Secret Santa Review Thread 2021!

[Oneflewover]

Many thanks this one was mine glad you could drink it

Twas very nice indeed. Interested in the yeast choice and fermentation temp?

 

[moto748]

Secret Santa #3 of 4:

Lower Chance Brown Ale, 4.5%

Carbonation looks spot-on, colour a lovely shade of tawny reddish-brown.

I don't think I've drunk a brown ale (not counting Newkie, which is a bit different) since Watney's Brown ("Drink it down!") as a teenager! And it all comes flooding back! It smells like brown ale, and it tastes like brown ale. And you can't say better than that. I don't think it''s a style I'd brew myself, but this is a very well-made example.

Thanks, Santa!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

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Back home from visiting family so it's time to unwind with a couple of beers.

First up is this rather nice Vienna Lager.

Must confess that I don't drink lagers that regularly so couldn't confidently state what a Vienna Lager should taste like but having read up a bit on the style I'd say this fits it pretty well.

Pours with a thick, white head that has laced the glass throughout. Malt dominates both the aroma and taste profile in a pleasant way. The beer has a caramel/toffee sweetness that is well balanced by the hop bitterness.

If I had one criticism it would be that the finish could do with being a touch more dry/crisp but that is being a bit picky.

I could happily sink a few of these of an evening. Top job santa!

Thanks Stu - this was mine :-) glad you enjoyed it... It's gone down pretty well with friends and family, and I'll really take note of what's been said about the finish

 

[Stu's Brews]

Beer number 2 is a Smoked Porter, something that has been on my brew list for a while so quite excited to try it.

Poured with a light brown head, inky black in colour. You immediately get some smokiness from the aroma, with a touch of roast as well. The smokiness dominates the flavour but it is fairly well balanced by some malt sweetness. Carbonation seems spot on as well.

I think for me, I'd probably dial back on the smoked malt a touch but that is just for personal taste.

Overall, a very good beer that I'm enjoying thoroughly. Thanks Santa

 

[brewhaha]

Smoked Porter 7.2%
Oh my goodness… this is gorgeous straight from the fridge
View attachment 60249

Carbonation opened with a light fizz and just enough to zing at the edges of my tongue, works very well with the style.
Colour: inky black brown with a light creamy viscosity, coffee coloured head that sadly only lasted a few seconds
Aroma: charred caramel and fresh red apple - bit bonkers really
Taste:
This is a really interesting example of a beer that changed with temperature. From the fridge creamy balanced sweet, tart and smoke, background of flamed Christmas pud, as it warmed all the flavours became more intense first the sweetness, so at about 10 deg it was an intense but well balanced flavour experience. By near room temperature the smokiness was almost overwhelming and was just a bit much for me.
Overall, wow an impressive power pack of a beer. Definitely one for small portions and tasted cool - this is one for Santa’s North Pole bars I suspect

View attachment 60301

Beer number 2 is a Smoked Porter, something that has been on my brew list for a while so quite excited to try it.

Poured with a light brown head, inky black in colour. You immediately get some smokiness from the aroma, with a touch of roast as well. The smokiness dominates the flavour but it is fairly well balanced by some malt sweetness. Carbonation seems spot on as well.

I think for me, I'd probably dial back on the smoked malt a touch but that is just for personal taste.

Overall, a very good beer that I'm enjoying thoroughly. Thanks Santa

This was mine & thanks for the kind words & feedback. It uses a peat smoked malt that is quite intense but I'm a whisky lover so it's right up my street! Glad you both enjoyed it too!

 

[brewhaha]

This is Secret Santa beer #1 for me. A 7% Old Ale (going by the description on the label).

A lovely boozy fruitcake aroma that follows through to the taste. Some chocolate in the background along with some sherry.

Everything is very well balanced & I very much enjoyed this beer. Thanks Santa!

 

[Begbie]

Apologies for those of you awaiting my review - been driving to and from the parents and the in-laws for the past couple of days. Had a day at home today and used it wisely by drinking beer and playing the PS4 with my wee boy.

So, today I drank the first of my SS arrivals, which was a two bottle pressie - a Plum Porter and a German Pilsner. Given that some reviews have been very honest, I'll follow in the same vein and not hold back..........both were bloody lovely!!

Plum Porter
Slight pfft upon opening which suggested a carbonation level that suited the style. It poured a nice pale brown colour, leaving a good centimetre of tan coloured head which subsided to about 5mm and remained until the last couple of gulps. In the glass the colour was dark brown, almost black looking, but shining a light through, revealed a reddish brown hue.

Aroma - immediate hints of plum/fruit with notes of roasted malts, chocolate and caramel. My wife could also smell an apple-y aroma too - possibly just the type of plum used?

Taste - carbonation level was perfect, just as I thought. Instant fruity stouty flavour, which was initially hard to comprehend as I've never had a Plum Porter, but strangely pleasing on the palate. Aftertaste was lingering stout and roast with the plum flavour disappearing into the background. It was a very complex, full flavoured, chewy, yummy beer.

I first thought that it was around 4.5% in strength as there was no alcoholic kick, but not long after finishing the beer, I felt the effects, so I'm going to guess around 5.5 - 6%? I would definitely look for this style again in a good ale pub or a Beer Festival.

German Pilsner
I'm not a big drinker of pilsners or lagers, so this review isn't as detailed as the plum porter. I struggle to identify aromas and flavours in them, but here's my tuppence worth.

I good pffft (one more 'f' than the porter!), again suggesting the carbonation level was suited to the style. The beer was very clear, golden in colour, and left a good white fluffy head which disappeared quickly, leaving a slight head as shown in the photo.

Aroma - Malty and a little floral. I'm not experienced enough to identify the hops used, but it was a very pleasant bouquet!

Taste - Malty, biscuity and sweet. Carbonation was

If I was served this in a pub, I would definitely have another few. Very easy drinking and more-ish. I'm going to guess that this isn't that strong, based on the fact that I'm not as giddy feeling! 4.5%?

So, sorry for the lengthy review, but I think it was deserved. And, I'm guessing that the brewer was @Clint , given another forum member reviewed a Plum Porter and Clint replied to that review. Well done Clint, both were fantastic beers. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough!

 

[Clint]

Apologies for those of you awaiting my review - been driving to and from the parents and the in-laws for the past couple of days. Had a day at home today and used it wisely by drinking beer and playing the PS4 with my wee boy.

So, today I drank the first of my SS arrivals, which was a two bottle pressie - a Plum Porter and a German Pilsner. Given that some reviews have been very honest, I'll follow in the same vein and not hold back..........both were bloody lovely!!

Plum Porter
Slight pfft upon opening which suggested a carbonation level that suited the style. It poured a nice pale brown colour, leaving a good centimetre of tan coloured head which subsided to about 5mm and remained until the last couple of gulps. In the glass the colour was dark brown, almost black looking, but shining a light through, revealed a reddish brown hue.

Aroma - immediate hints of plum/fruit with notes of roasted malts, chocolate and caramel. My wife could also smell an apple-y aroma too - possibly just the type of plum used?

Taste - carbonation level was perfect, just as I thought. Instant fruity stouty flavour, which was initially hard to comprehend as I've never had a Plum Porter, but strangely pleasing on the palate. Aftertaste was lingering stout and roast with the plum flavour disappearing into the background. It was a very complex, full flavoured, chewy, yummy beer.

I first thought that it was around 4.5% in strength as there was no alcoholic kick, but not long after finishing the beer, I felt the effects, so I'm going to guess around 5.5 - 6%? I would definitely look for this style again in a good ale pub or a Beer Festival.

View attachment 60312

German Pilsner
I'm not a big drinker of pilsners or lagers, so this review isn't as detailed as the plum porter. I struggle to identify aromas and flavours in them, but here's my tuppence worth.

I good pffft (one more 'f' than the porter!), again suggesting the carbonation level was suited to the style. The beer was very clear, golden in colour, and left a good white fluffy head which disappeared quickly, leaving a slight head as shown in the photo.

Aroma - Malty and a little floral. I'm not experienced enough to identify the hops used, but it was a very pleasant bouquet!

Taste - Malty, biscuity and sweet. Carbonation was

If I was served this in a pub, I would definitely have another few. Very easy drinking and more-ish. I'm going to guess that this isn't that strong, based on the fact that I'm not as giddy feeling! 4.5%?

View attachment 60313

So, sorry for the lengthy review, but I think it was deserved. And, I'm guessing that the brewer was @Clint , given another forum member reviewed a Plum Porter and Clint replied to that review. Well done Clint, both were fantastic beers. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough!

Phew!
Thanks for the very kind reviews! The "plum" is a flavouring that Hazelwood Brewery uses in his plum porter...in fact the recipe I'm 99% sure is Hazelwood's!! You are spot on with the abv. As you were with the pilsner @5%. The pilsner is a very simple beer..5kg pilsner malt,saaz hops and MJ cali lager yeast...so in fact is a pseudo lager.
So glad you enjoyed them...I'm more than happy to send you any future brews I knock up.

 

[Begbie]

Phew!
Thanks for the very kind reviews! The "plum" is a flavouring that Hazelwood Brewery uses in his plum porter...in fact the recipe I'm 99% sure is Hazelwood's!! You are spot on with the abv. As you were with the pilsner @5%. The pilsner is a very simple beer..5kg pilsner malt,saaz hops and MJ cali lager yeast...so in fact is a pseudo lager.
So glad you enjoyed them...I'm more than happy to send you any future brews I knock up.

Well, if you knock up another Plum Porter, I'd happily exchange for one of my brews.

 

[Clint]

Well, if you knock up another Plum Porter, I'd happily exchange for one of my brews.

It's a done deal!

 

[DocAnna]

Thank you both for your lovely kind comments about the Winter beer ... which you will already I guess know was from me anyway!

My first secret Santa was this exciting offering. My plan was to wait until my son visited on New Year’s Eve and for us to try my two SS together. However, having got the Boxing Day cheese and biscuits ready yesterday evening the search for the bottle of Port to accompany them was short lived when my wife informed me we had finished it all . So, I thought this bottle might make an excellent replacement. And I wasn’t disappointed. I served it straight from the cupboard in my outside bar so it was at about 9-10 degrees and poured with a small head which slowly disappeared. The aroma was chocolate (my daughter described that) and had a flavour of Christmas cake with the alcohol in the background adding even more to this description. This beer reminded me a lot of Adnams Tally Ho which I love and it went really well with my Boxing Day tea. So much so, I didn’t miss the Port at all. Loved it. Thanks Santa.

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View attachment 60311
This is Secret Santa beer #1 for me. A 7% Old Ale (going by the description on the label).

A lovely boozy fruitcake aroma that follows through to the taste. Some chocolate in the background along with some sherry.

Everything is very well balanced & I very much enjoyed this beer. Thanks Santa!

This was this year's version of the Wassail that I made last year as well, this time using the CML 'The Firm' rather than Wyeast 1968, and I think it misses a bit of complexity in the fruit flavour because of that. I'm really grateful that you enjoyed it and for your feedback as it's a fun beer to make with layers of roasted grains as large part of the brew. I've never been quite sure what to describe it's style as, so Old Ale sounds quite a good one . You may or may not have opened up your wrapped parcels but they were a wee extra that was a bit of fun that I made as a play on words for work colleagues and lock down.

 

[Leon103]

Tbanks. That was the main one, the pale was the bonus beer. That was my thinking, only because the porter has had conditioning time. I think the palewas fermented for 11 days and I sent the bottles 3 days later.

SS# Bonus Beer Export Indian porter 6.1% abv
Porter is probably my least favourite beer style, that said I enjoyed this one which poured very well with a thick tan creamy head which unfortunately disappeared very quickly, that said the beer was really well carbonated with a slight chocolate coffee aroma which on tasting just exploded into a very complex flavour with heavy coffee and chocolate notes not really one for me but I do appreciate the brewing of this one and would to like to thank you for sending this bonus present to me well done ! View attachment 60276

 

[Mrhandsome]

Next up was a 12.2% Quad, a nice hiss on opening, lovely carbonation and beautifully clear in the glass, with that distinctive malty flavour, didn't taste like the 12.2% it is, a sipper for sure.

Thank you Santa.

My second beer was a 12.2% Quad Big hiss on opening and a bit of a gusher, but I managed to save most of it.
A strong flavour as you would expect but the alcohol didn't overpower it. It was also lighter than it looks in the photo.
A very nice beer that also disappeared much too quickly.

Thank you Santa

View attachment 60216

That was mine, got the no.2 spot in the Belgian competition this year and has got better since. Thanks for the reviews!

Now onto my Secret Santa reviews. 1st up (of 3) an El Dorado Pale Ale from Cornish Santa

Initially it had a sweet candy and grapefruit aroma that changed to more of a passionfruit/mango as it warmed up, I'm thinking Galaxy hops went into this as well as the El Dorado. Carbonation was spot on, nice creamy white head which faded quickly. It had a slight honey malt taste and some bready flavours (Munich?) that went well with the fruity hops and a good dose of bitterness. A slight yeast aftertaste which I detect with London 3 yeast and other 'Foggy' yeasts. A lovely Pale Ale that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Next up a Short and Shoddy Mild which I'd removed from the fridge to warm after pouring the first beer.

Opened with a nice little hiss hinting at low carbonation, so far so good. A bit of a roasty aroma on the pour with minimal head. First taste impression - yep that's mild! Not a style I've got much experience with so I can't really comment on the style but it was slightly roasty with a little sweet brown/burnt sugar aftertaste, smooth low bitterness and a surprisingly good amount of body for a low ABV beer. I could drink a fair few of these no problem.

Old Ale next, once I've finished this mild...

 

[Justin Dean]

The short and shoddy mild was mine. Thank you and yes that is exactly what I get. It is 60 days old today so good those are still coming through. I do like to do mild with low carbonation do the flavour is more pronounced

 

[Justin Dean]

American red ale. Very nice. Smooth pronounced hops. Cashmere really coming through and nice bitterness. Beautiful beer well brewed. Thank you

 

[Mrhandsome]

Now the Old Ale with my cheeseboard

A bit of spice on the nose, which I didn't taste on the first sip, but came through a bit later. Cinnamon and clove? Some nice breadyness (Munich?), dark caramel (crystal malt?) and a bit of chocolate/coffee. Some dark fruits as I drink more and the clove is getting more intense as I drink it. A lot of character in this beer, the flavours are dancing around, sometimes muddled, other times more pronounced. It works very well with cheese too!

 

[Mrhandsome]

The short and shoddy mild was mine. Thank you and yes that is exactly what I get. It is 60 days old today so good those are still coming through. I do like to do mild with low carbonation do the flavour is more pronounced

I had my suspicions...

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Now the Old Ale with my cheeseboard View attachment 60331
A bit of spice on the nose, which I didn't taste on the first sip, but came through a bit later. Cinnamon and clove? Some nice breadyness (Munich?), dark caramel (crystal malt?) and a bit of chocolate/coffee. Some dark fruits as I drink more and the clove is getting more intense as I drink it. A lot of character in this beer, the flavours are dancing around, sometimes muddled, other times more pronounced. It works very well with cheese too!

The Old Ale and El Dorado are mine, glad you enjoyed them, I was a bit disappointed with the Old Ale, it's a bit thinner than I was hoping for. Yes there's Galaxy in the El Dorado too, I just couldn't be arsed to write it on the bottle!

 

[Hoddy]

These were both my beers. This was the winning smoked Porter as judged by @beerison in our Black Friday brew off with @dan125 @Leon103
@dave_77

Glad you guys enjoyed it.

I did enjoy the smoked porter. In the scale of rauchbiers for me could do with more smoke but that is personal taste. I do wonder what smoke it was, beech or oak. Personally I like maple or orange as it is softer. Thank you for my first porter rauchbier. It is an excellent brew. Well done

Evening all.

Here is my first Secret Santa review: a 5% Smoked Porter

View attachment 60230

Slight hiss on opening suggested maybe a tad under carbed, but no such thing. Perfect carbonation giving a lovely light tan head without any aggressive pouring. Dark brown with a hint of red, perfectly clear without sediment which suggests bottled from keg?

Aroma. Something I can't quite work out. First I thought medicinal (and I mean that as a descriptor, not as an off flavour) Maybe alcoholic, but not harsh. Certainly does not detract, just that I can't put my finger on it. Not getting any smokiness at this point. (Mrs UKS says she can smell pungent smokiness, so what do I know)

Taste: Ah. There is the smokiness. Just as you close your mouth and tilt the glass away you get a hint of smokiness. Just enough. For me anymore would be too much, so this is nice. Certainly a bit unusual. Tastes like a smokey porter

Mouthfeel: Comparable with many other commercial porter examples. Not as heavy as a stout, not as thin as some 'watery' bitters. Perfect carbonation. With each sip, as the brew sloshes back, a few more bubbles are released from solution.

This has to be at least 10 mins after opening.

View attachment 60232

A lovely brew. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas.

 

[Libigage]

Sorry for the delay in posting my reviews but Its a busy time, my reviews are based on what I have been drinking lately. First up a golden ale, I'm sure I bought an exact replica from asda's last week, perfect carbination, bitterness and mouth feel. The head didnt last long but this doesn't bother me and there was still a small amount left in the glass. I would definitely pay for this beer, cheers Santa

Next was an Oatmeal Stout, now I'm not really a stout fan but I do drink them from time to time and I did make one for the first time this Christmas. Again the head did not last very long but it had very moreish flavours and I enjoyed it very much, I would be interested to know how long it has been bottled as from my only stout brew experience mine improved so much the longer I left it. That's not say I didn't enjoy it, as I did thank you Santa