Vic Xmas In July Case Swap 2007

[Velophile]

haha yea about 8 peeps were gonna do pale ales, so everyone decided to brew dark beers!

bring back the pale ale! :beerbang:

Thats what I thought. Everyone said "APA" then went off & thought of something else.

I'll go with the Pale Ale that's fermenting now & keep the Stout for winter.

 

[Wardhog]

Cracked a test stubby of my contribution, and while I don't really know what a brown porter is, I think this is definitely more of a dark ale. Still quite tasty though.
Keeping my fingers crossed about the carbonation, and firming my resolve to use more EKG.

Edit: Upon reading the definition of brown porter, it's definitely not a porter. No roastiness at all, just a generous whack of choc malt coffee type flavour.

 

[AUHEAMIC]

Still sounds nice Wardhog. I have been taste testing the cream ale at a rate of one per night for the last week (lucky I ended up with 45 litres). Althouhg it's a bit under hoped (making it a bit sweet) I think it is still a good enough example of a cream ale to swap.

 

[Quintrex]

I bottled my offering yesterday, still contemplating a name for this one!!!

Not sure how many belgian freaks there are in the swap but I hope you like it.

OG 1086 FG 1012 should make it around 9.8%..... a couple of these would slap you round the ears!!

Q

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I bottled my offering yesterday, still contemplating a name for this one!!!

Not sure how many belgian freaks there are in the swap but I hope you like it.

OG 1086 FG 1012 should make it around 9.8%..... a couple of these would slap you round the ears!!

Q

I'm fairly sure that Belgians are against the rules, Quintrex. No matter - I'll help you get rid of them...

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Guys,

I was talking to my wife about the swap and she asked if it was just a swap, or a competition.

I said, "just a swap" but then stopped and thought about it.

We could attatch a little informal competition aspect to it. Nothing dramatic like formally evaluating every beer or anything. Just something along the lines of choosing a "Champion" swap beer.

So maybe..

Once you have tasted all the beers. Pick your favourite and your second favourite. and post them.

When everyone has posted their 2 picks, we give 10 points for a Favourite and 5 points for a 2nd favourite. Beer with most points is champion...

That way, even if you dont get a single point for your beer, there is no need to feel bad, because it could have been everybody's 3rd favourite (which makes it still pretty damn good)

Great beers get accolades but no one gets put down...........

Still not sure if its a good idea or not. Its certainly not the point of the swap at all, but it could be an entertaining sideline.

Thirsty

 

[lucas]

sounds good to me thirsty

on a humorous note, the topic notification I got for this email had the following sponsored ad placed next it in gmail

Photos: That's in my Gut?
This site guarantees to remove really gross stuff from your gut.

 

[AUHEAMIC]

Good idea Thirsty. Could be a bit of fun. We could set up a poll for the voting but I dont know if the poll function can handle 30 selections?

 

[Wardhog]

I'm not really convinced about the Champion Beer idea. For me, I'll be tasting some beers I haven't had before, and have no basis for comparison.

Also, won't it be like trying to compare apples to oranges?

It'll boil down to a representation of what styles people prefer, not "Hey Brewer X does a better job than Brewer Y and Z at making Beer Q" - it'll more reflect something like "I prefer pale ales to stouts".
I know a pretty good pale ale would get my vote over an excellent weizen.

If we all submitted the same style, or if we appointed a judge or judges who have the background experience necessary to make a quality call on each beer, then a meaningful result could be achieved.

I'm not against credit where it's due, or competition, but I don't think you can apply one award to a field this diverse.

 

[Quintrex]

I'm not really convinced about the Champion Beer idea. For me, I'll be tasting some beers I haven't had before, and have no basis for comparison.

Also, won't it be like trying to compare apples to oranges?

It'll boil down to a representation of what styles people prefer, not "Hey Brewer X does a better job than Brewer Y and Z at making Beer Q" - it'll more reflect something like "I prefer pale ales to stouts".
I know a pretty good pale ale would get my vote over an excellent weizen.

If we all submitted the same style, or if we appointed a judge or judges who have the background experience necessary to make a quality call on each beer, then a meaningful result could be achieved.

I'm not against credit where it's due, or competition, but I don't think you can apply one award to a field this diverse.

It's not serious, just a fun way of giving credit to an awesomely made beer. Although it is a fair point about camparing style to style, but as long as we are all aware of that.

I'm for it
Q

 

[Wardhog]

It's not serious, just a fun way of giving credit to an awesomely made beer.

I wouldn't know an awesomely made brew of a style I haven't had before from an average one, which is why I would not vote for a beer of a style I know nothing about, and that's unfair on the brewer of the beer in question.

 

[DarkFaerytale]

i'm sure it will kind of be like a comp anyway, with people pointing out flaws and good points on each beer, at least thats what i'll be doing and i hope people do to me, it's a good way of learning the strong and weak points in your brewing/brewery i think

-Phill

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I wouldn't know an awesomely made brew of a style I haven't had before from an average one, which is why I would not vote for a beer of a style I know nothing about, and that's unfair on the brewer of the beer in question.

Good lord. That far more serious than I meant.

I'm just talking about picking the beer you like the best. doesn't matter if its not a proper style or not a good example if the style it purports to be, just that you like it.

Perhaps "champion Beer" was a bad way to phrase it... maybe "Peoples Choice" instead.

Still, if you feel that its a bad idea, lets just give it a miss. Dont want to detract from everyones enjoyment of the case swap.

TB

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

i'm sure it will kind of be like a comp anyway, with people pointing out flaws and good points on each beer, at least thats what i'll be doing and i hope people do to me, it's a good way of learning the strong and weak points in your brewing/brewery i think

-Phill

I figure that is the best thing about a case swap - the ability to get feedback from lots of fellow brewers. You can taste different beer styles with a quick boogie on down to Dan Murphy's but they can't tell you much about the beer you're brewing...

(and if your friends and family are anything like mine, they are no help when it comes to feedback)

 

[Wardhog]

Perhaps "champion Beer" was a bad way to phrase it... maybe "Peoples Choice" instead.

Sorry if I came across as having my hackles up - they aren't, and I apologise if I've raised some eyebrows.

I think people will vote for what they know, is all.

Don't scrap it just on what I say, I'll go with the flow if the majority want to do it.

People's Choice is a better name for it. :beer:

 

[andreic]

Hi all,

bottled my Irish Dry Stout last Sunday night. Both OG and FG have turned out a little higher than originally planned. Hopefully still good though, but you'll be the judge of that!

This is the first case swap I have been involved in. I have read a few other case swap "tasting" threads and I'm impressed by the way people generally try and give constructive (and diplomatic) feedback on the beers they taste from the swap. This is the main reason I am in it. I am looking forward to tasting people's beers and providing my tasting notes and then getting feedback from others on my beer...

I'm perfectly happy for people to nominate their "best in case" for some kind of people's choice award but I really hope we can all just get into the spirit and provide feedback on all beers in the case. As well as getting good feedback on your own beer it will also be interesting to see how different brewers pick up different tastes and aromas for the same beer.... By the way - I am not very good at picking out beer characteristics and describing them but you only get better with practise, so we should all give it a go!

Really looking forward to some tastings in a little over a month :super:

cheers,

Andrei

 

[chris.peile]

Hey there,
I bottled my "dark ale with a belgian twist" last sunday as well. All has gone well, although the final bottling ended up a bit of a mess.
The tap from the barrel was blocked, so took a bit of stuffing around with to free it up (during which I tried to keep everything as sterile as possible, but not 100% confident. I also had a couple of 'new to brewing' helpers during the bottling who put in only 1/2 the sugar required into some of the bottles. I caught that early so ended up with enough bottles with the right amount for thw swap. I am also not 100% convinced they maintained the sterile environment fully - so hopefully no bad stuff!

Anywho - I will crack one in a couple of weeks and see how it is going. :chug:

APD - I will drop my beer off to you for the swap. I can also help you with the delivery to the central spot (i.e. I can provide a car if you don't have access to one).

 

[Fents]

Bottling the magical IPA tonight if i can scrounge enuff bottles. Might have to drop by and buy a salb of coopers longies on the way home....damn

 

[AUHEAMIC]

Bottling the magical IPA tonight if i can scrounge enuff bottles. Might have to drop by and buy a salb of coopers longies on the way home....damn

I have some spare 800ml twist top bottles if you need them Fents.

 

[apd]

...I also had a couple of 'new to brewing' helpers during the bottling...

You do know that 11 week old dogs lack the dexterity to funnel small amounts of sugar into bottles, don't you?