10-10-10 BGS Swap Sign-up and Details

[jacksonbrown]

Busted in to Hookstrat's 10-10-10 today. Quick notes are the aroma is 10! Fantastic malt nose with a hint of coriander and dark fruit. Very inviting. Sadly the flavor does not match. High fusel flavor kind of masks everything else. Body is also excellent though. Any idea why the alcohol would come through in the flavor but not the nose?

 

[KingBrianI]

jacksonbrown's Chocolate Rye Porter

Aroma - Roasty malts and cold coffee, fruity ethanol, possibly a hint of orange. Aroma is fleeting, skittish. Hard to lock on to.

Appearance - Poured an opaque black with chocolate brown around the edges. A <1 finger head popped up but dissipated immediately.

Flavor - Very light malty flavor upfront. Followed by nice a roastiness and and firm bitterness on the palate. Bitterness from the hops and dark malt lingers for a while. I think I'm detecting the rye right in the finish as a slight spiciness. I'm getting a little oxidation coming through. Possibly getting the slightest bit of cocoa right on the end.

Mouthfeel - Thin of body, with a moderate carbonation that really gets prickly during the swallow.

Overall - A bit too thin and lacking in flavor. I'm kind of looking for the other half of the beer. It seems like part of it got separated from what's in my glass. I get the roastiness and bitterness but there's no depth to it. I expected some richness from caramel, malt and chocolate flavors that didn't show up. I'd really like to see the recipe to try to figure out what happened. If I were brewing this one again, I would mash higher and use a yeast that leaves more malty flavor (it tastes like you used nottingham?). Also, up the caramel malts to help fill out the flavor. The roastiness will probably be spot on if the other flavors get filled out to help play a supporting role. You might also want to use maris otter for the base malt for a bit more flavor and think about adding some munich, amber, or brown malts to deepen the malt profile. I'd also lose the rye. It's not really adding anything to this beer. This is not a bad beer at all though. I just wanted much more from it. I'll let the other bottle condition for a few more months then try it again to see if it has changed at all.

It's nearly half a year later and I just put the other bottle in to the freezer to cool it down a bit. Review will follow shortly.

 

[KingBrianI]

jacksonbrown's Chocolate Rye Porter - Take 2

Aroma- Tangy malt followed by cocoa powder. Slight fruity esters and orange.

Appearance- Deep black with chestnut highlights. Poured with a thick khaki head with great creaminess. Head dissipated slowly down to a thin cap.

Flavor- Much improved! Starts a bit fruity with some full malt but quickly transforms into a strong cocoa flavor. Finishes dry with a tingly bitterness and light coffee flavors. The prickly dry finish is very long. Over everything is a kind of tangy, prickly sensation that might be from the rye.

Mouthfeel- Nice full mouthfeel. Low-moderate carbonation is just right.

Overall- Wow, this is a completely different beer than what I tasted 5 months ago. The cocoa really comes out now and the body is much improved. Not sure how the body seemed to fill out but I'll take it. Flavor is also much stronger. I no longer feel like something is missing. The cocoa flavors made a welcome appearance. I'm not crazy about the tangy, tingly rye flavor but that is more personal preference than any problem with the beer. It's also interesting that the oxidized flavor only makes a very brief appearance right in the finish. If you weren't looking for it you would probably miss it. It's amazing what some age does to some homebrews. If you have any of these left, you should definitely give it a try to see how much it's changed!

 

[KingBrianI]

jacksonbrown, I'm thinking about having the second bottle of your wee heavy tonight. I'm interested to see how it has changed. I remember last time it had a really nice strong toffee aroma and flavor.

 

[KingBrianI]

jacksonbrown's Wee Heavy - Take 2

Aroma- First whiff had lots of sour-mash whiskey ferment smell. Like when I stuck my head in the big fermenting barrel at Jack Daniels. Subsequent sniffing revealed toffee, hints of chocolate and maybe even a little strawberry. The sourish aroma kind of hangs over everything, but not in a bad way.

Appearance- Dark copper verging on mahogany. Brilliant clarity. Poured with an off-white fizzy, large-bubbled head that fell to a thin coating.

Flavor- Sweet toffeed malt. Very subtle strawberry gives the beer a brightness. It's a bit less complex than the aroma hints at. Finish is dry and balanced towards hop bitterness. A gentle dry bitterness and strawberry flavor is left lingering on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied and moderately-high carbonation.

Overall- Great aroma on this beer. The toffee is more subdued than I remember it but still present and strong. The sour-mash aroma was nice but didn't show up in the flavor. I still wish this beer finished a bit more chewy and sweet. The strawberry kind of showed up from nowhere, right? That was interesting but welcome. Overall a very enjoyable beer that would have been even more enjoyable with a bit more sticky sweetness, less carbonation, and a touch less bitterness.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Drank HookStrat's 10.10.10 last night. I thought it was fantastic. I didn't get any of the 'fusel flavor' jacksonbrown mentioned but all the good points he mentioned were there. Nice carbonation too. However; it doesn't look, smell, or taste like it was made to the 10.10.10 recipe but at this point I guess I have to say that's a good thing.

This is a couple minutes after pouring:

 

[Hookstrat]

Busted in to Hookstrat's 10-10-10 today. Quick notes are the aroma is 10! Fantastic malt nose with a hint of coriander and dark fruit. Very inviting. Sadly the flavor does not match. High fusel flavor kind of masks everything else. Body is also excellent though. Any idea why the alcohol would come through in the flavor but not the nose?

I think the aroma turned out ok because the fermentation was clean and that Belgian Strong Yeast from Wyeast Private Collection (from Piraate?) produces really nice aromatics.

I think the fusel flavor is primarily due to having too much excess alcohol. Although it could be related to the carbon source, simple sugar.

Bottom line, I think if I had just stopped at 1 lb. of sugar addition this beer would have hit another level. Thanks for the comments though!

Drank HookStrat's 10.10.10 last night. I thought it was fantastic. I didn't get any of the 'fusel flavor' jacksonbrown mentioned but all the good points he mentioned were there. Nice carbonation too. However; it doesn't look, smell, or taste like it was made to the 10.10.10 recipe but at this point I guess I have to say that's a good thing.

Thanks for the comments SpanishCastleAle! I actually brewed mine more to the "original" recipe in the 10/10/10 thread which called for slightly more caramel malts. Those grain percentages were reduced later in the thread to keep the color in style. So I think I kind of lucked out because the "extra" caramel malt may have lended my beer a little more balance.

 

[BellAub]

I have been following this thread since before I became a member, and if their is any thoughts of doing a 11-11-11 brew. Count me in. This sounds like great fun, and I would love to have someone critique my home brew that is not just happy to get free beer.
Prost! https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/smilies/occasion14.gif

 

[KingBrianI]

I have been following this thread since before I became a member, and if their is any thoughts of doing a 11-11-11 brew. Count me in. This sounds like great fun, and I would love to have someone critique my home brew that is not just happy to get free beer.
Prost! https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/smilies/occasion14.gif

You're a little late to the party but here's the 11-11-11 thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/official-11-11-11-old-ale-thread-hbt-anniversary-series-200538/

 

[BellAub]

Darn. It looks like you started that thread the same month I made my first homebrew. So I was late in more ways than one. I will keep an eye out for the 12-12-12 exchange. If there are any other exchanges happening please let me know.

 

[KingBrianI]

Check it out!