Beerswap III, jdoiv's brews

Please post reviews for my beers here.

I sent out a Wit, an American Brown Ale, Ed's Haus Pale ale and a Tripple.

American Brown Ale

Apperance
The beer is a rich caramel brown. The darkness of the beer made it slightly difficult to tell the clarity, but I'd say it was mostly clear with slight haze. There was very little head after a somewhat aggressive pour and the head dissipated very quickly. A little bit of lacing was evident as I progressed through the glass, but not much. Exactly the way an American Brown should be.

Aroma
After first popping the cap, there is a slight American hop aroma. This is mostly covered up by the malty aroma which is pretty toasty and a little bit chocolaty. The hop scent dissipates very quickly and the toasty aroma persists throughout the glass.

Mouthfeel
The carbonation is a little high for my tastes, but falls in pretty well with the style. This brew could use just a little more body to round out the feel. I'm not sure what I'd add, but the great flavor of the beer would benefit from a slightly fuller body.

Flavor
Overall flavor of this beer is malty with a subtle hint of American hops. I think the balance between malt and hops is spot on for this style. I've had a few American Browns where the brewer wanted to emphasize the "American" part and overdo the hop aroma and flavor. This beer had a very nice balance between the two. I'd say the malty taste favored a nutty/toasty flavor with a bit of chocolate malt in there. Maybe only an ounce or two though, nothing overpowering. The beer finishes with a little alcohol warmth, especially as the temperature rises.

Adherence to Style
I'd say this was a very good match to the style. The American hops, the carbonation, the toastyness all match up to the guidelines. I can't think of anything with this brew that misses as far as style goes.

Overall Impression
I definitely enjoyed this beer, although I'll admit that I am looking forward to the Belgians as they are more my style. Personally, I would drop the carbonation a bit, maybe 1 or 2 psi. I think that might make the flavor stand out a bit more and might effect how I perceived the mouthfeel. The recipe is a very drinkable, enjoyable brown. Well done.

Cheers,

Thanks for the feedback. I would agree 100% with your comments and have already made some changes to the recipe. Glad you liked it.

Sunshine Wit

Aroma My first impression was of citrus and Belgian yeast. I can definitely pick out a kind of orange aroma with maybe a backdrop of some kind of honey or something. Kind of a refreshing eye opener.

Appearance Nice head with tiny bubbles in a tight lattice. Head dissipates in a minute or so. Nice lacing all the way down. Very clear for what I think of as a wit. The body is a light gold that borders on orange.

Flavor This had a very clean flavor and finishes dry. There were some fruity esters and it was a little citrusy. Overall, though, the esters were a little more subdued than I expected. There was a slight, bitter twang toward the finish that I couldn't quite place. Looking at the style guide, I'm guessing that is the "light, lactic-tasting sourness" that the style is supposed to have.

Mouthfeel This beer was carbonated very well. The cap gave an appropriate hiss when I opened the bottle. The beer sits at the front of the palate and has a nice tart feel. Moderate-light body.

Adherence to Style I was expecting something a little cloudier from what I have had in wits previously. The yeast seems to have setteled out pretty well, so I would think some unmalted wheat could help. The spicyness/esters/fruityness that I associate with Belgians was pretty subtle with this beer. I don't know if you used a yeast starter, but I might not with this style and let the yeast produce more esters.

Overall Impression I really enjoyed this beer. It was a nice refreshing change of pace. Most of the brews I received in this swap were robust malty heavies or hop heavy pale ales and I've been working my way through a holiday spice beer of my own. The clean, dry finish of this beer reminded me that I love wheat beer and I am already looking forward to the summer sessions. Well done.

Cheers

Thanks for the review. To answer the questions, I did use a yeast starter, but I'll try cutting down on the size a bit to help get more esters. I kegged the beer and I think the yeast settled out over time. I didn't bottle any beer from the keg until the keg was about half empty, so I think this is why it came out so clear. It does taste better when the yeast is in suspension more. I like the idea of a little malted wheat to get the cloudiness and may try adding half pound or so. Now, if I could find a way to keep the yeast in suspension while in the keg, that would really help.

Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale Clone



All I can say is, Nicely Done! Very tasty beer, just a tad light on the ibu's, but other than that, spot friking on! Nice touch with the label too!

Great job John!

Thanks Ed! Is that a picture of the one I sent you? It looks much darker in the pic than it does in person. I was surprised by how light it turned out. I have to agree to that the IBU's seem lighter. I may not have adjusted for a difference in AA% on the hops. I've gotten lots of compliments on it though. Great recipe!

jdoiv said:

Thanks Ed! Is that a picture of the one I sent you? It looks much darker in the pic than it does in person. I was surprised by how light it turned out. I have to agree to that the IBU's seem lighter. I may not have adjusted for a difference in AA% on the hops. I've gotten lots of compliments on it though. Great recipe!

Click to expand...

Yep, that's your beer, right before I drank it. It was the inaugural beer in the SDSU Aztec glass my daughter got me for my birthday.

It could be the dark butcher block background that changes the color. Good stuff!

Bump. Anyone try any of the others? How about the Tripple?

Sorry for the delay. I thought I had already transcribed my notes into a review. Found them sitting in the "to do" pile.

Tripel

Appearance Dark gold, almost orange body. Fairly clear with a little bit of chill haze. Didn't see it in my notes, but I recall a reasonable head that quickly dissipated and good lacing throughout the glass.

Aroma Slightly hoppy aroma. Definitely get a "Belgian" impression. I can pick up on the spicy esthers from the Belgian yeast. Very pleasant.

Flavor Kind of hoppy at first. Then the esters really take over. There was kind of a bitter middle and then a hot alcohol finish. The ester/phenol flavors tended more toward the spicy realm rather than the fruity.

Mouthfeel The bottle I got was well carbonated. The first few drinks were a bit on the bubbly side for my preferences, but after the beer warmed up a little that went away. Mouthfeel is fairly full and moderately rounded.

Adherence to Style With one exception, I'd say this is spot on for the style. The exception is the hot alcohol at the finish of each sip. My reading of the style is that the ABV is supposed to sneak up on you and knock you on your ass. This beer definitely had the ABV, but I sort of felt like the flavor let me know what was coming. As far as the rest of the style; aroma hit the guidelines exactly, esters/phenols were spicy with hints of fruitiness, and the hop flavor/aroma was present but subdued.

Overall Impression This really was a great beer. I definitely like the Belgian strongs and this one was very satisfying. I don't know how many I could go through in a night, but that isn't really the point with a Tripel. Very well done.

Ed's Haus Pale Ale

Appearance Pale copper body. Crystal clear. Nice head with somewhat large bubble matrix. Moderate lacing as the beer progressed.

Aroma I picked up on some citrus hops with this one. Kind of a lemony crisp aroma.

Flavor Again, I really picked up the citrus hops. Very clean, crisp drink. There was some moderate malty flavor that came through, but only very slightly. Good dry finish.

Mouthfeel Moderately light body. Pretty well carbonated. Kind of a bubbly, light feel.

Adherence to Style Once again, you matched the style you were shooting for very well. I'd agree with Ed that it could use just a little more early addition hops as far as the style is concerned, but I personally prefer an English pale that is along these lines.

Overall Impression This is a very smooth, drinkable beer. Thanks so much for sending this one out. I've been wanting to do this recipe, but I haven't gotten around to it for some reason. I might have to bump it up in the queue now that I've had a sample. Once again, well done.

Cheers,

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with you on all accounts. I let the temp on the Triple rise just a little too fast which is where the hot alcohol flavors came from. I'll make sure to try and control that a little better next time. They are starting to subside some though. Two of these in a night will really mess me up. I think I'm going to play around a little with Ed's recipe and change the hops up a little and maybe add some crystal into the recipe for a little more complexity. I'm thinking Simcoe or Amarillo if I can find them and maybe half a pound of crystal 60. Again, thanks for the feedback.

Obviously I haven't done Ed's yet, but how about Styrian Goldings? I had an ale from Elysian Brewing (secret santa from Brewtopia) where they mentioned that they finish with Amarillo and Styrian Goldings. The hop flavor in that beer was awesome.

I don't think I've used Styrian Goldings yet. It sounds interesting though. Ed's recipe is real easy drinking, but I would like to spice it up a little and that may be a good choice.

Tripel

I've never had a tripel before, so I don't know what to compare to.

First impression was a nice Sppfft when I popped the cap during a BBQ session last week. The pour was fantastic. Nice carbonation and head. Aromoa was a bit fruity as some esters came through. A bit spicy.

I waited to sample this beer from a recommendation form jdoiv and still at this date, it could use a bit of aging as some fusels are coming through.

It is a beautiful beer and very tasty and some more age will make it even better!