Secret Santa Review Thread 2021!

[samale]

A wonderfully kind gesture from @Alastair70 this Irish red is a delight. Rich malty profile with a sweet bitterness. Literally ideal for a night like this.

Thank you. View attachment 60051

I had that beer last week, lovely drop

 

[Moe]

My first secret Santa beer was a Kolsch.

I really enjoyed this so thank you to the sender.
It was carbed to perfection, a pleasant hiss on opening and poured with a nice head.

It was incredibly smooth, had a nice malt flavour, not sweet per se, but almost if that makes sense? The bitterness came through on the aftertaste and kept me wanting another mouthful.

Absolutely lovely beer thank you, I could happily drink these all day.
Merry Christmas

 

[Alastair70]

Cheers @Broken Toe. A little thank-you for making good on my error and pitching in with a second bottle in the swap. :hat:

PS. If there’s any other Irish Red Ales out there, they’re not from me

 

[Oneflewover]

The first one for me was Belgian Strong Dark Ale @ 9%.

Pours with a beautiful head that remained through the entire drink with lacing to the end. Nicely carbonated. Bready aroma. The taste of this ale is absolutely fantastic. Nice thick mouthfeel with really beautiful malty, caramel taste. There is a nice "bite" after each mouthful which could be either carbonation or maybe a spiciness from the yeast.

Absolutely fantastic beer and well done to the brewer. Can only hope to brew something as nice in the future

View attachment 60029

Glad you enjoyed it mate, thanks for the great review

 

[Alastair70]

First up, the bonus stout the arrived this week.
Just the right amount of hiss when I opened the bottle. I know carbonation is going to to spot on for an oatmeal stout. Off white head, medium lasting. I’m going to guess this is a young(ish) brew. Dark malt aromas on the nose, but the star is taste. Rich creamy mouthfeel from the oats, deep caramel malts with a decent helping of dark fruit in the background. Nice dry finish and great length of flavour.
It’s a great brew, bang on style and the perfect evening companion while I start the perp for tomorrow. Top marks Santa, and thank you very much for sending it on.

Almost forgot to add, the QR code on the back was a stroke of genius.

 

[DocAnna]

Belgian Trippel 8.1%
Tasted between fridge and room temperature.
Carbonation - light fizz on opening not true to style but still enough to fizz on the tongue throughout. No head as such but was poured carefully.

Colour very light gold slight haze

Aroma: complex spiced almost peppery saison like yeast notes, hint of lemon citrus

Taste: tart bitterness balanced with a little caramel sweetness and bready flavours. Complex, improved as it warmed with the mid body sweetness more pronounced as it warmed.

Finish with a tang from the alcohol when the 8.1% hits.

I’m feeling the strength of this beer even half way down so it will be my only for tonight. I’m enjoying it a lot - has Trippel and Saison flavours that work well together. smart - thank you Santa

 

[jayk34]

Glad you enjoyed it mate, thanks for the great review

Thank you for the fantastic beer, it really was excellent. Would love the receipe for that one if it's not a trade secret

 

[Nottsbeer]

My first SS bottle tonight....a Vanguard Lager. I'm not a larger drinker so was very interested in trying this.

A slight hiss on opening, however this is nicely carbonated. The color is golden and very clear. A nice head formed which has stayed slightly.

I couldn't smell any aroma and the taste is very subtle, I'm guessing not overly hopped?. This is a nice easy lager to drink. Many thanks.

 

[Oneflewover]

Thank you for the fantastic beer, it really was excellent. Would love the receipe for that one if it's not a trade secret

Here you go. It was a bit thrown together at the last minute, but it came good
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/my-christmas-brew.96292/

 

[jayk34]

Here you go. It was a bit thrown together at the last minute, but it came good
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/my-christmas-brew.96292/

Thanks. Will add that on the to do list

 

[DocAnna]

Ok I was tempted by another - this was the one that leaked and made my office smell interesting for a day or so!

Bottle in front of me 9% Dopplebock dark lager

Still opened with a wee bit of a pfft
No head but still some carbonation

Aroma: Bonfire toffee and raisins - disappeared quickly to leave a much lighter caramel aroma

Colour: I suspect oxidised a bit - murky mid brown - tastes a lot better than it looks

Taste: straight from the fridge: a bit sweeter than I’m comfortable thinking of as a lager, dark caramelised apricot with a bit burnt raisins

At closer to room temperature it’s a different beastie. Body is thinner, sweetness is almost a bit much to take but there’s a bitterness that almost but not quite balances it.

Overall I feel a bit embarrassed at getting an extra beer with this one, yes it had leaked a good inch of the bottle but I suspect it was super carbonated, so I don’t think the flavour is oxidation- though the murky colour suggests it might be. If this is a lager then I’m a surgeon - technically qualified but I really would be your last option for taking out your appendix. Odd metaphors aside (hey it’s 9% I’ve an excuse!) this was more of a Christmas beer than expected, the flavour feels like an overdone apricot tarte tartin - that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Thank you Santa for a merry evening x

 

[Alastair70]

Ok I was tempted by another - this was the one that leaked and made my office smell interesting for a day or so!
View attachment 60089

Bottle in front of me 9% Dopplebock dark lager

Still opened with a wee bit of a pfft
No head but still some carbonation

Aroma: Bonfire toffee and raisins - disappeared quickly to leave a much lighter caramel aroma

Colour: I suspect oxidised a bit - murky mid brown - tastes a lot better than it looks

Taste: straight from the fridge: a bit sweeter than I’m comfortable thinking of as a lager, dark caramelised apricot with a bit burnt raisins

At closer to room temperature it’s a different beastie. Body is thinner, sweetness is almost a bit much to take but there’s a bitterness that almost but not quite balances it.

Overall I feel a bit embarrassed at getting an extra beer with this one, yes it had leaked a good inch of the bottle but I suspect it was super carbonated, so I don’t think the flavour is oxidation- though the murky colour suggests it might be. If this is a lager then I’m a surgeon - technically qualified but I really would be your last option for taking out your appendix. Odd metaphors aside (hey it’s 9% I’ve an excuse!) this was more of a Christmas beer than expected, the flavour feels like an overdone apricot tarte tartin - that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Thank you Santa for a merry evening x

Dopplebock is a favourite style of mine, and a lot of what you say is on the money. It’s definitely a lager, but your not taking my appendix out

 

[Theoriginalrich]

I had my SS#2 today, a Sloe Stout. I’ve never been a stout drinker but managed more of this than ever before.
The sloe taste came through subtlety, and maybe sweetened the stout just a touch.
But as I’ve said stouts are not for me but this was the best I’ve tasted.
Thank you Secret Santa.

 

[dave_77]

First secret Santa. Lucky me...a Belgian Ale at 6%.
Appearance is very dark brown, low to medium carbonation. Not much of a head from pouring and just a light ring that remained.
Has a very slight smokey brown sugar aroma. Flavour has mild fruity Belgian yeast Character with a light treacle type flavour. Not getting much hop character or bitterness. Fermentation is really clean and comes across really smooth with no astringency or off flavours. It's not sweet but not dry, or it doesn't come across dry. It's possible the final gravity maybe a fraction high and the carbonation a bit low for the style to fit as a Dubbel. Good beer, with a typical Belgian high carbonation I think it would be very nice and drinkable. Thanks for sharing

 

[pilgrimhudd]

First secret Santa. Lucky me...a Belgian Ale at 6%.
Appearance is very dark brown, low to medium carbonation. Not much of a head from pouring and just a light ring that remained.
Has a very slight smokey brown sugar aroma. Flavour has mild fruity Belgian yeast Character with a light treacle type flavour. Not getting much hop character or bitterness. Fermentation is really clean and comes across really smooth with no astringency or off flavours. It's not sweet but not dry, or it doesn't come across dry. It's possible the final gravity maybe a fraction high and the carbonation a bit low for the style to fit as a Dubbel. Good beer, with a typical Belgian high carbonation I think it would be very nice and drinkable. Thanks for sharing
View attachment 60092

This was mine, spot on there @dave_77 I reckon. This was taken from a website and advertised as a Belgian Xmas Ale. I did one version, and as soon as it came out the fv I knew it wasnt right so tweaked the recipe and brewed this one. It has invert sugar, which is probably the treacle, yeast was s33, was hoping for fruity esters. Funnily enough v1 was way over carbonated so I dropped it a bit for this one, too much perhaps. It also finished higher than I would have liked it too.

 

[dave_77]

This was mine, spot on there @dave_77 I reckon. This was taken from a website and advertised as a Belgian Xmas Ale. I did one version, and as soon as it came out the fv I knew it wasnt right so tweaked the recipe and brewed this one. It has invert sugar, which is probably the treacle, yeast was s33, was hoping for fruity esters. Funnily enough v1 was way over carbonated so I dropped it a bit for this one, too much perhaps. It also finished higher than I would have liked it too.

Haha nice..I saw the writing on the bottle and thought it looked familiar. Cheers for sending..nice beer

 

[Stu's Brews]

First of the day, a sloe stout. What a nice beer!
Mildly carbed, reminiscent of cask beer, and a beautiful dark colour. It had a smooth roast to it with the sloes just coming through at the end. Very well balanced, was expecting a lot more of a sharp taste from the berries.
I doff my cap to you secret santa, will definitely be trying this style in the future.

Glad you enjoyed it! Happy to share the recipe if you want to have a go in the future.

 

[Stu's Brews]

Merry Christmas everyone!

I'll be enjoying my Secret Santa treats on the 27th as a reward for surviving the chaos of Christmas with the mine and the girlfriend's respective families!

 

[Theoriginalrich]

Merry Christmas brewers.

SS bottle#1 was a Simcoe and Cascade APA. This hit the spot nicely, lovely aroma, from first sip to last drop this satisfied me immensely. I can’t wait to try this myself thanks to the brew sheet being sent along. I just need to convert from BIAB to my Brewzilla.
Thanks Santa.

 

[Cowman]

My first beer of the day is the NZ pale ale
Perfectly clear with a fair lasting head. Lots of peach in the aroma and taste with biscuit in the aftertaste
A very nice beer that's maybe slightly on the dry side for my taste but a brilliant brew non the less
cheers Santa