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**Chriso** · 04-27-2008, 04:35 PM

I'm sending:

2 08-08-08 RIS (Cap is clearly marked)
1 Pecan Scottish 80/- (Cap is marked "PSA80" on orange dot, the recipe is in my recipe drop-down)
1 D'odd Porter (Cap is marked w/ illegible dark blue dot, BeerXML attached)
1 Tri-Hop Amer. IPA (Cap is marked "AIPA" on yellow dot, BeerXML attached)

to olllllo, Yuri_Rage, and Evan!

and 1 08-08-08 RIS to Warrior.

My boxes are all packed (very tightly, at that) and will go out tomorrow!

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-06-2008, 08:02 PM

Yuri's disclaimer: I'm VERY honest in reviews. Nothing I say is intended to be offensive or insulting. Like Dude, I think it's a disservice to give a patronizing or overly glowing review unless it's truly warranted.

D'odd Porter

Appearance:
Two finger tan head, dissipates to a thin collar. Clear with deep brown and red tones showing through when held to the light. Slight lacing with wine-like "legs" creeping down the glass.

Aroma:
Roasted malt and chocolate with some indistinct fruity esters. Slight hazelnut or pecan character.

Flavor:
Very unassuming. A bit of sweet malt front, slight roasted bitterness in the finish. The nutty character is evident in the aftertaste. I also get a hint of fruity esters that I associate with a stressed fermentation, a lot like the last porter I brewed with some old yeast that I reused MANY times. Mostly, the flavor is thin and, honestly, forgettable.

Mouthfeel:
Perhaps just a little overcarbonated, which does nothing to improve the thin flavor and mouthfeel. Very light on the palate.

Drinkability:
This beer is very easy to drink, but I expect more from a porter. This tastes and feels like a light English brown that accidentally got a tiny dose of black patent or roasted barley.

**Chriso** · 05-07-2008, 01:09 AM

The D'odd Porter was actually my 2nd batch of beer ever. It had .5 lb choco and .25 black patent, and flaked oats. I agree that it tasted a bit thin - part of that I attribute to carbonating using brown sugar instead of dextrose, and also the addition of molasses into the secondary.

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-07-2008, 06:47 PM

Pecan 80/-

Appearance:
Clear medium brown with gold highlights. Large bubbled, fast dissipating head.

Aroma:
Holy esters, Batman! A clove laden fruit salad! Some light roasty/nutty malt in the background.

Flavor:
CLOVES! That's almost all I can taste. If I concentrate, I get some really nice, malty flavors that I'd normally associate with an 80/-. The recipe is surely a good one, but the results don't do it justice.

Mouthfeel:
Nicely carbonated and medium bodied.

Drinkability:
I was excited to try this one, but I'm not a fan. This beer is a PERFECT example of clove esters. Chris, get the yeast pitching and fermentation temps under control, and I bet you're capable of brewing fantastic beer.

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-07-2008, 08:19 PM

AIPA

Got a bad bottle. I'm not going to review this one. It's completely flat and has a ton of weird off flavors - leads me to believe this particular bottle has issues unrelated to the batch. The hop aroma is nice, but that's where it ends.

**Chriso** · 05-08-2008, 08:32 PM

Unfortunately, the AIPA is bad. I hadn't tried any before I mailed them out. After trying one the other night, I realized that my fears were confirmed -- when I bottled it, I grabbed the wrong sealed Mason jar of priming sugar. Instead of the bottle containing enough sugar solution for 5 gallons at 2.8 vols, I grabbed the bottle containing priming sugar......for 2.5 gallons at 1.7 vols. Resulting in .85 total vols. Oops.

I'm curious what off flavors you noted though - I'm not "good" with IPAs yet, and this used Pacific Gem which I hadn't used before, and had some questionable Simcoe (smelled cheesy) in there too. Actually, I had before not used any of the three hops in it, now that I think of it.

As for the pecan, thank you for the constructive comments. I knew the fermentation had caused problems - we made an effort to drink this batch as quickly as possible, and as cold as possible. I thought it tasted OK at low temps, it just doesn't warm up well. I had not yet associated the taste with Clove, I was instead thinking banana - such as a banana nut beer. Clove is a complementing flavor though and I can see why I thought what I did. I intend to build a fermentation cabinet in the next few months - I'm really tired of being so susceptible to temp changes, especially since my house does not have central A/C. One day's change in weather can send the indoor temp of my house from 62 to 87 in 8 hours.

As for pitching levels..... well, I need to get over my fear of DME and starters and Pyrex. I'm a weird dude with weird hang-ups.

I think my problem with starters is the same problem I have with priming sugar - I hate boiling things, then waiting for them to cool. Well, that combined with the fact that my kitchen is a pig-sty and I hate doing anything beer related in there for fear of infection. I need to build a clean room. Then I can just spray the counter, wall, and everything else with StarSan before beginning. Maybe with an electric hot plate for boiling, I could have a yeast culturing room!

Evan! · 06-02-2008, 10:25 PM

"Tri-Hop" American AIPA

I'm with Yuri here. Can't review it too much, just like I wouldn't score a corked bottle of wine. Next time, I'd suggest verifying that a batch is okay before sending it off. Just my .02, I'm by no means offended or upset.

There's a tiny hiss at uncapping, virtually no carbonation at pour, and the color is a burnt orange with a little haze. The aroma is faint and has hints of overripe fruit. On the palate, there's a definite medicinal flavor with a woody hop flavor buried far underneath it all.

But the ass-kicker, for me, is the pithy bitterness that lingers on your palate for a good 45 seconds after you swallow. This isn't a hop bitterness---this is the kind of bitterness you'd get from eating a whole fresh orange peel. Otherwise I might be able to drink this!

I saw your recipe and I don't know what the problem might be. Underpitching yeast? High/variable fermentation temps? Spoiled ingredients? Not sure, but what I do know is that this is not a problem that is caused solely by the lack of carbo. I'd brew the same recipe again, make sure your cell count is adequate at pitching, make sure you keep close tabs on your fermentation temps, and see what happens. Hopefully this is a fluke!

**olllllo** · 06-29-2008, 01:32 AM

AIPA:

Nothing too much to add to Evan! and Yuri's comments other than:
Got a bit of band-aid.
Where is the malt?
On the plus side... good clarity??!

**olllllo** · 06-29-2008, 02:01 AM

Pecan

Appearance:
Dark copper with fine clarity. Medium head that remained.

Aroma:
Cloves, light caramel sweetness with slight medicinal aroma. A little acrid. As it warns the cloves fade revealing some lactic qualities.

Flavor:
Getting a strong bitter sourness on the foretaste, definate band aid and some nuttyness on the aftertaste. Definate lactic profile

Mouthfeel:
Adequate carbonation and body,

Overall:
Time has not been kind. This style of beer needs to stand up for a long term storage and really needs long cool fermentation. My thought is that you have all of the hard stuff down but if you don't have the fermentation and brewspace worked out, then you're leaving too much to chance.

**Reverend JC** · 06-30-2008, 03:32 PM

Chriso-

I do not remember the pecan having any off flavors when trying at the lincoln lagers meeting in April.

I do however remeber it being a it thin and the pecan nuttiness was very evident in the taste. It is interesting to see how these guys perseve it and how it aged.