Vic X-mas In July 2009 Tasting Thread

[Hutch]

4. Hairofthedog - Dortmunder export
Nice wiff of German hops (Tettnang?), and fantastic dry Malt aroma - really nice malt/hop balance you've got going there (almost tastes like theres a bit of First-wort hopping going on??). For a Dortmunder the bitterness is a little high, on the high end for a German Pilsner in fact (though perhaps there's some water chemistry increasing the perception of bitterness). Couldn't find the recipe for this Troy - would love to learn your secrets!
Being really critical, the only thing I would do to improve this is scale back the bittering a fraction - otherwise this is a superb Euro lager.

17. Brewmeister70 - Kolsch
Not too familiar with Kolsch style, so flying blind here. There is a distinct character that comes through in the aftertaste that is hard to describe - a bit like blue cheese and peanuts (strange mix, I know!). Otherwise, there is not much to note in this beer - very neutral and clean. Crystal clear with good carbonation and head. Low IBUs and minimal hop aroma. No obvious fermentation flaws, other than the peculiar yeast character.

Maybe I should try a few more commercial Kolsch's before I lend you my uneducated ramblings on your beer, Brewmeister!

2 very well made beers. Cheers!
Hutch.

 

[chris.taylor.98]

3. Beerdingo - Dunkelweizen

16. Chris Taylor - Red Weizen

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

Ok so it had to be done ... 3 wheat beers in the swap.

Had a bunch of people around, including Brendo and Mortz to help with this exercise. And a guy who was lived in Germany for a long time and was continually correcting our pronunciation of all the German words ... who know that Weizen is supposed to be pronounced as Vitzen

Now we made the mistake of warming up with a few American Browns, Scotish Ales then moved on to the Schoefferhofer Hefeweizen then the Weihenstephan Hefeweizen.

While the Schoefferhofer was good the Weihenstephan was absolutely fantastic. Not a great lead in for comparison of home brew variety, the bar was set very high indeed. Both of the commercial varieties had great head, very pronounced but not overly assertive ester and phenolic profiles, and in the case of the weihenstephan just a wonderful soft muted finish with perfect balance between the malt yeast and hops.

.. so where was I ..

Now surprisingly all the homebrew examples came out with remarkably similar flavour profiles.

Don Mateo - "Way out Weizen" had a load of banana, but no real clove to speak of, good supporting malt and absolutely truck loads of diacetyl. Now I really like diacetyl so for me this was not a problem, but if you where judging to style this would get seriously marked down due to this perceived fault. Curiously I see there are some comments about this beer being sweet, but I think that is mainly due to the perception the diacetyl is adding. For me I thought it has actually over attenuated and would have been better with a little more residual sugars left behind to soften it out a bit.

Beerdingo - Dunkelweizen .. by this time my powers of perception where somewhat dimished, thanks to Brendo and Mortz tanking me up on some samples of their latest efforts. I can't rightly remember it being that dark, prehaps a bit on the amber side. There was some distinct clove in there with the bananas, and again a whole heap of diacetyl. BTW went down exceptionally well with some Mexicana pizza.

Chris Taylor - Red Weizen - again loads of banana. Interestingly the clove/bubblegum etc seems to have faded a lot from when I first tried it a week or two back. No agian lots of sweetness but this time from the crystal malts rather than diacetyl. Main difference being you dont get any butterscotch and a lot more body, probably a bit too much for this type of beer.

Three very similar beers flavour-wise that followed fairly different routes to get there.

The night was finished off by getting into some RIS and other dark beers and watch the TDF till about 2am ... next day was not so pretty.

Thanks Beerdingo and Don Mateo

 

[donmateo]

Hairofthedog - Dortmunder export
fresh and hops on aroma
clean, well attenuated and quite malty, with pleasant refreshing hop bitterness
haven't tried many examples of this style, but the only thing i
meybe would say is that i thought it could have been a little over
bodied/thick, i enjoyed it a lot.

Kleiny - Traditional Bock
don't have too many words for this beer, other than in my opinion
it's at least as good as the finest example of a bock that i've tasted
personally i was absolutely floored by this beer, and was thoroughly
depressed when it was finished. what an experience.
thanks Kleiny - inspirational and spectacular

 

[Neill]

17 - Brewmeister70 - Kolsch

Gorgeous. Pale, light and reasonably clear. Background banana flavours which are unobtrusive. Smells divine. Big and clean on the palate, the low IBU's make it an easy drinker.

Having never had a Kolsch before i was in unfamiliar territory with this one, but i did enjoy it immensely!

 

[Brewmeister70]

17. Brewmeister70 - Kolsch
Not too familiar with Kolsch style, so flying blind here. There is a distinct character that comes through in the aftertaste that is hard to describe - a bit like blue cheese and peanuts (strange mix, I know!). Otherwise, there is not much to note in this beer - very neutral and clean. Crystal clear with good carbonation and head. Low IBUs and minimal hop aroma. No obvious fermentation flaws, other than the peculiar yeast character.

Maybe I should try a few more commercial Kolsch's before I lend you my uneducated ramblings on your beer, Brewmeister!

I know what you mean about the nutty finish and hard to describe yeast character Hutch. Purvis sell a kolsch that tastes quite good and I got one a long time ago at the Blue Cow Deli in Deer Park but no commercial joy apart from those two. The Purvis beer is here and they also have a Sunner Kolsch which isn't listed on the website.

When I make this again, I think a 90 minute boil will be in order to reduce the sulphur and it would be less "weird" with most of the yeast filtered out, as they do in Cologne. A bit of flavour hop won't be out of place either. To really know the style better, it would be great to try more than the hand full I've managed to taste so far.

Cheers for the review Hutch and the great thing about these swaps is now you know a little more than you did before the swap about how a Kolsch tastes! :icon_cheers:

 

[Brewmeister70]

17 - Brewmeister70 - Kolsch

Gorgeous. Pale, light and reasonably clear. Background banana flavours which are unobtrusive. Smells divine. Big and clean on the palate, the low IBU's make it an easy drinker.

Having never had a Kolsch before i was in unfamiliar territory with this one, but i did enjoy it immensely!

Cheers for the review Neill! Really happy that you enjoyed it.

 

[Wonderwoman]

8. wonderwoman - Goldilocks

The Golden Syrup had me slightly apprehensive, but I was quite surprised with this beer. Good flavour and aroma from what seems like Cascade and Chinook (very "C" hop), though I reckon it could certainly benefit from a little more malt character to back it up. The golden syrup also lends a sort of acrid/tart aftertaste in the back of the mouth that detracts from an otherwise very well made beer. Fermentation is clean, clarity/carbonation/head retention all good. You've done a great job turning this kit into a very well made beer. I reckon if you subbed the Golden syrup for a mini-mash with pale + Munich you'd have a top beer.

Thanks WW.
Hutch.

? - Wonderwoman - Goldilocks

I will admit to being hesitant about this beer when hearing it had golden syrup in it. But, it works. This is a good beer.
Nice, clean ferment with no obvious issues. I'd probably wind back the flavour hop a bit. It comes across a little bit too strong, it lends a really winey character to the beer that is a little bit out of place.

This would be a great summer beer if you wind back the flavour hops a bit. Keep the golden syrup, it works. Good job on thinking outside the square and making it work.

Thanks guys.

I used amarillo for this batch, but I have made other batches with chinook which was also nice (IMO).

It's interesting that that wardhog thinks I should wind back the hops, cos I was thinking of doubling the hops and substituing some of the golden syrup for DME after trying the bottle from the swap... but as you pointed out it's a nice summer (easy drinking) beer in it's current form

if anyone feels inclined to rate it (good or bad), it's in the recipeDB (http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=783).

sorry about all the beers I haven't reviewed yet - I'm mostly on the forum at work, but my tasting notes are all at home. I only have 2 beers left to try, so I'll get I'll get the reviews on here once I've finished them.

 

[scott_penno]

9. seemax - Real Ale K&B
Pours a dark amber/light brown color. Nice head and aroma. Good body that's balanced with bitterness. Nice beer all round.

22. Lucas - Smoked Porter
Poured a dark, almost black color. Nice chocolatey aroma with a subtle hint of smoke. Again that subtle hint of smoke as you drink it but it's not dominant or in your face.

21. Driveitlikeustoleit - Oatmeal Stout
Slightly darker than the smoked porter in color. Nice chocolate and coffee aromas. Very smooth upon drinking.

Sorry, drank these a few days ago and that's really all I can remember...

sap.

 

[Wardhog]

It's interesting that that wardhog thinks I should wind back the hops, cos I was thinking of doubling the hops and substituing some of the golden syrup for DME after trying the bottle from the swap... but as you pointed out it's a nice summer (easy drinking) beer in it's current form

It all depends on what you want it to be. If you want a certain characteristic to it, make it like that.

My impression of your beer was that it was a lager, and I evaluated it as such. If it wasn't meant to be a lager, my comments aren't relevant.
Don't let me tell you WHAT to brew, I (and everyone else) want to help with HOW to brew what you want better.

 

[Wonderwoman]

It all depends on what you want it to be. If you want a certain characteristic to it, make it like that.

My impression of your beer was that it was a lager, and I evaluated it as such. If it wasn't meant to be a lager, my comments aren't relevant.
Don't let me tell you WHAT to brew, I (and everyone else) want to help with HOW to brew what you want better.

I have no intention of letting you tell me WHAT to brew, I was merely commenting that it's interesting how different each person's perception can be of the same beer.

 

[Fourstar]

I have no intention of letting you tell me WHAT to brew, I was merely commenting that it's interesting how different each person's perception can be of the same beer.

To throw antoher spanner into the works, my personal opinion would be to wind back the golden syrup. Either way, its my perception on taste, that in itself is quite a subjective matter. Decent beer either way, all things noted, they are calls for adjustment to their palate, not yours unfortunatly.

Cheers!

 

[Wardhog]

25. Benny - Lemon Ale

This is different. I've never had a beer like this.

It keeps a good head and is visually appealing and I can't find any fermentation faults, but I'm at a loss about the flavour. Maybe lemon in a beer works, but not that much lemon. If you kept the lemon flavour to a much lower level, this would be a fantastic summer beer.

 

[Fourstar]

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

Dark gold to orange in appearance, served mine 'mit hefe'. deep haze from some of the trub/bottle yeast. Big head which dissipated to a thin lacy creaminess. Heaps of Clove phenols with some slight fruity banana esters coming through. Slightly doughy presence as well. Low carbonation and a full mouth feel, quite thick/heavy (probably due to the low carbonation.) Mines almost flat. It poured great!

Sweet sweet pilsner malt presence with a lingering doughiness on the palate, rather bready. Backed up with full on clove flavours. Im getting some diacetyl on the palate but there was none on the nose. (Maybe its a bad day for me) it could be vanilla characteristics if Im mistaken. Hop bitterness is light. Finishes quite smooth with some lingering wheat characteristics and fruitiness.

Quite quaffable. Only downside was the low carbonation. Biggest improvement Id go for is a lower mash temp and higher carbonation as this was quite full on the palate. Other than that, a decent beer Don! very phenolic!

Cheers!

 

[Fourstar]

22. Lucas - Smoked Porter

Deep black with ruby highlights. Roasty, acrid aroma with some light toffee, sweetness coming through. Rather clean ferment profile... uber mild smokiness on the aroma.. Smells more roast like than Smokey to me. Rather clean fermentation profile... quite neutral.

Carbonation mild with medium to full palate.

Truckloads of roast, chocolate, toffee on the palate. Quite clean with some slight roasty acrid flavours in the aftertaste. Im sure its the smoked malt doing all of this as Im tasting BBQ's. Overall it finishes quite sweet with a lingering bitterness and toasty smoky flavour. I could so go some pulled pork right about now. A perfectly balanced beer.

I was expecting the smoke malt to jump out and slap me in the face so Im unsure if its best to be subdued in this beer or as flamboyant as a kings-cross gay couple. Either way, regardless if its a smoked porter or a robust porter its got one thing going for it... BALANCE!

If it was in a comp, it would probably mark low as its got a low smoke character. Entered as a robust however, it would probably mark in the top 40's for sure. Lucas, you have crafted an awesome beer here mate. Definitely need to take a gander at that recipe of yours as its a winner.

I'll say it, I dont know if its the pints talking but....

Best beer for the whole swap! (And Im not one to usually rate dark beers so highly).

Cheers mate, AWESOME!

 

[Leigh]

6. sappas - Better Red Than Dead Irish Ale

Drank this last night, so apologies for the brief notes.

Awesome beer sappas, well balanced, good carbonation, easy drinking. However I did note slight diacetyl as it warmed.

 

[Hutch]

22. Lucas - Smoked Porter

Lucus, I had this one as well last night, and can concur with 4Star's comments almost entirely. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best of the swap, as I'm just not a big fan of porter's, however it was clearly a VERY well made beer none the less, so cudos for having your brewing process well under control.
Unfortunately, due to many toddler-induced sleepless nights, I fell asleep after half a pint(!), so please forgive me for wasting the fruits of your labour!

Cheers, Hutch.

 

[beerDingo]

25. Benny - Lemon Ale
I agree with Wardy, ie.,this is different. Can you post the recipe? The girls that were over thought it was great. I enjoyed it, but not too sure if I could go a whole session on them.

Also had a Porter (think it was 22 - Lucas - Smoked Porter) - I really enjoyed this beer. It was my last swap beer, so had to savour it!

Thanks to all for the great beers! Just gotta pick up my game for the next swap.

 

[hairyson]

25. Benny - Lemon Ale

This is different. I've never had a beer like this.

It keeps a good head and is visually appealing and I can't find any fermentation faults, but I'm at a loss about the flavour. Maybe lemon in a beer works, but not that much lemon. If you kept the lemon flavour to a much lower level, this would be a fantastic summer beer.

We've had some better success balancing the lemon against some wheat malt recently, and it seems to be a much better result (sorry case swappers!). I have to agree that the lemon is a bit strong. Hoping that the lime we used in the last batch will be a better taste, and milder.
ben.

 

[Leigh]

25. Benny - lemon ale

Carbonation levels were good, colour is a light orange-yellow, a distinctive citiric acid smell overpowers the malts and hops. On tasting, the malt profile is somewhat affected by the acid, after taste is like drinking some freshly squeezed lemon juice that has been diluted. Possibly a bit strong on the lemon juice IMO.


23. Shortz - EoX Porter

Dark red in colour, nice carbonation levels. Slight chocolate on the nose. Taste has mild roast with subtle chocolate undertones. A really nice porter shortz. This beer is in the top 3-4 beers IMO. Rooks 3-shades turned me to the dark side, this one has cemented that position. It will be hard to decide whether I have this one or Rooks on tap next winter!

 

[Wardhog]

Dammit Leigh, I told you to stop doing that

23. Shortz - EoX Porter

A very visually appealing ruby beer that pours with a nice fluffy head. High levels of roast with balanced bitterness at first goes really well, but there's a lingering finish that seems a little bit astringent to me. Everything else is really really good, only that astringency is letting it down.


And that's the end of my case. Quality in this case has been up on average over the last 3 cases, well done everyone. There was a lot of really good beers, but extra tips of the hat to sappas and Neill, theirs stood out for me.