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cj8scrambler · 08-04-2007, 12:04 AM

On Monday I will be sending out beer to jnorris, Brewsmith and Joebou4860. I am a new brewer that got started last Christmas with a Mr. Beer kit gift from my in-laws. Don't worry, I won't be sending out my results from Mr. Beer. I quickly moved to extract brews and more recently have started all grain brewing. I have included 4 different beers in the swap. The first 3 beers (Chinook IPA, Barleywine and Kolsch) are extract brews and the 4th beer (Best Bitter) is my first attempt at all grain. I'm a little embarrassed by the quality of the Best Bitter, so I've included a 5th mini bottle of Barleywine as well. I only included the Best Bitter because I'm looking for some help in identifying what that very distinct and unexpected flavor is.

Northern Brewer Chinook IPA extract kit

Malt Extract

6 lbs Pale Malt Syrup
1 lb Extra Light DME

Specialty Grains

3/4 lb Dingemans Caramel Pils
1/4 lb Briess Caramel 120

Hops

1 oz. Chinook (60 min)
1/2 oz. Chinook (10 min)
1/2 oz. Chinook (1 min)
1 oz. Chinook (dry hopped)

Yeast

Wyeast #1056 - American Ale Yeast

2 gallon partial boil. Added water and pitched yeast @ 1.052 and fermented for 9 days then transferred to 2ndary @ 1.021. After 14 days, primed with 7/8 C corn sugar and bottled.

Northern Brewer Barley Wine extract kit

Malt Extract

6 lbs Gold Malt Syrup
6 lbs Dark Malt Syrup

Specialty Grains

1 lb Dingeman's Special B
1 lb Dingeman's Biscuit

Hops

1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min)
1 oz. Cascade (30 min)
1 oz. Fugle (1 min)

Yeast

Wyeast #1056 - American Ale Yeast

3 gallon partial boil. Added water and pitched (onto IPA yeast cake) @ 1.092 and fermented for 14 days then transfered to 2ndary @ 1.033. Added dry champaign yeast then racked again after 6 days @ 1.027. After 12 more days racked again at 1.026. After 30 more days primed w/ 5 oz corn sugar then bottled then cellared.

Northern Brewer Kolsch extract kit

Malt Extract

6 lbs Pale Malt Syrup
1 lb Light DME

Hops

1 1/2 oz. Hallertauer (60 min)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer (10 min)

Yeast

Wyeast #2565 - Kolsch

4 Gallon partial boil. Added water and pitched yeast at 1.053 and fermented for 12 days then racked to 2ndary @ 1.018. Conditioned for 24 days in upper 50 degree range. Primed with 1 C corn sugar and bottled.

Morebeer Best Bitter all grain kit

Grains

9 lbs British Pale
1/2 lb Carastan

Hops

1 oz. Kent Goldings (60 min)
2 oz. Kent Goldings (5 min)
2 oz. Kent Goldings (1 min)

Yeast

Wyeast #1968 - London ESB

Other

Whirfloc clarifier

Did a single step mash with 2 sparges to get 5.8 G @ 1.037. Boiled for 90 mins, cooled, racked to bucket and ended up with 2G @ 1.062 (left too much break material behind). Reboiled / cooled addtional water and diluted wort to get 4.8G @ 1.044. Pitched yeast and fermented for 6 days to 1.019 and racked to 2ndary. 5 days in 2ndary then kegged, force carbed at 12psi, and bottled with beer gun.

joebou4860 · 08-12-2007, 08:35 PM

I got these on friday on my way out the door on friday. They are in good shape and I will get to them soon!

jnorris · 08-12-2007, 10:56 PM

I also got mine over the weekend. They are chilling and I can't wait to try them out!

jnorris · 08-13-2007, 11:09 PM

First before I saying anything about you beers, I love your presentation. The labels are very nice and all the write-ups and tid-bits of info are great! Good job.

jnorris · 08-13-2007, 11:22 PM

The KOLSCH

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: Like I stated before I really like your bottle presentation. There was also a nice fill level with this beer and the clear bottle was a nice touch to see the golden color of this beer. Once I poured the beer a nice fine white head formed with tiny bubbles kind of like champagne bubbles. The beer did however pour a bit cloudier then I expected.

Aroma: Had a nice light citrus smell with a bit of malt and extract but not a real heavy extract smell.

Palate: I really liked the taste of this beer! Especially since it is 100 degrees here and I just got done mowing! Very refreshing. The taste was refined and balanced. The feeling in my mouth was quite convincing. Light grassy straw like notes of hops, balanced with a fine and round maltiness. The taste was clean but not overly dry and the carbonation enjoyably stimulated the tongue.

Proximity to the Style: I don't drink a hole lot of Kolsch but this one I would drink again!

Overall: Overall I am glad I was sent this beer! I didn't realize how good a Kolsch could be but now I am interested in trying more and maybe even brewing one myself. Doug a job well done my friend!

cj8scrambler · 08-14-2007, 02:45 AM

Thanks for the kind words. The bottle label design was based on one I saw on the labels forum by Buford which was based on a print ad. I just change the font, main picture and vital stats for each new brew.

None of the Kolsch turned out crystal clear, so I did the recipe again in all grain (which lightened the color), then kegged and force carbed it. It's still carbing up now. Hopefully I can get better clarity with the keg since there will be no bottle fermentation. I thought it would make a good labor day weekend keg.

joebou4860 · 08-18-2007, 03:05 AM

Opening/pouring:Nice carb sound that produced a thick, fluffy head that fell back to 1/8" and stayed that way. Prpduced a nice lace as I drank it

Aroma: light malt and citrus nose

Appearance: good golden color but slightly hazy

Taste: well balanced beer. haullertau comes through and malt is right there with it. good crisp beer. I was almost half-way done when I realized I should be writing this down. I was just enjoying it.

Mouthfeel/carbonation: good carbonation, right mouthfeel

Overall: Good beer, very representative of the style.
A+++++ beer! would drink again

Edit: this was the Kolsch btw

joebou4860 · 08-22-2007, 01:00 PM

Opening/pouring:Nice carb sound that produced a thick, fluffy head. Almost like meringue. Fell back to 1/4" that stayed entire time

Aroma:very nice strong hops smell

Appearance: On the darker side but within style guidelines

Taste: Very earthy hops strong presence but not overboard. Good malt amount for balance.

Mouthfeel/carbonation: excellent carbonation, right mouthfeel

Overall: Very nice IPA I enjoyed the earthy hop taste. Good choice for a single hop beer

Brewsmith · 08-30-2007, 11:47 PM

I tried the Kolsch a few days ago and off the top of my head here's what I can remember.

Appearance: The color is a nice gold with some head. Pretty clear

Aroma: Not much hop aroma, just a little floral

Flavor: Clean, crisp, and just enough bitterness. Medium body. Very refreshing

Overall: This is a great beer. Beautiful color and wonderful flavor. My only negative was that I could tell it was an extract brew. I could taste some of that extract "twang." I was going to politely ask if it was an extract recipe, but then I used my eyeballs and saw posted recipe. Overall though, a really nice job.

Brewsmith · 08-30-2007, 11:53 PM

And now the IPA, also a few days ago:

Appearance: Deep gold to amber, slightly hazy due to yeast

Aroma: Hops, definately the Chinook!

Flavor: Hop bitterness is there, along with the hop flavor following. Not much in the way of sweetness and the hops slightly overpower the malt.

Overall: Pretty good for an IPA. The balance to me is slightly off. For my taste it should be a little stronger, sweeter, and have a little more body to it. I know this was an extract and there's not much you can do to change the fermentability of the wort. Maybe add an extra lb of extract and a little malto dextrin to add some body. The hops were great for the style. I think just balancing out the malt a little more would make it perfect.