11-11-11 Old Ale Swap and Critique Thread

This thread is to set up the 11-11-11 Old Ale swap. We are about a month and a half away from November 11 so we need to rush this through pretty quickly. Please post in this thead if you would like to participate and meet and agree to the requirements detailed below.

Standard shipping protocol applies:
You'll ship to three randomly assigned people
You'll receive from three randomly assigned people
You'll ship a minimum of 44 ounces. (Two 22 ouncers, four 12 ouncers or any combination thereof).
As with previous x/x/x swaps, at least two of the bottles (regardless of size) should be the 11/11/11 Old Ale. You are welcome to also include other creations that the recipient might enjoy sooner. No "crap" beer that you just need to get rid of please.
In the end, we should all end up with at least 6 bottles of 11/11/11 and likely some additional varieties.

Please consider carefully:
If you are not 100% convinced that you will see this through, please do not agree to participate.
Please agree only if you are relatively sober at the time...then you can get as druck as you like...
If you've stiffed anyone in a prior swap, you need not apply.
If you've been stiffed in a prior swap, PM me with info and I'll filter the list accordingly.

Anyone who brewed this beer is elgible to participate!

I'd like to have everything arranged by 10/11/11 so that we have a month to complete shipping, receiving, etc. So please respond in this thread before that time. I'll randomly assign each participant 3 recipients and post up the matches. At that time, it will be up to you to contact your recipients to get shipping info, etc.

*Please also include whether your beer was fermented with brett or not, and whether you prefer to receive beers made with brett, prefer to receive beers without brett, or have no preference in your post stating your intention to participate.


Participants,(**)

KingBrianI,(+,np)
smokinghole,(+,np)
MarsColonist,(+,np)
CA-LT1
AlphaWolf-Brewery,(+,np)
AnOldUR,(+,mix)
strat thru marshall,(+,np)
jmo88,(+,np)

**
+ = my beer contains Brett
- = my beer contains NO Brett
B = Send me beers with Brett!
nB = Send me beers without Brett!
np = no preference / Send me whatever beer you want!

Count me in on the swap.

smokinghole said:

Count me in on the swap.

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added!

I want to participate in this but I cant guarantee the beer will be bottle ready by swap deadline. Did it in February. I'll try and push the pace and let you guys know.

I hope to be in, but mine is still sitting on oak. I plan to bottle next weekend.

In like Flynn

Just so Im sure (havent participated), I need to send 4x 12oz bottles, to 3 different individuals.. meaning I need a 1/2 case bottled, ready to go?

I'm in!

MarsColonist said:

In like Flynn

Just so Im sure (havent participated), I need to send 4x 12oz bottles, to 3 different individuals.. meaning I need a 1/2 case bottled, ready to go?

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Added!

Yep, you'll send each person at least 4 12 oz bottles, but most people usually send more. Only 2 of those need to be the 11-11-11, the other two (or more) can be whatever homebrew you think they might like to try.

CA-LT1 said:

I'm in!

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Added!

I am in also!

AlphaWolf-Brewery said:

I am in also!

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added!

I'd also love to share some of this.

AnOldUR said:

I'd also love to share some of this.

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Added!

How did it turn out? I know you had some questions about it several months ago. Also, did you ever try the bottle of mine?

KingBrianI said:

How did it turn out? I know you had some questions about it several months ago. Also, did you ever try the bottle of mine?

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The three gallon portion of mine has been kegged for a few weeks now. Happy with how it turned out, but I don't have a lot of experience with the style (especially the Brett end of it.) I like the complexity. I can pick up caramel, molasses, dark fruit, chocolate, a hint of coffee . . . The Brett is definitely there, but not overpowering. Although I used about two ounces of French Oak in 8 gallons of beer, it’s not coming through very strong. May just be hidden by everything else that’s going on.

There was some mention of the beers with Brett early on in the discussion. Seemed like some of the people involved didn’t want to get that in the swap. Might be a good idea if everyone indicated if they used it and for those not interested to speak up.

No, I didn’t try yours yet. Been saving it to compare with mine and any others that I get in the swap. Also wanted to give it time to condition more. Now that I think about it, I should sample yours and mine together early. Who knows, I may get more of yours in the swap.

AnOldUR said:

The three gallon portion of mine has been kegged for a few weeks now. Happy with how it turned out, but I don't have a lot of experience with the style (especially the Brett end of it.) I like the complexity. I can pick up caramel, molasses, dark fruit, chocolate, a hint of coffee . . . The Brett is definitely there, but not overpowering. Although I used about two ounces of French Oak in 8 gallons of beer, it’s not coming through very strong. May just be hidden by everything else that’s going on.

There was some mention of the beers with Brett early on in the discussion. Seemed like some of the people involved didn’t want to get that in the swap. Might be a good idea if everyone indicated if they used it and for those not interested to speak up.

No, I didn’t try yours yet. Been saving it to compare with mine and any others that I get in the swap. Also wanted to give it time to condition more. Now that I think about it, I should sample yours and mine together early. Who knows, I may get more of yours in the swap.

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Sounds good! The brett definitely took a front seat in my beer and comes through very strongly. I feel like it's a really good beer, I just don't think it can be considered an "Old Ale" by the current interpretation of the style. It could be that it tastes similar to how Old Ales tasted a hundred or more years ago, but it's not like anything being made today. The pie cherry aroma from the brett dominates mine with the malt, toffee, and molasses flavors keeping to the background. It's very complex and unique though.

I'll update the original post to include the brett/no-brett preferences. Can everyone who has agreed to participate so far please post whether their beer contains the brett and if they prefer to receive beer with brett, without brett, or no preference?

I forgot some guys didn't use the brett blend.

Mine is certainly present. It has the cherry notes and a smokiness comes through. The smokiness I didn't detect on my own but some friends tried one and said it was smokey. Smoke is a taste often missed by me in beer because I smoke cigars on a regular basis. It's an awesome beer but I doubt it'd fit the category of Old Ale if I sent it to a comp. It has serious brett presence compared to Old Suffolk Green King. I do anticipate making a mild with the beer soon.

If I feel up to it I might blend the two together and send the blended beer to a comp to see how they judge it vs the straight up 11-11-11.

AnOldUR,(+,np)




edit to say:
I put down no preference.
But given a third option, I'd enjoy a mix of brett/no brett.
Purely for the fair scientific analysis.



Although, it's looking like everyone who followed through with this recipe used the Brett . . .

yeah I'm a + and NP!

I'll join in. (+, np)

AnOldUR said:

AnOldUR,(+,np)




edit to say:
I put down no preference.
But given a third option, I'd enjoy a mix of brett/no brett.
Purely for the fair scientific analysis.



Although, it's looking like everyone who followed through with this recipe used the Brett . . .

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I'll try to get you assigned a mix if possbile!

strat_thru_marshall said:

I'll join in. (+, np)

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added!

brett blend, no preference

I'm in +,np

Mine is still in the carboy, but I'll be kegging it by the end of the month. I assume shipments will be going out around the first of Novemeber?

jmo88 said:

I'm in +,np

Mine is still in the carboy, but I'll be kegging it by the end of the month. I assume shipments will be going out around the first of Novemeber?

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added!

As long as the recipient gets their beer by 11-11-11 it should be ok but of course, earlier is better. It's nice to let them settle for at least a couple days before drinking.

I have three version of this beer from the same recipe.

One fermented with an English yeast (wy1469), one with the brett yeast with no oak, and another with the brett yeast aged on apple whiskey oak cubes. I plan on bottling the non-oaked portion this weekend. The other two versions taste amazing and it should be very interesting to try the three versions side by side.

I might be able to trade with one person, though there is no way I am giving up half of my total production for the trade. I'd like to have some bottles left over to age for a few years.

bierhaus15 said:

I have three version of this beer from the same recipe.

One fermented with an English yeast (wy1469), one with the brett yeast with no oak, and another with the brett yeast aged on apple whiskey oak cubes. I plan on bottling the non-oaked portion this weekend. The other two versions taste amazing and it should be very interesting to try the three versions side by side.

I might be able to trade with one person, though there is no way I am giving up half of my total production for the trade. I'd like to have some bottles left over to age for a few years.

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added, I'll be sure to link you up with only one person when I'm creating the trade list.

Just so I understand the rules, we are to ship 4 bottles to each of the three people we send to?

GuldTuborg said:

Just so I understand the rules, we are to ship 4 bottles to each of the three people we send to?

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ship at least 2 12oz bottles of the 11-11-11, and at least 2 bottles of something else if you dont do bombers on the 11-11-11.

44 oz minimum, no sucky beers. Lets trade the good stuff fellas, I've got a bunch of good beers to send you dudes.

Hate to be that guy, but I don't think I can do this one. I don't have many bottles to begin with and I think I'll just hold on to them. Sorry.

I wanted to join in on the swap, but I don't think I'm going to be able to. I haven't even bottled yet, which I had hoped to do 2 weeks ago. A nasty back injury has kept me from carrying carboys around, and such. I'm mostly better now, but I think it's just too late - I don't really want to send anything out before sampling, this being my first brett brew, and all.

Didnt include in my first post but mine is a + and I have np.

Alright, it's looking like no one else is going to join so I'll give it another couple days and then I'll lock it and set up the swap. If anyone else wants to join, post to this thread ASAP or you'll be too late (this goes for you guys early in the thread who said you didn't know if it will be done in time).

I'd love to do this swap but I'm going to have no time in the next month to get it all ready to ship out... I'll definitely be in for the 12-12-12 though!!! (any idea what style that'll be?)

barrooze said:

I'd love to do this swap but I'm going to have no time in the next month to get it all ready to ship out... I'll definitely be in for the 12-12-12 though!!! (any idea what style that'll be?)

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https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/12-12-12-wee-heavy-recipe-formulation-271379/

There ya go!

Thanks!

Alright, here's the swap list. I'd love to add it to the first post in the thread but it won't let me edit it anymore, unfortunately. To generate the list, I created an excel file and added each participant's name in the order they signed up. I then numbered them from 1-8. I used random.org to generate 3 random sequences from 1-8 and added those to the three columns after the names. Each number represented a recipient. In cases where the number of the recipient matched the sender, or one sender had the same recipient more than once, I swapped with either the row above or below as needed to satisfy the criteria that no one had themselves or the same person more than once. In a couple cases I had to swap in the row 2 up or down in order to satisfy the criteria. Anyway, here's the list. If you see any mistakes I missed let me know and I'll fix them ASAP. Please contact your recipients for their addresses and get the beer in the mail soon. Remember, you have to send at least 2 bottles of the 11-11-11 and 2 bottles of something else, at minimum. Happy trading!

PM sent to my recipients..

PM's sent.

Address requests sent

Address requests sent.

Also got a couple going to the Best of Philly Homebrew Competition on November 5th. Not that I don't trust you guys to give an honest opinion, but it's hard to say bad things about free beer.

It'll be interesting to see what the judges have to say about my take on this recipe. Let you know.

I sent ohiobrewtus some of my 10-10-10 as thanks for putting on the hbt competition last year since he mentioned afterwards that he liked it when he judged it. I included a bottle of the 11-11-11 in the shipment and he was kind enough to do a video review of it. I'm not sure how it went for the rest of you, but in my case I think the Brett took over the beer to the point that it's hard to call it an old ale, at least by current bjcp guidelines. The brett dried it out too much, even though my gravity was 1.028 when I racked to secondary. The brett took it down to 1.016. So it's a good beer, I just don't think I would call it an old ale.

Thanks for sharing that. It's not even 10:00AM and my mouth was watering listening to it. (Does that make me an alcoholic?)


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.