Secret Santa 2019 Reviews

[user 18729]

NEIPA

Wow. Just wow. This is a lovely beer. A deep orange colour, slightly cloudy (I did get a bit carried away and probably poured some sediment but perfect for style). The aroma is gorgeous, big bold American hops. Flavour wise again deep citrus hops leaping out of the glass balanced by the malt (I’d love to see the recipe of this one). Most impressive is that despite the 80+IBU it is perfectly balanced. Merry Christmas good Sir, or Lady.

 

[user 18729]

My last review, an American style stout.

Appearance- lovely off-white creamy head and perfect carbonation.

Aroma- not much aroma but there is a slight roasty/ coffee aroma.

Flavour- crisp dark malt, hop bitterness and very subtle coffee coming through.

I really enjoyed this beer. The mouthfeel is lovely. There is a slight sharpness present that whilst does compliment the style of beer, could be ironed out to turn this into something amazing.

Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

 

[MrSarge]

evening all!, my first secret Santa so i regret to say that never even thought of taking a picture of the pour... having seen them all posted up im sad i diddnt. that being said here goes:

1st Californian common

poured great and held its head for a good while (not that it had much time to dissipate)
good mouthfeel and well carbonated
mostly malt lead, smooth with slight woody/ smoky notes, all in all an elegant well rounded easy drinking beer! could have put a few away thanks santa!

2nd Mandarina wheat

also poured great, nice haze and super smooth with a lovely creamy head

yeast present but not overly so, slight sweetness, hints of orange and spice; clove, anise, coriander seed a really lovely beer which was well enjoyed on a dark night. not session-able as per my taste but a triumph none the less!


thanks to my secret santas! i loved the experience and reading the reviews and would definitely like to do more of this if the community agrees!?

also thanks to steve for organising it all! top lad!

 

[Aaron Rennie]

wrong post

 

[Aaron Rennie]

This is my first ever review, so please stick with me. Bottom line up front, this was a lovely beer with complex flavours that all complimented each other.

Perfect hiss on opening and appearance as expected (pitch black, no light seen through even with a torch). Small bubbles on the pour that dispersed quickly, less than a minute.

Strong lovely aroma, Brandy is upfront (or might just be the 10% abv coming through). A lovely fruit aroma that if blindfolded you could be convinced was a Christmas pudding.


Initial taste is all grain, with a lovely roast shining through. After taste is a warming brandy with a sharpness. My only guess would be the mouthfeel, which I would estimate to be medium. My personal preference is for a slightly fuller body, but in conjunction with the Brandy works really well.


All in all, a lovely Christmas Beer. I think everyone would agree it’s a drink to start and finish the night with. Thank you, and can’t wait for the next.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Second beer was an american stout, again a beer I haven't brewed myself. Initial thoughts was that it had been bottled from a keg as it was right up to the brim, but then I saw the yeast shoot through the bottle as I opened it. Massive gusher. Lucky I was in the utility room.
Well over carbed and managed to save a couple of hundred mill.
A well made stout though with nice hint of floral hops. Not far off a black ipa. Thanks Santa

gotta love a santa brew booby trap tho' ever play tapper? (soda shaker level)

 

[MickDundee]

evening all!, my first secret Santa so i regret to say that never even thought of taking a picture of the pour... having seen them all posted up im sad i diddnt. that being said here goes:

1st Californian common

poured great and held its head for a good while (not that it had much time to dissipate)
good mouthfeel and well carbonated
mostly malt lead, smooth with slight woody/ smoky notes, all in all an elegant well rounded easy drinking beer! could have put a few away thanks santa!

2nd Mandarina wheat

also poured great, nice haze and super smooth with a lovely creamy head

yeast present but not overly so, slight sweetness, hints of orange and spice; clove, anise, coriander seed a really lovely beer which was well enjoyed on a dark night. not session-able as per my taste but a triumph none the less!


thanks to my secret santas! i loved the experience and reading the reviews and would definitely like to do more of this if the community agrees!?

also thanks to steve for organising it all! top lad!

I believe the Common was mine. I’m happy with it, but can’t help feeling the bittering is perhaps a bit harsh. It’s the 3rd version of my own recipe of that beer. Glad you enjoyed it - I’ve had 2 bottles of it tonight myself.

 

[Lawrence22]

View attachment 22143
My last review, an American style stout.

Appearance- lovely off-white creamy head and perfect carbonation.

Aroma- not much aroma but there is a slight roasty/ coffee aroma.

Flavour- crisp dark malt, hop bitterness and very subtle coffee coming through.

I really enjoyed this beer. The mouthfeel is lovely. There is a slight sharpness present that whilst does compliment the style of beer, could be ironed out to turn this into something amazing.

Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

This one is mine. One of only 2 bottles from the batch as the rest is kegged. So I actually haven't had it from the bottle myself as I gifted the other too. I'm really enjoying it on draught myself. Glad you enjoyed.

 

[chrisb8]

Tried the first of my swaps last night and was very impressed by the Belgique IPA that santa sent me. This was described as a Belgian inspired IPA and was a completely unknown concept to me but I was pleasantly surprised by the malty Belgian beer taste up front which left a definite IPA aftertaste in the mouth. Good head, carbonation, colour and clarity and a great balance of bitter and aroma hops - I would not have wanted it any more bitter for my tastes though. Very unusual and very enjoyable, this went down all too easily. Thank you very much

 

[SamBrewster]

View attachment 22030

Bottle 2 of 2

Christmas Tree.

Firstly, loved the clip art tree label. Absolutely spot on.

Poured dark into the glass, left a nice thick light tan head, which hung around, and was easily roused with a swirl.
My wife and I had a stab at the nose, and we both thought there was a light spice bill, I said nutmeg and she said clove, it was not overpowering at all, just a hint.

Taste was chocolate, and slight burnt notes which I loved, maybe a coffee hint. My wife also really liked it, which is amazing as she is not generally a dark beer fan.

For me the dark malt taste was balanced really well by the bitterness, in terms of abv, I love the way I was left to guess btw! I initially thought about 5.5, but as I write this I’m thinking it might be a bit more! Perfect winter beer. I would love the recipe.

Thanks a lot
Andy

Thanks Andy, I have never had my beer reviewed before so this really made my day.
Recipe: 4920g Pale, 432g Crystal, 300g Chocolate, 223g Rye malts (crystal & rye were use ups - there was supposed to be a bit more of both!).
Mashed at 66C in 18L water for an hour. Sparged at 78C to fill kettle to about 24L.
One hour boil - 50g Summit at 60 mins, 100g pine needles, 2 satsumas & 2 cloves (well spotted your wife) added at 30 minutes, 50g Fuggles & Irish Moss added at 15 minutes.
Was aiming for an OG around 1.055 but missed - not sure why!. Beer is 4.5% but does hit a bit harder.
8 days fv with Belgian Ale Yeast, 7 days in 2fv, bottled on 25th october with treacle & golden syrup (ran out of treacle so made up with golden syrup) to condition to about 3vols.
I am pleased with the outcome but next year will drop the pine a little, make sure I have enough ingredients and move the oranges to the 2fv.

 

[mitchmalt]

Thanks Andy, I have never had my beer reviewed before so this really made my day.
Recipe: 4920g Pale, 432g Crystal, 300g Chocolate, 223g Rye malts (crystal & rye were use ups - there was supposed to be a bit more of both!).
Mashed at 66C in 18L water for an hour. Sparged at 78C to fill kettle to about 24L.
One hour boil - 50g Summit at 60 mins, 100g pine needles, 2 satsumas & 2 cloves (well spotted your wife) added at 30 minutes, 50g Fuggles & Irish Moss added at 15 minutes.
Was aiming for an OG around 1.055 but missed - not sure why!. Beer is 4.5% but does hit a bit harder.
8 days fv with Belgian Ale Yeast, 7 days in 2fv, bottled on 25th october with treacle & golden syrup (ran out of treacle so made up with golden syrup) to condition to about 3vols.
I am pleased with the outcome but next year will drop the pine a little, make sure I have enough ingredients and move the oranges to the 2fv.

That’s typical of her to get the spice right! Far superior nose to mine.
Thanks a lot for sharing, I think I will have a go, I’ve got all those malts in, I might beef it up to Impy strength and maybe get it on soon and leave it till next year! If I do I’ll send you a bottle if you like!

Cheers

 

[Zephyr259]

View attachment 22132

My second secret Santa is a strong ale. Poured dark amber colour with a good head which lasted to the bottom of the glass. As I said in my first review I’m not the best person for describing flavours in a beer but this had a unique flavour. Not like anything I’ve had before but pretty enjoyable. At the risk of sounding really stupid I would say toffee, but it was by no means sweet. Half way through it hit that it was a strong ale! I’ve been used to session pale ales recently but this made a welcome change. Would love to see the recipe. Thanks Santa.

That's mine, it's technically a Maibock but I didn't label is as such due to the big character from the kveik yeast and I didn't was it to be misleading. Here's the details, glad you enjoyed it, and yeah, at 6.5% it sneaks up on you. :-)

Realised that was the last post in my brew day thread, this got Hornindal kveik, fermented for 5 days at 25c where I started bumping it by 1c a day to help it finish as it was seeming sluggish, finished up on day 9 at 29c.

The toffee you're getting will likely be from the boiling down of some first runnings which gives you a maillard syrup for extra character.

 

[Homeboy]

First beer - america pale man.
Good carbonation, poured well and kept its fizz throughout drinking. I really liked this beer as I found the hop taste to be nice and subtle and not over powering.
Also loved the label!
Thanks santa!!!

 

[Homeboy]

Second beer - Rudolph's nose.
Nice carbonation (looks more frothy than it should be due to me pouring it badly!).
Once again, a really nice IPA that I enjoyed drinking, although at 6.5% wouldn't be drinking many in one night!
Thanks very much

 

[DavidHatton]

First beer - america pale man.
Good carbonation, poured well and kept its fizz throughout drinking. I really liked this beer as I found the hop taste to be nice and subtle and not over powering.
Also loved the label!
Thanks santa!!!View attachment 22164

Cheers, That be one of mine, Glad you enjoyed it, went for a subtle hop flavour on this. label pic was from Pan's Labyrinth. Character called Pale man.

 

[strange-steve]

@brewhaha and @Homeboy thanks for the reviews, the Rudolph's Nose IPA was mine :hat:

 

[SamBrewster]

That’s typical of her to get the spice right! Far superior nose to mine.
Thanks a lot for sharing, I think I will have a go, I’ve got all those malts in, I might beef it up to Impy strength and maybe get it on soon and leave it till next year! If I do I’ll send you a bottle if you like!

Cheers

I look forward to trying it . Thanks again.

 

[chrisb8]

Had my second swap tonight - Beware the Crows blonde ale. On opening this had a good fizz and I was struck by the colour and the clarity of this beer. There was a good head but it dissipated quite quickly. It has a really strong fruity aroma and the flavour was malty first up with a very fruity lingering aftertaste. There was a slightly sour flavour which I believe may be from a Belgian yeast. I haven't had a Belgian blonde for a long time but it felt really authentic, this was a well balanced and well made beer. Cheers and thank you

 

[Oneflewover]

My second beer

This beer came without a note, but an 'L' on the cap led me to suspect that it was a lager. And so it transpired!

A very good easy drinking lager too. A hint of sulphur, nice and clean, good carbonation, bitterness where I like it, nicely dry. Good job Santa!

 

[Jakeyboi]

Second beer was an american stout, again a beer I haven't brewed myself. Initial thoughts was that it had been bottled from a keg as it was right up to the brim, but then I saw the yeast shoot through the bottle as I opened it. Massive gusher. Lucky I was in the utility room.
Well over carbed and managed to save a couple of hundred mill.
A well made stout though with nice hint of floral hops. Not far off a black ipa. Thanks Santa

sorry for the gusher, the other 4 I bottled we’re ok, that one was overfilled I guess the lack of head space had something to do with it. Good news is I got a blichman gun for crimbo