Beerswap II: todd_k's brews

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todd_k

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This is a thread to review my brews. I think all 3 of the 6-packs had 2 of each.

P = Avery New World Porter Clone
ESB = E.mpire S.trikes B.ack ESB
65 = Papzian's 65.65.65.6.5 DFH 60 min IPA

I know the recipes are all on here somewhere, I will edit later and post all the recipes into this thread.
 
I have a sh!tload of beer at my house, like 7 six packs. I will do inventory tonight and let y'all know what I have. Maybe we can have a GRABASS lunch this week and I can give everyone a fair share of the booty.
 
I am sampling Todd's rendition of Charlie Papazian's clone recipe of Dogfishhead 60 Minute IPA. Todd told me what the string of 65s stood for, but I was riding a damn good buzz at the time and my brain cells suffered a few casualties. IIRC, 65 minute boil w/ continuous hop additions, 65 IBU, 1.065 OG, 6.5 ounces of transmission fluid out of a 65 VW bus, 6.5 ABV.

Nice creamy, thick head. Very clear, no haze at all, nice light amber color. Nice tight bubbles. Very faint aroma. Let's take a sip.....Mmmm...nice bitterness (I wouldn't think 65 IBU, I would guess ~50), nicely balanced maltiness. Carbonation is right on. Good hoppy aftertaste. I could definitely sit down and drink a few of these without hesitation. I don't think it hits the mark for a DFH 60 Minute (don't we all wish!), but it's a damn good IPA nonetheless. You guys have to try this, it's really good. Great job, Todd! Excuse me while I go grab another.....
Jeff
 
Thanks for the review, I'm grinning while I'm typing. You're right about the IBU's and that it's not exactly a clone. I topped off a little too much and I missed my OG so I knew from the start that it wouldn't be all that much of a clone.

Here is the recipe. Note, Papazian's calls for Amarillo but I had to substitute Centennial and I used Crystal 20L instead of 15L.

8.25# LME
1.25# Crystal 20L
1 oz Warrior pellets 16%
1 oz Centennial pellets 8%
3/4 oz Simcoe pellets 12%
5 g each of Warrior, Centennial, and Simcoe for dry hopping
WLP001

Also, watch out for the Porter, it's over-carb'd.
 
Here is the Avery New World Porter recipe:

AVERY NEW WORLD PORTER clone recipe BYO Sept. 2005

(5 gallon extract w/grains)
OG 1.067 FG 1.017
IBU 44 SRM 63 ABV 6.5%

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Briess light DME
4.88 lbs. briess Light LME - (I used 5#)
1.33 lbs Munich malt (10 °L)
1 lb., 2.66 oz. Crystal 120L
9.33 oz Carapils
9.33 oz. Chocolate malt
7.0 oz. Black patent malt

4.24 AAU Columbus hops (60 mins) (0.33 oz./9.2 g of 13% alpha acids)
3.24 AAU Columbus hops (30 mins) (0.25 oz./7.1 g of 13% alpha acids)
12.5 AAU Columbus hops (0 mins) (0.96 oz./27 g of 13% alpha acids)
8.2 AAU Fuggles hops (0 mins) (1.64 oz./46 g of 5% alpha acids)
1.2 oz. Fuggles hops (Dry hop)

Wyeast 1028



and here is the ESB recipe:

E.mpire S.trikes B.ack
Partial Mash

5 lbs Light DME

1 lb. Wheat

1. lb. Crystal 75

1 lb. Flaked Barley

1 oz. Kent Goldings 60

1 oz. Kent Goldings 30

1 oz. Kent Goldings 10

Windsor Ale Yeast
 
I had a hard day at the orifice and needed a little something to change my attitude. How 'bout one of Todd's ESBs? What the hell? Let me begin by stating that, although I've sampled a few commercial varieties in the past, I am a newb when it comes to this genre of beer. So I'm just going to tell you what I like/dislike about it. It pours crystal clear with a nice, thick, foamy head. The color is a medium amber with just the right amount of bubbles perculating from the bottom of the glass. I like it already! I like to take a little sip of (just) foam to gauge the flavor of the hops. I was not disappointed. The foam was delicious. Now to the beer itself. Mmm, I like it. I mean I really like it! This beer has lots of body and just the right amount of bitterness (medium). Nice bitterness but balanced slightly towards the malty side. The hops take a backseat to the malt on this one. Reminds me of an Saranac Amber. Very good beer. I can't wait to try another. I grade it a B+. Not bad for a Yankees fan.
 
ease up there! people are going to start to think my beer actually tastes good! :D
 
todd_k said:
ease up there! people are going to start to think my beer actually tastes good! :D

I'm watching the BC-VaTech game while drinking your New World Order Porter. It's really good.
 
Did it foam like crazy when you poured it? The last 2 bottles I had had about 1/2 inch of beer in the bottom and the rest was full of head. I'm watching that game too.
 
I heeded your earlier warning, poured it very carefully into a pint glass. I really enjoyed it, reminded me of a Samuel Adams Honey Porter.
 
That sucks how it got screwed up like this. I'm all out of the Porter and ESB, the only ones left are at BB's.
We can get together whenever you want as long as it fits around my annoying house-finding schedule (you know how that goes!). Or maybe we can meet up at Williamburg Aleworks? That's kind of halfway between Richmond and Hampton. Or we could do a brew session, I'd like to see an AG batch.
 
I'm slow to getting around to things, but.... here is my first review of one of Todd's brews.

Avery New World Porter Clone

Let me start by saying that I have never had the original, so I can't make any kind of compare/contrast statements along those lines. I should also add that I am very picky about porters. It's my favorite style, but I am learning that I only really dig porters that fall into a narrow slice of the full spectrum. I lean more towards the brown porters then the robust ones.

Anyway.... on to the review.

Color: pretty damn black. If I hold it near a light, I can see through it around the edges and see that it is a rich DARK brown color.

Head: When I poured this, I got a HUGE head on it that got very rocky very quicky and actually rose up out of the glass. I looked like a root beer float. NICE!

Flavor: Since we all agreed to be brutally honest here, I would give this a 6.5 out of 10. (Keep in mind the info I gave above about preferring brown porters and being super picky about my porters.... hell I can't even brew one that I like myself and I've tried over a dozen times. :))

There is a subtle bit of sweetness on the nose, wich I quite enjoy. However, this fades quickly into something that my pallette detects as sour. I think that this sourness is keeping this from being an 8 for me on the flav-o-licious meter. It's not sour as in "vinegar", but something else. I can't place it.

The aftertaste left in my mouth 10 to 15 seconds after I take a pull is actually VERY pleasant, but my tounge is left feeling a little dry. I can't decide if that dryness is a pro, con, or neutral.... I'm just making the observation.

Body: Spot on for my picky porter tastes. It couldn't be better. Just enough body to make you notice it, but not over-the-top to make the beer too heavy.

Good beer, Todd.

I may have sounded critical on the flavor, but I would still place this closer to the top of the heap of porters that I have tried than the bottom. There were three or four porters that I sampled at the brewfest that went immediately onto the ground.

-walker

PS: SWMBO drank the other two I had in the fridge (the IPA and the ESB). I'll try to make her do a review when she gets back from her cooking class tonight. I've still got one bottle of each kind, but I kind of promised those to Richard. I might just have to share them with him so we can both review.

 
You know what... that sourness might have been caused by the combination of my dinner and the beer. I'm just finishing the glass of porter now, and I don't detect the same flavor I was at first.

It's either that, or this beer gets better with quantity. :D
 
Thanks for the review. I don't know what would be sour in it. It was the first (and only) porter I have made and it is meant to be more hoppy then your average porter.
 
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