Vic Xmas In July 2008 Tasting Thread

[hairofthedog]

hutch 5 london best bitter

lightly carbed just how i like it well balanced between hop bitterness & caramaly malt crystal clear with great copper color

well made beer i enjoyed it thanks hutchy :icon_cheers:

 

[hairofthedog]

7. Some Bloke - Beer

Floral slightly grassy hop aroma. A hint of yeast there as well. Cloudy but who gives a ****. Nice body but could be a bit drier and hoppier, go a bit more bitterness and carbonation and you might give the mongrel a run for its money. That was a ripper.

thanks for the feedback/comments cummins i think you being kind its defenitly a shit brew somewhere between a off heiniken & a skunky carlsberg i would have pulled it & changed it for another brew to swap but they were the beers i had in pet bottles

 

[Hutch]

2. Fents' "Some sort of US Lager".

Going by the name, I expected a light, dry US lager (I was almost ready to cut up a wedge of lemon!)
Much to my delight it wasn't!
Great beer, only let down by some obvious chill-haze. What Pils malt and hops did you use? Almost in APA territory in the aroma/flavour department.

Good carbonation level, and superb head retention, dry and crisp, lingering bitterness suggests IBU's at the high end for a lager, though not out of place. Evident alcohol warmth, clean - sits nicely with the high IBUs.
My chief taster (SWMBO) gave it the big thumbs-up, so it must be good!

Mate, do us a favour and post the recipe please!

 

[andreic]

and away we go...

3. Wardhog - Harold

Nice golden colour, white compact head. Aroma mostly of cascade. Quite malty, very creamy mouth feel, and finishes with a moderate bitterness.

Pretty tasty. The aroma makes me think its gonna be an APA, but it seems maltier and creamier than APAs I've had. Great start to the case!

cheers, Andrei

 

[mark_m]

First off the blocks - #1 Peels Kinda Porter.

Nice clean beer, good malt with roast & coffee flavours. A little over carbonated, but not overly so.

Very enjoyable, good beer.

Coincidentally, I have a porter on tap ATM made with almost identical grain bill, but predominantly Bairds malts & fuggles instead of EKG. PM me Peels if you want to drop in for a side by side tasting.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[mark_m]

#2. Fents' "Some sort of US Lager".

It was to be a one beer night tonight - but as the saying goes - "I can resist anything except temptation".

+1 for everything hutch wrote a couple of posts up except:

- Lemon slice hadn't even crossed my mind
- too hoppy for SWMBO (Corona's probably her perfect beer - all fizz, no taste).

From your professed one malt policy, I'm guessing all pils, my palate's not good enough to try & guess the hops - how about posting the recipe Fents?

Great beer.

Thanks again for your hospitality the other night, shame I had to leave early.

Cheers
Mark

 

[andreic]

2. Fents - Some sort of US Lager

Light yellow with quite a bit of haze. Big white fluffy head that left a beaut lacing. Slight sulphur in the aroma and lots of sweet, flowery hops. Tastes grainy-malty with a lot of hop flavour in line with the aroma. Nice bitter finish.

This beer seems to be getting some good reviews... I agree - a great hoppy lager. Probably the only issue is the chill haze (a problem I also have with my beers) - doesn't affect the taste though. I could easily tuck into a few more of these...

Good work Fents :super:

cheers, Andrei

 

[Quintrex]

BTW here is the link to the Wiki for the case swap
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=50

If we were really organised we use the wiki to list "best after" dates for those beers that need a bit more time to carb up.

Thoughts?

 

[andreic]

BTW here is the link to the Wiki for the case swap
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=50

If we were really organised we use the wiki to list "best after" dates for those beers that need a bit more time to carb up.

Thoughts?

A good idea. It would help if the wiki was updated with the latest info... so I've had a crack at doing just that based on info in this thread and the last few pages of the original thread. Everyone take a look now and update it as required.

 

[Quintrex]

A good idea. It would help if the wiki was updated with the latest info... so I've had a crack at doing just that based on info in this thread and the last few pages of the original thread. Everyone take a look now and update it as required.

Nice work!

 

[Fents]

cheers guys for the kind comments. certainly nice to have a beer that turned out ok this time. i'll get the recipe up tonight.

i think since the swap on saturday i've managed two or three beers and that was on tuesday night and it wasnt any swaps. my liver still hates me i think.

 

[Wardhog]

Everyone take a look now and update it as required.

Done. Made the recommendations stand out a bit too.

 

[andreic]

7. Hairofthedog - Saaz Pilsner

Light yellow-gold colour, rather hazy, small white compact head. Some hop aroma from the Saaz. Some hop flavour and a little sweet with a slightly bitter end. I would perhaps go a little harder on the bitterness and carbonation.

There's an aroma and flavour in there that's not quite to my liking... DMS? I looked at your recipe which stated Saflager - was the yeast W34/70? Perhaps this is just a characteristic of the yeast rather than any fault (I've had a similar aroma from a W34/70 fermented lager). Its still a pretty easy drinking lager though... there was no problem at all draining the last glass.

Thanks for the beer!

cheers, Andrei

 

[chris.taylor.98]

Wardie, I have a confession to make before you read this. Harold underwent a bit of an ordeal before I got around to tasting him. I put him in the freezer to cool him down faster ... and then the next day when I opened the freezer we has looking much worse for wear and very solid. Seemed to thaw out ok today and still had good carbonation when I opened him.

3. Wardhog - Harold

Sweet malty, grain aroma, with a slight hint of hops.

Very clear, golden colour.

Slightly fruity (pears) flavour, with the same malt character as in the aroma, with just a hint of bitterness at the end to round it out. Fairly light bodied.

Reasonably dry in the finish.

Very clean and easy drinking beer.

 

[brettprevans]

1. Peels Sorta Porter
needed to warm it a little to get the tastes comiong out. roast and light choc? maybe fuggles flavours comiong through. really nice head and retention. tasted more like a dark ale than a porter but well balances and really nice to start off with. was ma lot more bitter than I was expecting for a porter. nice though,

6. Andreic - Irish Dry Stout
very little head (probably just the glass' fault), not hugely dry but as I drank more I decideed that it was perfectly dry for this beer. great sessional dryness. very much what an irish stout should be. what Guinness shouold go back to being....

Thanks for the beers.

 

[Wardhog]

24. Leigh - Golden Ale

Wow, that's a lot of alcohol in a beer, but it adds a pleasant, gently warming aspect, rather than an in-your-face alcohol hotness. Plenty of fruity aroma.
The only criticism I have of this beer is the hop flavour. It skulks around the edge of tasting, leaving an impression rather than a memorable taste. It's a kinda grassy, too-young hop flavour - maybe this beer needs to sit for another few months to round out these flavours.
But congratulations on making a near wine-strength beer without making it taste like rocket fuel.

 

[Wardhog]

19. Alvin Ng - Cascade/Glacier APA

That was an old can of malt the shop sold you - "kit twang". Don't be put off by this, I think the faults of this beer are not the brewer's, but the LHBS.
Clarity, carbonation level, all excellent. A good, clean ferment.


Forget North Melbourne and stick with Greensborough LHBS.

 

[Wardhog]

1. Peels - Kinda Porter

Another solid effort, well done. Clear as a (dark) bell, lovely pillowy head that lasts and lasts. Roast flavour dominates proceedings, but that was probably intentional - I would say this ticks nearly all boxes for a robust porter, but there's probably a little too much carbonation.

 

[brettprevans]

2. Fents US Lager

No way this is a US lager. its the best thing ive tasted coming out of the USA (exept this girl i once knew...thats another story!). huge mouthfeel, agreed with the description of sweet flowery tones, rounded bitter finish. great. reminds me a bit of one of the beers in the last caseswap but i cant put my finger on what it is. anyways great effort.

 

[Hutch]

3. Wardhog - Harold

Nice golden-amber colour, with good clarity. Dry finish, with a nice balance of crystal and roast malts.
Bitterness was a little harsh first up (Chinook!), probably accentuated by the carbonation.
Nice Cascade/Chinook aroma. They always go well together.

I get a slightly "green hops" bitterness in the finish, and also a prominent tangy green apple/pear (acetaldehyde?), which I would suspect is the product of the US-05 (I've had this every time I've used US-05, though interestingly never had it with 1056!)

I'm enjoying it more and more as it warms up, and the carbonation subsides - Maybe I've been drinking too many Pommie Ales lately!

Cheers Wardy :icon_cheers: