Beerswap III: Professor Frink's Beers

Everyone got 4 beers and an apfelwein. The four beers have labels on them:
Autumn Pumpkin Ale
American Barley Wine
Orfy's Hobgoblin Clone
Abbey Style Dubbel Belgian Ale
and I sent the ProMash data with it, so you should have all the info. There's probably no need to critique the apfelwein, I just had a bunch of it.

I can't wait to hear your feedback, be honest, I have tough skin, I know there's plenty of room for improvement.

Prof Frink!! This is how a beer swap is done! All beers with two pages of brew notes and recipes. All labeled. The only thing you didn't do was put your name anywhere on or in the box. I thought it came from Evan!

Being a noob, I have never had a pumpkin, or a Belgian or a bareylwine. I am going to try to keep my reviews short.

Pumpkin Ale- Never had one before. I did not know what to expect. Absolutely awesome. After I finished, I just sat there looking at the mug, amazed. A most pleasant after taste that I enjoyed for 15 minutes before heading back to the fridge.

Hobgoblin- I bottled a batch of this on 10-13 using Orfy's extract recipe and it was real good. To be honest, my extract (a good batch for me, made after several months of experience) was just as good as your all grain batch. After the pumpkin, I thought I was in the presence of a god. Okay, I can brew great beer also.

Big Ass Barleywine- Again, never had one before. A twelve pack in a twelve ounce bottle. Let me get a knife and fork. 21+ pounds of grains in a 5 gallon batch. 100 IBU's of hops disappeared in this beer along with almost 10%ABV. This bad boy lasted 30 minutes.

Abbey Trappist Dubbel Dog- This beer was as fun to watch as it was to drink. Billions of micro bubbles steaming from the bottom of my glass long after the pour. A velvety mouth feel, especially after that Big Ass Bareleywine that I thoroughly enjoyed.

All in all it was a nice evening. From the moment I opened the box and saw the labels on 5 different 12oz bottles to the last sip of the Dubbel Dog. I read over the recipes and took notes like I was some kind of beer judge. This is how a beer swap is supposed to be done.

I didn't drink the Apfelwein yet. The Barleywine kicked my ass. I will try that tonight to see how it compares to mine. I have a dedicated carboy for Apfelwein. After three one gallon ten batches I bought a new carboy. I just bottled my third 6 gallon batch and started #4.

Thanks for all the great comments! The pumpkin ale is becoming a yearly tradition, this was my second pumpkin (last years was a porter). The barley wine was only 5 months old, it can probably go for a little more aging, I'll send you another one in 4 months. And the hobgoblin - it goes to show you that you can make a damn good extract beer. As far as the labels go - you can imagine what I spend some of my time doing at work

Aroma: Strong, almost overwhelming cloves. Subtle cinnamon notes. Floral potpourri aromas also moderately present. Sublte malt sweetness, no hop bitterness present. (8/12)

Appearance: Bottle uncapped with discreet release of CO2. Pour reveals what appears as undercarbonation. No visibile head, with the exception of small bubbles on the circumference of the pint glass. Hazy orange in color. Visibile precipitate present in the glass as picture tries to indicate. Perhaps some residual spice? The precipitate stayed suspended and did not settle. (1/3)


Flavor: Bitter potpourri. Taste parallels aroma as cloves are dominant. Cinnamon lurks, but is masked by the cloves. No sweetness present. Also notice the lack of pumpkin taste. (12/20)

Mouthfeel: What is expected of a medium-gravity ale. Full-bodied, but well-attenuated. Quite perplexed as to why no sweetness comes out in the taste. (5/5)

Overall: This beer would have hit the mark so much better if there had just been some sweetness to balance out the spice-potpourri. Like I mentioned, the mouthfeel was spot-on, but I don't see a mash temp on your report. Maybe mash higher next time? I'm glad your report confirmed the abundance of cloves, but I would suggest scaling this back if you brew this again. (6/10)

32/50

Aroma: Great toffee rises off the beer, with some well-placed biscuity undertones. Malt all the way through, no presence from hops, but balance is noted. (11/12)

Appearance: Subtle release of CO2 present upon uncapping, but the pour reveals no head and the appearance of undercarbonation. Again, small bubbles line the rim of the pint. Color is dark amber, with orange highlights when held to the light. Hazy. (2/3)

Flavor: Taste again parallels aroma: toffee and biscuit/bready overtones with some minute raisin flavors in the background. The malt sweetness dominates, but is well balanced by what I assume to be a noble hop addition. Only gets better when warmed slightly, where a roasty presence arrives. (16/20)

Mouthfeel: Wonderful balance, malt sweetness is perfectly placed. Bitter/roastiness from specialty grains and the hops gives an A+ all around feel. (5/5)

Overall: I see what the hype is about this beer. I've had the 'Goblin before, but wasn't as impressed as I was with your offering. Quite the pint-emptier; I could easily have 3-4 of these in a weekend sitting. (8/10)

42/50

Pumpkin Ale
Aroma:
Moderat malt aroma, no esters or off flavors, and little pumpkin in the nose (8/12)

Appearance:
Great color! Nice clear coppery gold with little haze.(3/3)

Flavor:
Good flavor profile, with a medium maltiness, lite hoppiness, and not overpowering pumpkin. Since you used Amber Ale as your base beer, I think it should have been had little more maltiness. (15/20)

Mouthfeel:
nice smooth mouthfell, but under carbonated IMO. Astringency or detractors other than carbonation.(3/5)

Overall Impression:
A very good pumpkin ale, I would drink many of these, and I am not a pumpkin ale fan, henc why I appreciate that it isn't overpowering.(8/10)

Total: 37/50

Hobgoblin Clone

Aroma:
Good malt aroma with hints of toffee and caramel present. Very true to style.(8/12)

Appearance:
Great color and appearance. It is dead on for the style. (3/3)

Flavor:
Really good flavor. The hops are very subtle, with a nice finish. They balance the malt and caramel wonderfully. (17/20)

Mouthfeel:
Very good complex mouthfeel, with good carbonation for the style, no astringency or detractors.(4/5)

Overall Impression:
Overall a wonderfull beer, true to the style, and in my opinion better than the off the shelf version. Please send more. (9/10)

Total: (41/50)

Big A@@ BarleyWine

Aroma:
Little to no aroma, no hops or malt are present in the nose. (6/12)

Appearance:
Great color and head retention. (3/3)

Flavor:
Absolutley wonderful flavor profile, with lots of malt sweetness balanced by great hops. This is very complex yet smooth, and should get better with age. (20/20)

Mouthfeel:
Great body, carbonation and mouthfeel, with a little alcohol warmth. (4/5)

Overall Impression:
Truly a wonderful beer that inspires me to try to make the recipe. (9/10)

Total: (42/50):rockin: :rockin:

Dubbel Dog

Aroma:
Complex rich malt aroma with caramel hints. (8/12)

Appearance:
Slight haze. Good head retention. Color appropriate to style. (2/3)

Flavor:
Very interesting flavor with a strong clover presence. Not a lot of hops noticeable.(16/20)

Mouthfeel:
Good body with a smooth finish. There are no noticeable flaws.(3/3)

Overall Impression:
Very good beer that is close to style. Probably could use a little more hop/malt balance to offset the cloves and spice. (8/10)

Total:
(37/50)

Aroma: Banana esters up front, with low malt tones present. Sweetness evident as is a touch of spice. No caramel/toffee tones as I would expect. As the beer warmed, mild fruity aromas were given off. 7/12

Appearance: Hazy, light orange. Quite lighter in SRM than I have come to expect of a Dubbel. Pours with 1 inch head that quickly dissipates. 1/3

Taste: I needed to let this beer warm for a while before I could really judge what was going on. At first, I got a lot of phenols and banana, with a hint of plasticity. However, as it warmed, the bananas faded and more mild, sweet fruit came out. Still no caramel as I would expect, and only mild (as perceptible to me) malt tones. 13/20

Mouthfeel: Good, high carbonation level as characteristic of the Belgian styles. Full mouthfeel, but not overwhelming or coating. Not cloying and overall pleasant. Still think there should be some darker caramel notes that would, in turn, boost the mouthfeel just a tad more for the style. 3/5

Overall Impression: I really don't know. I've had what I thought were dubbels in the past and they were much different than this. More dark fruits, and caramel/toffee tones to them. This reminded me more of a toned-down trippel with its high esters/phenol profile. But perhaps I'm just wrong in my assessment. This beer is still pleasant to drink, but I won't lie...I hate bananas, so take this critique with a grain of salt. Once warmed, it was quite flavorful with the mild fruits, but I would have liked it a little more malty/caramel-ly as I've indicated. 7/10

31/50

Aroma: Wonderful malty nose rises from the snifter I poured this into. Subtle hop presence. Surprisingly, no alcohol nose or fusels. (10/12)

Appearance: Opened with an explosive release of CO2. Poured with small head that quickly dissipated. Snifter is laced with a layer of bubbles around the side of the glass. Darker than I would expect. No highlights or hues when held up to the light. Almost opaque like a stout. (1/3 for the color)

Taste: Fan-freakin'-tastic. Everything I love in a barleywine. Supreme balance, I can't get over it. Malty and hoppy all in one sip. Re-affirms that this is my favourite beer style to-date. (20/freakin'20)

Mouthfeel: Again, nothing needs critique. Not to thick and not too thin, excellent attenuation. (5/5)

Overall: I'm going to stop writing and start enjoying a little more. (9/10)

45/50