Collaborative Brew Schedule - 2024

[pilgrimhudd]

Thanks for your kind review. Like you I've no idea about this style. I'm saving the ones I have for the weekend when I have time to savour them! Really glad you liked it.

No worries, I really enjoyed it, it's got a real depth of flavour that I thought was great.

 

[Twostage]

"and the judges scores are in". Thank you Claudia.

@Nottsbeer first :-

Nice hiss on opening, good carbonation.
Dark cream/slightly brown head. Nice small bubbles.
The nose is slight malt and overtones of the sweetness of alcohol (checks ABV 6.something, can't make out last digit)
Slight haze but not a problem.
The taste is dark grains, slight liquorice flavour.
Carbonation tingles on the tongue.
Again alcohol coming through in the flavour in the form of sweetness. Really tastes stronger than 6.something.
I would say the balance would be more towards sweet than bitter from the hops.
Really nice. It would make a nice night cap.
Reminded me of one of mine, can't remember which .

Next up @Alastair70 :-

For some reason I struggled to get the lid off, wimp.

When I eventually managed, again nice hiss on opening.
Cream coloured (and creamy) head.
Slight banana aroma on the nose.
No haze.
Surprisingly light body considering the strength (6.6%).
Banana again but only on the aftertaste.
Hop bitterness and malt both present, more bitter than sweet.
Dangerously drinkable.

So, a real contrast - one you know it is strong as soon as you open it and another that you could use to anesthetize the unsuspecting . Both really nice beers I could happily drink more of.

Thanks for sending.

 

[Nottsbeer]

Review Time......with apologies!

I had the beers kindly sent by @pilgrimhudd and @Alastair70 last night. At the time I didn't realise I was coming down with a cold (woke up this morning with a rough throat and slightly hazy head....not related to the beers!!). I think this clouded by tasting of these, thus the advance apologies!

@pilgrimhudd - yours opened with a nice medium hiss with a good level of carbonation. It pouring very nicely, with a good thick head. It was a darkish colour and cloudy, I think some of the yeast may have slipped in. I initially though the aroma was similar to my beer, and as you noted with mine, maybe having a slight off-hint. Having not had this beer before I'm putting this down to the style. This also had a strong alcohol smell (6.8%), I think though smelling stronger that it is! I'm not sure if this is associated to a bit of a liquorice hint...reflecting on the review @Twostage left for mine, maybe we had a similar grain bill, thus this similarity? I thought maybe a bit malty as well. I couldn't pick up the bitterness (maybe my cold brewing), so I'll be interested to see which hops you used. Lovely, nice beer. Many thanks for sharing this with me!

@Alastair70 - yours also opened with a nice hiss, slightly less pronounced than Pilgrim Hudd's one. Again, a good level of carbonation. This one also poured with a good head, a lighter beer than pilgrim's and not as cloudy...having a bit of a haze. Although being 6.6%, this was a contrasting beer to the previous one and it didn't have an aroma or taste to suggest this was a strong beer. I couldn't pick up the aroma (blaming the cold now), or the bitterness however. Again, a lovely beer.

Thank you both for sharing - really interesting to compare these and to see quite a difference on one style - this is one reason why I'm enjoying these swaps. Cheers!!

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Review Time......with apologies!

I had the beers kindly sent by @pilgrimhudd and @Alastair70 last night. At the time I didn't realise I was coming down with a cold (woke up this morning with a rough throat and slightly hazy head....not related to the beers!!). I think this clouded by tasting of these, thus the advance apologies!

@pilgrimhudd - yours opened with a nice medium hiss with a good level of carbonation. It pouring very nicely, with a good thick head. It was a darkish colour and cloudy, I think some of the yeast may have slipped in. I initially though the aroma was similar to my beer, and as you noted with mine, maybe having a slight off-hint. Having not had this beer before I'm putting this down to the style. This also had a strong alcohol smell (6.8%), I think though smelling stronger that it is! I'm not sure if this is associated to a bit of a liquorice hint...reflecting on the review @Twostage left for mine, maybe we had a similar grain bill, thus this similarity? I thought maybe a bit malty as well. I couldn't pick up the bitterness (maybe my cold brewing), so I'll be interested to see which hops you used. Lovely, nice beer. Many thanks for sharing this with me!

@Alastair70 - yours also opened with a nice hiss, slightly less pronounced than Pilgrim Hudd's one. Again, a good level of carbonation. This one also poured with a good head, a lighter beer than pilgrim's and not as cloudy...having a bit of a haze. Although being 6.6%, this was a contrasting beer to the previous one and it didn't have an aroma or taste to suggest this was a strong beer. I couldn't pick up the aroma (blaming the cold now), or the bitterness however. Again, a lovely beer.

Thank you both for sharing - really interesting to compare these and to see quite a difference on one style - this is one reason why I'm enjoying these swaps. Cheers!!

Thanks for your review! Yes I thought afterwards that ours are quite similar. Unfortunately mine ended up quite cloudy, despite 9 months in the bottle or so its been quite stubborn in that respect. Annoyingly I didn't jot down the recipe, nor write it in my brew thread so I have no idea what hops I used, though there is a good chance I used Tettnang and Brewers Gold as I used the Greg Hughes recipe to build it. For yeast I used MJ French Saison, I remember that as I had awful trouble deciding on what yeast to use!

 

[Nottsbeer]

Thanks for your review! Yes I thought afterwards that ours are quite similar. Unfortunately mine ended up quite cloudy, despite 9 months in the bottle or so its been quite stubborn in that respect. Annoyingly I didn't jot down the recipe, nor write it in my brew thread so I have no idea what hops I used, though there is a good chance I used Tettnang and Brewers Gold as I used the Greg Hughes recipe to build it. For yeast I used MJ French Saison, I remember that as I had awful trouble deciding on what yeast to use!

Just checked my notes for this one and annoyingly I didn't note which yeast I used. I guess I used something appropriate....but from recent swaps this style is not one i'd make again. I wonder if I'm not too keen on the flavour from the yeast. I used Tradition and Fuggles....will post what I did note recipe wise later.

 

[Alastair70]

@Nottsbeer @Twostage Thank-you for the kind reviews. Your comments are very much in line with my thoughts, a dangerously drinkable brew with a complex malt profile and a pleasant touch of ester.
I'm limbering up with a pint of nitro stout before tucking into mine.

 

[Alastair70]

First beer up is from @Nottsbeer Edit Actually, from @Twostage. Kudos for your dedication to the swap, two versions to choose from. I’m going brown with the brown first, basically because the ABV is lower.
Lovely hiss on opening, has a little haze when poured. Complex malty aroma. Great flavour, rich brown bread crust malt with a hint of caramel sweetness, finishing light and dry with a touch of lemony citrus.
There are similarities with my BdG but I’m enjoying the differences. I think this one has been brewed with a more delicate touch and it’s all the better for it.
It’s a great easy drinking beer that hides the 5.9% ABV very well. Looking forward to the blonde, but I might be saving that for tomorrow night!

 

[Nottsbeer]

First beer up is from @Nottsbeer. Kudos for your dedication to the swap, two versions to choose from. I’m going brown with the brown first, basically because the ABV is lower.
Lovely hiss on opening, has a little haze when poured. Complex malty aroma. Great flavour, rich brown bread crust malt with a hint of caramel sweetness, finishing light and dry with a touch of lemony citrus.
There are similarities with my BdG but I’m enjoying the differences. I think this one has been brewed with a more delicate touch and it’s all the better for it.
It’s a great easy drinking beer that hides the 5.9% ABV very well. Looking forward to the blonde, but I might be saving that for tomorrow night!

Sorry, think that's not mine .

 

[Alastair70]

Sorry, think that's not mine .

Opps it’s from @Twostage. In my defence, I’ve had a very long week, my brain switched off sometime after lunch yesterday.

 

[Alastair70]

@pilgrimhudd next.
Lovely looking beer in the glass. Deeper brown than my own and similar to the previous one. Nice carbonation replenishing a long lived head.
The aroma has a whiff of alcohol that carries over to the flavour, in a good way. The body and mouthfeel are what you expect from a big beer. Flavour is malt forward, bready with toffee notes. Nice balanced bitterness allowing the sweeter malt flavours stand out but not become overpowering. Long complex finish lingers and compliments the next swig.
I think this is very much to style, and I really enjoyed it. Cheers!
I’m feeling a little squiffy and will definitely be leaving the last one for tomorrow night

 

[pilgrimhudd]

@pilgrimhudd next.
Lovely looking beer in the glass. Deeper brown than my own and similar to the previous one. Nice carbonation replenishing a long lived head.
The aroma has a whiff of alcohol that carries over to the flavour, in a good way. The body and mouthfeel are what you expect from a big beer. Flavour is malt forward, bready with toffee notes. Nice balanced bitterness allowing the sweeter malt flavours stand out but not become overpowering. Long complex finish lingers and compliments the next swig.
I think this is very much to style, and I really enjoyed it. Cheers!
I’m feeling a little squiffy and will definitely be leaving the last one for tomorrow night

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! Definitely one that improves the more you drink. I'm on my 3rd and it's definitely getting better!

 

[Alastair70]

My final swap beer, the blonde from @Twostage

Lovely pour, great carbonation and crystal clear. The head didn’t stick around too long, I think this glass has been through the dishwasher which didn’t help.
Inviting aroma, complex malts and a bit of spice.
The flavour follows, a little caramel sweetness carries bready malts and a bit of peppery spice. The body and mouthfeel are what you’d expect from a big beer, but there’s no alcohol warmth, it hides the 7.7%ABV dangerously well.

I’ve enjoyed this swap a lot and this is a great one to finish out on. Fantastic brew, thanks for sharing it.

 

[Nottsbeer]

My final swap beer, the blonde from @Nottsbeer.

Lovely pour, great carbonation and crystal clear. The head didn’t stick around too long, I think this glass has been through the dishwasher which didn’t help.
Inviting aroma, complex malts and a bit of spice.
The flavour follows, a little caramel sweetness carries bready malts and a bit of peppery spice. The body and mouthfeel are what you’d expect from a big beer, but there’s no alcohol warmth, it hides the 7.7%ABV dangerously well.

I’ve enjoyed this swap a lot and this is a great one to finish out on. Fantastic brew, thanks for sharing it.

View attachment 105888

Hi Alastair, not my beer. Sounds like a good one tho

 

[Alastair70]

Hi Alastair, not my beer. Sounds like a good one tho

Doh. I’ve done it again
Fixed in the edit, and it was a belter. At least I’m getting all the ups out of the way before the secret Santa draw goes out.