[MNBugeater]

Sorry for the non review post, but I am wondering in the interested "9/9/9" if it is acceptable to put these Barleywine's in the beer cellar and not sample them until 9/9/9 or at least close to that date. I, for one, know my BW was good when I shipped it, but expect it be at peak around 9/9/9. It was brewed 9/08 & bottled 10/25/08. I have had 3-4 bottles of my BW and attest that it only got better. I sent this to NHBC 09 and it came back a 38 and at 7 months old it is still a little green. I expect this fall or even next spring for it to be better yet.

[Saccharomyces]

Soperbrew and I shared CBBaron's Maple Brown ale yesterday.

Aroma: malt, a little bit of diacetyl. Faint hint of what smelled like brown sugar/molasses.

Appearance: extremely clear, light brown, ~20 SRM. Poured with little head which quickly dissipated. Low carbonation evident. English style?

Mouthfeel: a little thin from the high %ABV. A half pound of maltodextrine powder added late in the boil helps add body back when using lots of adjuncts, and would have helped head retention as well (something to consider next time you brew this one). Significant alcohol warmth. Would make an excellent winter warmer!

Flavor: malty goodness, a good English style brown ale in the base. Slight diacetyl, balanced hop bitterness. No hop flavor. Slight hint of brown sugar/molasses flavor from the maple syrup with vanilla overtones. Fruity esters evident from an English strain, most likely Fuller's or Ringwood ale yeast.

Overall: I really liked this beer. I was surprised at how vanilla/brown sugar flavors came from the syrup. I didn't get much in the way of maple at all. Base recipe is a very VERY solid English brown ale. Overall an excellent beer. Including some malto dextrine powder or a pound of carapils to increase body/mouthfeel and head retention would make this beer a home run.

[KingBrianI]

Doog_Si_Reeb was kind enough to provide 2 of his red ryes in the swap package. I'm enjoying the second of them right now and decided to take a picture since my original review didn't include one. I'll also add this to the original review. Doog, I'd really like to see the recipe, the chocolate milk mix/chocolate whey protein powder flavor is again jumping out and I'd like to see what it's coming from. I'm quite enjoying it right now, and interested to see if your other recipients note the chocolate flavor in their reviews!



Edit: Oh yeah, in my original review I stated that it was a bit too sweet, and while still sweet, this time through I'm not finding it objectionable. It must be a factor of my temperature, mood and several other things!

[conpewter]

KingBrianI Hefeweizen.

Apperance: Pours with very little head, dark for a hefeweizen, poured with yeast swirled in, so it is cloudy.

Aroma: Somewhat subtle, some spicyness from the yeast, no bannana, prehaps clove. I can't detect hop flavor, but the spicyness may be due to hops instead of the yeast.

Flavor: Very good, not overly phenolic (due to age?). More of the yeast spicyness comes through, seems to be well attenuated, not overly sweet, some maltyness but not enough to get in the way of the usual Hefeweizen flavors. No hops to my taste, or bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Low on carbonation. Not too thick the yeast fills it out nicely.

Overall Impression: Very refreshing and light. An enjoyable example of the style. Would have liked more fruityness.

[BierMuncher]

Originally Posted by MNBugeater

...I am wondering...if it is acceptable to put these Barleywine's in the beer cellar and not sample them until 9/9/9 or at least close to that date. ....

I....think...that is the whole point. Hence the 9/9/9 moniker.

[MNBugeater]

Originally Posted by BierMuncher

I....think...that is the whole point. Hence the 9/9/9 moniker.

Yeah, after actually READING the posts in this thread I see the reviews are of the supplemental brews included in the swap and not the actual 999 Barleywine. Got it...

[MNBugeater]

Category # B Subcategory (a-f) A
Subcategory - Ordinary Bitter


Comments - Very full fill, little to no head space. Visible CO2 cloud and slight gas hiss upon opening. Nice bottle presentation, clean and professional

Aroma 10/12
Little to no malt aroma, Slight hop aroma detected, possibly eastern european Saaz like hop profile. Very little to no diacetyl. Pleasant aroma.

Appearance 2/3
Beautiful color, very clear with no sediment, not cloudy. Nice head on pour, dissipated quickly

Flavor 15/20
Strong hop bitterness up front with little hop flavor on finish. Hops do outbalance the malt as per style, but a slight caramel malt characteristic is missing. Clean, dry finish although slightly weak. Not necessarily a bad quality

Mouthfeel 4/5
Light on both body and carbonation, again keeping nicely with style.

Overall Impression 7/10
Drinkable beer, full pint leave a slight dry bitterness. Front side hops are slightly overpowering just bordering on out of balance, but does fade fast so as not to consume the beer. Rather than decrease the hop bill, try increasing the crystal to bring a little caramel profile to the party. Great Beer

38/50

[CBBaron]

Originally Posted by Saccharomyces

Soperbrew and I shared CBBaron's Maple Brown ale yesterday.
Overall: I really liked this beer. I was surprised at how vanilla/brown sugar flavors came from the syrup. I didn't get much in the way of maple at all. Base recipe is a very VERY solid English brown ale. Overall an excellent beer. Including some malto dextrine powder or a pound of carapils to increase body/mouthfeel and head retention would make this beer a home run.

This beer had 2 quarts of maple syrup added to it. The syrup was made by a friend of mine on his small scale non commercial boiler. He only collects the early sap (usually runs out of help and wood by late season) so the the syrup is pretty light and does not have as strong of maple flavor as the dark grade B stuff does. Also one quart was from a batch that got over heated during the finishing resulting in some caramel flavors. I don't think you would find those flavors in most maple syrups.

The beer finished low at 1.012. Considerably below expected. I should have used a higher mash temp to help maintain the body. That much sugar can really dry a beer out. There was 0.4 kg of caramel-60 malt in the recipe so it was not without a source for dextrins.

Craig

[conpewter]

KingBrianI - BSB (Bramling Cross Special Bitter)

Apperance: Very little head, seemingly low carbonation, to style

Aroma: Maltyness/caramel comes through. No detectable diacetyl.

Flavor: Good bitterness but not overpowering. Maltyness is there in the background, some caramel notes. Fruity notes from the hops, very pleasent


Mouthfeel: Good body, not too thin.


Overall Impression: Very drinkable, good initial impression and great taste as it goes down, carmely and some sweetness.

[KingBrianI]

Originally Posted by conpewter

KingBrianI - BSB (Bramling Cross Special Bitter)

Apperance: Very little head, seemingly low carbonation, to style

Aroma: Maltyness/caramel comes through. No detectable diacetyl.

Flavor: Good bitterness but not overpowering. Maltyness is there in the background, some caramel notes. Fruity notes from the hops, very pleasent


Mouthfeel: Good body, not too thin.


Overall Impression: Very drinkable, good initial impression and great taste as it goes down, carmely and some sweetness.

Glad you liked it! The bramling cross hops really surprised me. They don't taste "hoppy" at all but really fruity. I'm glad you picked up on that. I think they're probably a hop that could be used a great deal more than they are currently. They could mix very well with other hops, but don't provide enough "hoppiness" on their own, I feel. You might also be interested to hear that that beer used homemade crystal malt, although I'm not sure how much of the starch was converted.