Beerswap III: Evan!'s Beers

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Evan!

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I'm sending beers to paulthenurse, Mrk305 and Mutilated1. Some people will get the same brews as others, but the three packages will not be identical. I'm sending:

CB: Basil Ale 07'er
CS: Lagunitas' Cappuccino Stout
GL: Li'l Brudder's Golden Lager
R10: Rochefort 10
SBJ: Sweet Baby Jesus Pale Ale
ST: Stunkelweizen
BW: The Burninator Barleywine 06'er
Meph: Mephistopheles Imperial Stout

Honesty is, of course, valued above undue praise. Enjoy! :mug:
 
It's not Mr. Postman's fault, it's mine. This week has been absurd for me. My business partners called an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening, then I had to wait for Dish Network at my house from 12-5 yesterday for an "appointment", then the bastards didn't show up till 5:30. Well, one of the guys showed up, but they were still waiting on the other guy with the right receiver to show up. So, long story short, they left around 7:30, and I now have HD DVR. By the time I ate dinner, UPS store was closed. So I'm just late. I promise 100% they're going out today. All apologies...if only the UPS store wasn't on the other side of town...
 
Aw, ****, I didn't mean it like that! I was at work and it was night from hell and I popped on the net during lunch. It was the only bit of fun I had from 7 pm until 7 am. Last night was a freakin' Retro Night. I haven't seen that many drunks in one night in 4 or 5 years. I added up the total blood alcohol level in the department at one point and it was over 4800. The 'average' person in the ED last night had a BAL of 347 mg/dl. That includes sober people. Those are professional drunks, boys and girls. Don't attempt to duplicate or imitate these drunks at home. You will die. I swear there was a three for one night somewhere in Boston last night and we were all pissed cause one one invited us. I was reading the forums, wishing I was 1/4 as drunk as the 'least drunk' drunk in the ED and posted what I did. I wasn't ragging you at all. Really. Sorry that it came across that way.

PTN
 
paulthenurse said:
Aw, ****, I didn't mean it like that! I was at work and it was night from hell and I popped on the net during lunch. It was the only bit of fun I had from 7 pm until 7 am. Last night was a freakin' Retro Night. I haven't seen that many drunks in one night in 4 or 5 years. I added up the total blood alcohol level in the department at one point and it was over 4800. The 'average' person in the ED last night had a BAL of 347 mg/dl. That includes sober people. Those are professional drunks, boys and girls. Don't attempt to duplicate or imitate these drunks at home. You will die. I swear there was a three for one night somewhere in Boston last night and we were all pissed cause one one invited us. I was reading the forums, wishing I was 1/4 as drunk as the 'least drunk' drunk in the ED and posted what I did. I wasn't ragging you at all. Really. Sorry that it came across that way.

PTN

Oh, no worries, I didn't think you were raggin me, I just wanted to let you know what was up with the delay. I was planning on PM'ing you this morning, but replied here instead.
 
I got beers from Evan (aka Moss Hollow Brewing Company) yesterday! Evan asked for no-holds barred criticism in return.

The first two (Stunkelweizen and L'il Brudders Golden Lager) were nicely made homebrews but did not have enough hops for a hop head like me. The more I homebrew it seems like the more I like the extra bite that I add to every batch now. Carbonation was good, beers were clean, but kind of malty for my taste. I suspected that from the descriptions, so I saved the best two for last....

The Cappaccino Stout was absolutley extrordinary. "Inundated with several shots of local Shenandoa Joe Cofee Roasters 'Dark Horse' Espresso" Holy Sh*t! This was amazing. I believe this beer would win awards.

Basil Ale 07"ER- described as a high gravity, high IBU copper ale with copious amounts of honey malt and fresh cinnamon-basil from Moss Hollow Brewing's Gardens. Another winner. Not too high gravity for me! Balanced with just the right amount of hops. Except for the cinnamon, which was a nice addition, this is exactly the kind of beer I have been trying to make. I haven't quite got there yet, unless I have something in a fermenter.

I liked getting 4 12oz' instead of 2 22'z. I will send out 4 12oz. next time. Out of 4 beers, I got two that are pretty much on par with my brewing skill level, and two that are way better than anything that I have ever brewed. Thanks Evan!
 
I didn't think the Meph was possible to brew for us homebrewer's (never say never I
guess), I would like to know how that turned out for whoever receive's it...

Also, how do you guys send beer through the mail so readily...and how much does it cost you...?
 
Reidman said:
I didn't think the Meph was possible to brew for us homebrewer's (never say never I
guess), I would like to know how that turned out for whoever receive's it...

Also, how do you guys send beer through the mail so readily...and how much does it cost you...?

Meph...it's possible, but not easy.

Wrap each bottle VERY well in bubble wrap, then surround all that with newspaper and packing peanuts. Send it UPS and when they ask what you're sending, tell them "collectibles". Most of my shipments run me between 10 and 15 bucks.
 
First off I should mention the surprise when I opened the package. There was a nice little note from the brewery that explained which each beer was, and about the beer. I thought that was a nice touch.

I was going to wait a couple of days to try one, but after 5 hours my curiosity got the better of me.

Since Evan packed some varieties I'm not familiar with, I decided something with "Golden Lager" in the name would be safest beer to start with.

The beer sounded nice when opening, and poured nice with not too much head. It was a nice golden color, a little hazy but I suspect it might not have been so hazy had I not been so impatient to try it.

Took a nice long pull and found the beer nice and smooth, with a slight lingering malt taste. Very tasty beer, very approachable for someone who's not used to homebrew. If you were looking for something that tastes great to serve your BMC drinking friends that you could still enjoy yourself, this would likely be a good choice of something to brew.

A very nice beer, and I look forward to trying the recipe.
 
Mutilated1 said:
First off I should mention the surprise when I opened the package. There was a nice little note from the brewery that explained which each beer was, and about the beer. I thought that was a nice touch.

I was going to wait a couple of days to try one, but after 5 hours my curiosity got the better of me.

Since Evan packed some varieties I'm not familiar with, I decided something with "Golden Lager" in the name would be safest beer to start with.

The beer sounded nice when opening, and poured nice with not too much head. It was a nice golden color, a little hazy but I suspect it might not have been so hazy had I not been so impatient to try it.

Took a nice long pull and found the beer nice and smooth, with a slight lingering malt taste. Very tasty beer, very approachable for someone who's not used to homebrew. If you were looking for something that tastes great to serve your BMC drinking friends that you could still enjoy yourself, this would likely be a good choice of something to brew.

A very nice beer, and I look forward to trying the recipe.

Thanks for the review! Yeah, you know, so many of my beers are towards the upper limits of their respective BJCP guidelines---many often go past those limits, in fact. So what I was trying to do with this beer is craft a balanced, malty lager without too much flash or fanfare, and I really have ended up liking this batch a lot. It's less than 5% ABV, which I really enjoy. The decoction mash was a bit of PITA, but I think it really smoothed out the finished product.

So, again, thanks! The recipe's in my pulldown if you want it. :mug:
 
Trying your "Sweet Baby Jesus" now.

Pretty nice beer, even though I think it would be better with a bit more of a hoppiness to it. The malt comes through though, but it doesn't overwhelm... Strangely the maltiness in this one seems like its more malty than the Lager I tried last night - that was suprising wasn't really expecting that.

Didn't seem very clear if that makes a difference. To me it doesn't matter that much, it tastes good thats all that counts.

Nothing I could suggest to improve it other than some more bitter/hops might make it a bit better, but I guess that just comes down to personal preference and taste.
 
I couldn't agree more. This is my standard Pale Ale recipe (maris otter, victory, special B), but instead of the typical cascade fr my flavor/aroma, I tried the Sorachi Ace hops this time. What I realized is that my late additions weren't enough. I had 1/4oz additions at 10, 8, 5 and 2 mins., and at flameout. I got that grapefruit flavor, but it's too subtle for me. Those 1/4oz additions should have each been at least 1/2 or 1oz each. But either way, I still like this brew. Next time...lots more late hops. Actually, I'm brewing an IIPA tomorrow with a total of 12.5oz of hops in it. You think I'm compensating for the Sweet Baby Jesus a little? ;)

Thanks again for the review...
 
OK,
My turn. Just home from work and I am craving a beer. I'll start with Li'l Brudder's Golden Lager.


DSCF2861.jpg


Aroma
Light hop background. Restrained floral and citrus notes, nothing overwhelming. Very nice. 10/12

Appearance
Light pop on opening, vigourous pour produced a light head that quickly faded. Head has nice appropriate color. Nice lacing on glass which is still hanging on 10 minutes later Did get a couple of solid floaters mid pour but it is homebrew and it did just go cross country a week ago. Hazy. 1.5/3

Flavor
Nice malt prominence, but nothing overwhelming. A bit of astringency on the follow thru. Bitterness is appropriate to style. I'd like to see just a touch of late hop here, I think it would be a nice addition. If I had to pick a single word to describe this brew I'd choose 'Mellow.' 14/20

Mouthfeel
Nice carbonation. Not a big mouthfull of beer by any stretch, but that's not what you were brewing. I'd say this is spot on. 5/5

Overall.
Very nice beer. I could sit and drink lots and lots of this in the right setting. This would be a fantastic beer to have sitting in a cooler next to you while you hope the fish don't disturb you. It suffers a bit next to my plate of cold leftover lamb, but that was a dinner planning error on my part. 8/10

38.5 /50 Well done.
Paul
 
Mephistopholes...

Enough said!


Aroma.
Disappointed on opening, no pop at all. I actually thought we had a failed cap. A vigorous poured yielded a thin layer of foam that faded quickly. An aroma of essence of prunes with whiffs of chocolate and cherry are in the glass. It's only too bad the carbonation wasn't enough to lift it out of the glass. I get a hint of alcohol in the vapors. I get a strong malt background here.

Appearance
Black ink. This is a dark, dark beer

Flavor
Sweet malt blended with a nice bitterness. Wow, what a balance! The alcohol is a definite presence.

Mouthfeel.
You don't drink this beer, you cut into it with a fork and a really sharp knife.

Overall.
This is almost enough to make me consider changing my mind about IS's. The style has never been a particular favorite of mine, it just doesn't do it for me. That said, I recognize a good one when I drink it and this is a good one. Nicely done. I won't grade it, I don't feel that it's fair for me to grade a style of beer that I just don't care for. Too bad you picked this one to send me, someone else missed a real treat.
PTN
 
I tried the "Stunkelweisen" a few days ago, but after I drank it I had a few more and didn't get around to posting a review of it.

First of all, I've never heard of a beer called a "Stunkelweisen" before and google was not at all helpful in determing what it was so I was a bit apprehensive about trying it. I think the sheet of paper Evan included with the beer mentioned that you could pour gently for cleaner flavor or rouse the yeast for more of a Hefe type estery character.

I decided to go for the pour gently route since I'm not very fond of yeast in my beer.

The beer popped open nicely, and poured a rich brown brew with a nice head and slight scent of something that reminded me of honey. Absolutely a beautiful beer to look at - nice and clear, rich dark brown color closer to the dark side than to the red side of brown. Nice head on the beer. There was a slight sourness to the honey flavor and a complexity to the malt thats really hard to describe, definitely unique compared to any of the beers that I've tried so far with a very pleasent mouth feel. There is a lot of different flavors in this beer, sweet and sour, bitter and malty - yet no flavor overwhelms, and there is plenty of room to enjoy them all.

Definitely a beer that I enjoyed and would like to experience again.
 
Oflanny is half right. It's a dunkelweizen. My house hefeweizen is called "Steffiweizen" (my wife's name is Steph)...so the dunkelweizen was a dark version of that, hence the Stunkelweizen.
 
I tried the one labeled R10 last night.

I'm not really familiar with the style of beer, but I think this is one beer that I wouldn't really care to ever experience again. It was sour and syrupy and tasted strongly the way a banana laughy-taffy smells. For all I know thats how it was supposed to taste, but it would never occur to me to want to taste that beer again.

It was nowhere near as good as your other brews. Thanks for letting me try it though.
 
Mutilated1 said:
I tried the one labeled R10 last night.
I'm not really familiar with the style of beer, but I think this is one beer that I wouldn't really care to ever experience again. It was sour and syrupy and tasted strongly the way a banana laughy-taffy smells. For all I know thats how it was supposed to taste, but it would never occur to me to want to taste that beer again.
It was nowhere near as good as your other brews. Thanks for letting me try it though.

It's his Rochefort 10 clone. BTW, Evan my reviews will be up after the 1st of the year, leaving for FL this weekend.
 
Sorry Evan, but it looks like it didn't work out as I am back in Alaska now. I hope you didn't already ship them to Oregon. Bummer! :(
 
fightguy said:
Sorry Evan, but it looks like it didn't work out as I am back in Alaska now. I hope you didn't already ship them to Oregon. Bummer! :(

yeah, meant to PM you. I went to the UPS store with what I thought was plenty of time (like 9 or 10 days). Knowing that you were leaving the 21st, I asked them if they could guarantee that they could be there by then...they said that, because of the holiday rush, ground shipping was delayed and that it probably wouldn't make it by then. The next option up, which would have guaranteed it, was absurdly expensive, much more than simple ground to anchorage.

So after the new year when things have calmed down, I'll send them to Alaska for ya. Sorry this didn't work out---I didn't account for the christmas shipping deluge.
 

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