Vic X-mas In July 2009 Tasting Thread

[WarmBeer]

13. CM2 - Kenzie Dunkle

Thought this was going to be under-carbed when I first poured it, but has managed to keep the same small head through the whole glass. I thought you must have sneaked in a real lager yeast before I re-read your recipe, as it comes across with a nice, clean aftertaste. A little on the sweet side, probably due to the low AA of the Tettnang not balancing out the extract. Damn tasty, and feels like a bigger beer than the 4% claimed.

 

[brettprevans]

22. Lucas - Smoked Porter

just like a scottish heavy except dry, good btterness and not sweet. Great beer. love the smoked malt flavours. It does really have to be served around 10C doesnt it. I had to let mine warm up a bit. once it did I really enjoyed this. just sat back and sipped away. great beer Lucas. well made. couldnt spot a fault.


edit:
warmbeer. glad you liked it. Its meant to be along the lines of a Kozel Cerny. yeah it would have been better if i could have used a lager yeast and been true to style instead of an ale yeast. Another week cold conditioning might have helped.

I had another taste of the beer and was suprised to see that the body seems to have beefed up. I swear it was weaker than that just prior to bottling. so Im happy with it. could use some tweaks. Yeah Tettang needed to be upped. I stuffed up in making it. I didnt want a big in your face hop so tetteng was my choice. just need to add the correct amount next time,

on a sader note completely uncasse swap related. wentt to have a taste of my dark belgian saturday night.....nothing comes out of the tap. wtf...Look inside the chesty.. OMG 19L of beer sitting in the bottom. the JG fitting on the tap wasnt screwed in tight enough and its all leaked out. shattered! absolutely shattered. was planning on entering it into the Vicbrew comp. oh well.

 

[Brewmeister70]

Most prominant taste is the yeast, what type did you use?

I used Wyeast 2565 in this and it was the most powdery yeast I've seen yet - Out of a seven-litre starter that I crash chilled, I wanted to pour off the wort on top but as soon as I tilted the fermenter, it was mostly back in solution! Learned the hard way that it would be agood idea to syphon off the spent wort next time.

It got to 17-degrees briefly but was pitched cold onto wort that was racked off the cold break the morning after brewing once chilled in the chest freezer.

Thanks for the kind reviews and I'm glad people are enjoying it

 

[Fents]

22. Lucas - Smoked Porter

just like a scottish heavy except dry, good btterness and not sweet. Great beer. love the smoked malt flavours. It does really have to be served around 10C doesnt it. I had to let mine warm up a bit. once it did I really enjoyed this. just sat back and sipped away. great beer Lucas. well made. couldnt spot a fault.


edit:
warmbeer. glad you liked it. Its meant to be along the lines of a Kozel Cerny. yeah it would have been better if i could have used a lager yeast and been true to style instead of an ale yeast. Another week cold conditioning might have helped.

I had another taste of the beer and was suprised to see that the body seems to have beefed up. I swear it was weaker than that just prior to bottling. so Im happy with it. could use some tweaks. Yeah Tettang needed to be upped. I stuffed up in making it. I didnt want a big in your face hop so tetteng was my choice. just need to add the correct amount next time,

on a sader note completely uncasse swap related. wentt to have a taste of my dark belgian saturday night.....nothing comes out of the tap. wtf...Look inside the chesty.. OMG 19L of beer sitting in the bottom. the JG fitting on the tap wasnt screwed in tight enough and its all leaked out. shattered! absolutely shattered. was planning on entering it into the Vicbrew comp. oh well.

you can have that bottle back you gave me if you still feel like entering it mate.

 

[brettprevans]

Hutch Cal Common

northern brewer was also really interesting in this.
read thru the hop descriptions. yeah woody taste. i thought i tasted some Chop so mnaybe that was the mintyness?

Re Chop. it was meant to be C hop. as in cascade. not meat chop.

edit:

you can have that bottle back you gave me if you still feel like entering it mate.

nah its ok man you drink it. it mustnt have been meant to be. the brew gods might have been telling me something

 

[brendo]

Re Chop. it was meant to be C hop. as in cascade. not meat chop.

That is some funny sh1t there CM2... I just assumed you were associating mint flavours with lamb and mint... :icon_drool2:

Brendo

 

[Hutch]

Re Chop. it was meant to be C hop. as in cascade. not meat chop.

Mmmmmmm - a meal in a glass!
Might have to up the late-hops next time for more minty-goodness.

BTW, if anyone knows of a local importer of Anchor Steam beer, let me know - I really want to know what this style should taste like.

 

[Fourstar]

Mmmmmmm - a meal in a glass!
Might have to up the late-hops next time for more minty-goodness.
BTW, if anyone knows of a local importer of Anchor Steam beer, let me know - I really want to know what this style should taste like.

One and only time i had it was from Purvis Cellars. Tasty little bevvy it was too! I think they annually get in the Anchor range. Last year, (from memory) I think they had the Liberty Ale and the Porter, i didnt see the steam.. Either they didnt get it or it went in moments.

On a side note they currently have Sierra Nevada - Pale Ale and Rogue - St. Rogue Red stocked... *Drool*

Hey Hutch, ill give your Steam a crack tonight and see how it compares to memory.

 

[seemax]

finally got a start on the beer...

5. LCPA clone

Poured well, slightly under carbonated I think, head dropped very quickly. Perhaps a little disappointed with the lack a big aroma hit, it was there, just very subtle. I also noticed a very very slight sourness, sort of cidery but not... hard to pick... however by half way through i didn't notice it any more and the hop flavours took over, which I found quite enjoyable. Not being an expert on styles... my senses tell me it's a PA of sorts somewhere around 35IBU. A nice beer...

15. fourstar AIPA

Yumm!!! Great colour, perfect carbonation... thick, smooth head. I began salivating as soon as my nose got whiff of the hops :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: . This is right on the money, for me the perfect balance of hops and malt. With so much flavour I barely noticed the 60IBU... in fact I would even say it could go up to 70 or 80IBU for an extra little tingle on the tongue. Needless to say this only lasted a few minutes.... excellent work 4*

i have 3 or 4 in the fridge now ready for tonight !!

 

[Fourstar]

15. fourstar AIPA
Yumm!!! Great colour, perfect carbonation... thick, smooth head. I began salivating as soon as my nose got whiff of the hops . This is right on the money, for me the perfect balance of hops and malt.

Funny you say that, was at beer specTAPular at the taphouse for their US 4th of July beer festival on saturday. Out of all of the AIPAs the best ones where the ones close enough to a 1:1 ratio of ABV and IBU.. all the rest tasted completly out of balance, not to mention most of them where on the low-end of the IBU count for an AIPA... like 40IBU~ <_< As Q pointed out on the 'whats in the glass thread' Cranky Pants IPA was the best (IMO) of the AUS micro brewed 'American beers' from memory, it was really close to a 1:1 ratio. :icon_drool2:

 

[Brewmeister70]

10. Q's Mild

Low head, low carbonation, beautiful reddish-brown colour. Very clear.

Very nice nose of roasty rich malt but perhaps too intense for a mild. Has a distinct wet tobacco element that I really like, but not sure where this comes from.

Nicely balanced with a roasty-mildly-bitter finish. Body is light (good) and beer seems to be fermented out appropriately. There is a prominent flavour of chocolate malt without the astringency it often is coupled with, which shows excellent wort handling skill. A low-intensity flavour hop addition adds to the complexity.

Reminds me of an excellent bitter as opposed to a mild. If this were mine --and I had a spare bottle-- I'd enter it into Vic Brew as a bitter. Nutty/taosty elemnts really come through well with your choice of yeast. This beer isn't too dry. I love this beer! Very well done, Q.

Cheers,

Brewmeister70 :icon_cheers:

Jeeze I'm glad I went into this swap... You guys really have pulled out the stops this time.

 

[Fourstar]

14. Hutch - California Common

Beautiful copper/amber in appearance, no haze whatsoever. perfect head retention all the way through the glass. Phenolic on the nose with mild woody/maple sweet characteristics. Some malty nuttiness also coming through. Phenols are numbing most in this. (currently drinknig at 8deg).

Full mouthfeel, perfect carbonation. Slight solvency with some full malty crystal bittertoffee characters and finishes well with a catty/dry bitterness and toasty melanoidens.

Ok, 10 mins after writing the above..Just took a sip.. wow, its transformed! Really caramely/toasty, now with not much on the nose. Bitterness still lingers and the toasty/munich presence is taking center stage with some fruityness lingering on the palate.

Decent beer Hutch. Comparing to what i remember of Anchor steam. Anchor had allot more caramel qualities, aroma was very minty/catty like.. reminiscent of cluster hops with a NBer twist and the ferment was ale fruity liek. With yours im getting some solvency in this. (I seem to be quite sensitive to this aroma/flavour).

Over all a decent Amber Lager/Ale/Hybrid!

Cheers! :beer:

 

[Fourstar]

15. Fourstar - American IPA

OK, time to toot my own horn.

Hazy in appearance with an orange/tangarine hue. Head holds well, creamy in appearance. Aroma is full of C hops. Getting lots of Simcoe citrus and some fruit salad aromas on the nose too. Ferment is clean. Got some crystal coming through on the nose also.

Onto the lips with mothful of hops. A firm bitterness (nope, not harsh on me) and a deep crystal sweetness, offsetting most of the hop bitterness. fiishes sweet and malty-toasty Munich in the throat with a lingering bitterness. All i can taste is Classic US 'C' hops.

Next time, up the dry hopping and adjust some of the bittering as a later hop addition for more hop flavour, moron.

 

[seemax]

20. Warmbeer Franken
Poured well, low carbonaton resulted in a small but fluffy head which lasted the whole glass. Overall a fairly mild beer, quite different from my usual PA's and IPA's. Similar to some porters I've had yet more subtle.. nice choc malt/ dark crystal tones.. and it's certainly more sweet than bitter. The flavour developed as it warmed. I would say a good winter beer and one that would be good for introducing traditional beer drinkers (aka VB) into dark beers without forcing them into a stout.

2. Bitsa Pale Ale
Popping the top produced a huge gas release followed by foam that rose to the opening, but to my surprise it poured perfectly and didn't feel overly carbonated in the mouth. A very pleasant aroma, the initial bite was solid and flavoursome, with little malt character. The aftertaste felt quite bitter (in a good way)... I would guess somewhere around 50IBU but it felt more compared to 4*'s AIPA. I had this warmer than normal though (couldn't wait til cooled down!). Very nice indeed... satisfied my IPA desire for the night... good mouthful and a certain warmth about it. Once again I was wanting more

Aren't these swaps just great? Well I'm off to sample some more

 

[lucas]

i feel like a bit of a slacker as I havent been taking any notes. havent opened one yet that I didnt like though

 

[Leigh]

9. seemax - Real Ale K&B

Had this one last night at shed temp (about 9 degrees) while lining a wall in the shed. Probably a little cold for this style, but good nonetheless.

Poured with a 10 mm head that dissipated over about 30 minutes to a 1 mm foam leaving nice lacing on the glass. On tasting, the mild malt flavour was very reminiscent of some CAMRA brews, followed by some nice english hop bitterness. Could taste a little bit of "kit twang" with this one (something that happens from time-to-time with kits). I think this beer could have been nicer had I been able to warm it a little, probably would be better around 12 degrees.

A very drinkable beer seemax.

 

[brendo]

17. Brewmeister70 Kolsch

Alright mate, you already I know I like this beer of yours... so here goes...

Pours nice and clear, very light straw colour. Great clarity!! Nice tight white head, with moderate level of carbonation.

Quick sniff test - low noble hop aroma - VERY subtle and a hint of sulphur on the nose as well. Definitely pick up the Kolsch yeast profile.

Taste test - very clean and smooth, low hop with good bitterness balance. Flavour is very yeast driven (as you would expect) and the sulphur taste is rather pronounced. Little bit of diacetyl perhaps - which would be appropriate.

Sulphur taste was a bit much for SWMBO, so the upside of this was that I got to pretty much drink the lot - which is an absolute bonus as I really enjoyed it. That said, I don't think it was quite as good as the first keg - but maybe I was just in desperate need of a beer that day after shifting all those bags of grain.

All in all mate - damn fine beer and I am looking forward to tasting future incarnations. Top work!!

Brendo

 

[Brewmeister70]

That said, I don't think it was quite as good as the first keg

I'm fully with you there, Brendo. Having a big brew in split fermenters has differences for sure but this one is sulphur-over-fruit esters for sure.

I think it will need to be boiled for 90 minutes next time I make it, despite wanting to keep it pale and delicate.

#16. Chris Taylor's Red Weizen

Hazy red colour with medium carbonation and medium head retention.

Lovely nose of sweet crystal malt and restrained spiciness (cloves) with some banana and pear.

The flavour is really complex, with the malt at the fore-front. The finish is clean and malty with only low distracting fermentation by-products, mainly acetaldehyde but low. Low bitterness, which is to style, medium body and great toasty and crystal malt flavours dominating.

Despite a small amount of acetaldehyde, the beer doesn't suffer form its presence and comes across as very well-judged in termes of balance and drinkability.

This will test the hop heads amongst us but this style isn't about hops or a "clean" ferment. The crystal malt is very prominant in taste, like a "red" ought to be but this is a hybrid brew if ever I tasted one.

A well-realised imaginative beer Chris.

Cheers,

Brewmiester70 :icon_chickcheers:

 

[therook]

I am going to try my case swaps at work with one of my colleagues who also likes home brew but took home 3 of the swaps as i was really looking forward to them and didn't want to share them.

4. Hairofthedog - Dortmunder Export

This was the first beer i tried and boy has it set the bar high.....Fcuking sensational Troy
Excellent carbonation, great color but a tiny bit hazy ( another week in the fridge and i think it would have been clear )
A nice tight head which laced the glass all the way to the end, magnificent Hop flavour and Aroma
It is going to take something sensational to beat it
Thanks Troyo

14. Hutch - California Common
This was the beer i was wanting to taste the most in the swap.
A typical well brewed clean as a whistle beer, very typical of all Hutch's beers
Excellent carbonation. Excellent head and lacing all the way to the end. Loved the colour also
The hops was something i was keen to experience and i could definitely taste the mint more so than the woody flavours others are experiencing
I will be ordering some of these US hops to use with the Wyeast 2112 i have in the fridge
Top drop Hutchy

After having 2 great beers i didn't think anything else would get near them so i tried my 3rd one

17. Brewmeister - Kolsch
How easy drinking is this beer, a typical session beer.
Great colour and clarity and a lovely yeast flavour.
A nice small head which also laced the glass nicely
The only problem i could fine was it was slightly under carbed which was no big deal
I couldn't detect any sulphur as others had but i'm an old fart and my senses are probably past there best :icon_cheers:
Excellent beer Brewmeister

Having never tried a California Common and only ever having tried one Kolsch i don't know if these beers where to style or not but i do know they were bloody great beers.

Thanks chaps

Rook

 

[hairofthedog]

21 Driveitlikeustoleit Oatmeal stout

mate that is the nicest stout ive had in a long while fantastic creamy head & some lovely roasted malt flavors :icon_cheers: