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Rhoobarb

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Well, the fiancée and I sampled these last Saturday and I finally got around to transposing my notes last night. Even though I am not a BJCP certified judge, I'm going to give these an overall point rating using the BJCP scale of 1-50, as shown at the bottom of this sheet - just for the hell of it! :D I'm just wingin' it here with the numbers, so take it with a grain of salt.;)

Per your suggestion, I am holding off trying your Brown Ring of Fire Pale Ale until it ages a bit longer. I'll try it weekend after next and post my review then.

Hop Beatdown Double IPA

Appearance: Nice, quick pffft sound when uncapped. Nice 1-1/2 finger off-white head dissipates after about a minute. Nice amber color, right to style.

Aroma: Very slight hop - I really had to sniff hard to pick it up. Malt aroma is there, but this is a lot like my IPAs and DIPAs. It seems malt aroma diminishes on a daily basis as the beer ages!

Flavor: Wow! This is a nearly perfect balance of malt to hops. My fiancée called it "dead on"! The malt is up front, then the hops soon hit mid-taste and hang on in the finish, but soon yield to a non-cloying, slightly sweet finish. Perfect to style! Very well done!

Mouthfeel: Nice, medium-heavy, full mouthful. Just what you'd expect from a DIPA!

Overall Impression: I want another! If you can somehow kick up the hop aroma, this could win some awards, IMHO. Excellent job - very well done!

Rating: 37

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Smoked Porter

Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice two-finger tan head which dissipates after ~2 minutes and linger thinly on top the whole time. The color is as black as night!

Aroma: Mild, roasty aroma is evident. No hop aroma is discernable, which is correct to style, but there was no smoke aroma, either.

Flavor: Nice malt flavor with a slight bitterness from, I'm guessing, some black malt. Not as much burnt/coffee flavor as I'd expect this style, nor did I detect any smoke flavor. To be fair, my fiancée proclaimed it to have a "very slight, almost imperceptible smoke flavor". To be honest, this reminded me more of an export stout than a porter! With that in mind, I really enjoyed this beer a helluva lot!
Mouthfeel: Nice, smooth, creamy mouthfeel - again, very stout-like!

Overall Impression: I really liked this beer and could easily drink nothing else all day on a cozy evening! I'm no expert, but I think if you were to enter this 'as is' into competition as an Export Stout, you might take away some hardware! Excellent job - very well done!

Rating: to style: 28; as a stout: 36

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale

Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice one-finger off-white head which soon dissipates to a thin layer. The color is nearly black in the center and deep brown along the sides of the glass.

Aroma: A subtle, yet definite vanilla aroma stands out! Malt in the background with no hop aroma, which is correct to style.

Flavor: A slightly fruity/bourbon taste hits immediately, then the malt with a plum/raisin profile in the back. Finishes with a warm, slightly 'hot' alcohol finish, but nothing overpowering - actually very nice, IMO. Surprisingly, no vanilla flavor that we could detect - which is fine with me; I'm not a fan of strong vanilla flavors in beer.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel, very nice.

Overall Impression: There is no roast or burnt flavor noticeable, so this definitely specialty ale and not a porter or a stout. That said, if there were a bit of roast character, this would make for an excellent bourbon porter! Still, this was a well made beer and I'd have no problem ordering another. Well done!

Rating: As a specialty ale: 29

Thanks so very much for giving me the opportunity to try your beers. I only wish I had more!




 
Well, given that the previous thread from the last swap is out of date, I'm going to create this new one and see if a Mod wouldn't mind moving Rhoobarb's recent critique over here.

Here's what I sent out:
  • Rhoobarb got a 'Hop Beatdown' Double IPA, a Brown Ring of Fire Pale Ale, a Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale, and a Smoked Porter.
  • Bike N Brew got a Pacific Gem Special Bitter, a Munchen Sommerbock, a Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale, and a Smoked Porter.
  • LandHoney got an 'Old Slug' Oaked Wee Heavy, a Munchen Sommerbock, a Vanilla Bourbon Winter Ale, and a Pacific Gem Special Bitter (I think).
Let the insults commence! ;)
 
Not really sure. Youd better send me another. :mug:



Just kidding. Nice pffft and cloud of CO2 when opened. On pouring, got a ton of foam (even with beer chilled in 40F fridge for 36 hours). Maybe still agitated from the trip? Slowed down, and eventually got a great-looking pint...slighty hazy medium copper beer, with 1' of thick off-white head...almost meringue-like, lasted forever. Let it warm and de-carb for 5-10 minutes. Aroma mostly malt at first, which was a little weird given the dry hopping. Got more hop aroma as it warmed -- hop aroma was fruity, but not really citrus. First taste malt, followed by a little caramel, then nice hop bitterness. On the finish, something a little smoky or woody (maybe this is the PG hops?). Really drinkable...this one went down fast, and I was wishing I had another. A little less carbonation (at least in this bottle) and it would be damn near perfect.
 
Poured opaque black, with 1/2" tan head. Good head retention, with some lacing as the beer vanished. Mild coffee/chocolate aroma, smoke aroma not distinct, but well blended . Big malty flavor, sweet but not cloying, and then the perfect amount of smoke on the finish. Slightly more than a hint, but much less than an "I am a smoke beer" headwhack.

In the interest of constructive criticism, I'd like to see just a touch more bite on the finish...maybe a few more IBUs of bittering hops, or a couple more ounces of roast grains.

Another damn fine beer, though (I haven't had many smoked beers, but I'd take this over any of the commercial examples I've tried).
 
Bike N Brew said:
Not really sure. Youd better send me another. :mug:



Just kidding. Nice pffft and cloud of CO2 when opened. On pouring, got a ton of foam (even with beer chilled in 40F fridge for 36 hours). Maybe still agitated from the trip? Slowed down, and eventually got a great-looking pint...slighty hazy medium copper beer, with 1' of thick off-white head...almost meringue-like, lasted forever. Let it warm and de-carb for 5-10 minutes. Aroma mostly malt at first, which was a little weird given the dry hopping. Got more hop aroma as it warmed -- hop aroma was fruity, but not really citrus. First taste malt, followed by a little caramel, then nice hop bitterness. On the finish, something a little smoky or woody (maybe this is the PG hops?). Really drinkable...this one went down fast, and I was wishing I had another. A little less carbonation (at least in this bottle) and it would be damn near perfect.

No, it's not the trip---those bottles are consistently foamy. I think there was a touch of sugar left over when I bottled it that somehow didn't get fermented during the rather long spell in the carboy, but decided to finally go for the gold once they were in the bottle. At least it's not gushing.

Yeah, I've found this to be one of the most drinkable...goes down fast, a little too fast sometimes.

That woody note on the back end is definitely the Pacific Gem. I've described it as "brambly" before...like chewing a live twig from a small bramble/bush.

Thanks for the review! I appreciate your honesty (at least that's what I hope it was ;) )Sorry it was so foamy, but that's just how it goes. :D
 
Poured a dark amber/medium brown, with a slight touch of cloudiness and a 1/2" beige head which dissipated pretty quickly.

Initial aroma is bourbon. No noticeable hop or vanilla aroma.

Taste is bourbon up front (not overpowering, but unmistakeable) followed by a kind of tartness that I wasn't expecting. Then a little bit of malty sweetness, and finally some alcohol. No noticeable vanilla flavor.

Mouthfeel was a little thinner than I expected...not thin, but not rich, either.

All in all, I really enjoyed this beer, but I guess I had something different in mind before I tried it (stupid expectations!). What I'd do differently: half the bourbon, twice the vanilla, boost the malt flavor, and get a few more unfermentables in there for a richer mouthfeel. But that's just me.

Note: didn't read the recipe until after I drank the beer and wrote this review. I think the tartness I was trying to describe was from the oak. And looking at your specialty grain lineup, it seems like it should have been more malty and full bodied than what I tasted. Maybe I need to drink one in the dead of January in front of a roaring fire, or something.
 
Bike N Brew said:
Poured a dark amber/medium brown, with a slight touch of cloudiness and a 1/2" beige head which dissipated pretty quickly.

Initial aroma is bourbon. No noticeable hop or vanilla aroma.

Taste is bourbon up front (not overpowering, but unmistakeable) followed by a kind of tartness that I wasn't expecting. Then a little bit of malty sweetness, and finally some alcohol. No noticeable vanilla flavor.

Mouthfeel was a little thinner than I expected...not thin, but not rich, either.

All in all, I really enjoyed this beer, but I guess I had something different in mind before I tried it (stupid expectations!). What I'd do differently: half the bourbon, twice the vanilla, boost the malt flavor, and get a few more unfermentables in there for a richer mouthfeel. But that's just me.

Note: didn't read the recipe until after I drank the beer and wrote this review. I think the tartness I was trying to describe was from the oak. And looking at your specialty grain lineup, it seems like it should have been more malty and full bodied than what I tasted. Maybe I need to drink one in the dead of January in front of a roaring fire, or something.

A couple things...

The lack of thick mouthfeel, I believe, comes from the addition of all that bourbon. I thought it'd be maltier myself, but then again, it's been aging in bottle for quite awhile now, and has dried out considerably from when it was first bottled. I completely agree WRT the oak, bourbon and vanilla amounts. I'm gonna have to try extract, because in order to get the vanilla I'm looking for, I'd need to spend about $30 on beans. No dice. The bourbon was just trial and error, and while I'm not disappointed in this batch, I do think that I could dial it down like you said. I'm looking for a bourbon barrel taste rather than a fortified beer taste, if that makes sense.

Thanks alot for the review...I guess I should have changed the name (omitted "vanilla") prior to offering it up for the swap, but oh well. Li'l bit of false advertising I guess...even though there is vanilla in there! :mug:
 
Steffiweizen 2.0
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening, followed by some medium gushing - I had to keep sucking off the foam going 25 feet from the fridge to my chair. It poured very nicely, retaining almost a 1/2 finger head for about 30 seconds with nice lacing. At first appearance I was surprised by the apparent 'thickness' of this brew, as it appears a bit more cloudy than other Hefe's, but has a very nice color probably in the 5-8 SRM range.

Aroma: There is an apparent 'fruity' aroma that smells like both orange and lemon, but I'm guessing that it's only orange. Overall the aroma is very pleasing and adds to the anticipation of drinking it. There is little to no hop aroma present, which I would expect for a Hefe.

Palate: This beer has a very nice fruity ester taste. This taste seems a bit to strong to have come from yeast alone, indicating some type of fruit (most likely orange) added to this brew furing boil for flavor. The carbonation was overpowering in the first couple of drinks (maybe also the cause of the gushing upon opening?), but subdued quite nicely in future drinks.

Proximity to the Style: A stronger fruit taste that what I would expect from Hefeweizen (correct me if I'm wrong, Evan, but I'm guessing that this is the category which you intended this brew to fall under), but it was much welcomed.

Overall Impression: This is a well made beer, and the 'gushing' was most likely due to my own impatience as I chilled it and opened it the same day that I received it. Overall I would give it a 36/50 (Evan if you are interested let me know and I'll get you an official BJCP scoring sheet - which by the way I recommend that everyone use in the beerswap). This is certainly a good beer, but by my personal tastes, I feel that it could have benefited from a bit more hop presence to balance the fruit flavor a bit more, but in the end is a VERY good brew.

This is most *certainly* a beer that I could drink in great quantities and would easily pay upwards of $7-$8 per 6 pack for.



München Sommerbock
----------------------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a light tan colored 1 finger head for about 1 minute with nice lacing. A very nice deep amber/brown color that I was expecting.

Aroma: The aroma is exactly what I would expect from a bock. Strong malt aroma with little or no hop aroma present (or at least noticeable). Being a big fan of bocks, the aroma leaves me with great anticipation to taste this brew.

Palate: A very suprisingly mild flavor considering the aroma present before tasting. I've taken 3 drinks now and each time I'm surprised by the supremely mild taste and drinkibility of this brew in contrast to its aroma. VERY well done!

Proximity to the Style: While the aroma certainly presents a Bock, the taste of this brew and the abv may make it a bit short of the Bock guidelines, but without knowing the abv I can't state this for certain.

Overall Impression: This is what homebrewing is all about, Evan. you have been able to capture a style that is very difficult to brew, and you have done it extremely well. I am going to be very sad in about 15 minutes when I take my last sip of this beer. Please give me your recipe for this immediately. I give it a 42/50. No beer is perfect, but this is about as close as I'm prepared to make one. I try to objectively score my own beers on the same scale, and I have only brewed one beer that met or exceeded this score. VERY, VERY well done, Evan.

This is most *certainly* a beer that I could drink in great quantities and would easily pay upwards of $8+ per 6 pack for.
 
Steffiweizen 2.0
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening, followed by some medium gushing - I had to keep sucking off the foam going 25 feet from the fridge to my chair. It poured very nicely, retaining almost a 1/2 finger head for about 30 seconds with nice lacing. At first appearance I was surprised by the apparent 'thickness' of this brew, as it appears a bit more cloudy than other Hefe's, but has a very nice color probably in the 5-8 SRM range.

Aroma: There is an apparent 'fruity' aroma that smells like both orange and lemon, but I'm guessing that it's only orange. Overall the aroma is very pleasing and adds to the anticipation of drinking it. There is little to no hop aroma present, which I would expect for a Hefe.

Palate: This beer has a very nice fruity esther taste. This taste seems a bit to strong to have come from yeast alone, indicating some typ eof freuit (most likely orange) added to this brew furing boil for flavor. The carbonation was overpowering in the first couple of drinks (maybe also the cause of the gushing upon opening?), but subdued quite nicely in future drinks.

Proximity to the Style: A stronger fruit taste that what I would expect from Hefeweizen (correct me if I'm wrong, Evan, but I'm guessing that this is the category which you intended this brew to fall under), but it was much welcomed.

Overall Impression: This is a well made beer, and the 'gushing' was most likely due to my own impatience as I chilled it and opened it the same day that I received it. Overall I would give it a 36/50 (Evan if you are interested let me know and I'll get you an official BJCP scoring sheet - which by the way I recommend that everyone use in the beerswap). This is certainly a good beer, but by my personal tastes, I feel that it could have benefited from a bit more hop presence to balance the fruit flavor a bit more, but in the end is a VERY good brew.

This is most *certainly* a beer that I could drink in great quantities and would easily pay upwards of $7-$8 per 6 pack for.

Thanks for the in-depth review, brewtus. Much appreciated. A couple answers to your guesses/assumptions/questions: First off, there's no fruit. This is a very simple hefe recipe: 3 lbs wheat, 3 lbs vienna, 3.5 lbs wheat LME. But as I mentioned to you earlier, this batch (along with the Coriander Wit) were originally primed with laaglander DME, and never really carbonated. As such, they sat around in bottle uncarb'd for awhile. Thus, I think that this period of aging is what gave it its estery fruity quality---which, in my opinion, makes it taste exactly like a belgian saison, rather than a hefe. The recarbing process on these brews (uncapping, dropping in carb tabs, recapping) has made for a few gushers here and there...as there was no way to tell whether a bottle had been properly carb'd the first time around (most weren't). Thus, some are gushers, some are perfect. Kinda sucks that you got a gusher, dude...sorry about that. I learned my lesson on these two batches: use dextrose for priming (and find the idiots who make laaglander DME and kill them, but that's for another time). As such, the CW might also gush, so be careful. They're spotty too...some are perfect, some are gushy. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

München Sommerbock
----------------------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a light tan colored 1 finger head for about 1 minute with nice lacing. A very nice deep amber/brown color that I was expecting.

Aroma: The aroma is exactly what I would expect from a bock. Strong malt aroma with little or no hop aroma present (or at least noticeable). Being a big fan of bocks, the aroma leaves me with great anticipation to taste this brew.

Palate: A very suprisingly mild flavor considering the aroma present before tasting. I've taken 3 drinks now and each time I'm surprised by the supremely mild taste and drinkibility of this brew in contrast to its aroma. VERY well done!

Proximity to the Style: While the aroma certainly presents a Bock, the taste of this brew and the abv may make it a bit short of the Bock guidelines, but without knowing the abv I can't state this for certain.

Overall Impression: This is what homebrewing is all about, Evan. you have been able to capture a style that is very difficult to brew, and you have done it extremely well. I am going to be very sad in about 15 minutes when I take my last sip of this beer. Please give me your recipe for this immediately. I give it a 42/50. No beer is perfect, but this is about as close as I'm prepared to make one. I try to objectively score my own beers on the same scale, and I have only brewed one beer that met or exceeded this score. VERY, VERY well done, Evan.

This is most *certainly* a beer that I could drink in great quantities and would easily pay upwards of $8+ per 6 pack for.

Wow...thanks for the complements! Very glad you enjoyed this one...I'm loving it too. I think you're right...the palate is pretty subdued and mild for a bock---but, remember, this was supposed to be a Dunkel, but I just ended up with ridiculously high mash efficiency---thus pushing the OG up to the bock category. The alcohol content is only 5.5%, because my FG was pretty high (1.030). But I'm actually glad that it finished that high, because the residual sugars are what make this beer, IMHO.

The recipe is in my pulldown...but, again, you need to shoot higher on the malt bill to 1.070, as my efficiency was OVER 100%. Impossible, I know---what happened is, this was the second of two mashes I was doing. I sparged kinda weakly on the first batch---so when I went to sparge this batch, I just dumped the grains and mash water and everything else right on top of the first grain bed...meaning that this batch got most of the sugars that were left behind from the first batch. So...yeah, you'll need to adjust the grain bill to get to 1.070 OG. And I'm sure you could find a better yeast strain---the bohemian pilsner strain isn't exactly built for bocks, but it's what I had in my library.

Again, thanks for reviewing these brews...I'll do the same for you when yours arrive. :mug:
 
'Coriander? I Hardly Know 'er' Witbier
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a white 1 finger head for about 45 seconds with nice lacing. It's a bit darker than I'd expect for a Wit, but still light enough that it's unmistakable. I had to leave a bit more in the bottle than normal due to some chunky sediment, but I've had some brews do that as well so it's not a big deal at all, just FYI.

Aroma: DAMN that's a lot of orange!!! I like it! Very strong orange aroma nose. I'm sure that there's some corriander and hops in there, but neither are present beneath the strength of the orange. Just out of curiosity, how much orange peel did you use in this?

Palate: Suprisingly this beer drinks rather smoothly given the very strong orange aroma. A slight hop note along with corriander is present in the back of this brew once the orange in the front subsides.

Proximity to the Style: The orange taste and aroma is a bit strong for the style, but I know that it was exatly what you were shooting for and you achieved it very well.

Overall Impression: This is a wonderful summer beer to enjoy on a hot, humid day (which is exactly what I'm doing as I type this). The strong orange aroma grabs your attention before you even take your first drink and instantly leaves you with the anticipation of tasting it.

36/50



Brown Ring of Fire Pale Ale
----------------------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a white colored 2 finger head for about 1 minute. A very nice copper color that I would expect from a Pale Ale.

Aroma: The aroma is expectedly malty, as one would expect from a Pale Ale. There is also noticeable hint of hops (noble?), giving this brew a nice variation in aroma from the typical Pale Ale. After letting it warm for a few minutes, the nose begins to present a bit of the fruit that I reference below.

Palate: Nice malt tast in front and some type of fruit ester taste in the finish yeilding no detectable hop presence. I've given it 4 sips now to make sure that the mild fruit finish was actually there and not leftover from my previous brew, and it's certainly present in this brew. I can't put my finger on what the source of this may be... what yeast strain did you use and how long was this brew in primary?

Proximity to the Style: The more I drink of this the less it tastes like a Pale Ale to me. It's still a very good and interesting brew, but if I hadn't known that it was a Pale Ale I would have had a hard time believeing that's what I was drinking now that I'm halfway through it.

Overall Impression: As I mentioned above, I 'm having a hard time putting my finger on the fruit-ish aroma once warmed and the same fruit-ish finish. Did you happen to use some LME in this brew? It almost tastes like extract 'twang' with a bit of fruit to it. Although it's not one of my favorite styles, I can appreciate a Pale Ale with the best of them. This beer presented me with the color and nose that I expected when I first poured it, but surprised me with the flavor that I have yet to identify.

29/50
 
Pac-Gem ESB:

Uncapping/Pouring/Aesthetics: Solid pffft! Pouring, All Head! Initial pour was to vigourous, next glass poured at a slant but still moslty head. Help up to the light it appears medium copper/amber. Clarity not great.

Aroma: Light malty aroma with nice subdued hop aroma. Hop aroma is spicy floral, unique hop aroma to me. I have not used this hop b/f.

Palate: malty, slightly fruity estery, good hop flavor at the end with a good balance of bitterness, fairly sweet at the finish. Definitely some caramely flavor as it warms up a bit.

Proximity to Style: Seems good to me, I am not a big bitter drinker, but looking at the style guidelines it seems everything is in line. The high carbonation is not right, but I know this was not intentional.

Overall: The great thing about this beer to me is that the bittering hops are emphasized well, more than the flavor/aroma. BJCP for ESB":...emphasis is still on the bittering hop addition as opposed to the aggressive middle and late hopping seen in American ales" You did a great job in this respect. Mouthfeel seemed nice and medium-light, but definitely not too light. Again, this is not my favorite style and I have never brewed one, but I think it was very good. The hop flavor and aroma were present, but not over emphasized. Solid pint of bitter to me! Good job. :mug:
 
Van/Bourbon Winter Ale:

Uncapping/Pouring Aesthetics: Low pfft, poured with nice 1/2" head. Nice deep amber/brown color. Clarity is good when held up to the light. Head faded after a few, but lacing remained throughout.

Aroma: Hello Bourbon! Nice background aroma of oak, very nice. I really love oak. There's a little sweet maltiness there too. No hop aroma.

Taste: Again, big bourbon taste. I agree it could use a little more mouthfeel and maltiness. I know the bourbon has thinned this beer out a bit. That to say, it does make it easy drinking. I taste a little vanilla hint, could be from the oak and bourbon though. Good sweetness, no hop flavor. Bitterness from the alcohol balances well.

Proximity to Style:??????

Overall: I agree with your(Evan) and Bike-n-Brew's assesments, I would like the bourbon toned down or the base beer upped a bit. It is a good example of a bourbon fortified beer though, and I always like to see oak in a beer when its appropriate and works(as with this one). I think next time you could really dial this beer in and make a really outstanding beer. I really enjoyed this one though.
My SWMBO says she likes the higher level of bourbon, and wouldn't change it.
 
Sommerbock

Uncapping/Pouring: Big, three finger head light tan in color. Deep/Dark amber color. Good clarity when held up to the light.

Aroma: Nice clean, sweet, malty aroma. No hop aroma.

Taste: Very nice clean flavor. Medium bodied, lighter than I was expecting based on the color. Very sweet finish, interesting because the sweetness is there w/o a ton of maltiness. No hop flavor discernable. A little toasted flavor in the mix with the malt and sweetness.

Proximity to Style: I'm not terribly experienced with this style. Seems like it could be a little bigger(abv and maltiness) to be a solid bock. I think you adressed this in an earlier review. Carbonation is a good medium level.

Overall: Very well made beer. I find the sweetness very intersting, definitely adds interest and complexity. Lagers can be difficult to get right, you've done a good job with this one. I enjoyed it.

BTW, I waited for the beer I'm most excited about for last. The Old Slug. I can't believe no one else requested this unusual beer, too different for me not to. Hopefully their loss will be my gain.
 
Last Sunday I finally got around to having the Pale Ale that you said needed some time to mature.

Brown Ring Of Fire Pale Ale

Appearance: Nice pffft sound when uncapped. Pours a nice one-finger white head that soon fades to a persistent ¼” head. Nearly crystal clear, light amber color. Nice!


Aroma: Bready malt aroma predominates with a toasty note in the background. No hop aroma noticeable. True to style if this is an English PA.

Flavor: Moderately high fruity esters and very low hop flavor. Low maltiness, no bitterness. Finishes slightly dry, but with a fruity twang in the finish. English PAs are supposed to have some fruitiness, but this reminds me of some extract beers I’ve had where you get ‘extract twang’ from either stale LME and/or DME, too high a fermentation temperature or late extract additions.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light mouthfeel, true to style.

Overall Impression: Not bad, but the ‘twang’ distracted me. It threw off the balance. IMHO, if you can correct that, this would be a solid English PA or bitter!

Rating: 21
 
Hop Beatdown Double IPA II
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, but only retained about 1/8" head for about 20 secconds or so. It's very dark for an IIPA. I'd estimate the SRM at around 25 or so, and it's a bit cloudy.

Aroma: Citrusy hops are present in the nose, but there is not as much hops aroma as I would expect for an IIPA. There is also a slight malt undertone in the nose, giving me the expectation of a well balanced beer.

Palate: Perhaps I read your notes incorrectly and opened this one a bit too soon (Please let me know if this is the case), but this does not taste like a 100+ IBU beer to me at all - maybe it needed more time, but normally bitterness mellows with time, not strengthens. There is only a bit of hop presence noticable in the finish. This beer has a nice, full-bodied mouthfeel and may be a bit low on carbonation, but drinks very smoothly and is very tasty.

Proximity to the Style: When I think of IIPA/DIPA's I think of beers that are 7%+ abv and have a very noticable bitterness. If this is a 7%+ then the full body of this beer hides the alcohol content very well. This beer falls a bit short of my expectations for bitterness.

Even without your notes it is easily detectable that this beer was dry-hopped due to the hop presence in the nose, but lack of bitterness in the palate.

Overall Impression: This is a very quaffable, full-bodied beer that I'd easily be able to throw back 3 or 4 of - but I'm guessing that the abv might make that a bit difficult. :drunk: Overall this is a very good beer, Evan. It's just not a beer that I would call an IIPA. Maybe it's because I'm a hop-head, but I'd like to smell and taste a LOT more hops in an IIPA than what's in this beer.

36/50
 
Thanks for the review, Brewtus.

A couple things:

Maybe the oak and the high FG are confusing the tongue on this one when it comes to the bitterness and alcohol. The IBU's are above 110. The alcohol is around 9% (would have been more if it weren't for that wacked out high FG). So, yeah, it does hide it very well.

To be quite honest with you, I don't know what else I could have done to make this beer hoppier, dude. Maybe continuous additions throughout the boil?

In addition to the bittering hops, I added cascade at 30, 20 and then Summit at 15, 10, 5 and flameout. I then dryhopped not once, but twice, each for two weeks+...first with a bunch of summit, then cascade and EKG. This MF'er should be a hop bomb by my calcs...but I do agree with your assessment somewhat. It could be hoppier. It just blows my mind that after hopping the hell out of it, it's not more intense.

Next time, I'll try continuous hopping through the boil.
 
What did you use as your bittering hop?

I don't know that you need to continuously hop this brew, maybe just either hop in larger quantities or use higher aa varieties at 60 and 30?

A buddy of mine did an Extract IIPA that was very similar. It was 25 SRM-ish in color, came in at over 10% and had a very high FG. He says that it was over 100 IBU's but I could never taste anything more than subtle bitterness.

I'd guess that the lack of bitterness is more a function of everything else that's going on in this beer than it is your hopping schedule during the boil.

I plan on doing another IIPA when I can brew again. If it turns out well I'll put you on the list to receive a couple.

EDIT: Maybe someone more experienced than me could chime in here, but I just had a thought. Would a high OG (1.100 or higher) change the way that alpha acids are isomerized during the boil?
 
Rochefort 10 Clone
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, but only retained and very thin layer of head for a few seconds. I've never had the original, but it's about the color I expected for a Belgian Quadrupel. It pours a rich, beautiful murky dark brown.

Aroma: The nose presents a stong fig/raisin note with malty undertones and a slight spiciness. No discernable hop aroma is present. There is a noticable alcohol aroma, but it remains well hidden under the dark fruit. There is a slight hint of coffee or chocolate as this beer warms... I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's somewhere in between.

Palate: This is a very complex beer. The alcohol content wants to come through and overwhelm the palate in the finish, but it's balanced very well by what tastes like slight tones of caramel and chocolate in the front and a strong but sweetly mild date/fig/raisin tase in the finish. This would probably benefit from a bit more carbonation, but as I said previously, this is a very complex and interesting beer that has a wonderfully thick and full-bodied mouthfeel. As this beer warms, the alcohol content finally succceeds in overpowering the dark fruit flavors and provides a nice alcohol warmth.

Proximity to the Style: I've never had a Rochefort 10, but I am familiar the BJCP style guidelines and have had similar beers, and I must say that outside of the carbonation being very low for the style, every other aspect of this beer is very accurate to the style guidelines for BJCP style 18E.

Overall Impression: Like any beer with this many complex flavors/aromas and such a high alcohol content, this beer is meant to be savored and enjoyed slowly. I opened this almost 30 minutes ago now and it's only half gone. I don't want it to end - it's that good.

43/50

If it had been carbonated to style I would have given it a 44.
 
Thanks again for the thorough review, brewtus.

Still not sure about the carbo...but I took the rest of the bottles, lightly shook/swirled them, and put them in my warm room. I had one on Saturday and it seems more carbonated than the previous one.
 
Basil IPA 07'er
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles is as expected, nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a 2 finger off-white head for about 10 seconds, stabalizing at a 1 finger head that maintained for 20 or 30 seconds. Reddish copper in color, this beer is very clear and retained a layer of foam throughout my session with it.

Aroma: The only detectable aroma present prior to tasting is a mildly strong hint of the basil with some caramel undertones. I smell very little, if any hop aroma. As it warms there is a very, very slight spiciness that I'm guessing is the cinnamon, but it's not strong enough for me to be sure.

Palate: This has a thick and creamy mouthfeel. The basil seems to overwhelm mild caramel notes while I agitate it in my mouth, but it is only slightly disernable in the finish. Just as in the aroma, there is little, if any, hop presence in the palate. As it warms, the basil seems to overpower this beer, and it could use some hops to balance this out.

Proximity to the Style: I'm going to compare this to style 14B (American IPA) because, well, you said it's an IPA. The color is probably at the very dark end of the range for the style, but within limits. There is no prominent hop aroma at all, and very little hop flavor present.

Overall Impression: This is a interesting and successfull experiment with basil. I wasn't sure how well I would like this beer, but I was surprised at the richness that the basil contributed to the flavor. Having said that, I think that this is more of a specialty beer than an IPA. IPA's should scream hops, and I get virtually none from this brew.

35/50
 
Stunkelweizen:
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles is as expected, nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a 1 finger off-white head for about 30 seconds. Copper to brown in color, this beer is very clear and exactly what I would expect the color to be for the style.

Aroma: There is a stong malty note present in the nose, as well as a clove spiciness with little to no hop presence detectable. The conbination of the two makes me anticipate a high malt profile.

Palate: This has a medium bodied mouthfeel with strong malt and clove notes and a mild hop presence. There is a dry malt flavor that I expected to be a bit more sweet, but it is still very good. If finishes with a slight fruity tones that combine with the spiciness for a great ending.

Proximity to the Style: It's pretty rare that I say this about a beer, but I would have liked this to be a bit more on the malty side. Having said that, it is well within almost all aspects for the style (15B) including color, carbonation and aroma.

Overall Impression: This is a very good beer. It is a bit dryer than the commercial examples that I've had of the style as opposed to sweet, but I personally found it very, very drinkable.

37/50
 
Yeah, working with basil is always a tricky proposition, because I never know how much to add. Having said that, and being a basil fan, this is one of my favorite beers. If you're not a basil junky like me, it can tend to be a little weird, but I think you're right---it still doesn't live up to IPA standards in terms of hop flavor/aroma, even with the heavy late additions of amarillo gold.

ohiobrewtus said:
Basil IPA 07'er
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles is as expected, nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a 2 finger off-white head for about 10 seconds, stabalizing at a 1 finger head that maintained for 20 or 30 seconds. Reddish copper in color, this beer is very clear and retained a layer of foam throughout my session with it.

Aroma: The only detectable aroma present prior to tasting is a mildly strong hint of the basil with some caramel undertones. I smell very little, if any hop aroma. As it warms there is a very, very slight spiciness that I'm guessing is the cinnamon, but it's not strong enough for me to be sure.

Palate: This has a thick and creamy mouthfeel. The basil seems to overwhelm mild caramel notes while I agitate it in my mouth, but it is only slightly disernable in the finish. Just as in the aroma, there is little, if any, hop presence in the palate. As it warms, the basil seems to overpower this beer, and it could use some hops to balance this out.

Proximity to the Style: I'm going to compare this to style 14B (American IPA) because, well, you said it's an IPA. The color is probably at the very dark end of the range for the style, but within limits. There is no prominent hop aroma at all, and very little hop flavor present.

Overall Impression: This is a interesting and successfull experiment with basil. I wasn't sure how well I would like this beer, but I was surprised at the richness that the basil contributed to the flavor. Having said that, I think that this is more of a specialty beer than an IPA. IPA's should scream hops, and I get virtually none from this brew.

35/50
 
You know, I sort of messed this one up, but it's become an good session beer as a result. The malty sweetness that you seem to be missing comes from the fact that this brew was the second in a double-batch brew session, and it was very late, and I missed my post-boil volume. Ended up with a touch over 6 gallons I think, so the OG was like 1.046---still in the style range, as you say, but not what I was shooting for. I was worried going into fermentation that it'd be watery, but given that the vast majority of my beers are high gravity, I'm thrilled to have a nice, easy fall session brew. You know, now that I think of it, this is probably the first beer I've brewed that had an OG below 1.050. Is that crazy?

Anyway, I'm not gonna change the recipe next time, just make sure I hit my volume...and that'll probably make it more malty and a little heavier on the palate.

Thanks for the continuing thoughtful reviews!

ohiobrewtus said:
Stunkelweizen:
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles is as expected, nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, retaining a 1 finger off-white head for about 30 seconds. Copper to brown in color, this beer is very clear and exactly what I would expect the color to be for the style.

Aroma: There is a stong malty note present in the nose, as well as a clove spiciness with little to no hop presence detectable. The conbination of the two makes me anticipate a high malt profile.

Palate: This has a medium bodied mouthfeel with strong malt and clove notes and a mild hop presence. There is a dry malt flavor that I expected to be a bit more sweet, but it is still very good. If finishes with a slight fruity tones that combine with the spiciness for a great ending.

Proximity to the Style: It's pretty rare that I say this about a beer, but I would have liked this to be a bit more on the malty side. Having said that, it is well within almost all aspects for the style (15B) including color, carbonation and aroma.

Overall Impression: This is a very good beer. It is a bit dryer than the commercial examples that I've had of the style as opposed to sweet, but I personally found it very, very drinkable.

37/50
 
Sweet Baby Jesus:
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles is as expected, nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely with a slight head that very quickly disappeared. It pours very clear in my glass and is light amber in color - a bit darker than I'd expect for a PA. I'd estimate the color to be 13-15, which is within the upper limits of the style which is stated to be 5-14.

Aroma: There is a stong malty note present in the nose, with no detectable hop aroma.

As an aside, the aroma of this brew is almost identical to your Hop Beatdown. The color is similar as well, with this beer being a bit lighter.

Palate: This has a light to medium bodied mouthfeel with strong malt taste in the front. It finishes with a clean bitterness that I can't quite put a hop variety on (Sorachi Ace maybe?). It leaves a taste that I wasn't expecting and can't quite identify - as it warms the aroma of this flavor becomes apparent in the nose and is also familiar from your Hop Beatdown.

Proximity to the Style: This is a good beer, but it's not what I'd typically think of as a Pale Ale (10A) when compared to most commercial examples. I like my beer a bit more on the hoppy side as a rule of thumb, but this is tastes like it is right in line with the IBU guidelines for the style. I would have given another point had there been more hop aroma, as there was very little detectable

Overall Impression: This is a very good beer. It is a bit more malty than I'd expect a PA to be, but has nice bitterness and is overall very drinkable. Good job!

38/50
__________________
 
London Porter
------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles was as expected with a nice pffft upon opening. It poured very nicely, and retained a 1 finger head for a good 30 seconds. It poured an almost black color into my glass. It's a tad bit dark for a porter, almost opaque, but nothing to fret over in my book.

Aroma: A strong malty nose with a touch of caramel present. There is also a slight fruit aroma which I'm guessing is from a late floral hop addition. If the citrus that I'm smelling isn't from hops, then there is no other hop aroma detectable (as it should be). As it warms there is a fairly substantial nutty aroma present - so much so (as I take a whiff with about 4 sips left) that my sense of smell is telling my brain to expect a Nut Brown even though I know better.

Palate: Your notes are correct - this is a bit thin bodied for a porter, but it certainly doesn't present a watered-down feel. The front it loaded with flavors from nutty to almost a toffee like hint while the back presents a slightly alcoholic and nutty finish. I was expecting a bit of a raosty character or some chocolate notes, but neither were detectable to me. In my personal opinion this beer could use just a bit more carbonation to *really* improve the mouthfeel.

Proximity to the Style: IBU's - check. SRM - probably a bit dark. ABV - it tastes a but higher than the style guidelines of 5.4% (from your notes I'm judging this as a Brown Porter (12A), but I personally welcome the slight alcohol warmth in the finish.

Overall Impression: I must say that you have a knack for producing some very solid, quality beers, Evan. This is a very complex beer that presents a plethora of aromas and tastes for the palate to enjoy. I could easily (and quite happily) knock back quite a few of these. Having said that I want to be as honest and forthcoming as I possibly can for both of our sakes. You want to make the best beer that you can and I'm, well..., I'm studying to take the BJCP exam so consider the last few reviews an exercise on my part as well.


38/50
 
Mephistopheles
----------------------------------------------

Uncapping / Pouring / Aesthetics: The fill on the bottles seemed a bit high to me before opening, only being about 1/2" from the top of the bottle. Weak pffft upon opening. I let this age for over 3 months from the date that I received it from you, but as expected due to the high abv, this beer has almost no carbonation at all (which is just fine with me).

Aroma: The aroma is dominated by alcohol and a smoky odor that to me at least, is quite inviting. There is a slight hint of dark fruit (fig/date/raisin) and bready aroma present, and there is no noticeable hop presence in the nose. As it warms the alcohol begisn to overwhelm all other smells with the exception of something that I can only best describe as a smoked aroma.

Palate: With an extremely heavy body, this beer delivers a great alcohol warmth that is well masked by the stong presence of dark fruit with the smoky and bready notes from the nose also coming through to the palate. There is a faint hint of licorice as the beer warms, and there is no detectable hop presence in the palate.

Proximity to the Style: This beer is better than I was expecting, and I was expecting a lot. Having had the commercial version, I would actually say that I enjoyed your version even more. The complexity in the nose and palate in this beer just are not present in the commercial version. I would love to drink quite a few of these, but unfortunately if I did I'd be passed out on the floor.

Overall Impression: This is an incredibly full bodied stout that was an absolute pleasure to drink. The only recommendations that I would have would be to possibly add some special B or aromatic to the grainbill to add a bit more aroma and palate to assit in counterbalancing the alcohol a bit more. In a stout of this magnitude I would also like to have had a bit more hops present (this could also help to offset some of the very strong alcohol in the palate). Overall, I would say that this is a beer that while I would only drink it occasionally due to it's high alcohol content, that I would gladly pay the same price as the commercial version.

43/50
 
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