BeerSwap III: pldoolittle's Brew

I had intended to send an Arctic Red, a still and a sparking apfelwein, and an ale yeast ocktoberfest. Alas, at the deadline the apfelwein was STILL fermenting away (after 4 weeks...) and the ocktober was horribly green despite 4 weeks in keg. So, if you got mine, you got A/R. I hope you enjoy it. I haven't tried it from a bottle (your's are courtesy of the BMBF), but it's excellent from the keg.

Anyway, be honest and vocal. I'm thick skinned and love to learn/improve.

So I tried one bottle of the two, after I have the second I'll let you know if I have anything to add. I've just started trying this BJCP guidelines thing, so bear with me...


Aroma: Very crisp malt aroma. Slight esters. Slight acetylaldehyde. Little hop aroma. 10/12

Appearance: Very clear. Light head but good bubbles. Very nice dark amber color. 3/3

Flavor: Lightly hopped with a nice clean finish. Body on the light side. 16/20

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation with a great aftertaste. 4/5

Overall: I'm a fan of red ales, and this one did not disappoint. A tasty, smooth drinking red. 8/10

Total 41/50

Thanks! I've got some Q's, but I'll post 'em in PM to avoid coloring anyones review.

I've had all four now and have some mixed reviews because, to be honest, the bottles seemed inconsistent. 2 were good, refreshing beers, and 2 seemed to be oxidized. I have never had an oxidized beer before, so I could be completely wrong, but they seemed stale and had that "cardboard" taste that seems to describe the flaw. It seems you bottle off your keg, so I don't really know if this is the case or not.

I'll base my review on the good beers.

Aroma: Malt-forward with subtle presence of mild bittering hops. Nothing stands out, seems to fit the style well. (7/12)

Appearance: Pours crystal clear with nice, fluffy head that persists through the beer. Red color is spot on, good job. (3/3)

Taste: Medium to thin bodied malt dominates. Some sweetness helps balance out the body a bit, turning this into a decent session-style beer. I definitely taste some caramel notes from some crystal additions perhaps? Extract "twang" is present. Seems to sit in my throat as a thick bolus. Hop bitterness is there, but doesn't jump out at you. Good balance between the malt and hops. (12/20)

Mouthfeel: The extract seems to lend this beer a coating mouthfeel that isn't really desired. The body is good and well-attenuated, but I definitely get a syrupy coating. (2/5)

Overall: Mixed feelings, like I said. I can tell it's an extract, but the overall body and taste of the beer is good. Did you do a late addition? I'm wondering what's causing that coating mouthfeel. (5/10)

29/50

Thanks for the review! Some comments:

I do bottle off the keg, and I don't get that taste on the keg. Must be something in my bottling process. I do fill completely and cap on foam...

No late addition, it was a full boil. I'm puzzled about the mouthfeel. I don't note it, but I drink it so much I may be tolerant of it. I'd love to grab mine and another and do a side-by side tasting with someone so we can discuss/learn as we consume.

As for the review; Not disputing your review, but the difference in beers leads me to suspect something happened in packaging/transit. I'm far from an master brewer, but I actually consider this batch one of my better beers. Either something happened or I need to better train my palate. I guess either is as likely at the other.

Thanks again for the review, and thanks for being honest. I'll be re-reading all of them as I drink this beer in the future to see if I can learn/detect/improve upon my flaws.

I still have one Arctic Red left, it's been conditioning in my kegerator for a month or so, I'll let you know if that one tastes any different from the first.

pldoolittle said:

Thanks for the review! Some comments:

I do bottle off the keg, and I don't get that taste on the keg. Must be something in my bottling process. I do fill completely and cap on foam...

No late addition, it was a full boil. I'm puzzled about the mouthfeel. I don't note it, but I drink it so much I may be tolerant of it. I'd love to grab mine and another and do a side-by side tasting with someone so we can discuss/learn as we consume.

As for the review; Not disputing your review, but the difference in beers leads me to suspect something happened in packaging/transit. I'm far from an master brewer, but I actually consider this batch one of my better beers. Either something happened or I need to better train my palate. I guess either is as likely at the other.

Thanks again for the review, and thanks for being honest. I'll be re-reading all of them as I drink this beer in the future to see if I can learn/detect/improve upon my flaws.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I was actually assuming it was a transit factor. That's why I'm so worried some of my beers may not be well received since I bottle condition everything. One of the bottles was filled lower than all the rest, and I think that was one of the weird ones.

Anyway, I enjoyed it as a good session beer regardless.