Official 999 Swap Feedback Thread...

[Warrior]

Hey Warrior...thanks for the kind words. Not sure how I missed this one. That was one of my fav brews and it went fast. Guess I'll need to do another.

As I mentioned, I'll gladly review it again

 

[TexLaw]

Thanks for the reviews, KingBrian! I apologize for not being around here, until now, to read them. You are a very good reviewer, and I have enjoyed reading all your comments on everyone's beers.

To answer your question about the Argentine Gold, that batch was made with U.S. Hallertau and does lack a bit of lemongrass that the Argentine Cascades have. I also screwed up my protein rest, which explains why the head retention is not as good as the head formation. Mea culpa!

I agree that the Indian Summer needs more sweetness, too. I dried this batch out a bit, just to play around, and I used the Pacific Ale yeast. I'm going back to the California V yeast, which emphasizes malt a bit more.

Again, thanks!


TL (eagerly awaiting 9/9 to crack open some barleywine)

 

[Saccharomyces]

StratoTankard's Holiday Red:

Nice aroma of sugar, plums, and spice. Deep toffee backbone with vanilla, spice, and ginger flavors. Smooth finish which, despite the sweetness, seemed to be well balanced and clean. Gorgeous deep red color, this beer could be a poster model.

Spiced beers aren't my favorite, but this one beats the pants off of 90%+ of the ones I have tried. Overall I think this is a great holiday ale.

 

[Amiaji]

TerapinChef's Pure Soul Porter


Aroma
Malty, roasty aroma. A hint of caramel, toffee. No hops.

Appearance
Very dark with some ruby highlights. Full tan head dissipated quickly.

Flavor
Malty, roasty. Some fruitiness. Nice bitterness bite. The alcohol is well hidden. Some other flavors I cant quite identify.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied. Fairly high carbonation.

Overall
Great beer. I loves me some porters and stouts. I will have to steal your recipe and compare it to mine. It has none of the overwhelming properties of some of the porters I have tasted. Well balanced and well made. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Amiaji]

TerapinChef's Munich Helles

I should have tried this one before the porter but here goes.

Aroma
Malty sweet. Maybe some DMS. Not really picking up any hops.

Appearance
Light amber color. Low white head that dissipated quickly. Very clear.

Flavor
Sweet, malty flavor. Grainy. Low bitterness. A little spicy. No fruitiness or diacetyl.

Mouthfeel
Medium body, medium carbonation.

Overall
Nice beer. Maybe a bit high on the DMS and a little low on bitterness. Boil longer and maybe add a bit more hops? I dont have much experience with this style so dont put too much weight on my review.

 

[niquejim]

If anyone wants to try of your own a little early(or if you received one from me, then one of mine), on August 15th my best friend(40+years) and I will be celebrating our 50th birthdays

We will be raising a toast with the barleywine at 8pm eastern if you would like to virtually join us

 

[Warrior]

If anyone wants to try of your own a little early(or if you received one from me, then one of mine), on August 15th my best friend(40+years) and I will be celebrating our 50th birthdays

We will be raising a toast with the barleywine at 8pm eastern if you would like to virtually join us

I tried one of mine last night. The flavor is starting to come together well. Not as harsh as the last one I tried about a month and a half ago. I have one chilled and will toast your birthday on Sat. I'll be 50 in a year and a half also, damn a half century old

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Oh man...I think I made a big mistake and opened a bomber of one of my 999's. It's so good...so good I wished I never opened...And I've already had 2 beers before this....

 

[Warrior]

Oh man...I think I made a big mistake and opened a bomber of one of my 999's. It's so good...so good I wished I never opened...And I've already had 2 beers before this....

I bet you slept well last night

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

Doog_Si_Reeb was kind enough to provide 2 of his red ryes in the swap package. I'm enjoying the second of them right now and decided to take a picture since my original review didn't include one. I'll also add this to the original review. Doog, I'd really like to see the recipe, the chocolate milk mix/chocolate whey protein powder flavor is again jumping out and I'd like to see what it's coming from. I'm quite enjoying it right now, and interested to see if your other recipients note the chocolate flavor in their reviews!

Admittedly, I've been a slacker and just stumbled on this thread. Thanks for the reviews KingBrian!

When I made that brew, I boiled off more water than I intended so it came out with a much higher OG than intended. That kind of offset the intended BU:OG ratio. Was supposed to be 1.048 but came out at 1.064.

I ended up really liking the final product, but I agree that it could use some more hop bitterness to make it tastier.

The beer contained 8.5 lbs American 2 row, 2 lbs Flaked Rye, .5 lbs Crystal 90, and 3 oz. Roasted Barley. .45 oz Magnum at 60, .25 oz Hallertau at 5 and .25 oz. Hallertau at 0. Calculated IBU was a low 21.

I can do a more formal write up in the Recipe thread section if you're interested.

 

[KingBrianI]

That's interesting, it must be a combo of the rye, crystal and roasted barley that were giving me that chocolate milk impression. Did you notice the flavor as well? I never did see anyone else review it. Thanks again for sending them.

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Hey BM.. My membership expired so I can't send any PM's due to too many messages, and I can't delete them yet either so here it is...

"Beer will ship tomorrow. I apologize for the delay and getting everyone worried, but it's all boxed and in the fridge, gonna go priority mail so it should be there pretty quick. From the samples, I think it's pretty good, although I'm not a BW fan.

Brad"

Please let HarvInStl, Deathweed, and MMB know that I've not boned out and left them hanging.

I do have 1 I've not recieved from yet tho...
I"ll PM you after I clean my messages out and you can decide to drag them out in public or not..

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

That's interesting, it must be a combo of the rye, crystal and roasted barley that were giving me that chocolate milk impression. Did you notice the flavor as well? I never did see anyone else review it. Thanks again for sending them.

It must be that combination of grains, combined with the low bitterness, that gives it that chocolaty flavor. I haven't had one in quite a while, but I have two more in my fridge and I'll have to see if I pick up the same flavors.

 

[Couevas]

Guys,
I am not going to be able to sample your 999's tomorrow. I have to pick up my wife and daughter at the airport at 9pm and probably shouldn't do so hammered.....

I will commense on Thursday night (BTW, I don't have to work Friday, so it works out better anyways).

Sorry and Cheers,

-C

 

[TexLaw]

Take it easy, man!


TL

 

[Couevas]

Thanks Tex!

I am excited to hit yours up......

BTW,
Has anyone started sampling the 9's early? I know there has to be at least one of us that couldn't wait.
:rockin:

 

[Warrior]

Thanks Tex!

I am excited to hit yours up......

BTW,
Has anyone started sampling the 9's early? I know there has to be at least one of us that couldn't wait.
:rockin:

I sampled my own several times over the year. Have not sampled any that were sent to me. Will be trying two of the ones I got tonight side by side with mine to see how they all compare.

 

[TexLaw]

I did have to try mine last night, as well, just to see where it was. I do not want to bias any reviews, but I did get quite a reminder that these bad-boy-barleywines need a good chance to warm up.

I hope I get a chance to grab, at least, a couple of them tonight.


TL

 

[Chriso]

Happy 999 guys! Maybe when I get home from work, I'll sanitize a ladle and take a big ol' draw out of my year-old primary fermenter of barleywine!

 

[wildwest450]

I thought mine was to sweet. But then again im a hophead.
I have to work tonight, but will be hitting them hard this weekend.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

I thought some of you east coasters would have posted already...what's up? How are them 999's?

 

[TerapinChef]

Waiting for SWMBO to get home, then a tasting of at least 2! With one quasi serious BJCP score sheet and one more...casual tasting notes, I hope to give you guys an earful!

 

[KingBrianI]

I thought some of you east coasters would have posted already...what's up? How are them 999's?

Unfortunately, the guy I was going to do the tastings with couldn't make it over today, so my reviews will have to wait until later in the week. On the upside, the three donated 999s and mine will all be tasted and reviewed simultaneously with notes taken, so everyone should get a fair comparison. I'll post all results and reviews and pictures.

 

[Beerrific]

OK, I should go grab one. I forgot whose was whose though.

 

[Stratotankard]

White Dog 9-9-9 by MMB

Aroma 9/12
Sweet and caramelly maltiness up front. Moderate to low hop aroma is earthy. Some fruitiness is present, but not in-your-face. Slight breadiness towards the finish. No strong alcohols. Overall aroma seems subdued for a big barleywine like this, but they get stronger as it warms.

Appearance 3/3
Deep medium brown with strong red highlights when held to the light. Chill haze is evident, but it clears nicely as the beer warms. Small, creamy, off-white head dissipates quickly into a nice ring of bubbles around the glass.

Flavour 17/20
Strong malt sweetness is quickly taken over by hop bitterness. (Not sharp of unpleasant but does seem to drown out the malt somewhat) I'm assuming English hops were used, as the flavours are earthy and pleasant. Undertones of oranges come through as it warms. Finish is long with notes of walnuts and tawny ports. No hotness, but nicely warming as it goes down.

Mouthfeel 5/5
Smooth and full, with a slightly "sticky" feel. Not cloying. Low carbonation is to be expected.

Overall 8/10
A very nice American Barleywine! I could do for a bit more aroma, but the balance of this is nice. Hop bitterness is strong but not out of place. I would pay good money for this beer

42/50

On a humourous note, SWMBO was in the room while I tasted this. She always tries a sip of my beers when I have them for the first time, even though she hates beer. She had a sip of this and her response was "tastes like appley acid. I could drink it- give him a 33." High praise from her!

Terje

edit- looks like I get the first review. Score!

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

OK, first I must apologize cause I forget who's this is. But if this is your cap, please speak up:

Let's do this...
Aroma- Caramel, raisin, maybe a little bready. A little hint of spice. I like it
Appearance - Rich Amber/Caramel color. No legs to speak of. No real head or retention of what could have been head. A little cloudy, but as you'll see in the video I dumped it all in yeast and all. Bottle conditioned for sure.
Flavor - It's a BW, so it's sweet. Not getting much in the way of hops. Smooth going down. Feel the warmth. Maybe a little spice at the end.
Mouthfeel - Again, smooth, not overly hot with alcohol. Slight carbonation
Overall - This is a great BW. I'm a huge fan of the style and a huge fan of this brew. Only suggestions would be maybe a little more hops and more carbonation (I know the challenge there).

Good work. Here's a video of the pour:
DSCN2561.flv video by BusterButt - Photobucket

 

[NCBeernut]

Unfortunately, the guy I was going to do the tastings with couldn't make it over today, so my reviews will have to wait until later in the week. On the upside, the three donated 999s and mine will all be tasted and reviewed simultaneously with notes taken, so everyone should get a fair comparison. I'll post all results and reviews and pictures.

Sorry man. MY GOD D#$M CAR SUCKS! It should be ready by tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to a good tasting.

 

[KingBrianI]

Kilted brewer, that's not mine, mine has just 999 written on a gold cap.

Just popped one of mine open. Hadn't tried one for a while and had quite a surprise. The bit of rauchmalt I added is really coming through now. I'm also getting a lot of dark fruit that hadn't been as noticeable before. Can't wait to taste the others in a day or two!

 

[KingBrianI]

Sorry man. MY GOD D#$M CAR SUCKS! It should be ready by tomorrow. I'm definitely looking forward to a good tasting.

No problem man, was it the hub bearing like I thought?

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

Kilted brewer, that's not mine, mine has just 999 written on a gold cap.

Thanks. Much be bashe's then. I only got 2 of my 3 .
You're up next KBI.