Secret Santa Review Thread 2021!

[sdt7618]

Second beer from santa was a wiezenbock, opened with a nice pfft, poured nicely and formed a small head, which surprisingly vanished almost immediately.

Lovely banana notes and velvety texture in the mouth on tasting and very easy to drink for a 6.1 beer.

Thansk for sending. And definitely a beer I'd be interested in brewing.

 

[Alastair70]

View attachment 60134
My first SS beer a Weizenbock, this is the first time I've had one however I am a big fan of Weiss. The first thing I noticed was the slight hiss which pleasing upon opening. As soon as the cap was lifted I was drawn to put my nose to the bottle due to the strong smell of malt and banana (very pleasant and exciting). The pour was slow and as you can see a good head which was retained throughout most of the time drinking it.
The carbonation was perfect just how I'd expect a Weiss so I'm guessing a Weizenbock would be similar if not the same. The flavour is really moorish and keeps me coming back for more, it's like a banana bread that's been taken just to the perfect point of caramelise. There's a burst of banana with a constant under tone of malt, the bitterness is minimal again what I'd expect a Weiss to be. If I could brew something anywhere near as good as this I'd be chuffed. I'd love to know the recipe or at least the yeast used in this beer, stunning. Thank you Santa

Second beer from santa was a wiezenbock, opened with a nice pfft, poured nicely and formed a small head, which surprisingly vanished almost immediately.

Lovely banana notes and velvety texture in the mouth on tasting and very easy to drink for a 6.1 beer.

Thansk for sending. And definitely a beer I'd be interested in brewing.

This one was mine, and thank you for the kind comments.
Apologies to @sdt7618 for the carbonation on yours. There were some inconsistencies with the glass bottles (bottled first) but the PET bottles had been OK, until now that is.
The yeast was WLP-380. I usually go with WY3068 which seems to deliver a better phenol/ester balance. This brew definitely came out more on the banana side.

 

[chrisb8]

Tried my first secret santa this evening, an American IPA

I'm sorry to report that I'm glad I followed my sixth sense and opened this over the sink as it was sadly a gusher and had to go down the drain It looked nice and clear in the bottle and there was a nice fruity aroma so I'm sad to not get to try this one. Thanks to the sender regardless, these things happen and I wish you a happy new year.

 

[Justin Dean]

Hokum stomp. Dry porter I guess chinnok hops. I guess a low fg. It is nice . Bit too dry i think which brings out a sharpness to the bitterness. Good brew and thank you for sharing

 

[moto748]

My final SS: Dark Embrace Imp Stout, 8%



Fortunately, I poured into a jug!

OK, we'll give that five minutes to calm down...

[to be continued]

 

[Alastair70]

My final SS: Dark Embrace Imp Stout, 8%

View attachment 60371

Fortunately, I poured into a jug!

OK, we'll give that five minutes to calm down...

[to be continued]

Looks like it’ll be worth the wait!

 

[dave_77]

Hokum stomp. Dry porter I guess chinnok hops. I guess a low fg. It is nice . Bit too dry i think which brings out a sharpness to the bitterness. Good brew and thank you for sharing
View attachment 60368

Nice glass

 

[moto748]

Tada!



Smells... spicey? Xmas-puddingy?

Actually, this is all made easy for me, cos I have the crib-sheet! (I only glanced at it on arrival; I didn't want to be briefed before I'd tasted it)

There's liquor in there! And lots of other goodies.

But it's lovely. So smooth, and just the perfect Christmas drink! If I had brewed that, I would be delighted (and kind Santa has provided all the details which would enable me to do that).

Thanks very much, Santa!

 

[sdt7618]

This one was mine, and thank you for the kind comments.
Apologies to @sdt7618 for the carbonation on yours. There were some inconsistencies with the glass bottles (bottled first) but the PET bottles had been OK, until now that is.
The yeast was WLP-380. I usually go with WY3068 which seems to deliver a better phenol/ester balance. This brew definitely came out more on the banana side.

No don't apologise. It was a lovely beer!!

 

[Cowman]

@Cptn_Needa @chrisb8 the American IPAs were mine
I agree that the flavour isn't as hoppy as expected but I think that is down to getting a much higher gravity than expected. It originally was supposed to be 5.6%. sorry about the gusher. It's the first of that batch doing so.
Hope you had a good Christmas gents. Cheers

 

[Mash Monster]

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

I used T58 @20°c if that helps

 

[chrisb8]

@Cptn_Needa @chrisb8 the American IPAs were mine
I agree that the flavour isn't as hoppy as expected but I think that is down to getting a much higher gravity than expected. It originally was supposed to be 5.6%. sorry about the gusher. It's the first of that batch doing so.
Hope you had a good Christmas gents. Cheers

Hi @Cowman, thanks for the reply. It's a shame about this bottle especially as I seem to remember you were one of my secret santas last year and it was superb. All the best for the new year and happy brewing

 

[Dads_Ale]

The following beers sent to @Cowman and @moto748 were from me.
Dark Embrace Stout, Floodscross Gose, Riwaka Gold and Last Chance Brown Ale.
It was lucky I had a few different beers available to send this year and I managed to get the three PET bottles packaged and kept under the Royal mail 2kg small parcel limit.
Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for the great feedback. Also nice to see you got to try some styles you wouldn't normally drink.

I sent the recipe sheets as well as the beers but for anyone else who is interested I will put some of the recipes in the recipe thread but in the meantime here is a link to the Dark Embrace Stout:
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/october-competition-dark-beers.96113/post-1095512

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

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


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.

Ha ha, I had left the other beer wrapped and glad I did as I’d have known it was you who sent it. Just opened it and remembered you posting about this one a while ago thinking what an excellent name for a beer. Looking forward to trying it having enjoyed your Old Ale

 

[moto748]

I enjoyed your beers very much, Dad's Ale! Tasting yours, and reading many of the other reviews on this thread, it strikes me that the general standard is dizzyingly high!

 

[chrisb8]

I have had my second secret santa beer this evening, a 4.6% Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

With a strong pour there was a lovely head which sadly dissipated quickly. The beer poured really clear with little sediment left in the bottle and a jet black colour. This stout had a really nice roasty aroma and the flavour was of roasted malt and dark chocolate. The aftertaste was a distinctive bitter dark chocolate - I wonder if cacao nibs have been used here? Carbonation was good, perhaps a bit too much at first but this settled nicely as the glass went down. Thinking constructively as if this was my own brew, I would want a thicker mouthfeel and a bit more sweetness but of course this is personal choice. I wonder what the FG was as I felt it was a bit thin for a stout. Overall a very nice and accomplished beer which I enjoyed very much. Thanks and festive cheers to the brewer and all who have participated in the secret santa swap

 

[Begbie]

Second and last SS review - a tasty Espresso Stout. Apologies to the brewer for keeping you hanging!

Slight hiss upon opening, which sounded good for the style. The pour was clear with only a little wisp of sediment at the end which I caught in the bottle, leaving only a small mouthful of the beer. The colour was jet black, with a hint of red/brown in the light of a torch being shone through it. A good head remained for a few minutes then dissipated to a thin foam, which didn't bother me because the carbonation was perfect for me.

Aroma was of slight coffee hints and, of course, the typical stout/roast smell. My wife, who has a better sense of smell than me, detected a stronger coffee aroma. The taste had definite coffee flavours which lingered in the aftertaste. I finished the glas quite quickly as I kept going back for more and it went down very easily.

Well done on a thoroughly enjoyable beer!

 

[Begbie]

I have had my second secret santa beer this evening, a 4.6% Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
View attachment 60413
View attachment 60412
With a strong pour there was a lovely head which sadly dissipated quickly. The beer poured really clear with little sediment left in the bottle and a jet black colour. This stout had a really nice roasty aroma and the flavour was of roasted malt and dark chocolate. The aftertaste was a distinctive bitter dark chocolate - I wonder if cacao nibs have been used here? Carbonation was good, perhaps a bit too much at first but this settled nicely as the glass went down. Thinking constructively as if this was my own brew, I would want a thicker mouthfeel and a bit more sweetness but of course this is personal choice. I wonder what the FG was as I felt it was a bit thin for a stout. Overall a very nice and accomplished beer which I enjoyed very much. Thanks and festive cheers to the brewer and all who have participated in the secret santa swap

Thanks for that great review, and to @Cptn_Needa for that great review too. I'm proper chuffed with that! Had nightmares about my beers being shot down in flames, or poured down the sink!

I'd totally agree with your thoughts on the mouthfeel. If you or anyone on the forum can suggest how to improve it, I'd appreciate that very much. I'll also post my recipe on the dedicated thread and ask for the advice there.

To answer your queries.....yes, I used cacao nibs in the boil and during fermentation. OG was 1045 and FG 1010. I used S-04 yeast.

Thanks again, and a festive cheer to you and all forum members too!

 

[andyb13]

Milk stout 4.0%
Nice hiss on opening
Nice head that lasted all of the pint
A very good stout, I'm not sure I detected any lactose/ milk component, but a very nice stout. My stouts normally end up being to lively and gushing, this wasn't. Would love your recipe to make it myself.
Would happily have paid for this and drink it in a pub. Thanks Santa

 

[jayk34]

Milk stout 4.0%
Nice hiss on opening
Nice head that lasted all of the pint
A very good stout, I'm not sure I detected any lactose/ milk component, but a very nice stout. My stouts normally end up being to lively and gushing, this wasn't. Would love your recipe to make it myself.
Would happily have paid for this and drink it in a pub. Thanks Santa

First off, thanks for the kind comments. So happy you enjoyed it. This was my second review and was really nervous about this one. I really liked this one myself but thought that I over carbonated it a bit. Never had a gusher in this batch and glad yours wasn't after transit.

Agree on your observations with the lactose. I'm usually a dark beer/stout drinker and could definitely taste the difference between this and my other stouts with the lactose addition, but totally agree that the lactose hit wasn't big enough. Have planned to try this again with a few tweaks and upping the lactose.

From memory it was almost identical to the recipe in the Greg Hughes book bar a few minor changes due to what I had available but can certainly post what I brewed if you are interested.

Thanks again.