BeerSwap III: Ó Flannagáin's Beer

Hey, this is for the official beerswap III send outs. Any other personal 1 to 1 swaps please post in: http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42922

DW = Laubmeister hefeweizen Dunkel
HW = Laubmeister Hefeweizen
T = Un Tripel
R10 = cRochefort 10

I believe that's all, if your cap says something different, let me know. Be honest, be mean, help me make better beer!

I just had the pleasure of trying one of O'Flannagain's brews, a very nice Dunkelweizen. I'll preface my report by saying I am not a BJCP certified judge, but I did work in the wine industry and have taken many tasting classes (and I don't play one on tv). Also, Dunkelweizen isn't a style I've had many of.

I'll start by giving my tasting notes from the BJCP score sheet as I wrote them down

Aroma: Great aroma, I could smell the beer from 4 feet away as I rinsed the bottle out after pouring. Lots of yeasty phenol characteristics, mostly clove with some banana, slight bubblegum smell, slight bready/yeasty smell. 11 out of 12

Apperance: Dark mahogany brown color with a nice off white/brownish head. Not clear, but true to style for a wheat. 3 of 3

Flavor: taste clove, spiciness, hint of banana, some vanilla. subdued malt flavor. 3 of 5

Mouthfeel: very well carbonated, effervescent, medium-light to light body. 8 of 10.

Overall Impression: Terrific beer, with a great aroma and appearence. Malt flavor and mouthfeel were a little less than what the style describes.

Total: 41/50

Very nicely done.

Question for O'Flannagain: Was this a single infusion recipe or decoction?

I just tried the dunkelweizen. It was a very nice beer!

Aroma: Definite spicy and banana aroma. No noticeable hops or malt. 10/12

Appearance: Nice head which lasted through the session. Nice lacing with a good texture. Not clear, but expected with a dunkel. Or, could have been the UPS shaking it up a bit, and me not waiting! 3/3

Flavor: Clean and spicy at first with a roasty slightly ashy finish. No noticeable hops. The ashy-ness was unexpected but maybe due to the roasty-ness? It was a good example of a dunkelweissen except for the very slight ash finish. 15/20

Mouthfeel: Very pleasantly carbonated- neither thick nor thin. No creaminess or astringency. No noticeable alcohol taste. Just about perfect! 4/5

Overall impression: A very good example of a Dunkel. It's a good representative of its class as far as overall flavor, color, and appearance. The hint of ashy-ness is not necessarily an off flavor but not as pleasant as the general roastiness is. This is a really good beer! 8/10

Total: 40/50!

Thanks, Chris. Very nice beer. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the others!

It was a single infusion. I have not graduated to decoction yet. Glad you'll enjoyed, I've been enjoying that dunkel for a little while now, have quite a bit left in the keg still I used just a pinch of Carafa III to darken it, otherwise it's just my regular hefe recipe.

One of the guys in my local club did a really nice write up on Hefe's and suggested the using a decoction was a good way to get the malty roundness in the beer. I can email you what he wrote up if you like.

I haven't done a decoction yet either but after reading his write up on a hefe I plan on it early next year.

I'd love a copy of it.

Ok, I'm currently drinking a bomber of the Un Triple. This is one of my favorite styles and I've recently made one myself. I'm no expert on them, but I enjoy the complexity that they offer.

That said, here are my notes.

Bottle Inspection: Good fill level, nice pfft when opened. (Btw, you got a great price on the Avery, $4.99 for a bomber. I think I paid close to $8 for one not a month ago).

Aroma: Subdued aroma, I pick up some spicy notes, maybe a little orange.
7 of 12

Appearance: Deep gold color, good clarity. Attractive beer. Did not get much of a head, though the beer seems well carbonated.
2 of 3

Flavor: Slight peppery flavor, moderate malt sweetness, low alcohol, no fusel detected, slight bitterness near the end. pretty well balanced. Nothing really jumps out.
14 of 20

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, medium-light body, no hot alcohol flavors, some creaminess.
4 of 5

Overall Impression: very smooth and tasty. no noticeable flaws, but lacks a little character. Yeast esters are subdued and don't contribute much to the overall brew.
7 of 10

Overall Score: 34/50 Very Good

This was a very nice beer.

Glad you enjoyed it, did you let it warm up a bit before drinking? I like to let it sit out for 15 minutes. I think the flavor really blows up after it heats up a bit.

I did. It was probably a bit cold even after I let it warm up some, but it took a while for me to finish the whole bomber. I tried to continually taste it and make notes as I drank it. It was very good. What temps did it ferment at and which yeast did you use? (Sorry still haven't gone to look for the recipe).

jdoiv said:

I did. It was probably a bit cold even after I let it warm up some, but it took a while for me to finish the whole bomber. I tried to continually taste it and make notes as I drank it. It was very good. What temps did it ferment at and which yeast did you use? (Sorry still haven't gone to look for the recipe).

Click to expand...

I used the belgian Abbey II from WYeast. I fermented at 64ish ambient, so it hit 68-69 probably during fermentation. I truly appreciate the feedback jdoiv!

My impressions of the Triple:

A nice carbonation during the pour with a distinct banana aroma. Otherwise clean smelling- no real hops or malt aroma. Pretty subtle aroma- nothing "screams" beer or any other strong notes. 6/12

The head instantly disapated but the beer remained nicely carbed throughout. It was a clear light copper color. 2/3

It was very well balanced between malt and hops. Clean tasting, with just a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. No flaws noted at all. Even though there was a banana aroma, there was no banana notes in the beer at all. Maybe just a hint of spice- but I'm not sure if that's because I saw the yeast and wondered about it or if it really was present! I'm not 16/20

The mouthfeel was the best part! Slight creaminess along with perfect carbonation and body made me smile. 5/5

I found this to be a very pleasant beer! I could easily sit down and enjoy this one routinely! No flaws noted at all- and the balance was great. The only disappointing part was the complete lack of any sort of head. Still the carbonation was great and the taste was smooth. I really liked it. 8/10

For a total of 37/50.

The Hefe: 45/50

Aroma: 10/12
Classic Wheat Aroma. Perceptible at 6-12", but mild. Deducted 2 for strength of aroma, not for smell.

Appearance: 2/3
Grapefruit juice color/opacity. A little more cloudy that I like, but well within style. Nice white head on pour, low head retention (-1).

Flavor: 20/20
Light, citrusy, yeasty. Dead on hefe.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
Fizzy, clean, citrus like.

Overall: 9/10
Very nice, most enjoyable. Sad to see #2 gone. This was a great beer. If I weren't critiquing this beer, I would have no negatives to offer.

YooperBrew said:

The only disappointing part was the complete lack of any sort of head.

Click to expand...

I had the same experience with #1, but found that not to be true with #2. Anyway, here's what happened. Because the opacity was perfect at the 1st half of the pour, I decanted off the yeast so as not to overload the yeasty notes. That was a mistake. With #2, I completely swirled the cake into the beer and poured 80% quietly, 20% abruptly. I got a nice white head and the yeast character was exactly the same as before. The head did die quickly, but initially it was perfect.

In short, for maximum enjoyment, don't get creative with this brew. Decant, swirl, pour, and enjoy!