Vic X-mas In July 2009 Tasting Thread

[Wardhog]

Ok, I'll kick it off.

First up is mine - 27. Vienna Lager

Don't know if it's true to style, but it is an easy to drink beer. Low hop character in all aspects, but nice toasted malt - fairly happy with this beer.

I'll be interested to see if anyone else thinks there's a slight solventy edge to it as if I haven't pitched enough yeast.

 

[hairofthedog]

Hutchy 14 Cal Com

really well balanced beer mate malty with a nice hop aftertaste lingering clear amber with good head easy to drink :icon_cheers:

 

[Wardhog]

15. Fourstar - AIPA

A great beer. That's quite a mouthful of fruity hops, and good malt to contrast with. Well done.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

15. Fourstar - AIPA

Clear to bright, plenty of American hops in the aroma.

Very smooth on the palette, good balancing malt.

Bit of a kick of bitterness with a pleasant dry finish.

Certainly got the hop smrgsbord effect going on there, with the only one I can pick for certain being the cascade, may also be because I am not that familiar with some of those new fangled American hops

Not sure why you where worried about this one 4-star, as I can't any evidence of any "nasties" lurking in the wings there.

My only suggestion (being more of a personal preference then a criticism) would be tone down the bitterness a tad as it distracts a little bit from the other qualities. The extra kick to the bitterness my also have been attributed to some of the water modifications.

Good way to start off the swap.

 

[Fourstar]

15. Fourstar - AIPA
Clear to bright, plenty of American hops in the aroma.
Very smooth on the palette, good balancing malt.
Bit of a kick of bitterness with a pleasant dry finish.
Certainly got the hop smrgsbord effect going on there, with the only one I can pick for certain being the cascade, may also be because I am not that familiar with some of those new fangled American hops
Not sure why you where worried about this one 4-star, as I can't any evidence of any "nasties" lurking in the wings there.
My only suggestion (being more of a personal preference then a criticism) would be tone down the bitterness a tad as it distracts a little bit from the other qualities. The extra kick to the bitterness my also have been attributed to some of the water modifications.
Good way to start off the swap.

I was a little worried the the voilent ferment i had. Ended up quite the pearler! Glad you liked it Chris. When i pick mine up tonight, mine and Mcooks are going into the fridge for a side by side, blind tasting.

Im unsure how you drank this but the more it warmed up, the more the malt pushed forward. Especially the crystal which helped balance things up abit. Yep, i noticed the bitterness was a little sharp, could be a problem for the non-hop-heads. it didnt help the cascade in it was 7.8%AA too! Cheers!

 

[Wonderwoman]

Ok, I'll kick it off.

First up is mine - 27. Vienna Lager

Don't know if it's true to style, but it is an easy to drink beer. Low hop character in all aspects, but nice toasted malt - fairly happy with this beer.

I'll be interested to see if anyone else thinks there's a slight solventy edge to it as if I haven't pitched enough yeast.

I'm drinking the Vienna lager now...

It's certainly easy drinking, low hops, nice and malty. I can't taste any "solventy" flavours.

It's not entirely to my taste, but I've enjoyed this glass.

 

[hairofthedog]

Chris 16 Red Weizen

absolute cracker mate perfect after dinner beer lots of toffee flavor with a hint of vanilla & good banana esters loved it :icon_cheers:

 

[hairofthedog]

24. Don Mateo - "Way out Weizen" - Hefeweizen

sorry mate i couldnt drink it its the sweetest beer ive ever tasted

 

[chris.taylor.98]

4. Hairofthedog - Dortmunder export

Really great beer Hairofthedog.

A real showcase of malt, with pleasant fruit esters. Very clean.

Good bitterness and somewhat dry finish to keep you coming back for more.

Great way to start the evening.

 

[hairofthedog]

was it carbed up chris ?
it only been in the bottle for about a fortnight

 

[Fourstar]

17. Brewmeister70 - Kolsch

Slightly winey/fruity DMS-esque apple aroma (probabaly from the yeast, not the malt.) Finishes with a breadynss on the nose. Appearance is slightly hazy @ around 7 deg (according to my spot thermo, i can only assume its yeast haze if its polyclared) Bright yellow/gold. perfect colour. Wish i could see it in the sunlight. Upfront Pilsner malt which finishes quite bitter and winey yeasty which may be due to the haze. Im not suprised, Kolsch yeast is a ******* to flocc out. Finishes rather dry on the palate (probably due to the bitterness).

Went well with my french sausage cassulet for dinner. if it wasnt for the yeasty bitterness, id say the balance would be spot on.

Fair interpretation of the style brewmeister70! The only other Kolsch ive had was at the wig and pen. Thats the most delicate beer ive ever drank. I'd say if you touched it with a feather it would be destroyed! A very hard beer to get right.

Ohh, as im typing this it leaves a nice nutty/breadyness on the palate mintues after consuming. Thumbs up mate! Decent beer 1st cab off the rank!

Cheers :icon_cheers:

 

[hairofthedog]

Fents 2 - Bitsa Pale Ale

mate i think calling it a bitsa pale ale may be a bit harsh i recon its a top flight APA every bit as good as a SNPA :super:

it tastes better from the bottle than it did from the tap the other week maybe that little bit of age has just rounded it off

 

[chris.taylor.98]

was it carbed up chris ?
it only been in the bottle for about a fortnight

yep, seemed fine to me. gave it the squeeze test before putting it in the fridge

 

[hairofthedog]

5. Brendo - LCBA clone

another top notch APA i dont know if id call it an LCPA clone i think you really need a hopback or a s#itload more dryhop to achive there flav/aroma but it a beer i could drink plenty of real nice mate :chug:

 

[hairofthedog]

Brendo now im confused mate i just looked @ your label which indicates your making a bright ale not a pale ale IMO it tastes more like LCPA than the LCBA & i cant taste any SAAZ :blink:

 

[Hutch]

24. Don Mateo - "Way out Weizen" - Hefeweizen

Good carbonation, moderate head retention, reasonably clear for a Hefe.
Low hops, slightly tart, with some nice weizen flavours there, though somewhat subdued banana for 3068.
No obvious fermentation flaws - I'm guessing a large starter was pitched, leaving the phenolics on the low end.
Really enjoyable wheet beer!
Cheers Don.

 

[brendo]

Brendo now im confused mate i just looked @ your label which indicates your making a bright ale not a pale ale IMO it tastes more like LCPA than the LCBA & i cant taste any SAAZ :blink:

Hey Hairofthedog... glad you liked it... as a beer I am pretty happy with it, but it has missed the mark as a LCBA. I used Tony's recipe (plenty of cascade and b-saaz), however it was NC'd and lost a lot of the aroma hopping.

With heavily hopped beers that are NC'd, I am going to start late hopping using the french press method after fermentation has finished.

You live, you learn... the keg of it I have at home is going down rather nicely tho :beerbang:

Cheers,

Brendo

 

[Wonderwoman]

20. Warmbeer's Mild

I really enjoyed drinking this beer. The carbonation was a bit low, but probably in keeping with the style. I couldn't detect much hops aroma or flavour, but there were some nice subtle chocolatey flavours. A real easy drinking beer. :icon_drool2:

 

[brettprevans]

I made a double bvatch of my contribution so ive got a keg and have tasted mine. I'll wait until someone hsa reviewed it before i throw my critique of it up. Wouldnt want to bias anyone.

:icon_offtopic:
Fents - i'll pick up my swap tonight if thats ok? Ive got some celebrating to do...missus and me bought a house.

 

[Katherine]

Fents - i'll pick up my swap tonight if thats ok? Ive got some celebrating to do...missus and me bought a house.

Congratulations CM... were????