Beer Swap! Pirate Ale!

I never had Pirate Ale before! Received three beers from Jon today. All three had labels (I don't do labels ) and two had BeerSmith reports included. Had to go for the big one first, cuz I was thirsty.

Twenty two ounce Cream Ale65.

This beer was brewed 11/18/06. That was 5 months before I started brewing!
The carbonation was perfect. Nice foamy 1/2 head that lasted as long as the beer (not long). The clarity was good, but I did not recognize the aroma. I looked at the BeerSmith report and saw Mt.Hood flavoring hops and Williamette aroma hops. I had to look them up. Described as flowery and fruity. That's it, too. Nicely different from what I am used to. This was an extract beer, but no extract twang. ABV 5.73% was perfect. I think I really liked the Honey Malt. One pound of candi sugar was listed in the ingredients. Darn good beer!

Junk Yard Amber

Notes say that this was brewed with leftover ingredients and turned out really good in the Pirates opinion. This beer is a lot darker than the list of ingredients would indicate. Jon and the other beerswap beers I received have more headspace than my beers and have better carbonation than I get. I am still learning. This was a real good beer in my opinion, too!

Kolsch!

No BeerSmith notes on this one. I did not recognize the hops in this one either, but I liked it. The label said recipe from Edwort.

Aargh! Pirates can brew! Thanks for the beers, Jon. I guess pirates are cooler than ninjas!

I sent our the following:

Cream Ale #65
777 Rye IPA
Junk Yard Dog
Edworts Kolsch
Munich Helles

Not every one got every beer, but I enclosed the recipes for each ( with the exception of the Kolsch, if you like it, Ed has the recipe.)

Feel free to comment on the labels, as they are brand new, and I obviously goof off too much at work.

All of these were partial mash brews.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas.....Argggh!

Since Pirate Ale asked for thorough critique, I’m scoring this on two levels…one score against the strict BJCP style guidelines, and one as just a general beer review.

So for instance, a score of 2/3/3 would be: 2 scored against the style guidelines, 3 potential max score, 3 as a general beer review score.

Pirate Ale’s Munich Helles​

AROMA:
Slight malt aroma. No fruitiness or other esters. Initially the sample is a little to cold to get a good aroma profile, but as it warms a bit, the munich malt begins to come through. No diacetyl. A very slight hop aroma. Fits the Helles profile well, but the malt could be more prevalent. Overall a nice aroma and inviting. 8/12/10

APPEARANCE
Light copper color. Substantial but acceptable chill haze. Otherwise clear of “stuff”. Sediment on the bottom indicates bottle conditioning. Cream colored head with short retention. There remains a slight lacing throughout the session. Overall a nice color, though a bit darker than a Helles would normally be using just Pilsner and 5% munich. Generally an attractive beer and the carbonation effervesces nicely. 1/3/2

FLAVOR
Crisp and clean. Good tasting beer with only a slight maltiness that is soon taken over by the hops bitterness. A little unbalanced to the bitter side. Helles should have a fully attenuated (not sweet) malt profile with little to no noticeable hops bitterness in the finish. No hops aroma which fits the style. There’s a slight astringent aftertaste that I attribute again to the hops. Helles should finish with a malt aftertaste. This really reminds me of an American Premium Lager. Very drinkable, but more lager-like than Helles. 10/20/15

MOUTHFEEL
Good carbonation. Nice fullness to the beer. Good bubble show. A bit dry for the style. A slightly higher mash/steep temp may have brought the creaminess of the munich forward more. The slight astringency in the aftertaste seems to dominate and not allow the Helles “trademark” of malti-creamy come through. 2/5/4

OVERALL
Overall, a very enjoyable beer. This would have scored much better as a Premium Lager than a Helles. A fine beer. 5/10/8

Overall, 26/50/39 .


If this were my beer I would:

Increase your munich malt to 2# steep
Decrease your 2-row to 2# steep
Add 1# Vienna for additional malt profile.
Steep at a higher range (156-160) to keep some residual malt profile.
Drop any flameout or late addition hops and leep the IBU’s around 15-16.

Nice job...

Thanks so much BM....

I expected the comments, as I really couldn't classify this beer when i brewed it. I was trying to appease a BMC buddy and convert him at the same time. I will do this again, and willmake your changes, to see what the Helles should be.

NOW THIS IS THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK PEOPLE NEED TO GET BETTER!!!:rockin:

I can't guarantee my comments will be half as good as BM's, but I should have them up tomorrow or so.

Again, I’m scoring this on two levels…one score against the strict BJCP style guidelines, and one as just a general beer review.

So for instance, a score of 2/3/3 would be: 2 scored against the style guidelines, 3 potential max score, 3 as a general beer review score.

Pirate Ale’s Kolsch​

AROMA:
Slight apple aroma…appropriate (to desirable) for this style. No up front malt or hops aroma…also appropriate. As the beer warms, some slight phenols come through the nose….possible clove-like. 7/12/10

APPEARANCE
Dark copper and cloudy. Color is more like an APA than Kolsch. Wondering what the full grain bill was that would darken the beer. Typical Kolsch grain bill of Pilsner, Munich and Vienna would appear very similar to a Pilsner (BMC). Slight white head on the pour that faded quickly. Some slight lacing throughout and nice effervescence (Thought the cloudiness hid the bubbles). 1/3/2

FLAVOR
Bright and flavorful. Up front sweetness and a tart bitterness to balance. Substantial phenols (medicinal) come on the back of the tongue. Detect some slight diacetyl as the beer warms. A nice tasting beer up front, but the phenols tend to dominate the aftertaste. A bit more “tart” than appropriate for this style. Overall, very drinkable, but a bit “north” in flavor for a Kolsch.8/20/12

MOUTHFEEL
Firm carbonation. Good head retention. Nice mouthfeel. If anything, a bit “chewy” for a Kolsch. Kolsch should “sparkle” on the tongue and not linger. 4/5/5

OVERALL
Overall, a pretty good beer, but not as likely to win over a BMC crowd as a Kolsch normally would. Unlike the other beers, this one had indicative “extract” qualities. A bit too much twang…too dark.. and substantial cloudiness. Very enjoyable to drink, but needs some work to compete in a Kolsch category. 5/10/7

Overall, 25/50/36 .


If this were my beer I would:

Stick with Extra Light DME.
Consider a shorter boil of DME to reduce caramelizing.
Use Irish Moss to help clarity.
Generally, just “lighten up” on the flavor profile, keeping in mind that a Kolsch is a Light Lager wanna-be.

Nice job...

NOW THIS IS THE TYPE OF FEEDBACK PEOPLE NEED TO GET BETTER!!!

And thats why I read HBT almost everyday!!!

BierMuncher said:

Again, I’m scoring this on two levels…one score against the strict BJCP style guidelines, and one as just a general beer review.

So for instance, a score of 2/3/3 would be: 2 scored against the style guidelines, 3 potential max score, 3 as a general beer review score.

Pirate Ale’s Kolsch​

AROMA:
Slight apple aroma…appropriate (to desirable) for this style. No up front malt or hops aroma…also appropriate. As the beer warms, some slight phenols come through the nose….possible clove-like. 7/12/10

APPEARANCE
Dark copper and cloudy. Color is more like an APA than Kolsch. Wondering what the full grain bill was that would darken the beer. Typical Kolsch grain bill of Pilsner, Munich and Vienna would appear very similar to a Pilsner (BMC). Slight white head on the pour that faded quickly. Some slight lacing throughout and nice effervescence (Thought the cloudiness hid the bubbles). 1/3/2

FLAVOR
Bright and flavorful. Up front sweetness and a tart bitterness to balance. Substantial phenols (medicinal) come on the back of the tongue. Detect some slight diacetyl as the beer warms. A nice tasting beer up front, but the phenols tend to dominate the aftertaste. A bit more “tart” than appropriate for this style. Overall, very drinkable, but a bit “north” in flavor for a Kolsch.8/20/12

MOUTHFEEL
Firm carbonation. Good head retention. Nice mouthfeel. If anything, a bit “chewy” for a Kolsch. Kolsch should “sparkle” on the tongue and not linger. 4/5/5

OVERALL
Overall, a pretty good beer, but not as likely to win over a BMC crowd as a Kolsch normally would. Unlike the other beers, this one had indicative “extract” qualities. A bit too much twang…too dark.. and substantial cloudiness. Very enjoyable to drink, but needs some work to compete in a Kolsch category. 5/10/7

Overall, 25/50/36 .


If this were my beer I would:

Stick with Extra Light DME.
Consider a shorter boil of DME to reduce caramelizing.
Use Irish Moss to help clarity.
Generally, just “lighten up” on the flavor profile, keeping in mind that a Kolsch is a Light Lager wanna-be.

Nice job...

Click to expand...

Thanks again, BM. I am not a fan of this one. The Kolsch yeast failed on arrival from White labs, so after 3 days of waiting I re-pitched s-04 dry. I did use Extra light DME, and Irish moss, but I know I boiled the extract to long, and didn't quite get the fermentation temp controled the whole way through. Is that what would bring on the phenols?

OTOH I have a friend who loves it, so I feed it to him while I drink the others LOL

Pirate Ales' 777 India Pale Ale.

I left my notes at home but this is a placeholder to drop in a review on one of the best beers I've hever had.

WOW ! ! !

Great job on the beerswap! I wish I took some pictures, but the labels were great, with the recipes included.
This is the first time I've tried scoring using the BJCP system, so take it with a grain of salt, but either way, well done on all the beers, they were all delicious!


Aroma: Low in hoppiness, slight fruitiness. Low malty aroma. 9/12

Appearance: Somewhat cloudy with a dark straw color, good head retention. 2/3

Flavor: An interesting flavor, can't quit pin it down. Some phenols present. Higher bitterness than usual. 13/20

Mouthfeel: Very crisp and smooth with good carbonation. 4/5

Overall: Different that many Kolsch's I've tried, with a little more bitterness which I enjoyed. A pretty good beer. 7/10

Total 35/50

Aroma: Very little aroma, slight hoppiness (still had a slight cold though). 8/12

Appearance: Dark copper color, good head retention. 3/3

Flavor: Nice flavor, can taste some of the munich, none of the grains come through too strong though. Slight sweetness, not much hop character, decently balanced\0. 15/20

Mouthfeel: Very Good body in this beer from all the grains, slightest astringency \0 4/5

Overall: A good beer, though not very much hop character came through, maybe due to the 1.06 OG and multiple different grains. Very drinkable.\0 8/10

Total 38/50

[
Aroma: Good malt aroma, little to no hop aroma\0 9/12

Appearance: Very clear, nice dark straw color, good head, great effervescence. 3/3

Flavor: Quite lager like, crisp with a nice smooth finish. Somewhat bitter, but not too much so. Very quaffable. 16/20

Mouthfeel: Very Good carbonation, excellent body. Not very creamy but crisp. 4/5

Overall: I really enjoyed this beer, I was halfway through it before I even realized. Very easy drinking, with a dry crispness and not too much sweetness. 8/10

Total 40/50

Aroma: Nice hoppy aroma, perfect for style, floral 10/12

Appearance: Copper red color, great head retention 3/3

Flavor: Delicious. Good bitterness, great hop taste, dry hopped? Rye gives nice spicyness, just overall awesome hop flavor, slight sweetness (crystal?) 18/20

Mouthfeel: well carbonated (on the high side - good), great body, little alcohol warming 4/5

Overall: Much better than my version. This is a truly great beer, I could drink it all
night, wonderful hop profile with good body to balance it out. Well done. 9/10

Total 45/50

Professor Frink said:

Pirate Ale's 777 IPA​

Aroma: Nice hoppy aroma, perfect for style, floral 10/12

Appearance: Copper red color, great head retention 3/3

Flavor: Delicious. Good bitterness, great hop taste, dry hopped? Rye gives nice spicyness, just overall awesome hop flavor, slight sweetness (crystal?) 18/20

Mouthfeel: well carbonated (on the high side - good), great body, little alcohol warming 4/5

Overall: Much better than my version. This is a truly great beer, I could drink it all
night, wonderful hop profile with good body to balance it out. Well done. 9/10

Total 45/50

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I am glad you liked them. I dry hopped with Glacier plugs for at least a week on this one.

Pirate Ale said:

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I am glad you liked them. I dry hopped with Glacier plugs for at least a week on this one.

Click to expand...

Really? I've been thinking about trying Glacier since my LHBS will have a bunch of them - I'm definitely giving them a go now.

Again, I’m scoring this on two levels…one score against the strict BJCP style guidelines, and one as just a general beer review.

So for instance, a score of 2/3/3 would be: 2 scored against the style guidelines, 3 potential max score, 3 as a general beer review score.

Pirate Ale’s 777 India Pale Ale​

AROMA:
Malty. Spicy. Beautiful aroma. Rich and a hint of pine coming through. Very inviting.10/12/11

APPEARANCE
Medium to dark brown. Cloudy, but not “mucky”. Very nice cream colored head on the pour that is rich and firm. The appearance can’t help but be even better because of the aroma wafting around. 2/3/3

FLAVOR
Strong malt with immediate strong and very well balanced hops bitterness. Beyond the bitterness is a rich rye flavor and a distinguished pine flavor. Very well balance and very rich…yet crisp. Can’t get over how nice the hops are done. Good bitterness, nice pine flavor and definite citrus aroma. No bad aftertaste. Very…very good tasting beer. Exactly what you want in a “spicy” IPA.15/20/18

MOUTHFEEL
Rich and smooth. Excellent carbonation. Beautiful head retention and lacing. Chewy, but spicy. The Pine hops really help the mouthfeel.5/5/5

OVERALL
A very good IPA. Very satisfying as an IPA, and very drinkable. A beer that makes you sit back with every gulp and say to yourself…”now that’s a damn fine beer”. 8/10/9

Overall, 40/50/46 .


If this were my beer I would:
Do it again.

Nice job...

Wahooo! that is damn fine to hear, as I love this one and am brwing it again this weekend.:rockin: