Secret Santa 2019 Reviews

[mitchmalt]

Hi Andy

The Essex AIPA was mine. Only my third go at BIAB so I’m still learning but I’ve been pleased with my results so far. I used a recipe for the Bells Two Hearted IPA as a base to create something similar but more sessionable. I really appreciate your review, thank you. The hops used are Centennial so I suppose as this is known as super Cascade it was a very good guess and you don’t look foolish at all

I’ll take that, definitely picked the grapefruit/citrus, very good. Have a good one and thanks again.
Andy

 

[dan125]

Just finished enjoying my 1st swap.
A bit darker and clearer than I was expecting for a neipa but I haven't tried the alchemist original.
The mouthfeel is very soft/smooth and both the abv and ibus are very well hidden.
Thanks Santa , nice beer!

 

[pmh]

Now finishing the 2nd beer, the aroma is very citrus, I'd guess Citra? The taste is just as citrus and very pleasing on the palate.
The End is Near's appearance is what I'd expect for a pale ale, the carbonation is spot on and has a velvety mouth feel.
Really enjoyed both my beers that were sent so thank you Santa. Looking forward to participating next year.
Merry Christmas

 

[strange-steve]

This is the first of mine called Fizzy Stout and despite organising I honestly can't remember who sent me this. It's a beautiful looking beer with a huge foamy head which lasted all the way down.

A slight tang to the aroma and loads of coffee roastiness coming through, almost like a coffee liqueur and it's very nice indeed.

The flavours are lovely too, rich and roasty with lovely layers of flavours. There's almost a vanilla flavour, and something reminiscent of rum or whisky, I wonder has this been fortified in some way? It finishes nicely dry without any harshness or sweetness which keeps it nice and light.

A great beer and perfect for a cold Christmas day, so thanks for sending this :hat:

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

Could have been great . This is the 2nd beer of 2 which were very kindly sent. Boozy aroma but no carbonation on opening , no head (could be due to fruits used) thin body & slight sourness from cherries at the start not enough flavour for me , a great experiment , up carbonation & adjuncts next time get more body in & that could be great. I’m going to try this flavour combo later in the year for Christmas the cherry flavour could be a winner. Your 1st stout was 10/10 for me this one not so.

 

[Cowman]

My second beer is an american brown ale. It was citrusy in the smell and had a good head which did last til the end. I started to drink this straight out the fridge before I thought to let it warm up and to start with it had a coffee aftertaste which disappeared to a toffee bittersweet finish as I left it to warm. A very nice sessionable ale coming in at 5.5%. Thank you very much father Christmas . I have taken a picture but its apparently too large to load.

 

[Justin Dean]

Black IPA.
Hoppy black beer. Not much roast and slightly soapy hops that would improve with time I think but liked it all the same. Good carbonation that stayed throughout.

Thank you for sharing

 

[Cwrw666]

Belgique IPA (BBST)

5.8% ABV, Belgian inspired, using wyeast 3787

Carbonated at ale levels it was an easy pour. Small head as a result, but it stayed to the end. It was a little hazy, not as much as it appears in the photo.
Good body, colour like a darkish IPA, taste - a mild saisony flavour, much less than in saisons I've made myself, but there again I've never used this particular yeast. Personally I'd say it wasn't hoppy enough to tag it as an IPA but it was very quaffable nonetheless. Very nice, supping it as I wait for my flameout hops to infuse a bit (yup, got a brew on!).

 

[Justin Dean]

Brown beer. Definitely on character. Not too thin and good brown beer flavour
Too cloudy though and over carbonated a touch which I guess lifted the cloudiness. Not sure but protofloc might have helped? Thank you for sharing.

 

[Cwrw666]

Btw the recipe is on the back which I will certainly be using and I'd happily share on here with the brewer's permission.

That was mine! Happy Christmas, and glad you liked it. Feel free to post the recipe, it was a good one but sadly I've none left...

 

[Justin Dean]

 

[Leon103]

First ipa was a 'seven seas of rye' rye ipa.
A rye ipa has long been on my brew list but I have never made one.
Poured with a nice head that stayed for most of the pint. Lovely carb. Little aroma but bags of flavour with a good malt/hop balance. A bit of spice, earthy and floral.

Thanks Santa

 

[Justin Dean]

Mystery beer 9.4 %. Tastes like a quad. Plummy brandy dark beer. Bloody lovely. Ok give it more time and it will smooth out. A beer to put down for a year or 2. Enjoying it. Best of the 3 I received. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Subtle Duck]

First secret santa review for me.
An American amber ale.
Beautiful deep amber colour, nice level of carbonation. Good head, lasted all the way down. It had a balanced bitterness with good citrus hoppy taste which lasts. Rich caramel aroma with a small dosing of American hops.
All in all, not a style that I've ever drank before but will definitely drink again. Bravo to the brewer

 

[samale]

First ipa was a 'seven seas of rye' rye ipa.
A rye ipa has long been on my brew list but I have never made one.
Poured with a nice head that stayed for most of the pint. Lovely carb. Little aroma but bags of flavour with a good malt/hop balance. A bit of spice, earthy and floral.

Hi Leon the seven seas of rye IPA was my beer. I am glad you liked it. It's a nice pint. I tried following the ruthless rye recipe from sierra Nevada. It has a fair chuck of hops in it. 100g of magnum 150g of Chinook and 75g citra.
Merry Christmas
The young girl picked the name apparently it's a queen song

 

[strange-steve]

My second (again can't remember who sent this) is Essex Christmas Cracker a 4.6% dark ale. The aroma is quite clean with hints of caramel. Lovely nutty flavours with hints of biscuit and toasty malt. A lovely brown ale, I've tried brewing this style a few times but not managed one this good so thanks for this :hat:

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

My first secret Santa is a candy orange IPA. This is my first ever review so apologies for the lack of detail. I’m also not great at picking out Citrus fruits and other flavours in beers, they normally all just taste like beer to me, but even I was able to smell and taste the Orange in this and it was present in just the perfect amount for my taste. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed this as much if it had been any more prominent. Not a lot of a pop when opened but it was stored pretty cold, about 6 degrees C. Once poured it formed a very good head and was carbonated perfectly in my opinion. Quite bitter but this added a great extra bite to the Orange flavour. I really enjoyed this beer and would probably have opened another had there been one. Thanks Santa.

 

[divrack]

Mystery beer 9.4 %. Tastes like a quad. Plummy brandy dark beer. Bloody lovely. Ok give it more time and it will smooth out. A beer to put down for a year or 2. Enjoying it. Best of the 3 I received. Thank you for sharing.

View attachment 22051

Hmm that might have been mine.. didn't I scribble something on the bottle like bretted quad or something? Might not have been.
If it was it's a quad base with a bunch of random Bret and some bugs, already about 15 months old, just now starting to come into it's own.

I had a bit of a disaster having miss remembered the day of my holiday and then finding out the keg had leaked most of its gas so it may have been a bit flat and I had to fill the bottle and wrap it and give it to someone to post in the space of 7 bleary eyed minutes as I fled to the airport... So sorry about that on the presentation and carb level, assuming that was my one.

 

[Leon103]

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

 

[samale]

First secret santa review for me.
An American amber ale.
Beautiful deep amber colour, nice level of carbonation. Good head, lasted all the way down. It had a balanced bitterness with good citrus hoppy taste which lasts. Rich caramel aroma with a small dosing of American hops.
All in all, not a style that I've ever drank before but will definitely drink again. Bravo to the brewer

I had this beer as well I thought it was lovely