Secret Santa 2019 Reviews

[ClownPrince]

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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.

This one was mine. Glad you enjoyed it. There should have been a note in the tube with the recipe and my notes on it, if you've lost it i'd be happy to send the recipe over (if you want it).

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

'Chocwork Orange' Stout:

Drank this on Christmas Eve. A very nice tasty stout. Got a lot more chocolate flavour than orange though, the orange was more of an aftertaste.

Cheers for the review , glad you liked it. I have really enjoyed secret Santa swaps & would recommend everyone giving it a go next year. I have one more to sample today. Thanks again & a big shout out to Strange - Steve for organising this.

 

[divrack]

review 2; EM3....

little did i expect what i was getting into with this one... em i thought, perhaps its some variation on an english mild i thought, opening the cap... Blam, i was accosted by a swift punch in the nose with a juicyfruit bubblegum fist, shaken, i poured the beer, nice and clear looked good, gingerly took a sip and immediately i was tied up in a sack of lavender and cloves and was pushed into a meadow of flowers and herbs and dragged this was and that with no respite, eventually i was left in a sweet malty pool and regained enough composure to take another gulp at which moment the procedure started back up, and this happened again and again until with a mixture of sadness and relief i finished the bottle.

looking back on the experience from the safety of an english brown ale i remember it with fondness and am glad to have lived it if only for an hour, although this may be some form of Stockholm syndrome or another form of madness brought on by the beer...

(apologies i wrote this last night while quite pissed, but i suppose it gets across my feelings as well as a proper review)

cheers!

 

[divrack]

Should have been minimal yeast in the bottle to settle as it was bottled force carbed direct from the FV after cold crashing - I think the Pia yeast really helps with the body as although its clean and flocculant its not all that attenuative

ive heard some good thins about the cml yeasts, im needing some hops anyway so will probably pick some up to have on hand.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

This one was mine. Glad you enjoyed it. There should have been a note in the tube with the recipe and my notes on it, if you've lost it i'd be happy to send the recipe over (if you want it).

It was really nice, thank you. The recipe was in the tube and is now in my little folder with all the other recipes I want to make one day. Cheers.

 

[strange-steve]

Today my second, a "Flemish Stew Dark Strong Belgian" at 8.2%

Lively carbonation well suited to the style, good persistent head. Very nice intense flavour, caramel and dried fruit with assertive bitterness that's well balanced with the alcohol.

Really enjoyed this, thanks to the sender, Merry Christmas!

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I have one of these too, looking forward to trying it later today

 

[strange-steve]

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.

I forgot to say, I would never have thought to use Southern Comfort in a beer but it actually worked really well :thumba:

 

[big yogi]

This Is my review for Maison Saison.
This is the first time i have tasted a Saison beer.
It poured a golden colour with with a little head on top which dissipated halfway down the glass.
Carbonation was good with fruity flavours with a hint of spice coming through with a sourness at the end.
It was a nice refreshing drink, it's not a easy drinking beer but interesting one though.
Thank you Santa!!

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

2nd & final beer & what a fantastic example of an ESB. Poured nice & dark with a small tight tan head that laced until the last sip , perfect carbonation. Caramel malt on the nose & a wonderful malty biscuit taste with a mellow bitterness on the finish . I could drink 4 or 5 of these quite easily .... bravo Santa you brew a cracking

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

Pint

 

[dan125]

Candy Orange IPA is my 2nd swap
Pretty high carbonation but a lovely clean easy drinking ale, with just a hint of orange.
Cracking early afternoon refresher, thanks Santa

 

[strange-steve]

My final beer is Flemish Stew an 8.2% dark Belgian. This is a lovely rich, full-flavoured, fruity, and spicy beer, right up my street. The yeast character is really great (WLP530?), no off-flavours with a robust bitterness in the finish which helps to dry it out. The alcohol is certainly noticable but not hot or harsh at all. The high level of carbonation helps lighten what could be a heavy beer, so great job and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Many thanks for sending it :hat:

 

[MackemBrew]

The 2nd beer.

Breakfast Stout 5.8%
The pour was like light flow of black coffee.
A nose of nuts and milk chocolate.
A sharp taste with light chocolate, oats and even some liquorice.

Overall, a good beer and a style that I always love. The only thing I would want to change is making the beer a bit more dense.

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This one was mine, glad you enjoyed it

 

[samale]

Some really nice and interesting beers up for review.

 

[user 23602]

This one was mine, glad you enjoyed it

Thank you for the beer! Havent opened the Impy yet.

 

[MackemBrew]

First of my beers tasted today, a Galaxy and Citra AIPA.

Pours with a nice haze and light, thin head that stays with the beer. Pleasant hoppy aroma and great body.

Really enjoyed this, nice easy drinking beer that incould happily sit and have 3 or 4 of. Thanks!!

Will be having my second beer tomorrow, coconut porter, which I am really looking forward to.

 

[fury_tea]

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Well this was the beer that Santa sent to me. An Octoberfest Marzen. This beer was right up my street, very fond of this style. It was a nice dark golden colour and perfectly clear. I really enjoyed this beer, had a nice maltyness to it and it is certainly better than my own attempt at this style earlier in the year. Thank you to the brewer, a really well made beer. Came with lots of information too which was good.

This was mine too. Only my second attempt at a lager style and I think it came out alright. Glad you liked it mate. I'd make it again for sure.

 

[Lawrence22]

This was mine too. Only my second attempt at a lager style and I think it came out alright. Glad you liked it mate. I'd make it again for sure.

It was a really good beer. I've had success with other lagers but my own attempt at a Marzen didn't quite hit the mark. Will try again in the New year.

 

[andyb13]

Here is my first review:

IRA 1
Good carbonation and good mouth feel, but the head did dissipate quite quickly, no problem with that.
Quite a dry Belgian taste which I like, not overall hopped.
No % alcohol specified (unless I Missed it), but a do I suspect a reasonable strength
Definitely a reddish/ chestnut colour
A good late at night beer and if I was served in the pub would definitely be happy with it.
Many thanks Santa

 

[Ajhutch]

Beast Of The Midlands Mild. 5.5%

Really impressed with the label, great first impression. A good hiss on opening with a lively pour (I always err towards encouraging a bigger foam when I pour homebrew!) The head was light brown, mostly small bubbles and persisted well. The beer is jet black and opaque.

Aroma is mostly dominated by a roast character, and a little burnt treacle. No esters or hop aroma, not that I’d expected any.

Mouthfeel is quite light, the carbonation fills it out nicely.

Flavour is similar to the aroma, with a little spicy note perhaps from hops in the finish. Really clean flavour, no off flavours and a lovely dry finish. I don’t really know where the dividing line between a mild and a stout is but this was a great antidote to some of the adjunct heavy sweet craft stouts I’ve had.

Absolutely loved this and would really like to see the recipe. I’ve had very little success with dark beers and getting close to this would make me very happy.

Next up is an Export Stout, really happy to get 2 dark beers this year!