11-11-11 Old Ale Swap and Critique Thread

AnOldUR said:

Off-topic. I really liked the ohiobrewtus review. Makes me wonder if there’s a market for that. You spend 5-10 bucks for a competition entry with only hope of getting a good critique of your beer. Do you think any homebrewers would pay him 10-20 to have a video review as complete as that? For special beers, I would.

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Yeah, I was very pleased with his reviews. When he received the beers he asked if I would like them video reviewed and I was like "hell yeah!". You're right that it is a much more complete critique of a beer than the typical judging sheets, and I'm sure people would pay for the feedback. Could be a nice side job for someone who can give great reviews like ohiobrewtus.

I certainly dont need anything as complete as ohiobrewtus but I would love a quick post back here with a quick review from the people that I am sending my beer to.

Alpha Wolf's Zombie Dust Clone

Aroma - Tangerine and mango hoppiness mixed with chlorophenols. Very slight sweet malt aroma. I'm getting a bit of that estery aroma I get from us-05 so I'm guessing that is the yeast used.

Appearance - Poured a slightly chill-hazed gold with a really nice two-finger foamy head. Head retention and lacing very good.

Flavor - Starts with fruity, sweet malt quickly giving over to a chlorophenol-laden bitterness. Chlorophenols linger on the palate with the citra hops. As it warms there is a nice caramel flavor coming through.

Mouthfeel - Nice medium body with a moderately-high carbonation.

Overall - A solid beer. The cholorphenols are quite dominant though and the beer would be much better without them. Carbon filter and campden-treat your brewing water as well as your sanitizer water and any other water that comes into contact with your beer. That one change will take this from a solid beer to a very good beer. I expected more hoppiness but it was still very enjoyable as is. I don't know if it's age that has reduced the hop presence or if this is how the recipe was intended.

My boxes are getting packed up today and going out this week.

Just kegged my 11-11-11 so I'll be able to get it carbed, bottled, and mailed before the end of the week.

When I racked this to the keg, the whole room smelled like brett. It wasn't nearly this brett forward last time I sampled it. The brett really powered through the aroma on this one but the FG stabilized at 1.015 so it isn't overly dry. It's fantastic, but it's not going to a competition.

Alright, shipments made. For those of you receiving from me, here's what's in the box. I used the following code on the caps:
P=pumpkin ale
D=drifter pale ale clone
T=torpedo extra IPA clone
L=light hybrid ale
11= well, you can probably guess what those 2 are. I have to warn you though, it didn't really end up like I thought. Brewed on 11/26/10 (OG 1.079), racked to secondary with oak on 1/1/11 (1.018), kegged it, force carbbed, and bottled in July(1.010). The pellicle seemed to reform in the bottles, gravity is now 1.006
So I wont interject MY thoughts into your reviews, but that's the history. Oh, and a serving temp of cool-slightly cold seems to fit. Please be brutally honest in your reviews, I can take it

Sent my packages out today. I'll pm tracking numbers when I get home along with a cap decoder.

Thanks Brian for the review! It is the first time in 10 years of brewing that someone else who homebrews has tried my beer. The only thing I can think of why the cholorphenols are in there would be from the hose I use to make my star san. It is a very old hose in the basement and I have never thought about it. I have well water so there isnt any in chlorine in the water but I have read that it can leach from some certain hoses. Thanks for the feedback.

AlphaWolf-Brewery said:

Thanks Brian for the review! It is the first time in 10 years of brewing that someone else who homebrews has tried my beer. The only thing I can think of why the cholorphenols are in there would be from the hose I use to make my star san. It is a very old hose in the basement and I have never thought about it. I have well water so there isnt any in chlorine in the water but I have read that it can leach from some certain hoses. Thanks for the feedback.

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No problem Craig, I love tasting other people's beer. Definitely try bypassing the hose to see if you can tell a difference. Also, campden is so cheap that you could always try adding it to the water just for cheap insurance, even though I don't know how chlorine or chloramine could be getting into well water. Just crush up a quarter tab per 5 gallons of water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before using it. Between that and skipping the hose, I think you'll notice a big difference.

Can you only taste the chlorophenols in a finished beer or is it there in trace amounts in the water before you brew also? If by passing the hose doesn't work let me know. I have a double house filter set up with two charocoal filters. The filters might be done but the housings and so forth are perfect. They're your's for a few bucks and some shipping. I switched to bottled water because even double charcoal filters didn't make my water good enough for brewing.

I cant taste it at all in the water before brewing. This beer was kegged and tasted fine, so it is my belief that the water I used to make my starsan to sanitize the bottles got some chlorine from the pvc hose. I will try and change and see if that helps.

hey guys I'm going to counter-pressure fill my 11-11-11 bottles tonight and get everything shipped tomorrow. So if you're receiving from me, I will PM you a tracking # tomorrow evening.

My bottles are all boxed up but I wanted to make sure whether a couple other recent bottling are carbed up. I had a brewing hiatus due to patio construction and then jumped in head first. I got about 8 cases bottled up in a few weeks but they're not 100% ready.

Hey guys, if you're receiving from me:

MarsColonist
AnOldUR
CA-LT1

I sent your packages today and I'll PM you a tracking number.

You're all going to be receiving the following:

11-11-11 x2

Traditional Bock, lagered 6 months

Belgian Dark Strong, 12% abv, bottle conditioned so let settle in fridge for a day or two.

American Stout, 1st place Best in Show @ 2011 Bluebonnet (out of 1700+ entries), 10 months aged

And, two of you will be receiving:
American Brown Ale, a hoppy, earthy, bold Brown

One of you will get:
Northern English Brown, traditional recipe, malty toasty biscuity

(I only had two bottles of the American Brown and I really want some feedback on this beer. I feel like it's pretty unique and I would love some opinions. The English Brown is a really solid beer too I think)

So that is a 6 pack each. Please let me know when they show up, they are all due to arrive well in advance of 11-11-11. Any feedback is appreciated.

Well one of the beers I was hoping to send has no carbonation. I bottled them back in May and decided to check one. I am suspecting that I actually forgot to add priming sugar because I reyeasted with WLP099. I will do some investigation on a few isolated bottles.

So right now its looking like you guys will be getting some rye saison, some pumpkin ale, and the 11-11-11. I can send an IPA that I just bottled last week but it's not ready. One way or the other these bottles are getting dropped at UPS tomorrow.

I suck and havent got mine done yet; work has been a beast and I started doing wine too and I just pressed 15 gallons of grape.. giant pain the ass to rack and clean up. 11-11-11 has been bottled for some time. I just got my bubble wrap, and still need to get a few boxes. If I can get bottling done tonite (cleaning bottles right now), Ill get them out hopefully out by Friday, but maybe tomorrow. Cheers!

Well guys my boxes are labeled and getting dropped off in a couple hours.

Ryeson = rye saison fermented with ECY03 farmhouse brett blend.

Pumpkin = Pumpkin brown ale made with english yeast.

Bumpkin = same pumpkin brown ale grist that was split with belgian yeast.

Gunstock = the 11-11-11 ale.

I have my own view on each of my beers that I was going to share but I figured I'd wait till you guys all try them. See how my view of flaws/what I could improve compares with yours.

Also I got KingBrianI's package last night. I can't wait to start drinking some. I'll try my first beer tomorrow while I'm brewing a batch of spelt saison with the ECY03 strain (same recipe as rye saison just different adjunct grains).

WooHoo! Just got electric, phone and internet back. Lost to snow storm on Saturday.

Got things to do, but will read through thread tomorrow.

Have my swaps boxed up, but couldn't get sent out. Probably best to wait until Monday so they don't sit at UPS over the weekend.

My backyard . . .
Leaves and snow, a bad combination.

Getting caught up on my HBT this morning. Now I feel bad. Got notices that all the beers coming to me have been shipped. So, what do you think? Wait until Monday or ship today?

You're fine if you wait till monday. You have a tree to move it looks like.

I'll be bottling the old ale today but probably send them on Monday.

Drinking a KingBrian RIS as I brew a spelt saison. Notes to follow. Damn good though I'll say right now.

Aroma - Molasses and dark sugars and dark fruits

Appearance - deep chestnut at the edges but black through and through

Flavor - Smooth roast with balanced hop bitterness. If anything I would say it is more malt forward. Probably an aged RIS that has allowed the hop bitterness to fade a bit. Alcohol is non-apparent. Flavors of sweet roasty malts, maybe slightly nutty and biscuity.

Mouthfeel - Nice and smooth

Overall - Solid RIS with appropriate carbonation. I think this is an aged offering and the fresh version would be more what I expect in a RIS. Most I drink are more on the fresh side, less than a year old. I don't detect anything off or needing improvement from my point of view.

I'm interested in knowing the ABV since the alcohol is well hidden by the malt flavors.

smokinghole said:

Aroma - Molasses and dark sugars and dark fruits

Appearance - deep chestnut at the edges but black through and through

Flavor - Smooth roast with balanced hop bitterness. If anything I would say it is more malt forward. Probably an aged RIS that has allowed the hop bitterness to fade a bit. Alcohol is non-apparent. Flavors of sweet roasty malts, maybe slightly nutty and biscuity.

Mouthfeel - Nice and smooth

Overall - Solid RIS with appropriate carbonation. I think this is an aged offering and the fresh version would be more what I expect in a RIS. Most I drink are more on the fresh side, less than a year old. I don't detect anything off or needing improvement from my point of view.

I'm interested in knowing the ABV since the alcohol is well hidden by the malt flavors.

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Awesome, thanks for the review. You're right that it is aged, it is about 1.5 yrs old right now. And the reason it is still around is because it took that long to get good! It was overwhelming for my tastes every time I drank it before. I hadn't tried it in a while and was trying to figure out what to send for the swap so I popped one in the freezer for a few minutes then tried it, and it was actually really good. It just took a long time to mellow out. Anyway it is 9.4% ABV. I'm glad you liked it!

I'm gonna attack AlphaWolf's Berliner Weisse this evening. Can anyone suggest a good temp for the style?

AlphaWolf's Berliner Weisse

Aroma - Green apples and tart cherries. Very fruity. Appealing. A touch of popcorn.

Appearance - Poured a pale yellow with a very light haze. Lots of carbonation produced a fizzy white head that almost immediately dissipated like that of a soda.

Flavor - Tart, lemon in club soda. Flavors other than the tartness very mellow. Refreshing. Finishes with a very nice bready/biscuity note. Reminiscent of cider.

Mouthfeel - Thin body, moderately high carbonation. Fizzy and effervescent on the tongue.

Overall - Very nice beer. The only other berliner weisse I've had was a homebrew at a group brew and I had already had several other beers so I don't remember it much. Would have been much more appropriate for me to be drinking a couple of months ago when it was sweltering. Today it is cool and rainy here. I'm really liking that biscuity finish that lingers into the aftertaste. I'd be curious to see the recipe to figure out what that's coming from since as far as I know, berliner weisses are just wheat malt and pilsner malt. Actually now that I think about it, it could just be the pilsner malt, which would also explain that little bit of popcorn I was getting in the nose. It's very nice whatever it is. Thanks for sending it along!

smokinghole said:

Well guys my boxes are labeled and getting dropped off in a couple hours.

Ryeson = rye saison fermented with ECY03 farmhouse brett blend.

Pumpkin = Pumpkin brown ale made with english yeast.

Bumpkin = same pumpkin brown ale grist that was split with belgian yeast.

Gunstock = the 11-11-11 ale.

I have my own view on each of my beers that I was going to share but I figured I'd wait till you guys all try them. See how my view of flaws/what I could improve compares with yours.

Also I got KingBrianI's package last night. I can't wait to start drinking some. I'll try my first beer tomorrow while I'm brewing a batch of spelt saison with the ECY03 strain (same recipe as rye saison just different adjunct grains).

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Just got your package tonight. Are all of them carbed up and ready to drink or should I let them sit for a couple weeks?

Everything bottled, everything boxed. Out on Monday. Got two packages, havent sampled yet.

KingBrianI said:

Just got your package tonight. Are all of them carbed up and ready to drink or should I let them sit for a couple weeks?

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All good. Toss them in the fridge. The IPA I was thinking about sending would have needed to condition longer but I left it out.

smokinghole said:

All good. Toss them in the fridge. The IPA I was thinking about sending would have needed to condition longer but I left it out.

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Sweet! I'm eyeing that saison for a tasting tomorrow while brewing an experimental belgian amber table beer.

Damn why didn't I think of sending some of the yeast from the batch with the beer. You know in case any of you guys wanted to use some.

Glad you liked the Berliner Brian. It was indeed just wheat malt and pilsner malt. It turned out pretty good, I think it could have been just a little bit tarter but other than that I was happy with it. Were you able to detect any brett taste in it? It had a pretty good pellicle for awhile.

Smokinghole's Ryeson

Aroma - Fruity esters tending towards citrus peel blends with pungent phenolic notes. The nose has a character that reminds me of vomit, but not in an unpleasant way.

Appearance - Poured a hazy, peachy-gold. A vigorous pour led to a billowy white head with very good retention.

Flavor - Light grainy malt combined with watered-down orange juice. Finishes very dry and smooth. Subtle tartness to the finish. As it warms it gets very "juicy" and some malt sweetness appears.

Mouthfeel - Moderate body, moderate-high carbonation. Slightly coating mouthfeel, probably from the rye.

Overall - I really like this beer. It's a very well-made saison and I can detect no flaws. I especially enjoyed it after it warmed a bit and the carbonation dropped some. That allowed the malt to shine through a little more and the fruitiness was allowed to shine. Very nice body for such a dry beer, I think the rye was playing a big role in that.

AlphaWolf-Brewery said:

Were you able to detect any brett taste in it? It had a pretty good pellicle for awhile.

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I didn't taste much brett, but it was definitely in the aroma. The tart cherry in the aroma was actually very similar to my 11-11-11, though much more subdued. You'll see.

KingBrianI said:

I didn't taste much brett, but it was definitely in the aroma. The tart cherry in the aroma was actually very similar to my 11-11-11, though much more subdued. You'll see.

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Good thats exactly what I got, lots of it in the aroma but very little taste. Im excited to try your 11.11.11 the brett pretty much completely took over mine.

I was happy to send these saisons out to you guys after I tried one this week. Back in September it just wasn't ready. I bottled it counting on a point or two being shaved off in the bottle and in Sept it needed more time. The interesting thing about this yeast blend is that I think it contains some of the 3711 strain mixed with other strains. I also believe there is a brett added that is from Fantome. I do not really taste much in the way of brett though. I really like the yeast though. I'll see if I get more brett in the most recent batch.

I sent mine today (via UPS). Everyone getting 2x 11-11-11, 1x Berliner, 1x Dry Stout WLP005 (British Ale), 1x Dry Stout WLP810 (Belgian Wit II). CA-LT1 got a Wood Aged Baltic Porter, and Strat/jmo88 got my MCAB qualifier Belgian Strong Dark (only had two). OK by 11/9, but CA and WA by Monday 11/14, maybe Friday.

Reading about the tasty homebrews going out is making me feel bad. My two bottles each of 11-11-11 went out today, but I have to fess-up. Had a brewing slump. Work and family got in the way and the pipeline turned unexpectedly dry. So along with my Old Ales you’ll be getting something from my most local brewery. River Horse is just down the Delaware from here. They have a new brewmaster and have been turning out some pretty decent stuff. Hope it’s something you enjoy and can’t get where you live.

I know the effort and pride that goes into every homebrew. Sorry for not being able to exchange more.

Not to worry. I was concerned that I didn't have anything ready or really worthy to send out. I ended up having something to send, otherwise I was going to send everyone some Troegs.

AnOldUR said:

Reading about the tasty homebrews going out is making me feel bad. My two bottles each of 11-11-11 went out today, but I have to fess-up. Had a brewing slump. Work and family got in the way and the pipeline turned unexpectedly dry. So along with my Old Ales you’ll be getting something from my most local brewery. River Horse is just down the Delaware from here. They have a new brewmaster and have been turning out some pretty decent stuff. Hope it’s something you enjoy and can’t get where you live.

I know the effort and pride that goes into every homebrew. Sorry for not being able to exchange more.

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I got the box already. I'll toss them in the fridge.

So are we all pretty much waiting for closer to 11/11 to taste all the 11/11s in the packages?

KingBrian's Holiday ale:

I sat down this evening with my wife to sample this beer. We both had a good time drinking it and writing our critiques of it. We both didn't discuss the beer until after we had finished. She has a really good palette but she cracks me up the way she describes things sometimes (not conforming to the typical beer flavor descriptors) but that is why I appreciate her helpful yet candid feedback. Because it's a holiday beer, it was actually really hard to critique since the style has so much versatility and and complex flavors, hence you'll read some disagreement.



Jmo's notes:


S- Caramel. Pumpkin pie Spice. Mace? The mace/pie spice gives a subtle impression of brett/leather. Ginger snap cookies and lots of baking aromas jump out and mingle well and are too fleeting to pinpoint. As it warms, whiskey and vanillin aromas come out.

A- Dark brown, opaque (yeast?), quickly dissipating head.

F- Ginger Snap cookie flavor up front with a welcome sweet finish. No off flavors detected. Good bitterness to balance sweet finish. Malt is fairly one-dimensional letting the spices take the leading role.

M- Surprisingly refreshing and tangy mouthfeel upfront despite the full-bodied finish. Alcohols are warming but never hot.

O- A drinkable holiday ale. A good beer to have after a festive dinner or just to contemplate and relax with.

:fro: A's crit:

S: root beer, anise? caramel, whiskey, vanilla, nutty. Very complex smell with the sweetness hitting nose immediately and fizzling into a vanilla-rootbeer-nutty-whiskey. The spices are too subtle to detect; the vanilla/whiskey combo smell is the primary for me.

A: creamy/opaque, smooth, light-to-no head, mocha colored head, caramel coffee colored body.

F: scotch? oaked? strong vanilla extract flavor up-front; maybe a little heavy on the vanilla-whiskey flavor, and not balanced in that it overpowers the spicing and other flavors. No detectable hop flavor. Aftertaste a little like aspirin.

M: smooth, fizzly in my nose but low carbonation, chocolate/velvetty feel.

O: Vanilla-whiskey root beer, slightly hot to me, and possibly higher alcohol content than I want for a beer. I think the flavor of the spices were a little hidden by the other bold flavors. I would only drink one of these in a sitting but enjoyed it.