Vic Case Swap: Xmas In July Tasting Feedback

[razz]

OK no worries, i understand now, thank you.
Its interesting to note other peoples perceptions compared to the numbers generated. Since i started brewing i have only been able
to compare IBU calcs to micro and commercial beers and the consensus i found online as to how much others perceive them to be.

Lately i have started just going with my gut more in regards to hops and the recipe as a whole, like i do with most of my cooking and using
Beersmith more as rough guide to help me find a good balance, cause it doesn't really matter what the numbers say if the end product is really unbalanced one way or another.

cheers mate

Good site on more things beer.
http://beercolor.netfirms.com/balance.html

 

[Steve@PMF82]

16 - Lecterfan - schwarzbier

Poured with a nice thick head, light brown tinge to it that settled down after a few minutes, i did get some BRACING.
Dark sepia type colour, goldish brown higlights around the outer of the glass when held up to the light. Looks very clear.

Very slight roast aroma, i get more soft fresh bready aroma, i did bake today so i could be a little bias here.

Slight roast on intitial tasting , nice clean and silky mouthfeel, bitterness seems matched well.
Very slight warming left on palate.

I have only tried this style twice before, not homebrew and they really set me off onto darker beers.
I think this one would be an even better candidate as a stepping stone into this delicious realm
Easy drinking and subtle. I really should be brewing myself a dark lager before the cold weather is out, i think id like to try it with what
you wished you had done in the recipe thread :icon_cheers:

Edit: seems to be going well with my tasty cheese and biscuits.

 

[zebba]

4. Hoser Northern Brown Ale
I only put this in the fridge for half an hour but I'm guessing it was probably serving temp at ambient. Into the glass straight from the fridge and I was immediately underwhealmed. It was thin, it was watery, and it was sweet. Not looking good.

After five minutes of the glass resting on my leg and getting a chance to warm up though, it came alive. THe body thickened out, some mild roast flavours came out, the bitterness began to appear and balance it out... Very quickly it went from drinkable, but not going back for seconds, to yummy. Not the best brown I've ever had, but far from the worst, and certainly a worthy drink that I was now starting to wish I had more of. Shared the bottle, and feedback from them was exactly the same - disappointing early, but hit it's straps as it warmed.

Make sure it's not too cold people. But most of you would have known that anyway. As it was, I misjudged the ambient temp and the ability of my fridge to chill things. Lesson learnt.

So, thankfully, it finished a good beer! Regretting it took half my glass to get there though

 

[manticle]

I doubt any beer from the swap stored at ambient Melbourne temps needs time in the fridge.

 

[zebba]

Yeah I'm thinking that. it's hard to beat the "beer = cold" habit out of me though

 

[manticle]

Buy yourself 2 x 750 mL bottles of trois monts.

Refrigerate one overnight, leave the other atop the fridge.

Do the same with 2 bottles of rochefort 10, 2 bottles of Samuel Smith's Oatmeal stout and 2 more of your favourite engish and/or american IPA.

Side by side tastings.

Condition cured.

My beers see the inside of the fridge only during summer - even then most are taken out again for a while before drinking.

 

[Siborg]

My house ambient temp is 17-20 degrees, so I chucked hoser's brown ale in the fridge for only an hour to bring it down a little. This is usual process for all the swap beers, unless I want them chilled - like Nickpenno's APA :icon_drool2:

 

[husky]

#7 Beer4U Cali Common. The first I heard of this as a style was at the Swap last weekend and I really like it! Love the aroma and easy drinking nature that could make it a good house beer. Mine was a little overcarbed(opposite to a previous review) so I let it sit open for a while before consuming. I find myself wishing there was a second bottle. Like!

 

[Siborg]

23. iamozziyob - Pale

Appearance: straw-pale golden, decent white head, very bright
Aroma: Very sweet, lolly-like. Some soft yeasty bread notes.
Flavour: moderate bitterness is kept in its place by a fairly sweet malt character. Finishes slightly cloying. I can taste some citrusy hop character in there, but it is rather subtle.
Mouthfeel: moderate-full. Probably a little too much (what did it finish at?). Carbonation is perfect for this beer. Leaves that dry feeling you get when you've had something sweet.

Overall, not a bad beer. I think some things that could be improved on could be mashing a little lower, a bit more bittering, and some more late hop character. What did it was the FG? It seems a little sweet. Couple of minor recipe tweaks could make this heaps better. Thanks Jesse! By the way, were you aiming for an american-style pale? Or just a pale?

 

[Yob]

What did it was the FG? It seems a little sweet. Couple of minor recipe tweaks could make this heaps better. Thanks Jesse! By the way, were you aiming for an american-style pale? Or just a pale?

From memory, about 1012, possibly a bit lower, I suffered for a little bit with notes or lack there of <_<

I often tend to lean toward an APA styled for the large part (as a house beer) and would probably style this as so, just lightly done, The blackboard says it was amarillo/cascade blend but a small addition... probably using leftovers

as to the sweetness, I may have been a little heavy handed with the crystal, cant recall exactly but remember thinking similar...

For what it was, which wasnt sposed to be my swap beer but a stock filler Im stoked with that review Si, and Im glad I submitted that one and not the one I tried on which to be honest is regrettable.. still

Glad you enjoyed man,

Stoked

:icon_cheers:

 

[Siborg]

From memory, about 1012, possibly a bit lower, I suffered for a little bit with notes or lack there of <_<

I often tend to lean toward an APA styled for the large part (as a house beer) and would probably style this as so, just lightly done, The blackboard says it was amarillo/cascade blend but a small addition... probably using leftovers

as to the sweetness, I may have been a little heavy handed with the crystal, cant recall exactly but remember thinking similar...

For what it was, which wasnt sposed to be my swap beer but a stock filler Im stoked with that review Si, and Im glad I submitted that one and not the one I tried on which to be honest is regrettable.. still

Glad you enjoyed man,

Stoked

:icon_cheers:

No worries, man. Some more late hopping and/or some dry hopping and it would have been awesome.

p.s. try Nick's APA if you want some of that awesome late/dry hopping

 

[Wolfy]

Entry: #09 - Razz - Bender Brown Ale

Aroma:
Apperance:
Flavour: :blink:
Overall Impression: :beer:

 

[proudscum]

#5 EPA dont get me wrong i have just put down a paint brush after 10 hours and an hour before finishing took this from the fridge and sat it on the bench.pour in to pint glass nice fluffy head,has a rush of carbonation a little more than expected thats ok give it a good stir to knock some out of the beer.quite hazy and head has died off.looking for a english hop nose but get some nice caramel malt happening instead which is good as i love crystal.taste it and get a bit of a tang and mixed bitterness/dryness.There is hop there but it is battling with the crystal.
Its clean ferment wise which is great just need to work on the balance away from the crystal and give it more hop flavour and aroma.Did you use Australian malts?As i have found out using some english base malt the flavour becomes very english, surprising that!

Thanks for letting me try one of your beers,i hope my feedback is a little helpful.

 

[[email protected]]

#5 EPA dont get me wrong i have just put down a paint brush after 10 hours and an hour before finishing took this from the fridge and sat it on the bench.pour in to pint glass nice fluffy head,has a rush of carbonation a little more than expected thats ok give it a good stir to knock some out of the beer.quite hazy and head has died off.looking for a english hop nose but get some nice caramel malt happening instead which is good as i love crystal.taste it and get a bit of a tang and mixed bitterness/dryness.There is hop there but it is battling with the crystal.
Its clean ferment wise which is great just need to work on the balance away from the crystal and give it more hop flavour and aroma.Did you use Australian malts?As i have found out using some english base malt the flavour becomes very english, surprising that!

Thanks for letting me try one of your beers,i hope my feedback is a little helpful.

Thanks for the review. Have been a bit lazy posting the recipe (will try and remember to do it tonight). Base malt was maris otter. Have to admit I'm still a bit of a novice with english style beers. The recipe was based on a old speckled hen clone (no idea how close I got), though I used some dark belgian candy syrup for the invert sugar part of the recipe.

Cheers
Mal

 

[Lecterfan]

18. Don Mateo's Robust Porter. Pours with a nice tan head that lasts reasonably well. Heaps of big roast flavours, but just enough residual maltiness to stop it being too overtly stout-like. Good mouthfeel, especially as it warms. Not a lot of aroma. Highish FG I'm guessing? Tastes like it has a lot of body... I'd struggle to get through too many of these*

Most of the porters I've tasted have been homebrewed examples. While I enjoy it, it is not my fave style - but it is great for a bleak night in Ballarat in front of the heater. There have been two robust porters that really stood head and shoulders above all others that I've tried. One was Vic45s (drawn through the hand pump it was amazing), and now this one following shortly after.

On the last half of the first glass I gave this one a squirt as well (pocket sparkler/ 10ml syringe for those not keeping up with my fetish), and it really produced an amazing ice cream head, a heap of lacing (which was almost non existent previously), and made the body/mouthfeel really silky.

*I'd love to try this beer through a hand pump. Standing next to a wood fire bbq with a keg full of this I reckon you'd have a hell of an afternoon haha.

Good job! :icon_cheers:

 

[Wolfy]

The test bottle of my beer #20 is carbonated enough for me to enjoy, I'd suggest drinking now/this weekend if possible.

 

[bullsneck]

Swap Beer # 7 - beer4u's Cal Common

Fresh citrus aromas. Upon tasting, maltiness was present accompanied by a bitterness, pleasant but not overpowering, which coated the tongue. I loved the colour, carbonation was good, although maybe a little high. Head lingered a while and laced the glass.

As it warmed, aromas you might find in Belgians began to present themselves. I'm not too crash hot on descriptors.

A great beer, one I'll have to put on the 'to brew list'.



Also had your Mild from the lotto as well. I was a great start to our Pub Crawl. Loved it. Slightly bitter finish, malt present. 1968 works well with this style. Is it the Brewing Classic Styles recipe?

 

[Kleiny]

First day ive had to try some beers, so kick started with a just finished mowing eating a bowl of left over spag lunch time beer.

#19 Nick Penno APA

Appearance: was hazy but know cloudy with some suspended yeast (to rough on the pour) almost orange hue from a low amber color, great head retention rocky almost and stark white.

Aroma: absolutely the best part of a good APA aroma to the max citrus smell it our of the bottle, ive found only the best APA's give you a return aroma, burp through the nose. awesome

Flavour: High sharp bitterness could almost be over done but just subdued with a slight caramalt background, great allround flavour with a dry finish making you want to go straight back for another.

Overall: Absolute cracker this beer is exactly what i want out of an APA lower alc great hopcentric aroma slight malty backup. If i was going to have one very slight winge it would be the bitterness is creeping up out of APA and into IPA territory but thats the way us beer geeks enjoy it. If the bitterness was just slightly lower it would bring this beer into perfect balance.

Nick put the recipe up for this one and enter it in a comp. (it would do well i expect).

Cheers
Kleiny

 

[npenno]

Hi All,

Thanks for the good feed back. Im glad people have enjoyed it. I will post the recipe on the recipe thread tonight when I get home.

Nick

 

[Steve@PMF82]

Swap Beer # 7 - beer4u's Cal Common

Fresh citrus aromas. Upon tasting, maltiness was present accompanied by a bitterness, pleasant but not overpowering, which coated the tongue. I loved the colour, carbonation was good, although maybe a little high. Head lingered a while and laced the glass.

As it warmed, aromas you might find in Belgians began to present themselves. I'm not too crash hot on descriptors.

A great beer, one I'll have to put on the 'to brew list'.

View attachment 47091

Also had your Mild from the lotto as well. I was a great start to our Pub Crawl. Loved it. Slightly bitter finish, malt present. 1968 works well with this style. Is it the Brewing Classic Styles recipe?

Hmm seems my priming is a bit all over the shop. Glad its being enjoyed otherwise. I only have a 15L and 30L fermenter.
Obviously it was fermented in the 30. I racked about 10L bottled some then racked the rest, maybe this is the culprit?
I use pseudo bulk priming, dex dissolved in water, 5ml per small bottle, then doubled for large, i measured that for 2 X 330ml anyway.
My first 23L batch since i did my first tin. Lessons for next time.
This method usually produces very uniform carbonation for me, but thats the 15L fermenter and the beer does not get racked. Next time i will just get a bottling bucket and bulk prime me thinks.

The Mild was as follows.
OG - 1039
FG - 1016

Single infusion 70c
My pitching rates are always aimed as close as i can guestimate to Mr Malty.

57% Golden Promise (TF)
32.5% Munich2 (Wey)
5.5% Crystal 60L (TF)
3.5% Carabohemian
1.5% Black Malt (TF) - if i did it again i might use Roast?
EKG @ 60min (20 IBU ) - Tinseth
EKG@ 30min (5 IBU)

Spur of the moment not to style decision i had 9grams of Cascade sitting around chucked that in 5min to go, so might of added a couple
of IBUs and a hint of something that i think has pretty much faded away now.

Feel free to send me your 4%ish Pale styrian if you want :icon_chickcheers: