Secret Santa 2013

[Kinleycat]

No new sticky needed - I think we're leaving feedback on this thread right here, to keep it all together. KC will be along to correct me otherwise!

How do you get bottles to levitate like that, Lambert? Maybe the yeast went in upside down :hmm:

I agree mtw, keep it simple keep it here!! :

 

[knthrak1982]

Tasting is getting close!! Time to dust off the Christmas jumper!!!

But I don't have one...

Me neither. Every Christmas I wear my evil snowman tie with flashing red eyes and faulty electronics that make it play Christmas tunes badly. This year will be no exception.
:

 

[RobWalker]

we seperated it last year and people sorta forgot about it...my advice, stay in this topic :P

 

[abeyptfc]

can almost taste my Tettnang lager, roll on 4pm when I finish work, its getting tanned tonight! :

 

[rpt]

Do I really have to wait until 1 January to post my comments? I'm currently half way through Z4 and am ready to post now.

 

[calumscott]

Do I really have to wait until 1 January to post my comments? I'm currently half way through Z4 and am ready to post now.

I think I agree.

KC - what's the reasoning behind waiting until the 1st?

 

[abeyptfc]

yeah im sitting having mine just now trying to pick out flavours etc, went to post it and just seen this! :

 

[Kinleycat]

Do I really have to wait until 1 January to post my comments? I'm currently half way through Z4 and am ready to post now.

No, get it posted as soon as you like, don't forget photos too!! :thumb:
In hindsight it makes no sense!! :lol: :lol:

 

[jonnymorris]

Let me be the first. I wasn't aware we had to wait and downed mine this evening on the premise that it's Christmas eve and therefore, Christmas starts here. I received BG2, "La Bete du Gevadan", a Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 8.9% ABV. As you can see, it was well packaged and made me feel a tad guilty over the plastic bottle I sent as my SS...



I'm no wordsmith but this was possibly the finest beer I've had since visiting Bruges a couple of years ago. It was, undoubtedly, the finest homebrew I've ever tasted and far far superior to any of mine. Rich, malty and smooth it had complex flavours that I couldn't begin to describe. Whoever made this has been brewing a good while and knows what they're doing. Pray tell us how you do it.

I aspire to produce beer like this. :hat:

Thanks very much and Merry Christmas.

 

[abeyptfc]

alright folks, Merry Xmas, hope you're all having a good time!

I had my Secret Santa beer tonight, it was ticket number Z3 and described as a Tettnang blonde Ale at 4.6 %, a BIAB AG.
It came with a note detailing which date it was brewed (23/07/13) and bottled 07/08/13). It also details the recipe,hop schedule and yeast.
so here we go with the tasting.......
aroma wise I got-sweet wort(the smell when mashing out), citrus/lemon/plum&blackcurrant ( the further down the beer I got the more these last 2 flavours came out)
Taste wise around 4.5% I would have said although the abv was stated on the bottle.At first I got a grassy taste that then lead to a citrusy flowery lemon & lime, and almost elderflowery aftertaste.
Superb beer, nice head and lacing the length of the pint,it was very refreshing,there was a lingering lemony bitterness that rolls off the side of the tongue and leaves you wanting another sup, needless to say the pint was smashed within 10 mins.
got a few photos with my Jags top and Santa hat!
Thanks very much whoever sent me this, you can definitely be proud of this beer!

(I've been onto photobucket and rotated the photo the right way round, saved it and copied the link but its still showing the wrong way round)

 

[Asalpaws]

Wow, thought I was gonna get in first. Cracked open my "Belgian Dubbel BG6". It has been resting in my fridge for about a month now. Broke out the Westmalle Chalice to give it an appropriate glassware. Poured a rich red brown with creamy, tight head (that sound so wrong).

It has a pleasant nose of Belgian yeasty esters. Also got some pilsner malt in there.

Tasting it there was so nice Carmel sweetness (from the caramunich) backed up by a fair bit of hop bitterness. No overt hop flavours as appropriate for this style. A nice amount of yeast esters, I see you used WLP 530 this has got to be my favorite yeast! You said in your letter that it had pronounced banana flavours, I didn't get that but got plenty of clove spice, a flavour I've not got from this yeast before, I almost thought you might have added it as a spice. It went very well with the Christmas feel! A well accomplished Dubble, not overly sweet like some commercial examples. Many thanks for the opportunity to taste! Really enjoyed it, now I must go and wrap SWMBOs presents. Merry Christmas T

P.S many thanks for the comments on La Bête, used the same yeast for that one.

 

[Duncs]

As others have started posting reviews, I thought I'd open the first of my 2 secret Santa's. CH1 that has been in the fridge since it arrived and has been resting out on the kitchen worktop for an hour before opening. I have taken a photo but the battery died on my phone so I'll have to upload it later.

I'm not the best at describing things, but here's my best shot. On pouring, this beer is very dark and there wasn't much of a head, which isn't a bad thing when you're a southerner The initial smell is smokey and malty. I was expecting the chocolate malt to be overpowering as it was so dark, but the taste is wonderful, the hops have balanced out the malts perfectly, and there is a smokey malt aftertaste. It's a shame I've only got the one bottle, but at 6.8% one should be enough. Thank you for this beer, it's lovely :hat:

: :drink:

 

[knthrak1982]

Merry Christmas all!

Here's a picture of my two Christmas gifts from fellow home brewers. X20 is on the left; X17 on the right, still wrapped.

It's 11am Christmas morning, the breakfast Champagne has cleared my palate, the pub opens in an hour, and it's time to drink my first beer. It has to be X20 "Winter Night" first, because X17 is wrapped and I'm from a "presents after dinner" family.
No jumper I'm afraid. Just the evil snowman tie.

Winter Night is a dark mild. Nice head retention and plenty of fizz. Delicious dark malty notes, with a lovely fresh lingering hoppy bitterness. Just as I like it. Very quaffable and makes me think of it as a cross between Newcastle Brown and Theakstons Old Perculiar.

Lovely Stuff. :hat:

On reading the notes given, I see that it's an AG made with MO, Crystal and Black malts, flaked oats, plenty of Fuggle and EKG and good old S04. ABV 3.9%

 

[bobsbeer]

Merry Christmas to my Secret Santa. I don't have any clue of who sent it is or what it is, but it tastes nice. I'm guessing an IPA type ale, but a light body. A very lively beer which I guessed as the bottle wouldn't stand up. lol. But a very drinkable ale. :

 

[dpclark1977]

Merry Christmas to My Secret Santa - Here is me with ST8 - Paddys Oatmeal Stout

The notes tell me that this AG brew was brewed with Maris Otter, Flaked Oats, Munich I, Black Malt and Torrified Wheat with Bravo and Fuggles Hops and Trusty S-04

Addition of Cocoa Powder @15 mins.

Really Nice Pint - is going down a treat - good head that is lasting and really good mouth feel - Im Enjoying it and its made the building of the childrens toys much less stressful.

 

[Cononthebarber]

Sorry no pictures, will post later...

I got ticket Z6 which was an IPA it also included a brucey bonus beer of a "2Bee" stout.

The IPA first...

Aroma: Smells great, lovely citrussy note heavy grapefruit and floral...just what I look for in an IPA. I'd say Galaxy hops?

Taste: Massive hop flavour citrus and grapefruit follows through to a great long lasting bitterness. Its hops all the way with this, very little malty flavours just what I wanted :)

Look: Lovely clear pint with a long lasting head which lasted till the end of the glass. Was carbonated to just the right level with good lacing and bubbly tight head.

All in all - An awesome IPA exactly to style and well made, no off flavours - can't get any better than that really. Well done to the brewer! :thumb:

And the stout...

Aroma: Very neutral aroma, no hop, slight chocolate maybe?

Taste: Has coffee, dark chocolate and has a lingering bitterness which is really nice.

Look: Very dark with a good initial head however it dissipated quickly but still left a nice layer on the top which again lasted to the end of the glass.

All in all - A great stout nice and dark in colour and the malty goodness you should expect. Well done again!

Both beers are awesome and I'd be proud to brew them myself, many thanks to the brewer and santa...now to open the secret envelope :)

 

[Asalpaws]

My beer number 2 : "Traditional Saison" BG 5. Looking at the sheet it was brewed with WLP 565 a quick trip to Mr Malty reveled this as the Dupont strain. Having struggled with the WY version of this yeast twice before, I was interested to see if someone else had got this stuff to perform.

Poured crystal clear with nice amount of carbonation. Rose gold appearance that would easily pass the "Vossy test"

Nice fruity smell, has that hard to define Saison funk.

I enjoyed this farmhouse ale with some pumpkin soup and Rye bread which seemed appropriate accompaniment.

Taste is has a lot of nice fruity esters from the yeast. It is very reminiscent of the style defining Saison Dupont. I couldn't make out much hop flavour but it had a refreshing bitter/dry finish. I hope you have some of these saved up for the "Summer Season" a really quenching beer. You clearly got the yeast to fully attenuate, somthing I never managed, what temps did you ferment at ?

Thanks for the great beer, Merry Christmas T

 

[StevieDS]

My review of Goon Brenn...



Aroma- A very nice fruity aroma with mild hoppiness

Appearance- Lovely golden colour, with a slight haze probably due to the wheat malt (btw clarity is not at all important imo), slight head which lasted, with good lacing

Flavour- Moderate bitterness with a beautiful clean hop flavour, sweet fruitiness and a lovely, soft, toasty malt flavour (from the crystal and chocolate malts?)

Mouth feel- Full bodied (perhaps from the high mash temp and wheat malt) with quite low carbonation

Overall impression- Very nice, fruity ale. Excellent clean hop flavours with very well balanced maltiness. Lovely soft, long lasting malt finish. Quite lightly carbonated, but perfect for my taste! Very drinkable.
Overall this is pretty wonderful, I would be more than happy to brew a beer of this quality! This brewer obviously knows what he's doing, top job my friend!
:hat:

 

[knthrak1982]

Here's my review of the second of my two beers; X17 "Dark Island"

"Somewhere between an 80/- and a 90/- lies the Dark Island", so I'm informed by the notes provided.

This is a beautifully dark beer with sweet nutty and estery notes at first, balanced by a bitterness from Challenger and North Down hops. Perfectly carbonated and very more-ish on a winter's evening such as this.
:
The notes tell me that this is brewed with a Scottish craft brewery's own strain of yeast and this is exactly the kind of beer I'd like to be making when I learn how to culture yeast properly myself.
Very well done!
:hat:

 

[StevieDS]

Review of ST4 Santa's Relief, a chocolate, maple syrup porter...



Aroma- Sweet, roasted malty aroma with low hoppiness

Appearance- This is perhaps the darkest beer I've ever seen, pure black, almost opaque!

Flavour- Quite smokey at first, then quite a bit of crystal sweetness with lingering roasted and hop bitterness

Mouth feel- Full bodied, with low to moderate carbonation.

Overall impression- A strong, very robust porter with lots of smokey, roasted flavours. Moderate bitterness, well balanced by the crystal sweetness. Unfortunately the maple syrup flavour is a little lost, maybe due to high amounts of black and chocolate malts. A good robust porter though, with big flavor. We'll done :thumb: