Latest beers from Evan!

ohiobrewtus · 11-27-2008, 03:27 AM

So I got a crapload of beers from Evan today, and the first one that I grabbed was his West Coast Ale:

Appearance: Holy crap, I've never seen a bottle filled so full! It was literally 1/8" from the top of the bottle. It poured a nice dark amber in my tulip glass, almost bordering on brown until I held it up to light, at which time it's color and brilliant clarity became evident. Little to no head.

Nose: Just as I would expect from a WCA, this beer has a BIG hop nose with lots of American hop phenols. I've tried to achive this many times and I can attest that it's not easy to achive, good job!

Palate: The hop character continues into the palate, but it is overwhelmed by a sweetness that I can only guess is from caramel malt which was probably used to achieve the desired SRM. This is certainly still a very good beer, but after one gets a whiff of the nose, the palate is quite unbalanced towards malt sweetness. Hop bitterness is certainly detectable, but it is overpowered by the malt sweetness.

Overall Impression: This is still better than most commercial beers that I can get my hands on, so congrats once a gain on making yet another great beer. I could drink many of these as-is, but for it to really be a WCA I'd like to see it be a bit more hoppy or less sweet. Still a good beer, but either would make it even better, IMO. The nose screamed Arrogant Bastard to me, but the palate was very sweet. Not so sweet that it was undrinkable, but sweet enough that you may want to think about drying it out a bit.

Evan! · 11-28-2008, 09:41 PM

Awesome, thanks for the quick revue turnaround. Yes, that's service indeed! I should have expected a "this isn't bitter enough" from the guy whose brewery is called Hophed, and whose flagship IPA has like 300 IBU's...

I dump 14oz of hops into the DoW and you wuz like "whassdiscrap? Kolsch?"

Some day...some day I'll send you a beer that you will have to admit is too bitter.

And then, I'll have won.

ohiobrewtus · 11-29-2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

Awesome, thanks for the quick revue turnaround. Yes, that's service indeed! I should have expected a "this isn't bitter enough" from the guy whose brewery is called Hophed, and whose flagship IPA has like 300 IBU's...

I dump 14oz of hops into the DoW and you wuz like "whassdiscrap? Kolsch?"

Some day...some day I'll send you a beer that you will have to admit is too bitter.

And then, I'll have won.

It's not that it isn't bitter enough, it's that it was a bit too sweet. Did you use crystal to color this? I don't think that the hops needed changed at all. There is certainly bitterness there and the nose is friggin amazing, but the caramel-ish sweetness imbalances it a bit. If you want to keep the sweetness, add more hops to balance it out. If it were me, I'd leave the hops and shoot for a dryer, less sweet palate and finish.

I've never met a beer that was too bitter.

**Chriso** · 12-01-2008, 07:27 PM

Hahaha, hey Evan!, should I send him one of my AIPAs from the RIS swap? I still have a full 2 cases sitting here in the closet, even after 10 months they're bitter as all hell!

Anywho - Just saw the quote in OB's sig, wandered over here, had a good laugh. Thanks guys. :P

Oh and... How's Hopacles '08 comin', OB?

Evan! · 12-01-2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohiobrewtus

It's not that it isn't bitter enough, it's that it was a bit too sweet. Did you use crystal to color this? I don't think that the hops needed changed at all. There is certainly bitterness there and the nose is friggin amazing, but the caramel-ish sweetness imbalances it a bit. If you want to keep the sweetness, add more hops to balance it out. If it were me, I'd leave the hops and shoot for a dryer, less sweet palate and finish.

I've never met a beer that was too bitter.

I know, I was giving you crap. Personally, I like the balance on this one. Yeah, it's got some malty sweetness in there, so perhaps it's not entirely to WCA style, but I likes it nonetheless. I used crystal 40 (12oz) & special B (8oz).

Anyway, regardless, it was all worth it to be able to keep a spot in your signature.

Parker36 · 12-01-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

I know, I was giving you crap. Personally, I like the balance on this one. Yeah, it's got some malty sweetness in there, so perhaps it's not entirely to WCA style, but I likes it nonetheless. I used crystal 40 (12oz) & special B (8oz).

Anyway, regardless, it was all worth it to be able to keep a spot in your signature.

That is a lot of Special B. But, hey, my favorite specialty, so more power to you.

Evan! · 12-01-2008, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker36

That is a lot of Special B. But, hey, my favorite specialty, so more power to you.

oh, yeah, no doubt...but I've used more

Parker36 · 12-01-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

oh, yeah, no doubt...but I've used more

What is the most you have used? I am tempted to go way overboard once.

Evan! · 12-01-2008, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker36

What is the most you have used? I am tempted to go way overboard once.

can't remember...might've used a whole pound a long time ago. I don't recommend it, though, unless you want a very sweet, plummy beer.

ohiobrewtus · 12-01-2008, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriso

Hahaha, hey Evan!, should I send him one of my AIPAs from the RIS swap? I still have a full 2 cases sitting here in the closet, even after 10 months they're bitter as all hell!

Anywho - Just saw the quote in OB's sig, wandered over here, had a good laugh. Thanks guys. :P

Oh and... How's Hopacles '08 comin', OB?

Hopacles '08 is getting brewed this Friday. I worked on the recipe this morning, but I need to take an inventory of my hops tonight to verify that I have everything that I need and make the necessary hopbill adjustments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan!

I know, I was giving you crap. Personally, I like the balance on this one. Yeah, it's got some malty sweetness in there, so perhaps it's not entirely to WCA style, but I likes it nonetheless. I used crystal 40 (12oz) & special B (8oz).

Anyway, regardless, it was all worth it to be able to keep a spot in your signature.

Like I said, it was a damn good beer. I'd drink the shiznit out of it. My comments were based on it being a WCA, so take them for what they're worth. If anything, I think it was more like an over hopped East Coast Amber.

I haven't had a chance to try any of the other beers that you sent me yet, but I'll try a couple of them over the next few days and post in this thread.

Are you drinking the Olde Ale already or should I cellar it? I have mine aging in a keg and don't plan on touching it for at least another 5 months, so I wanted to get your recommendation as to whether or not it was ready to drink now.

Edit - Also, I'm guessing you cold crash for clarity? How long and at what temp? Now that it's winter I can kinda sorta cold crash in my garage. Hopacles '08 is going to need it.