79]

Heath sorry mate mine was same [emoji24]

****. Sorry mate. Must have been that extra dollop of mud[emoji6]

 

[Midnight Brew]

10. Grainer - Viennella Saison - Ready to drink

Pours well with a nice dense foaming head. Carbonated well. Gold in colour and very clear. Balanced aroma between spice and fruitiness, oh and smells like summer. On first sip I get a nice little sharp refreshing zing followed by malt and then goes dry but not over the top dry, more like refreshing dry, time for another sip dry. I'm no expert in saisons but I think you've tied in the elements of this beer in harmony. You've got the spritz you need, then you have the malt backbone, the aroma is there, the body is perfect. Nothing is dominating and everything is mellowing together.

I pulled out the style guidelines and this stood out to me:

Overall Impression: A refreshing, medium to strong fruity/spicy ale with a distinctive yellow-orange color, highly carbonated, well hopped, and dry with a quenching acidity.

I dont know about the acidity part but I believe you have hit the nail on the head.

Cheers John, awesome beer mate. Shame the bottle wasn't bigger. I could easily have a session on these. Would love the recipe mate.

 

[Midnight Brew]

3. technobabble66 - Ol' Dirty *******. (Old Peculier clone, (= Old Ale), ready to drink ~1/8/16, better if left to ~1/10/16

Nice tight white head. Deep brown with slightly red hue. Aroma is faint, sweet and a (little phenolic?) spicy.

First sip is tasty, second sip is tasty, third sip is even tastier. Bitterness is there but is not over done. It's balanced perfectly. Carbonation is perfect for me, a nice spritz that doesn't steal from the yeast or the malt profile. Flavour is refreshing, malty with dark fruit tones of plum and cherry. Stu this beer is amazeballs. I know you're a fan of the word.

Please if you haven't already posted the recipe I'd love to add an old ale to my vintage plans. Thanks for sharing the beer met and well done.

 

[technobabble66]

Very stoked you liked it, Cam, thanks for your review!!
Worth noting it's *really* come into better territory in the last few weeks - pretty damn unbalanced prior to that. Very happy with what 1469 did to this (cheers, Mardoo!!).
Here's the recipe i ended up with:

Dirty Ol' *******

Vol 23.5L
OG=1.061
FG=1.015
IBU=36.0
EBC=47.5
alc%=6.0

5.41kg TFFMMO
0.36kg Simpsons Med Crystal (should've been Heritage)
0.18kg Simpsons Roasted Barley
0.05kg Acidulated

20g each of Challenger & Fuggles @FWH
15g each of Fuggles & Challenger @ 20mins (cube)

55/65/72/78 for 5/70/20/2

2.8g of CaCl + 1.4g CaSO4 + 1.0g MgSO4 into mash (20L, Melbourne water)
2.2g of CaCl + 1.1g CaSO4 + 0.8g MgSO4 + 0.3g citric acid into sparge (18L)
1.0g of CaCl + 0.5g CaSO4 + 0.5g MgSO4 into boil

Used a yeast cake of 1469

Drew off & boiled down 3-4L to ~0.5L to caramelise.

FWIW, for the next attempt, i'd be tempted to replace the RB with Chocolate, to reduce the roastiness a little.
:icon_cheers:

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Glad I've got my one packed away. Sounds like it's getting close to fridge time!! [emoji482]

 

[technobabble66]

The last sample I had a fortnight ago suddenly had come good/decent compared to a few weeks earlier - massive relief, let me tell you! It was not so good prior to that - the roast element seemed a bit jarring or something.
So it should be ok from now on.
But the way it improved within that short time frame recently now makes me wonder what it'll be like in a few months time [emoji57]

 

[Midnight Brew]

In what way would you describe it as being unbalanced? Just the roast?


First thing that springs to mind could be it that perhaps you got a bit more flavour then desired from the cube additions? I noted this a few times in some of my UK ales and since moved to FWH.

Stocked the see it has 1469 as I was also fortunate to get a vial from Mardoo also and used it for the first time recently in a sweet stout which will be due for tasting in a few weeks. What temperature did you ferment at?

I'm glad I waited and held back to a wintery night. Well worth the wait. I moved onto a RIS after this last night and things got a bit hazy after that. Tonight I've got the last swap left, #13 then to sample the bummock from 2015 king lake swap. I expect things to get ahhh a little ermmm hazy again.

 

[manticle]

Can't believe you guys are newcomers to the magic of 1469

 

[malt junkie]

In what way would you describe it as being unbalanced? Just the roast?


First thing that springs to mind could be it that perhaps you got a bit more flavour then desired from the cube additions? I noted this a few times in some of my UK ales and since moved to FWH.

Stocked the see it has 1469 as I was also fortunate to get a vial from Mardoo also and used it for the first time recently in a sweet stout which will be due for tasting in a few weeks. What temperature did you ferment at?

I'm glad I waited and held back to a wintery night. Well worth the wait. I moved onto a RIS after this last night and things got a bit hazy after that. Tonight I've got the last swap left, #13 then to sample the bummock from 2015 king lake swap. I expect things to get ahhh a little ermmm hazy again.

goody, I need some feed back before I dive head long into brewing the next swap beer Monday. So far all I've heard is 'well it aint lolly water'

 

[technobabble66]

Can't believe you guys are newcomers to the magic of 1469

There's also a few new hops that have come out recently. Apparently Styrians and Spalt are pretty good. You should give them a go.



[emoji185]

 

[manticle]

Spalt?

Hmm. Rhymes with alt.

I need to find meaning within.