Secret Santa Reviews 2020!

[Ajhutch]

American IPA came with a card telling me it’s 4.6% and 40 IBUs of Citra, Cascade and Centennial. Nice hiss on opening proved itself with good carbonation, the beer poured with a good foam that stuck around well. A strong malt backbone (the note said Munich was used, good choice!) with firm bitterness, and plenty of piney resin hop character. This is a really good old school west coast style IPA, the bitterness is well balanced with the gravity and it’s a clean, crisp and refreshing beer. Loved it, thanks a lot Santa!

 

[phildo79]

9.5% imp stout. Bottled in February.
Appearance: jet black with tan head. Nice amount of head.
Taste: massive dark fruit flavour. Good level o warmth from the abv.
Aroma: dark fruits with a hint of booze.
Mouthfeel: good viscosity for the style. Like slick oil. Carb level was spot on.
Overall: a really lovely imp. Nicely balanced. Would be proud if I made this one.
Thanks, Santa.

 

[pmh]

We going to have any morning reviews? I would but I have the responsibility of my son until other half finishes work then the beers will be drunk and reviewed but I need my fix of beer in the meantime, loved reading the reviews so far

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Cracked open my first while listening to radio 4's `9 lessons and carols'. Great way to start off Christmas.
No info with it except some writing on the bottle which I think says `Dunkelweizen 03 Dec '20'.
I was worried when I got it in the post that it wouldn't have had time to carb up if that was the bottling date so I put it in the airing cupboard for a week, followed by my beer store which hovers around 12c at this time of year.
Have to confess I've never had a German beer ever before. So I have no idea how good this is compared to commercial versions but very quaffable it certainly is.
Nice amount of fizz, good head that stayed to the end (though that wasn't very long), rich malty flavour, slightly fruity, no real bitterness compared to what I normally drink. Slightly hazy, but it's a wheat beer right? I'm guessing it's about 6% ABV or thereabouts.
Well done whoever brewed this - I'd happily drink several of this one.

View attachment 38167

Hooray that's mine... thanks very much for the kind comments and pleased to hear you enjoyed it :-) It's the Greg Hughes recipe plus a step mash (42/62/72), a longer boil and a much cooler fermentation.
I'm delighted to hear you put it in the airing cupboard to carb up... it'd already had a couple of weeks in keg, but I was very concerned it might not have enough 'Ooomph' left to properly carb up in time :-)

Happy Xmas to you
TETB

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Well thank you very much to whoever gifted me this one - very unusual...

A small bottle, anonymous except for a letter 'S' on the cap. I thought I'd use my special 'half pint' glass ;-)
Good hiss when I uncapped it, and a decent head on first pour.
Hazy, golden appearance with a slightly bready aroma.
At the first sip it immediately becomes clear that 'S' stands for 'sour': in-your-face grapefruit with a slightly salty mineral aftertaste.

Thanks for the opportunity to try a style I normally wouldn't drink

 

[Cowman]

here is a lovely pint of rigging bitter 6%
Good head and copper coloured
Fruity and floral in the aroma
Residual sweetness and crackers
Medium body and maybe a little overcarbonated but that does make it more drinkable. A very enjoyable pint
Thank you Santa and merry Christmas all

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Thought I'd start with the pittormie cidre. Apples picked and pressed by this person's own fair hand from the orchards of pittormie castle, which I had to google as I had no idea where that was.

Now I really dislike cider, stemming from the bottles of white lightning I drank at uni so was a bit hesitant about this, I've drunk maybe 2 pints in 20 years...

This is faaaaaaabulus! Lightly carbed, sweet, very appley with a definite elderflower aftertaste, medium to light bodied.

This is by far the best cider/cidre I've ever had, and I've tried lots! Great stuff!

 

[strange-steve]

This is the mystery beer that someone sent me, no idea what it is or who it's from but it's really interesting. It's surprisingly difficult to figure out even what style a beer is sometimes, but I'm guessing a red IPA? It's interesting because I was getting a lot of fruity, lemony (and interestingly strawberry) US hops on the nose but flavour wise there's an earthy hop flavour that's very English, along with the citrusy flavours. A nice biscuity malt flavour, maybe a touch of Munich in there, and a nice assertive bitterness in the finish. There's an interesting rustic quality to this, almost like you'd get from a farmhouse type beer but it's subtle, and I'm not sure where it's coming from.

Whatever it is it's really delicious so thanks to whoever sent this, and I'm really intrigued to see the recipe details :hat:

 

[pilgrimhudd]

An ipa next, this one with citra, mosaic and el Dorado, the latter 2 hops that I've not used before.

Poured it carefully as it made quite a hiss as I opened! Decent head which has lingered most of the way down the glass.

I would say a dark amber colour.

Mainly a pine aroma, with a little citrus.

Medium bodied, not too bitter at the start, piney then citrus and back to a lingering piney finish, really refreshing. Quite dry, which is good, definitely suits the beer with a definite yeast esters, slight stone fruit maybe? Obviously some kind of adjunct malt used for colour which I can't taste.

Whatever, this is a lovely ipa, I'd love the recipe.

 

[Cwrw666]

My second secret Santa - labelled as Belgian Golden Strong, 9.2%

Good whoosh on opening, a darkish gold on pouring, nice and clear (slightly spoiled by my poor pouring that got a bit of yeast in at the end), decent head which declined but never went away.
Definite winey taste, presumably from the ABV and a mild `saisony' taste presumably from the yeast but much less than other Belgian beers I've had.
Not my cup of tea to be honest: too strong for me and the Mrs who threw her hands up in horror after having a swig. But not unpleasant. 4 out of 5 on the Cwrw index.

 

[strange-steve]

Not my cup of tea to be honest

I had this beer recently and absolutely loved it.

 

[samale]

Sounds lovely to me

 

[SteveH]

I had this beer recently and absolutely loved it.

Yes this one was mine, sorry it wasn't for you @Cwrw666, pass on my apologies to your Mrs and Merry Christmas!

Both @dave_77 and @strange-steve mentioned the colour which I agree was darker than planned (I think I accidentally used dark Munich instead of light), and I agree next time I'll aim for slightly higher carbonation. :hat:

 

[strange-steve]

Next up for me is this Winter Wassail. Lovely rich, fruity, boozy aroma with figs, nuts, and spice. Absolutely delicious and exactly what I want in a winter ale. Flavour wise there's treacle, burnt sugar, raisins, lightly roasty, nutty, earthy, coffee. This is really damn good. Honestly, this is a perfect beer for a Christmas day. I'm brewing something similar next week and if it's half as good as this I'll be extremely happy!

 

[SteveH]

First up for me is "Kermit pilsner" which poured with good clarity and good carbonation.

Clean, crisp flavour with a slightly sweet/fruit note fading to a refreshing dry finish.

Thanks Santa, this was a very nicely made beer, I've not attempted this style yet but am now planning to do so, if I can produce something similar for the summer I'll be well pleased. Merry Christmas! :hat:

 

[samale]

Yes this one was mine, sorry it wasn't for you @Cwrw666, pass on my apologies to your Mrs and Merry Christmas!

Both @dave_77 and @strange-steve mentioned the colour which I agree was darker than planned (I think I accidentally used dark Munich instead of light), and I agree next time I'll aim for slightly higher carbonation. :hat:

I really like the bottles, where did you get them

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

#26 ABV 4.7% English Pale Ale

Opened with a nice hiss and poured well with a lovely head.
lovely chestnut colour (photo makes it look darker than it was) and pleasing malty aroma. A surprisingly light body with a subtle balance of hops and malts. Good carbonation and a very drinkable ale.
Really nice

View attachment 38154

That was mine. Glad you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Next up for me is this Winter Wassail. Lovely rich, fruity, boozy aroma with figs, nuts, and spice. Absolutely delicious and exactly what I want in a winter ale. Flavour wise there's treacle, burnt sugar, raisins, lightly roasty, nutty, earthy, coffee. This is really damn good. Honestly, this is a perfect beer for a Christmas day. I'm brewing something similar next week and if it's half as good as this I'll be extremely happy!

Sounds like my cup of tea that!

 

[alefric LeHendz]

Had a very nice and overall balanced pint of rigging bitter last night, very easy drinking for a 6% bitter but could see myself ordering a few of those down the pub during a session!

 

[Cowman]

Another lovely beer: amber cascade 4.7%
Biscuity with hints of orange/ citrus in the aroma
Malty with light citrus in the flavour.
It didn't last long and was a good beer. Thank you santa