Vic Xmas Anytime Case.

[berazafi]

darkhorse, what I mean is it tasted like soap, viz. like a cake of soap one would use in the shower. Perhaps it sat on the yeast for a very long time and the fatty acids were broken down.

You must have got a bad bottle NRB, because of the 5 beers I have tried in this case so far, Lukes is by far the best i reckon. Seeing you werent in the swap, did you try his beer from a bottle or from tap?

Darkhorse, I know what you mean about looking for both positive and negative comments. I hope I can get some honest impressions myself. I'd even go as far as inviting people to critisize my beers if they didnt like it because it does me no good to hear nice comments etc that aint true.
Anyhow, Ive got to get into the old flame suit now h34r:

cheers

vl.

The bottle of lukes beer was taken my me as i ended up with two of these, the first one i tried i could only get through half of the glass due to the taste, then upon reading on here how nice it was I decided to take one along to see what others thought, well 3 of us tasted i and we all had the same taste.

Maybe it was just the 2 bottles that i happened to get :angry:

 

[vlbaby]

Now I wish I could've had 2 bottles of Lukes beer. I'd like to give it another evaluation as it seems by others comments I got it all wrong.
I'm definitely not beer judge material thats for sure , but I reckon I'd have a lot of fun trying.

cheers

vl.

 

[lucas]

Now I wish I could've had 2 bottles of Lukes beer. I'd like to give it another evaluation as it seems by others comments I got it all wrong.
I'm definitely not beer judge material thats for sure , but I reckon I'd have a lot of fun trying.

cheers

vl.

i got two of them, i'd offer to split the second one with you so we can both look for the soapy taste but we're at opposite ends of melbourne I'll be just as happy if i still cant sense it though, a bit like DMS i reckon, you're better off if you cant detect it

 

[darkhorse]

Ok... I had the Amarillo Budvar last night... cheers LukeS

I have to be honest... at first I thought I could pick something vaguely soapy... but my the end of my glass I decided the main taste was the Hops.

Massive hops flavour and aroma... I've had Amarillo based beers (home brew) before which I quite liked, but this was super over the top IMHO. I'm sure some people love it... the more you drink highly hopped beers the more you enjoy them is what I've read people saying elsewhere on the forum.

I thought it was very interesting, but I personally would let it mature another month or so if I had another. It should be nicely mellowed by then. (Again only going by my personal tastes)

Very clear though Luke... this is one area I didn't pay enough attention to... I must rack to secondary with finings next time.

For those looking to try the Irish red ale... try to pour in one go and leave the crap in the bottle.

 

[James Squire]

Ok, during the weekends AFL and NRL matches I managed to put away a bunch more of these beers. It was probably not the best idea as I now have jaded memories of my thoughts of the beers. Hopefully other peoples reviews will spark up my memory but for now the following will have to do. However, one beer in particular was a standout for me and I remember it fondly!

Lukas' Wit

OMG!!! :beerbang: This beer was heaven for the tastebuds! Great work!

I am NOT a wheat beer man. I have never particularly enjoyed any of the wheatie's I've drank in the past. However, this Wit from Lucas sent me to beer heaven! Well done mate!

So what the beer poured crystal clear in the glass! I don't care about the styles and so on, I just care about how good a beer taste's and this one tasted great! So many subtle flavours lingering around on my toungue, man it all just blew me away!

Thankyou :beer:


Razz's Kolsch

From what I can remember this was quite a well made beer. I have another at home so I will get to refresh my memory at some stage. I had never drank a Kolsch before so this was a first for me (so much so that I had to look up the style guidelines just to know what to expect!)

I recall that this beer was a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. Nice spicy notes to it but erring on the sweeter side which along with being out of taste for me is perhaps out of style also? Id be keen to know what hops were used though Razz? Hallertau? Nice spiciness there.


berazafi's Brown Ale

Drink this one quick people. Dave man, unfortunately this one had lost close to all of it's carbonation. This was a big pity as it ruined the beer for me. On a positive note, despite the lack of carbonation, it was obvious that this was brewed very well! Nice roasty flavours were well balanced into the mix, excellent dark beer with ticks in all the right boxes for me (other than the carbonation!). Well brewed Dave, sorry about the bubbles!

Cheers.


Smashed Jaffa's Pils

Fuzzy memory tells me that this was a bit darker in colour than it should be and poured a little cloudy. Was a clean and well made brew but again a little residual sweetness that wasn't for me. Sorry but the memory is really struggling for much more.

Cheers for the beer!


Sorry for the vague reviews this time guys, Im sure you will all understand!

Cheers,

JS

 

[razz]

JS thanks for the feedback, you are on the money with the hops. I made this to style so the perceived sweetness could be the BU:GU of approx .55. I kept the mash at 63 degrees. I was pleased with the beer because I got that slight apple tarteness that comes from the yeast.

 

[lucas]

Lukas' Wit

OMG!!! :beerbang: This beer was heaven for the tastebuds! Great work!

I am NOT a wheat beer man. I have never particularly enjoyed any of the wheatie's I've drank in the past. However, this Wit from Lucas sent me to beer heaven! Well done mate!

So what the beer poured crystal clear in the glass! I don't care about the styles and so on, I just care about how good a beer taste's and this one tasted great! So many subtle flavours lingering around on my toungue, man it all just blew me away!

Thankyou :beer:

Wow, I'm pretty happy with that sort review

berazafi's Brown Ale

Drink this one quick people. Dave man, unfortunately this one had lost close to all of it's carbonation. This was a big pity as it ruined the beer for me. On a positive note, despite the lack of carbonation, it was obvious that this was brewed very well! Nice roasty flavours were well balanced into the mix, excellent dark beer with ticks in all the right boxes for me (other than the carbonation!). Well brewed Dave, sorry about the bubbles!

I must of gotten lucky, I opened my one of these yesterday to drink while i bottled a bitter and the carbonation seemed fine. I agree with all your other notes though, the rich toffee sort of flavour was perfect. it's fueling my desire to make another dark beer.

while it's being mentioned, who else bottled from a keg? I'd like to make them the priority beers to be drunk. for that matter, I havent drunk anything that only had a number on the lid cause i wasnt sure whos/what it was.

 

[razz]

Mines from the keg lucas, it's marked number 10.

 

[James Squire]

C'mon guys! Is anyone else drinking these beers yet? Where's all the thoughts and reviews! Im giving it my best! Maybe I just drink too much?!?!

Cheers ,

JS

 

[razz]

I haven't picked mine up yet !

 

[berazafi]

I haven't picked mine up yet !

My fault sorry Razz

 

[razz]

Don't be sorry Dave. Look at it this way, my beer will have a couple more weeks maturity !

 

[Lukes]

Seeing you werent in the swap, did you try his beer from a bottle or from tap?

A bottle was taken to our brew club meeting on Wednesday night and tried by several brewers. I meant no disrespect to Luke for this beer, it's just that we all found it to be "strange". Full marks for having a go at a beer that doesn't fit into any style.
From memory, it poured a bright straw colour, had no aroma to speak of, was mildly bitter, slightly sweet with a floral taste reminiscent of Cusson's Imperial Leather.
I'm no brewing expert and don't have award winning beers, but my palate is reasonably well educated and this is what I came up with.

Guy's

I am very happy for the pos and neg feedback and talk and will have to have a look at the soap taste thing when I get back as I am still O.S.

I did not expect it to be so judged by any more than the swap crew. Just drunk after the spring gardening and doing the lawns

When brewing, it did cross my mind that budvar yeast, POR and Amma would be a bit out there. :blink:



Looking forward to the swap brews.

Luke

 

[James Squire]

Vlbaby's American Brown Ale

I want this recipe!!! Im sitting here sipping away on this right now and it's sensational. :chug: Im impressed!

It pours a bit too murky but is a brilliant brown colour with nice red highlights. The head is short but persisatant, lacing nicely all the way down the glass. Screw all that fancy stuff though cos the taste is fantastic!!! Big bitter hop flavour heading up a toasted malt background. Good citrusy hop kick (Cascade yeah?). Anyway, I love it, I've never had a Brown Ale that favours the hoppy side more than the roasted malts. A new favourite style for me. Thankyou VLbaby!

Cheers for now guys, Im off to pour the second glass! :beerbang:

JS

PS. Please post the recipe VL. Thanks.

 

[vlbaby]

Yay! Thats what i like to hear. The murky bit is something i havent experienced before this brew. It was the first time i've done a no chill so maybe i did it wrong. Hasnt seemed to affect the taste too much , but I would prefer it a bit clearer. oh well.

Anyhow here's a couple of reviews from an amatuer..

Tried darhorses Irish Red the other night, Not bad except it had a strong yeasty bite. So much in fact I could've sworn it was a wheat beer. I think maybe it hadnt had time to settle after being moved around a bit.
Probably a real nice beer, but I couldnt get past the wheaty smell and taste seeing it wasnt meant to be a wheat.

Lucas Wit. I can't say I'm a real fanatic about wheats, but I thoroughly enjoyed this beer. I had noticed that it had cleared up quite a bit in the bottle, so I have given it a roll to arouse the yeast. I have another bottle of this one, so I'll give that a go as is to compare. Overall I reckon this beer is a winner for sure.


cheers


vl.


I'll put the recipe on the recipe page JS.

 

[darkhorse]

JS APA...

quite liked this but I think I prefer less hop flavor than this... It didn't last long enough for the malt to come out but the better half had a small glass which had warmed a little before it was finished and she agreed that although she was not too keen on first sip, by the time she got back to it she thought it was very nice...

I guess we just both prefer more malt / less hops flavor.

Lucas' wit...

I really liked this... had it with my folks... not really educated beer drinkers. My Dad doesn't really like beer normally but even he agreed it was very clean tasting... good even flavoring. I got 2 of these, so looking forward to the second!

In reference to the ongoing judging of beers, I think it is great to get other perspectives. I love the beer I made but concede the yeasty aspect. I am learning some of the tastes from various hops...

 

[smashed jaffa]

Okay here is my two cents worth.....
Firstly I want to thanks everyone who made this swap possible. :beer:
It is great to be able to get some honest feedback after many hours toiling away in the shed, not knowing if other people with different tastes like the result of all the toiling. :blink: (Other than fam who are biased!)
Amarillo Pils
I liked this one...very hoppy which I didn't mind, not quite to style as someone has already pointed out, but great to drink none the less.
Lucas' Wit
Good flavours and easy to drink, this is not a style I have tried to brew yet, but I am encouraged by Lucas' offering and will give it a crack myself. Very enjoyable.
JS APA
Out of the three I have tried I did like this one the best, as I am a bit of a LCPA fan and i liked the hoppy flavour. Well done. :super:
I am off to Queensland on Sunday for a week so I proabaly won't get to try any more until my return. I will try post some more comments then.

Cheers,

Smashed Jaffa.

 

[razz]

Recently received my 13 bottles, I mean 12 bottles, from this swap. Thanks to the little lady for dropping by to Berazafi's house to pick them up. By the way Dave, she told me you are a good looking bloke with a reasonable build.
Anyway onto my first evaluation.
JS Golden APA. James this beer is very enjoyable. Tight white head. An aroma that has something that I can also detect in the flavour, not sure what. Similar to what I experience when I drink Delerium Tremens. Great hop flavour and smooth mouthfeel. Nice balance between bitterness and malt. Stubborn foam to the end of my pot glass. Can I ask a couple of things, type of yeast and time in the bottle. Overall I enjoyed this beer, but I just can't quite pick that flavour/aroma thing. I'm just going to backtrack through the thread to see if you wrote any notes on this beer. No more evaluations for a couple of days due to night shifts coming up.

 

[James Squire]

Hi Razz,

Thanks for the kind comments! B) I enjoy this style of beer very much and brew APA's quite regularly. This particular beer was the final Partial Mash for me before beginning my life as an AG brewer. I've included the recipe below, it actually has quite a large quantity of extract in it but it's disguised well in the final product! It was fermented at a constant 20C for 1 week in primary and another 1 week clearing up in secondary. It was bottled somewhere around 21st August so I think it's in it's 9th week in the bottle. Here's the recipe:

JS's Golden APA
1.7Kgs Pale LME
1.5Kgs Wheat Malt
0.2Kgs Medium Crystal

15g POR @ 60min
12g Amarillo @ 15min
12g Amarillo @ 5 min
20g Amarillo Dry Hopped

Fermented @ 20C with US56

Cheers guys, :beer:

JS

 

[apd]

hey all,

I'm interesting in contributing too. I've got an untested brown ale (my first AG) and a couple of wheats brewing.

apd