12 Beers of Christmas 2017

[Auger]

If anyone's interested I'll fill out bjcp scoresheets when I try the beers and send them via pm.

 

[Easycreeper]

If anyone's interested I'll fill out bjcp scoresheets when I try the beers and send them via pm.

VERY interested. I'd do the same, but I'm not much of a judge. I can try though...

 

[passedpawn]

VERY interested. I'd do the same, but I'm not much of a judge. I can try though...

drinking your quad right now! Taking notes Listening to la la land soundtrack. haha, great night (your beer is going down easy).

 

[passedpawn]

^^ easier than the last one

 

[JDXX1971]

@b-boy , Abby Weizen arrived in perfect order. Thanks!

Yep, me too! Thank you @b-boy

I am waiting on two more packages, I have a case full now not counting mine. I cant wait to start on them.

 

[passedpawn]

Merry (12 beers of) Christmas to all the participants in this thread. Easy's beer has me, admittedly, feeling in the spirit. This has been super experience with you guys. I've seen all of you around the forum in the past, but now that we are "breaking bread" together, it's so much more personal.

(OK what's the ABV here? woof)

 

[JDXX1971]

If anyone's interested I'll fill out bjcp scoresheets when I try the beers and send them via pm.

That would be awesome. I need all the input I can get. Hopefully mine is good enough to even be worthy of one.

 

[passedpawn]

If anyone's interested I'll fill out bjcp scoresheets when I try the beers and send them via pm.

I'd be happy for that feedback too. Thanks, you're the tops.

 

[boasist]

If anyone's interested I'll fill out bjcp scoresheets when I try the beers and send them via pm.

A very generous offer, thank you, and I look forward to seeing that.

 

[b-boy]

@b-boy

You complete me... Brave man sending through USPS!

I've always sent USPS. I've never had a problem. As long as you pack it right, you're Ok.

 

[b-boy]

View attachment 549922

That's a great picture.

 

[Easycreeper]

drinking your quad right now! Taking notes Listening to la la land soundtrack. haha, great night (your beer is going down easy).

How was the carb level? Haven't opened one in a couple of weeks here, so I'm not sure if it made it all the way yet or not.

 

[biochemedic]

That's a great picture.

Guess I'm going to have to step it up with a label next year!

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

my 2018 beer is producing CO2 right now. So maybe I'll have time to work on my bottling skills before then. :-D

 

[Auger]

@passedpawn is lucky number one. Nice job man...this beer is dangerous.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

@passedpawn up first!

Really enjoying this. I got the cherries right off the nose (I may have had an obscene amount of Mad Elf this year), and the almond extract adds a neat sort of savory aspect to the aroma.

 

[passedpawn]

How was the carb level? Haven't opened one in a couple of weeks here, so I'm not sure if it made it all the way yet or not.

Sorry, just got back into town (kid #2 college graduation).

Head died right away, but the body of the beer had perfect carbonation. More comments later, and pic.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Excited to see/read more pictures and reviews of this year's beers! Gets me excited for the 2018 exchange.

 

[Easycreeper]

@passedpawn Thanks, man. Should have thrown a handful of flaked oats in the mash for good measure. Seems the wheat isn't doing the trick.

 

[passedpawn]

From Friday night... @Easycreeper Oaked Caramel Quad. I poured roughly and still didn't get much head, but the carbonation was there anyway. This beer was extremely drinkable! Loved it.

 

[Easycreeper]

From Friday night... @Easycreeper Oaked Caramel Quad. I poured roughly and still didn't get much head, but the carbonation was there anyway. This beer was extremely drinkable! Loved it.

View attachment 550113

Thanks for the kind review! Sorry about the head retention. Must be a combination of a lack of proteins and high ABV. I'm working on correcting that in my process now. Still got a lot of learning to do...

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks for the kind review! Sorry about the head retention. Must be a combination of a lack of proteins and high ABV. I'm working on correcting that in my process now. Still got a lot of learning to do...

Haha, me too. Head on my beer probably wasn't any better The first batch of my beer was lower ABV and was (to me) a better beer. But I added too much cherry to the 12BOC part of it. Second time around I stepped up the ABV to better carry the cherry, but some things like body and head retention weren't the same. But I'm not losing sleep over it (in fact, at almost 11% sleep isn't an issue at all)

 

[Auger]

Haha, me too. Head on my beer probably wasn't any better The first batch of my beer was lower ABV and was (to me) a better beer. But I added too much cherry to the 12BOC part of it. Second time around I stepped up the ABV to better carry the cherry, but some things like body and head retention weren't the same. But I'm not losing sleep over it (in fact, at almost 11% sleep isn't an issue at all)

That was one of my notes...it poured with a decent head, but didn't maintain like a belgian would be expected to. It may be as simple as bumping up the carb level a bit, as the style will support it.

 

[passedpawn]

That was one of my notes...it poured with a decent head, but didn't maintain like a belgian would be expected to. It may be as simple as bumping up the carb level a bit, as the style will support it.

More than likely, the problem was caused by bottling from keg. I should have added some margin, knowing there would be some loss.

 

[Auger]

Easycreeper's quad getting me cozy to start off a brew night. In retrospect this probably wasn't the best choice to start with but by the time I finish it, I won't care.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Having @Auger's gruit. Outstanding! Firmly spiced but not over the top. This brings me some holiday cheer, and is going down way too rapidly.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Damn that looks really nice.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Just a note to anyone interested in doing this again, we filled group #1 but group #2 still has openings.

 

[Easycreeper]

Easycreeper's quad getting me cozy to start off a brew night. In retrospect this probably wasn't the best choice to start with but by the time I finish it, I won't care.

View attachment 550212

Looking forward to seeing how you, @passedpawn, and others score it. Please spare no feelings as I'll use this as an opportunity to improve my methods and process.

Downloaded the BJCP score sheet myself this morning. No experience judging, but I'll be filling it out and sending an electronic copy to everyone as I start knocking these bad boys down. Can't wait to start!

 

[jerbrew]

Honey Ginger IPA Arrived today in good order. @dryboroughbrewing your bottle arrived without leaks on Friday. I think with the Honey Ginger that not only completes my set I think it completes the trades over all. Yes? Great job everyone. I cracked open the Gruit first on Saturday and I'll continue today. I will provide feedback as best I can.