Beerswap 2007 Evets' Beers

First of all, let me just say how much I appreciate this forum and everyone who's a part of it. It's a great place to learn a ton of stuff I'd never find in a book, but it's also a great source of entertainment for me.( I don't get out much )
Well, I sent beers to olllllo, Brewpastor and the_bird.

The Trappist Tripel is a Austin HB AG kit and was my third AG brew. I've never actually had a real Belgian Tripel (like I said; I don't get out much) so I don't really know if it turned out well or not, but I like it. It's been bottle conditioning since Oct 06

The Oak Tree IPA is my fourth AG and the first that was not from a kit. It's a recipe from a book called "The Homebrewers Recipe Guide" by Patrick Higgins, Maura Kate Kilgore and Paul Hertlein.
Pretty much a basic IPA with 10# British 2-row, E.K Goldings, Cascade and oak chips in the secondary. All I could find at the time was a package of toasted oak cubes of which I may have used a bit too much for a bit too long. Anyway, I'll let the guys tell you how they turned out.

Ok, sampling the Oak Tree right now...

POUR:
Not a ton of carbonation or head (lack of head retention is likely due to my glassware, however). Color is medium brown/amber, maybe a few reddish hues. A little cloudy, but it had not been sitting in the fridge very long - might still be from being jostled on the way here.

AROMA:
Whiff of citrusy, grapefruity aroma. I'm picking up something else in there, as well - not sure if it's the malt or the oak, something smooth. Citrus is not overpowering.

TASTE:
Balanced. Not overwhelmingly bitter. Bitterness seems a little bit more forward on the palatte, not that harsh, back-of-throat bitterness some IPAs get. Mouthfeel is nice and smooth, but the beer is still dry enough to make you keep drinking. I *love* me some Cascades. It's not overpowering, though - you could keep drinking this. It doesn't tire your mouth. It could probably take a little bit more bite if you wanted - for my money, it's on the smoothly drinkable side of an IPA. I wouldn't really call it malty, but the backbone is still nice and smooth.

OVERALL:
A very good, I would almost consider this a session IPA. I'm not really picking up the oak very strongly, though; not sure if it's fallen out (the beer has mellowed), or if my palette just isn't refined enough to know what to look for. It certainly isn't over-oaked at this point. Real nice balance between smoothness and the hops.

Evets said:

The Trappist Tripel is a Austin HB AG kit and was my third AG brew. I've never actually had a real Belgian Tripel (like I said; I don't get out much) so I don't really know if it turned out well or not, but I like it. It's been bottle conditioning since Oct 06

Click to expand...

I'm planning on going to BEVMO this weekend to get a commercial example as it's been awhile since I last had a Tripel.

Thanks for your patience, I've penciled you in for Sunday, Evets.

Trappist Trippel

Opening the bottle, there was very little hiss. I saw the CO2 vapor, so all looked well. Poured and got a wonder head. Constant threads of bubble lasted throughout. Did not get Belgian lacing on the glass.

Color was warm and golden. Clarity outstanding.

I was expecting a floral sweet nose but got very little scent at all. It is in there but there was also an earthy air to it that I couldn't place. Seemed to fade as the beer was quaffed.

Carbonation mouthfeel = excellent.

I can really feel the alcohol at the onset followed by a peppery cinnamon and then we get to the fruity taste I desired followed by a little sourness.

Overall it was an enjoyable beer and I really had to concentrate on finding the "flaws" and the characters in the beer.
If this is about 9% abv. perhaps a few more months are due before this beer is in it's prime. This could tun out to be a great summer referesher with a punch given a little more time.

Oak Tree- I like this beer. Easy drinking, well balanced, clean. It is light on my IPA scale but in the range. Maybe push up the OG and drop the crystal in half. I also like tons of hops in the finish and don't get a lot here. It does let the oak come through, a dry tanic tone that works well with the hops. This is a good beer and I say keep it in the rotation, but play with the balances a bit here and there.

Trappist Tripel- Again, nice and clean with no flaws that knock it out. I get earthy and fruit notes, warm alcohol. It is not as "Trappist" as I expected, which I am grateful for, but it would suffer in a comp. because of that. I can't say what to do, not knowing the recipe, but I would look at yeast and fermentation temperatures if you want to boost that. Personally I wouldn't worry. I like tripels to be rounder and smoother then their smaller cousins, with less of the esters often associated with Belgiums.

Evets, you did a good job on each of these and I thank you for sharing them with me. I say it is obvious you are paying attention to all the details and making clean, well designed beers.

-Brewpastor

Oak Tree IPA

I very little pfft when opening but it poured with good head. I'm assuming bottle conditioning because I lost clarity when I greedily poured every last drop. Woops. Nice honey pine color.

And not to belabor the honey point, that's the odor I'm getting thats sitting atop that oak.

Let me be frank. This is a man's beer and I asking myself where is my cigar. SWMBO's note: Like the smell but winced, "This is not my beer." That really underscores my point. The fact that she is not a dark liquor drinker is also instructive as there are some of those reference points here.

The taste begins as I would expect an IPA and I found the carbonation mouthfeel and bite to be right on. The Oak flavor really comes through for me in the finish and it is a rather dry oak taste that I think is where a cigar pairing would put me over the top. I'm not sure of the character of the oak chips used, but perhaps one with a deeper smoke character might be something to try.

Another thing I am trying to decode is sometimes I get a really dry oak flavor and other times I get some sweetness. This is a complex flavor which I would like to have the luxury of time and pints to solve.

Nice work Evets.