Secret Santa 2019 Reviews

[MickDundee]

First up is Filthy Animal Xmas Ale 4.6% ABV

Crystal clear, nice amber colour. Earthy, almost liquorice-like aroma. Caramelly and bitter, quite earthy with just a hint of citrus in the after taste.

I liked this one a lot. Went down far too quickly!

 

[Subtle Duck]

It's was amazing, thank you secret santas, I have been treated

 

[user 18729]

Tried my first today, a very tasty chocolate stout

Smooth with a clean bitterness and a nice subtle chocolatey aftertaste, not super roasty which made it easy to drink. Perfect carbonation and a nice persistent head.

Really enjoyed this, thanks very much to the sender and Merry Christmas!

View attachment 22060

Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[mitchmalt]

Next up is a Belgian dubbel.
Light ish amber colour with a very big fluffy white head which is expected from the style. Rich malt aroma with minimal alcohol on the nose. This followed through on tasting, considering this was 8.5%, it was a very easy to not notice the strength. Good Belgiany taste. A very nice beer, would love the recipe if you're willing to supply it.

That’s me (pretty sure! Unless there’s a massive coincidence) glad you enjoyed it. I will put the recipe on tomorrow, need to get the brew log out of the garage.

 

[MickDundee]

Next up is Maison Saison (yes, I’ve changed the glass from my last one).

Cloudy and hardly any head. Tastes nice, the flavour of the yeast pulls through well but it isn’t as dry as I would expect from a saison. There’s a bit of a nice lagery aroma and taste to it, I assume there’s German hops in there. Despite the lack of head, it’s nicely carbonated.

 

[Subtle Duck]

That’s me (pretty sure! Unless there’s a massive coincidence) glad you enjoyed it. I will put the recipe on tomorrow, need to get the brew log out of the garage.

hand written note inside, brewed/bottled in september

 

[mitchmalt]

hand written note inside, brewed/bottled in september

Sounds like mine, thanks

 

[dave_77]

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.

Glad it when done ok. Happy Christmas:thumba:

 

[Cowman]

@dave_77 cheers very much. Happy Christmas to you too

 

[Zephyr259]

I’ve not seen my 2 on this thread either, and I’m pretty sure one of mine was a regular contributor to the Secret Santa sign up thread (judging by his username and the name I sent mine to, and the time he confirmed receipt compared to when I sent it) so slightly concerned I’ve done the same.

I’ll be drinking my 2 tonight once we’ve tidied up and put the kids to bed.

Whoever sent to me doesn't need to worry, I got both but can't drink them til the weekend as I'm working until then. :-(

 

[dave_77]

First of my swaps that I tried was a Belgian Wit from memory. Perfect for my first Christmas Day beer at 4% . It's was a little lively out of the bottle but settled down in the glass. not much experience with the style, but looked the part. Slight Belgian aroma and flavour. No off flavours, it was a clean and soft easy drinker and a nice tasting beer to start the day with( no slice of orange to hand) . Thank you. Happy Christmas

 

[dave_77]

My second beer was a hoppy IPA 5.2% IPA. Well carbonated with good head, initial aroma was slight citrus. Flavour to me was grapefruit and citrus with good bitterness. Maybe older American hopes like centennial or cascade. Very clear beer and no off flavours that I could pick up. Very easy drinking IPA and enjoyed it with some cheese and biscuits

 

[MickDundee]

First of my swaps that I tried was a Belgian Wit from memory. Perfect for my first Christmas Day beer at 4% . It's was a little lively out of the bottle but settled down in the glass. not much experience with the style, but looked the part. Slight Belgian aroma and flavour. No off flavours, it was a clean and soft easy drinker and a nice tasting beer to start the day with( no slice of orange to hand) . Thank you. Happy ChristmasView attachment 22068

That was mine.

Surprised it was lively out of the bottle because I’ve found it perfect, even a tad under-carbed if I’m being honest.

Ive been really enjoying the beer, but it was actually a disaster of a brew day. The torrified wheat kernels wouldn’t crush (I’ve learned my lesson for next time to go for flaked torrified wheat or to get GEB to crush it for me) and I ended up using Shredded Wheat Bitesize and upping the oats significantly to make up for it which has given it a bit of an oily mouthfeel and is the reason it’s only 4%.

 

[dave_77]

That was mine.

Surprised it was lively out of the bottle because I’ve found it perfect, even a tad under-carbed if I’m being honest.

Ive been really enjoying the beer, but it was actually a disaster of a brew day. The torrified wheat kernels wouldn’t crush (I’ve learned my lesson for next time to go for flaked torrified wheat or to get GEB to crush it for me) and I ended up using Shredded Wheat Bitesize and upping the oats significantly to make up for it which has given it a bit of an oily mouthfeel and is the reason it’s only 4%.

bitesize shredded Wheat..that doesn't sound fun. I was glad for the lighter beer, kept me in the game for longer

 

[MickDundee]

bitesize shredded Wheat..that doesn't sound fun. I was glad for the lighter beer, kept me in the game for longer

It was on offer in Sainsbury’s and I was hoping that “unmalted wheat is unmalted wheat” regardless of the source so 750g of it went into the mash alongside the 2kg of uncrushed TW.

 

[big yogi]

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:

This one is from me.
Since you organised the swap, you would know who sends you yours, so I decided to give you a surprise ha hah.

This stout was over carbonated hense the name, yes i fortified it using oak chippings and raisins soaked in southern comfort, i also enjoyed enjoyed drinking this and will definitely be making this one again with less carbonation.
I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[big yogi]

My second beer was a hoppy IPA 5.2% IPA. Well carbonated with good head, initial aroma was slight citrus. Flavour to me was grapefruit and citrus with good bitterness. Maybe older American hopes like centennial or cascade. Very clear beer and no off flavours that I could pick up. Very easy drinking IPA and enjoyed it with some cheese and biscuitsView attachment 22069

This was mine.
It was loaded with Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook and simcoe so was was disappointed that the flavours faded.
I'm just glad you enjoyed it

 

[big yogi]

I will review my 2 in the next couple of days as i'm feeling a bit tender today

 

[divrack]

ok, my first review was for a hazy ipa with a nice crimbo wreath bottle, cant take photos im afraid as my phone is smashed to hell.

this is a style i have brewed quite a bit and im quite picky about, so i was prepared to be disappointed, but actually very pleased. cracking punchy dry hop flavour that is so hard to maintain on a pleasing light body, no astringency, kept me going back for gulp after gulp.

from what i remember the head lasted well and the carbonation was right.

my guess would be a high amount of flaked stuff, probably mainly wheat with a bit of oats, 35-40 percent even, london fog yeast, hops maybe ekuanot, citra, possibly a little mosaic or something more herbal. thought i even got a whiff of nelson but probably not as thats one hop thats pretty unmistakable

if i had brewed this id be well pleased, my only preference would be for slightly less flaked stuff as i find it holds onto too much yeast for longer giving a slightly bitter yeast twang which does clear but usually not till after ive already devoured most of the keg, and id also like maybe 10 ibus more up front from first wort as it could have been a bit more bitter to balance out the full mouthfeel, but both these things are aspects that are up for argument with the style, undefined as it is.

anyway great beer cheers.

 

[user 18729]

I will try both of mine once my man flu goes away. Severely bunged up. I thought I killed it off last night after a few whiskeys but it’s come back with a vengeance