Vic Case Swap: Xmas In July Tasting Feedback

[zebba]

16. Lecterfan Schwartzbeer

Schwartz? Neg. More like rubin. But I'm no colour nazi, so I didn't just tip it on sight. Head was initially fairly loose, and soon dissipated to nothing. Syringe trick may have worked, but I'm a lazy man. Lazy, and last time I did that there was... cleanup...

Taste? Well, I get a lot of the hursbruker. Which is weird cause the recipe says it's only 60 minutes? So maybe it's the yeast? Spicy. But not phenolic spice, just... spice. I like it. Infinitely drinkable.

Reviewing the recipe, and I kinda agree with you though. There's just something that could be better... and I have no idea what it is. I'm thinking maybe some munich malt? I mean, it's good. I've really enjoyed it. Just... something...

 

[Siborg]

Playing with Temperature was the trick with this beer.16 deg c ferment then rest at 10 deg c for 21 days rack and cc for 21 days at as close to 0.it was also bottled 7 weeks before you drank it.I think you can still make bad beer with a bruamiester as this is only part of the overall process it just means i can full mash again with ease.that was batch #4 through the system.

Thanks for your liking this beer.

cheers Scum

Nice fermenter. I took my braumeister for its maiden voyage today. Went well. I'll post some pics and more details in another thread later

 

[manticle]

#3 Zebba - English Pale

Pours with slight haze, golden/amber.

Nice white head that thins and remains with lacing.

Aroma of bread, very slight citrus, raisins and hint of alcohol.

Mouthfeel full, carbonation moderate.

Flavour: first thing is a big hit of warm alcohol. Unfortunately it dominates a little but the raisins, citrus and bread are still present and I've never been one to shy from a bit of alc in an alcoholic drink. I just prefer it at the finish rather than at the front of the palate if that makes sense. The big hit is in the first sip - subsequent sips, it is present but settles out a little. I get a nice nutty/biscuit flavour in the background

The fruitiness and bitterness are nicely balanced and if the alc was lessened by a touch it would be a really nice beer. Still is a nice beer - could be really nice beer with just a tweak somewhere.

I haven't looked at the recipe - I'm going to guess goldings and maybe a med/dark english crystal play a part in the citrus/raisin (although challenger could be a player too). Is it a strong beer or is the alc ferment related?

 

[zebba]

Alcohol is a mix of higher than expected efficiency and attenuation.

Hops are challenger. Malt was golden promise, light crystal and a little wheat. Wy1968

I agree 100% with your comments. The alcohol is too forward. It should have been a good half percent lower.

 

[manticle]

#5 McCook: English Pale

I had just moved here from New York. My Aunt had left me a small bungalow and I was about to start a job as a part time Vespa mechanic. Things were looking up.

I went to the wardrobe to take out my best pair of overalls. Put them on, felt around past the old tissues and lint in the pocket and found a small, plastic bottle that said "drink me". Closer examination showed a small '5' in some kind of mysterious ink.

What could I do but postpone the start of my first day with Vespafix &co., sit down with a large cigar and my favourite Chinkle six crystal pint glass and pour a large pint of the liquid inside?

All of a sudden I felt like a bloke giving an honest appraisal of a fellow brewer's beer and I felt a little terrified of who I had become.

Pours cloudy amber with little head that vanishes immediately.

Carb low, almost flat. Not sure if I've opened too early as there's no notes in the wiki.

Mouthfeel: flat beer with a hint of fizz. I guess full and flat.

Flavour: well here is the big surprise. I get nuts and toasty malts and a nice balance between bitter and sweet toasty malty goodness. In the faint distance there could be an apple singing but if he is, he's very subdued and maybe fallen asleep.

Essentially the beer is like a delicious recipe that's been conditioned well enough then bottled and opened after a couple of days for a tester. Lovely flavours - just the cloudiness and lack of fizz make me think that a recommended RTD date would be useful.

Fortunately, having personified the spirit of manticle (as he said his name was) I then fell over and twisted my ankle. I called in sick to work and was able to drink some more beer subsequently, with impunity and without consequence.

Huzzah.

 

[Lecterfan]

Taste? Well, I get a lot of the hursbruker. Which is weird cause the recipe says it's only 60 minutes? So maybe it's the yeast? Spicy. But not phenolic spice, just... spice. I like it. Infinitely drinkable.

Reviewing the recipe, and I kinda agree with you though. There's just something that could be better... and I have no idea what it is. I'm thinking maybe some munich malt? I mean, it's good. I've really enjoyed it. Just... something...

Thats about right - it is a good quaffer, easy to drink 5 or 6 of them due to the "nothing-remarkably-outstanding-ness" of the beer. Surprised about the head though - it is about as highly carbed as I ever go with anything haha.

Pocket sparklers only good for English ales...

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Siborg]

1. WarmBeer - Oatmeal Stout

Appearance: Jet black. Moderate, tan head. Didn't last long, possibly due to low carbonation.
Aroma: Sweet & roasted malt. Hints of licorice. Some very soft herbal hop aroma coming through.
Flavour: mmmmm. Chocolate, smooth roastiness. A little hop flavour. Getting a hint of licorice. A tiny bit of bitterness to finish.
Mouthfeel: Silky smooth. Low carbonation (after RTD date) but fine for the style. Body is medium-full.
Overall: What a cracker! This is just so easy to drink and has everything I like about stout in it. Roasty, without being harsh. A little hoppiness. Smooth bitter finish and that silky mouthfeel from the oats. Top stuff, Warmbeer!

Now to sit back and enjoy! :chug:

 

[proudscum]

#8 Vienna lager.a soft palate of a beer.clean with a faint noble hop aroma on the nose..a little wood and vanilla.Balance is as you would expect with maybe a little more eruo malt coming to the fore would be good.a little hazy which is surprizing as its come out of a 9degree fermentation fridge.head retention is good with Belgian lace to the end of the glass.A good session beer that i would go back for more...maybe its the Australian versions i have tried that are a lot more chewy but that goes back to the malt.A style i need to explore more and will be interesting to see how the new world version i made comes out in about 3 months time.cheers and thx.

SCum

 

[scott_penno]

8. Husky - Vienna Lager

Pours a darkish color but quite clear with a nice tight fluffy head. Aroma of.... wet carpet. I tried drinking this but couldn't get past the wet carpet smell. Not sure if this sample was infected but I ended up tipping it.

sap.

 

[[email protected]]

#5 McCook: English Pale

...

Huzzah.

:lol:

Should've been RTD. Maybe the bottle didn't seal?

Cheers
Mal

 

[WarmBeer]

1. WarmBeer - Oatmeal Stout

Appearance: Jet black. Moderate, tan head. Didn't last long, possibly due to low carbonation.
Aroma: Sweet & roasted malt. Hints of licorice. Some very soft herbal hop aroma coming through.
Flavour: mmmmm. Chocolate, smooth roastiness. A little hop flavour. Getting a hint of licorice. A tiny bit of bitterness to finish.
Mouthfeel: Silky smooth. Low carbonation (after RTD date) but fine for the style. Body is medium-full.
Overall: What a cracker! This is just so easy to drink and has everything I like about stout in it. Roasty, without being harsh. A little hoppiness. Smooth bitter finish and that silky mouthfeel from the oats. Top stuff, Warmbeer!

Now to sit back and enjoy! :chug:

Glad you liked it, Si.

I've tried one of my testers, and found it a little too cloying in the aftertaste. I think most of that is due to me not getting it to attenuate past 1.020. Another 4 or 5 points and it would have been great.

It's definitely a meal-in-a-glass sort of beer, though, despite being < 5%

 

[WarmBeer]

13. Bullsneck - pale ale

As mentioned previously, this is a little hazy, but with a small head that persists well.

Aroma is not in-your-face, but pleasantly aromatic. Plenty of hop flavour, without being too bitter. If anything, I'm finding it a little too sweet, but only by a teensy-little-bit.

If anything, I reckon this could do with a little more carbonation, which would make it a great summer quaffer.

Good beer, mate. B-

 

[Lecterfan]

#1 Warmbeer Stout - the PET is firm so all seems good.... (said the Bishop to the nun)...

With what I have read so far I poured this from a height into a pint glass and it resulted in a beer with a nice head that lasted for a good few mins...

Aroma is roast, with a hint of the complexity to come, mostly roast...

Taste - really ******* nice - there is definitely a complexity in there that isn't just roast, and I am assuming that is either some spec grains or some messing around with the oats in the original....

The head does die off reasonably quickly, but the mouthfeel on this is nice and full, helped along presumably by the fg and the oats...I can't see through this beer...and so it is an omen for me to ride North and command the watchers of the wall to preserve this beer... Looks great, drinks fantastically,

I have no problems with this as stout...



OKAY: so on the last half of the last pint of this I gave it the squirt...this brings all the aroma into the inch-thick head and the flavour becomes all about the mouthfeel... this would be a lovely beer through a hand pump no doubt, and as it is - is a fantastic beer to fend off the pummelling North wind that we get in Ballarat....
Yum!!!

 

[WarmBeer]

The head does die off reasonably quickly, but the mouthfeel on this is nice and full, helped along presumably by the fg and the oats...I can't see through this beer...and so it is an omen for me to ride North and command the watchers of the wall to preserve this beer... Looks great, drinks fantastically,

Tis a drink for Northmen, for sure. All hail, the King of the North!

 

[Lecterfan]

Tis a drink for Northmen, for sure. All hail, the King of the North!

edit: it seems to be ignoring my humorous and ironic replies to this (including suitably glorious Conan-styled sword/fantasy pics)....so **** this system, but be aware that I am well immersed in the heathen battle culture that would provide glorius battle pics for this stout with bare breasted ladies and be-saddled dragons frothing at the mouth HAHAHAAA


The stout is YUMMERS!

 

[Steve@PMF82]

1. Warmbeer - Oatmeal Stout



Felt like giving this puppy a run as well, what else is there to do in such bleak weather? All roads out are flooded... i fear water will soon be coming up through
our floorboards...

Black as pair of ace of spades, pours with a decent head that quickly fades.

Very very smooth choc roast aroma, with a very slight herbal character.

Taste really is so very smooth its ridiculous, sweet velvety roastiness, i get choc / oats mid palate, very interesting.
Small amount of bitterness, if i brewed this for myself i would up the bitterness ever so slightly, as that saying
goes there is a steak in every beer, well this one has 2.

Very full mouthfeel for me, it leaves me salivating with a sweet sticky taste.
It makes me think that if uncle tobys could make those quick oats in chocolate flavour this is what i would want it to
taste like.

A cracking stout, delicious.

 

[manticle]

#14: Kleiny: Helles Bock

Pours very clear amber despite my clumsy handling of the bottle before pouring.
Fluffy tight white head that looks like it wants to persist but dissipates (could be my glass.

Aroma of chocolate, toffee and alcohol.

Medium mouthfeel, medium/low carb (where I like it)

Flavour is very chocolatey, with a hit of sweetness and alcohol. Soft bitter finish.

This is a really nice beer Kleiny. All these elements that could ruin a beer if out of balance (alc, sweet etc) are in perfect harmony, at least to my palate. Might not do well in a style comp buy IDGAF about such things. I'm enjoying every gulp.

 

[manticle]

#10: Proudscum: Steam Beer

Pours so clear I feel like I could shag the newsreader through the glass. Golden/amber colour.

Head is white, tight and doesn't want to go away.

Aroma mainly of sweet toffee malt. Mouthfeel medium/full, carb medium/low (again where I like it - sherbert mouthfeel rather than overgassed).

Flavour of sweet malt, subtle supporting bitterness, hints of toffee and a small piece of chocolate whispers to me from faraway Trinidad.

This is a standout beer mate. So far in this swap I haven't found any major disappointment - I reckon this one verges on superbly made and I think faults here would stand out like dog's balls in a cattery.

 

[Wolfy]

Entry: #23 - iamozziyob - Pale (Killer Ale)

Aroma:
Apperance:
Flavour:
Overall Impression: :chug:

 

[Wolfy]

Entry: #18 - Don Mateo - Robust Porter

Aroma: ^_^
Apperance: :unsure:
Flavour:
Overall Impression: B)

 

[proudscum]

#10: Proudscum: Steam Beer

Pours so clear I feel like I could shag the newsreader through the glass. Golden/amber colour.

Head is white, tight and doesn't want to go away.

Aroma mainly of sweet toffee malt. Mouthfeel medium/full, carb medium/low (again where I like it - sherbert mouthfeel rather than overgassed).

Flavour of sweet malt, subtle supporting bitterness, hints of toffee and a small piece of chocolate whispers to me from faraway Trinidad.

This is a standout beer mate. So far in this swap I haven't found any major disappointment - I reckon this one verges on superbly made and I think faults here would stand out like dog's balls in a cattery.

Thanks for your kind words.i really workshopped the 2 beers i made for this swap and this was the better of the 2,would have liked to try this one of tap.i look forward to yours but will give it more time.cheers mate.

 

[Siborg]

14. Kleiny - Helles Bock (not really to style)

Aroma - Sweet malt. rich caramel, soft chocolate, toasty/nuttiness. Alcohol rather strong
Flavour - Upfront: rich caramel/soft chocolate. slight bitterness in the aftertaste. toasty bready malt flavours. Alcohol is quite strong in the aftertaste. can start to feel vapours in the sinuses like spirits.
Appearance - Pale copper, low white head dissipates quickly - edit: amazingly bright.
Mouthfeel - medium-full, low-moderate carbonation

overall - haven't read the style guidelines at all when drinking this. I'm not too sure about this. I really like the malt character. I think the alcohol is a little harsh tasting in the finish and I think that detracts a lot from the rest of the beer. It looks perfect, except for the head (could be detergent-related). For me, everything that makes this good is spoiled a little by the harsh alocohol in the finish.
*****
At the end of the pint, I find my head spinning and wanting more of this. I wrote the above in notepad a while ago (AHB wasn't connecting for some reason and then I got on to some QuakeIII) and reading back on it, I think I like it more than the above review implied. I think the alcohol might not be as harsh as my first impression. Good thing I've got another bottle {i might compare notes}. I might try it a couple of degrees cooler next time as I only put it in the fridge for an hour or so from room temp of ~15C.

Edit: I had planned on trying Beer4U's cal common, but this has sort of knocked me on my arse a bit.

 

[[email protected]]

24S09E01.12AM.TO.1AM.PROPER.DVDRip.XviD.torrent

Synopsis:

A dishevelled man sits at a bar drinking a dark beer. It is 12am and a clock is counting up from midnight in the lower right hand corner of the screen. He is enjoying the beer, but is also ready to deal with terrorist threats. Events happen in real time.

The screen splits and we see the president sleeping on the left, while Jack Bauer is still enjoying the beer on the right. Two masked men pounce from behind a curtain and stuff the president into a sack. Jack finished his beer and mutters, "If only more beers were as nice as this. Roasty, sweet, not too bitter, balanced." Jack leaves the bar with his trusty man bag slung over his shoulder, and on the left the president lets out muffled protests from the sack.

Two men are stalking Jack as he walks down the street towards his car. Using his innate terrorist sensing sixth sense (enhanced more so by the beer), he dispatches them ruthlessly before they even had time to say: "We've got the president, so you must do what we say, or else." As the last one dies, before Jack can extract any evidence of what they are up to, he mutters "Dammit."

The clocks noisily pings the last few seconds up to 1am. How time has flown.

Jack score 13 points for this episode.
(Scored using Kill Counter 3.5 added to with a mark out of ten for the beer)

 

[Steve@PMF82]

24S09E01.12AM.TO.1AM.PROPER.DVDRip.XviD.torrent

Synopsis:

A dishevelled man sits at a bar drinking a dark beer. It is 12am and a clock is counting up from midnight in the lower right hand corner of the screen. He is enjoying the beer, but is also ready to deal with terrorist threats. Events happen in real time.

The screen splits and we see the president sleeping on the left, while Jack Bauer is still enjoying the beer on the right. Two masked men pounce from behind a curtain and stuff the president into a sack. Jack finished his beer and mutters, "If only more beers were as nice as this. Roasty, sweet, not too bitter, balanced." Jack leaves the bar with his trusty man bag slung over his shoulder, and on the left the president lets out muffled protests from the sack.

Two men are stalking Jack as he walks down the street towards his car. Using his innate terrorist sensing sixth sense (enhanced more so by the beer), he dispatches them ruthlessly before they even had time to say: "We've got the president, so you must do what we say, or else." As the last one dies, before Jack can extract any evidence of what they are up to, he mutters "Dammit."

The clocks noisily pings the last few seconds up to 1am. How time has flown.

Jack score 13 points for this episode.
(Scored using Kill Counter 3.5 added to with a mark out of ten for the beer)

haha wtf? :blink: random

my guess is you drank - a brown porter, followed by a brown ale finishing with a warm beer? which would explain the enhancing of your innate terrorist sensing sixth sense ?

 

[WarmBeer]

haha wtf? :blink: random

my guess is you drank - a brown porter, followed by a brown ale finishing with a warm beer? which would explain the enhancing of your innate terrorist sensing sixth sense ?

Welcome to the scary, beautiful world of mcook beer reviews. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Wardhog]

Pours so clear I feel like I could shag the newsreader through the glass.

This should be the official highest rating of the clarity of a beer worldwide. I shall write a letter to the BJCP people demanding they adopt this.

:lol:

 

[WarmBeer]

16. Lecterfan- a not quite schwarzy enough schwarzbier

Initially a bit alarmed on the first pour, as I thought I had grabbed Iamozzyob's Pale Ale "Hmmm, that's a little dark for a pale". Went back and checked the list, and all made sense.

Lovely clear pour, just off black, with hints of ruby on the edges. Not much head, and it quickly disappears altogether, kinda like marriage.

Roast and chocolate in the aroma, which also comes through nicely in the beer's taste. I get a little bit of minerally-ness, notsure if it's from water additions, or your natural Ballarat water being harder than what I'm used to.

Great beer, easy to drink, and went down perfectly with a rare scotch fillet steak.

A.

 

[manticle]

Notes from last night.

#12: Wakatoo: Sweet stout

Pour ruby/ brown with a modest head, some of which persists. I was surprised at how clear this beer is considering it's a stout - definitely lighter in colour than most. Closer to a porter or brown ale possibly.

Aroma of malt and a hint of apples.

Thin mouthfeel, low/moderate carb.

Flavour is sweet, pleasantly so, a hint of the apples, very little roastiness, caramel and chocolate notes.

This beer seems a lot thinner and lighter than the description 'sweet stout' would lead me to believe. I think it would benefit from the absence of the apple character but beyond that it makes a very tasty brown ale. Doesn't sit heavy like a cream stout might.

Cheers

 

[manticle]

#16: Lecterfan: Schwarzbier

Pours clear, brown/copper into the glass..

Fluffy head persists

Aroma of blackcurrant.

Thin mouthfeel, moderate carbonation.

Flavour reveals breadiness, light roastiness, hint of coffee, choc and caramel.

Soft bitter finish, quite dry.

Definitely more braunbier than Schwartzbier but if Eva and Arnie don't mind, then neither do I. Could do with a bit more body but flavour is great. Nice complexity while retaining drinkability.

 

[Lecterfan]

Thanks for the feedback guys. it's really interesting to see/hear everyones perceptions of it (including Brendo and Fourstar on the night). It's the third time I had used that recipe but the first time I'd done it as a double batch, and this is certainly a bit different to earlier incarnations.

I look forward to more comments. I know I've slowed down in my feedback, but I've drunk most of my RTDs haha.

This was a bloody great idea :icon_chickcheers: