Vic Xmas Anytime Case.

[razz]

Special safety message for all those with a bottle of Lukes Bohemian pils. If it's not already in the fridge, do so, mine just went BANG on the pantry floor. Strangely enough there were 2 in my case so I will get to try it eventually.

 

[razz]

Berazafi's Brown Ale.
Nice drop Dave ! Not being familiar with brown ale I really have nothing to compare this too but I'm enjoying it all the same. A dry ale that does not cause my mouth to pucker. Suttle burnt aroma and flavour, also in the flavour may be some hops. One stand out thing is the carbonation, low enough to allow the flavours of the ale to come through and just enough to keep some head and lace to the end. Like I said, nice drop. :chug:
Come on people, keep those tasting notes coming in ! :beerbang:

 

[berazafi]

Berazafi's Brown Ale.
Nice drop Dave ! Not being familiar with brown ale I really have nothing to compare this too but I'm enjoying it all the same. A dry ale that does not cause my mouth to pucker. Suttle burnt aroma and flavour, also in the flavour may be some hops. One stand out thing is the carbonation, low enough to allow the flavours of the ale to come through and just enough to keep some head and lace to the end. Like I said, nice drop. :chug:
Come on people, keep those tasting notes coming in ! :beerbang:

Did you happen to find massive amounts of diacytal in the taste. I just got the judging sheets back from vicbrew that this same beer from the same keg was entered in. All three judges said the beer was to hard to judge due to the diacital content. I find myself very sensitive to diacital normally and didnt detect it in large quantities in this beer.



Would be interested to know if diacital can form 2-3 months after kegging and being rebottled



p.s. im glad you picked up your case when you did, better the beer exploding at your place

 

[razz]

Didn't get any diacetyl, the standout flavour, which I guess was choc malt, was at a level were I don't think you would notice any diacetyl. I might be wrong though. I always thought that it may be a problem in bottom fermented beers and the like but not in a dark ale. :blink:

 

[darkhorse]

I was a little disappointed by Berafazi's Brown Ale unfortunately.

Not that it was a bad beer but I certainly didn't expect that level of roast... The roasted flavors just seemed too prominent (harsh?) to me. I felt like I was drinking a stout. I kept thinking malty Brown Ale but getting burnt Stout... Maybe just a perception thing...

A bit like my "Pizza Theory"

Pizza is OK but not my favorite take away.... but if you agree on pizza for tea then at the last minute something prevents it... then pizza is the thing that you have been building up to and really want... and therefore creates a level of disappointment that is probably unjustified...

Same applied for fish and chips...

Anyway, my point is, I think I was expecting malty smooth....etc then got a rude awakening and never got over it!

 

[Lukes]

Special safety message for all those with a bottle of Lukes Bohemian pils. If it's not already in the fridge, do so, mine just went BANG on the pantry floor. Strangely enough there were 2 in my case so I will get to try it eventually.

Im thinking my home made bottle filler may have caused it to sour and would explain some of the funky flava's and increasing carb. :huh:


Luke

 

[razz]

I was just reading the style guidelines for 10B brown ale and apart from a lack of moderate sweetness I thought Berazafi's ale was quite good. Have to agree with darkhourse on the malt comment.

 

[razz]

Lukes Amarillo Budvar.
I got some faint hop aroma but only just. Decanted to a jug, poured really well but the head did not persist. No problems with carbonation. Good colour and clarity. Some hop flavour easily overshadowed by the bitterness. No soap flavour. I'm not used to drinking such a bitter beer (some harshness up front) but having said that the after taste is quite good, flavour rounded out ok. Others have commented about malt sweetness but this bottle seems to have dried out slightly. I firmly believe that beer kept on the yeast can become drier over time. That harshness up front may well be a touch too much POR for bittering. There has been comment on AHB about only bittering to a certain level with POR. Overall Luke I like this beer, well done.

 

[razz]

Lucas's Wit
This one poured a very large head typical of style, persistant, well carbonated. A little on the dark side, but cloudy. Some spicy aroma that matches the flavour. Acidic, slightly floral/fruity flavour with some bitterness. Overall a refreshing acidic wit that I don't mind at all ! I've a bottle of Delerium tremens in the beer fridge, I might try it for a comparison. Good stuff Lucas.

 

[NRB]

Razz, DT is a Belgian Strong Ale, not a Witbier so comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. You'd be better off comparing with Hoegaarden Witbier.

 

[razz]

Aha ! Come to think of it the DT is 8.5% I did sleep well that night.

 

[darkhorse]

Woodfordes Headcracker strong pale ale...

Nicely balanced clean beer with only a slight telltale tang which I assume is an indicator of the strength of the brew!

Was expecting pale color though, and this was more amber... again... I assume due to the strength.

Well done!

 

[razz]

Smashed Jaffa Bavarian Pils
Poured nicely into a jug, dense persistent head but lacked clarity, good colour. Belgian lace all the way to the last. Some hop aroma and firm bitterness almost balanced by malt, a very smooth finish. Apart from the clarity this is a top drop, and I can always close my eyes ! Well done Smashed Jaffa.
PS. Any left ?

 

[darkhorse]

Velophile's robust porter...

Very full flavour on this puppy... What hops...? None evident in the taste (as far as I could tell)
Very true to the style guide, but I obviously don't appreciate this style... I liked it enough to drink it but certainly wouldn't go out of my way to buy or brew it...

I think I have a problem with roast flavors unless they are in the background... I made a stout (Kit & kilo) but it was for my dad and I only drink it if there is nothing elso cold! (Not that stout needs to be cold).

#10 Razz's Kolsch?

Great clarity, great clean taste with good hops flavour. Definitely to be drunk cold on a hot day!
I really liked it ( and so did the missus )

 

[razz]

Thanks Darkhorse, Iv'e only about 25 lts left I wonder If it will last until summer ?

 

[Velophile]

Velophile's robust porter...

Very full flavour on this puppy... What hops...? None evident in the taste (as far as I could tell)
Very true to the style guide, but I obviously don't appreciate this style... I liked it enough to drink it but certainly wouldn't go out of my way to buy or brew it...

I think I have a problem with roast flavors unless they are in the background... I made a stout (Kit & kilo) but it was for my dad and I only drink it if there is nothing elso cold! (Not that stout needs to be cold).

<snip>

Thanks Darkhorse. I too think the roast has chased away the hops in this batch. Not that the style should be hop driven from what I've read. I've brewed a few batches of Porter & this was the first with US-56. I'll be keen to see how it mellows with a bit more age.

 

[smashed jaffa]

Smashed Jaffa Bavarian Pils
Poured nicely into a jug, dense persistent head but lacked clarity, good colour. Belgian lace all the way to the last. Some hop aroma and firm bitterness almost balanced by malt, a very smooth finish. Apart from the clarity this is a top drop, and I can always close my eyes ! Well done Smashed Jaffa.
PS. Any left ?

Razz,

Thanks for the feedback, always good to know someone else enjoys your beer.

Unfortunately all gone!


Cheers,

SJ

 

[razz]

....next!

Darkhorse's Irish Red Ale

Im not super familiar with this particular style so Im not sure what fits guidelines and yada yada but I do know what I like to drink so here goes! Johnny is a workmate of mine so I've been keen to get this one down the gullet!

First pour presents a beautifully clear deep red ale with a nice full creamy head that hangs in there all the way to the end. This is an attractive beer. So attractive that SWMBO (who's normally a chardy or marsanne drinker) snaffled the glass first and stole the first taste. She handed it back to me saying "That's nice!" which is like the ultimate compliment from her! Well done! I then proceeded to tuck in to it and definately agreed with her. A good well balanced beer, malt driven but bittered perfectly. My first time (that I know of!) tasting the Green Bullet hops and they were used very well.

Second pour however was a little different. Quite cloudy. Something as if it's ?break material? came through in small bits into the glass. The impact on the taste was that some yeasty flavours became more prevalent. Im not sure the reasoning behind this issue but it's very unfortunate as it is a let down for an otherwise exceptional beer.

Great job on your first AG Johnny, I forcast some good beers coming out of the Belgrave Brewhaus in the near future!

Cheers and thanks for the beer,

JS

Darkhorse's Irish Red ale.
Well DH old fella. If this is your first go at AG, in future, I'm not entering in any comps that you enter into ! (come to think of it I've never entered one) I must agree wholeheartedly with JS comments on this ale. I can add that I decanted this ale very carefully and the sediment had packed very tightly in the bottle, I think that in JS's bottle that rather than run as sediment it had packed down and broken away. Thanks for taking one for the team JS ! Just enough crystal coming through in this one with a nutty complex from the barley. I don't know what the dried yeast is but it did a reasonable job, I think you should make this again using an irish ale strain. Well done, you darkhorse you.

 

[darkhorse]

Cheers Razz, it was based on another recipe (I will try to dig that up)... The couple I had that were left in the fridge for a while to settle poured quite cleanly also.

Next...
Smashed Jaffa's Bavarian Pils.

I quite liked this beer. More bitter than Razz's Kolsch not sure which should be more bitter.
Essentially I don't associate that increased bitterness with the pilsener style but maybe that is just me.
Another great summer beer though... very clear and clean tasting but may enjoy some maturing to settle the bitterness.

This swap stuff certainly makes having a beer more interesting (not knowing what it is going to be like!)
I'm looking forward to another swap... maybe a proper XMAS case.

 

[darkhorse]

#13 Murray's STOUT

Yep, that's a stout...

As far as stouts go I think this was quite nice... (I've previously mentioned I'm not a huge fan of the style).
Certainly not to overpowering, some may think of this as a negative (i.e thin tasting), but I don't mind it as it gets too much for me otherwise.

Cheers!!!