Secret Santa Reviews 2020!

[DocAnna]

This one was mine, glad you enjoyed it! I'd also love to steal your winter wassail recipe if I could, sounds delicious!

Definitely - so long as I can try out your stout recipe!
Below is my post about my 'not so secret' wassail brew, missing from this post is that when I measured the OG at the right temperature I had actually hit my OG hence the quoted ABV. If I was doing it again and having to work with leaf hops I wouldn't have used the hop spider at the whirlpool stage.

Anna

So I haven't written up this weekend past brewday which I really should before it get's too late and I forget. It wasn't my most organised day but I had a smack pack of Wyeast London ESB in the fridge and I was concerned about it being left too long, concerns that weren't helped by it hardly swelling over 5 hours after activating it. As I was holding the not very swollen pack willing it to miraculously expand in the few minutes before pitching I thought of my oh so careful pitching calculations with my lagers... felt a complete hypocrite... then poured it in thinking I'd give it 24 hours and see... I had some back up Lallemand London dry yeast just in case.

So the recipe was adapted from a book of American beer recipes I have.

That's the boring part... ok lessons learned from my first foray into water chemistry

1) After carefully measuring out the amounts of water mineral additions into a small IKEA bowl it's not a good idea to stand up quickly and knock them all over the floor (I didn't swear but was very tempted)
2) Brewfather's volume calculations are a bit naff. The volume of the mash was right at the top limit of the overflow pipe which really limited the recirculation rate. So we decided to go out for lunch and the mash was more like 2 1/2 hours which I think was a good thing.
3) The sparge was a tiny amount and it felt a real waste dumping all that nice grain that I wasn't convinced I'd got all the sugars out of that I'd have liked.
4) volumes in the boil off AGAIN! sheesh volume in the fermenter ended up being 21.5 litres and my OG down at 1.72 rather than 1.78 which means my efficiency was only about 2% off expected (Thanks to tea out and super long mash I think)
5) Full leaf hops are a pain - and I shouldn't have put them in the hop spider at whirlpool stage - felt a complete numpty for that.

So it's going to be 6.7% ABV I reckon which is a bit down from planned, probably not as bitter as hoped and a bit of a waste of good hops. Ho hum, putting it all down to the learning journey.

Oh one final thing ... fermenting with the London ESB yeast smells like baking parmesan and sun dried tomato bread . It's rather yum even if it is a bit confusing.

Anna

 

[strange-steve]

Wow Thank you both of you and I really really appreciate your comments so much.

I'd been feeling a bit disheartened about brewing after being so busy, and messing up a beer sent earlier in the post which was oxidised. I had been really questioning whether I was any good at this brewing thing, so this has really given me a bit of confidence back. I had been so nervous about sending a beer out again for others to try, particularly one that I adapted and tweaked from a fairly complex grain bill recipe. It's also quite reassuring since I'd given away 10 of these to colleagues I work with along with some other beers, so it feels ok to know I didn't give them duff beers ❤.

Anna

That was a cracking beer and I'm not just saying that to be nice, I really loved it :hat:

 

[Leon103]

My first is a black IPA, abv unknown which adds to the excitement. When first poured was quite lively but soon settled, not much sediment either. Huge aroma of citrus, I'd hazard a guess at citra and centinal? The flavour is malty and citrus hit with an interestingly moorish pinal after taste. Would happily drink another, thank you and merry Christmas

Now on to beer number 2 - a black IPA, weighing in at 6%. I think there was a nucleation point in the bottle/beer somewhere because it let off a lot of foam. I suspect it’s hop debris or something because the carbonation is spot on.
View attachment 38365
View attachment 38366

Everything else about the beer is good and ticks all the boxes for a black IPA. It’s a lovely black colour and the aroma is mainly citrus (I’m sure in picking up some Simcoe but I’ve had a cold recently so my sense of smell might be messed up). Taste wise, there’s hardly indication of the dark malts (which is what you want in this type of beer), it’s all typical American IPA citrus and pine with a hint of tropical fruit. There’s just a hint of a roasted flavour in the bitterness which complements the hop bitterness.

All in all another very nice beer. I’m very happy with both my Secret Santa beers this year.

They were mine. When I first brewed it I wasn't overly happy, it wasn't balanced and hardly any hop flavour. But over xmas I have been loving it and the hops are coming through stronger now despite brewing a while back. I haven't had one out of the bottle but hope the same happened.

The hops were Bru-1, galaxy and Amarillo.

 

[pmh]

They were mine. When I first brewed it I wasn't overly happy, it wasn't balanced and hardly any hop flavour. But over xmas I have been loving it and the hops are coming through stronger now despite brewing a while back. I haven't had one out of the bottle but hope the same happened.

The hops were Bru-1, galaxy and Amarillo.

You could definitely taste the hops, it was a really nice black IPA and I'd have it again, you've got a good recipe there.

 

[chrisb8]

Enjoying my first secret santa with a few beer snacks, a Scandinavian Dark Lager at 5.5%.

This is a style I haven't tried before and is a real confusion for the taste buds - the colour and maltiness of an ESB but the carbonation and light hoppiness of a lager. It opened with a good hiss and poured nice and clear with the yeast sticking firmly to the bottom of the bottle - I would be interested to know what yeast was used, I assume lager but there seemed to be a distinct ale smell after pouring. There was a lovely creamy head which stayed right to the last and carbonation seemed high with tiny bubbles.

The flavour was caramel maltiness followed by light lingering hops and then a long-term caramel aftertaste which reminded me more of an ale than lager.

Overall I enjoyed this very much and it was great to try something different. Part of the fun of this is to challenge each others taste buds and get to try different styles and so I have to say thank you very much santa Merry Christmas to you all.

 

[MickDundee]

They were mine. When I first brewed it I wasn't overly happy, it wasn't balanced and hardly any hop flavour. But over xmas I have been loving it and the hops are coming through stronger now despite brewing a while back. I haven't had one out of the bottle but hope the same happened.

The hops were Bru-1, galaxy and Amarillo.

We were both wrong with the hops then. You did a good job of blending the galaxy in with the other hops, on my NEIPA (even though it’s only about 20% of the hop bill) it manages to overpower the other hops a bit so well done.

 

[chrisb8]

View attachment 38333
Dear secret santa, thank you for your beer.

The beer poured a mildly cloudy amber color with a thick white head that left lots of lacing. Very crisp with medium carbonation

Good nose, contains caramelised malts, citrus and grassy notes.

The taste was very good. Touch of bitterness, strong but not over powering piney and citrus flavors. Some caramel malts and grain. The after taste was still slightly hoppy. Can i have a guess at centennial hops?

Smooth and exceptionally easy drinking.

Bravo.

Thank you for your feedback and I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the beer. This was meant as an easy drinking pale ale and was made with 100% first gold hops grown in our own garden. The hops were dried but used relatively fresh as whole leaves and I think this is what has given the slightly cloudy appearance. I was really pleased with the fresh hoppy flavour and so it's great to get such nice feedback. Cheers and Merry Christmas

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Enjoying my first secret santa with a few beer snacks, a Scandinavian Dark Lager at 5.5%.
View attachment 38434
This is a style I haven't tried before and is a real confusion for the taste buds - the colour and maltiness of an ESB but the carbonation and light hoppiness of a lager. It opened with a good hiss and poured nice and clear with the yeast sticking firmly to the bottom of the bottle - I would be interested to know what yeast was used, I assume lager but there seemed to be a distinct ale smell after pouring. There was a lovely creamy head which stayed right to the last and carbonation seemed high with tiny bubbles.

The flavour was caramel maltiness followed by light lingering hops and then a long-term caramel aftertaste which reminded me more of an ale than lager.

Overall I enjoyed this very much and it was great to try something different. Part of the fun of this is to challenge each others taste buds and get to try different styles and so I have to say thank you very much santa Merry Christmas to you all.

This was another of mine, it didn't come out quite as i intended, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was a lager yeast, off the top of my head not sure what though.

 

[chrisb8]

Okay so my second secret santa beer is right up my street and is genuinely one of the best I have tried. This 'Super Nova' came with no clue as to style apart from it being 7.5%.

It opened with a great hiss and as I poured the most amazing passion fruit aroma gave away it was a west coast ipa. The colour is light and incredibly clear, the carbonation spot on. There is a strong tropical fruit flavour which lingers beautifully. This is so well balanced, really fruity and tropical hoppy but without any harshness. Far too easy drinking for 7.5%....

I am genuinely enthused by this beer, its absolutely superb, kudos to my secret santa :hat: I would be interested to see the recipe, I assume a lot of hops went into this. I would make it a bit less potent but that is personal taste as it is so easy drinking!

Thank you santa and Merry Christmas!

 

[Alastair70]

@brewhaha @Hazelwood Brewery

Thanks for the kind comments guys. This was a re-brew of my favourite beer from the last year, and I’m glad you enjoyed it too. The original was a trial run as the base for a chocolate chilli stout but I liked it so much I couldn’t bring myself to mess with the recipe. I designed the recipe while watching ”Free Solo” hence the name.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

@brewhaha @Hazelwood Brewery

Thanks for the kind comments guys. This was a re-brew of my favourite beer from the last year, and I’m glad you enjoyed it too. The original was a trial run as the base for a chocolate chilli stout but I liked it so much I couldn’t bring myself to mess with the recipe. I designed the recipe while watching ”Free Solo” hence the name.

Good call Alastair! I do love chilli but I’m pretty sure in this case the chilli would have ruined a good thing. I really don’t think there’s anything you should change in this beer. Thanks again for sharing it with us.

 

[Dads_Ale]

@Oneflewover and @Clint
The bitters were mine. They were my first try with two different yeasts from Crossmyloof. BEoIR and HOG NORSK.
The Silly Old Sod had a simple grain and hop bill with the BEoIR yeast. The NORSK bitter had a more complex grain bill as I was using up some odds and sods and the last of my leaf hops, which is why it had some Citra in it, so probably a bit more of a European style.
I am glad you liked them and than you for the comments . I think I will stick with the BEoIR yeast for my bitters from now on as I have brewed another one since and this also came out well and didn't last long on the Hand Pump

BEòIR. Scottish & Irish Ale Yeast.
Suitable for a large range of ales inc. cask conditioned ale
HøG-NORSK. Northern European Ale Yeast.
Suitable to brew low ester ales with a clean palate

 

[Oneflewover]

@Oneflewover and @Clint
The bitters were mine. They were my first try with two different yeasts from Crossmyloof. BEoIR and HOG NORSK.
The Silly Old Sod had a simple grain and hop bill with the BEoIR yeast. The NORSK bitter had a more complex grain bill as I was using up some odds and sods and the last of my leaf hops, which is why it had some Citra in it, so probably a bit more of a European style.
I am glad you liked them and than you for the comments . I think I will stick with the BEoIR yeast for my bitters from now on as I have brewed another one since and this also came out well and didn't last long on the Hand Pump

BEòIR. Scottish & Irish Ale Yeast.
Suitable for a large range of ales inc. cask conditioned ale
HøG-NORSK. Northern European Ale Yeast.
Suitable to brew low ester ales with a clean palate

Thought it was you! Thoroughly enjoyed them, thank you. Were they bottle conditioned or did you fill the bottles from a keg?

 

[Dads_Ale]

Thought it was you! Thoroughly enjoyed them, thank you. Were they bottle conditioned or did you fill the bottles from a keg?

They were bottled from the keg using a Pegas counter pressure bottler. I tend to fill a full corny and then put the rest (usually about 5l) in a 10l corny, which I use for bottling. I was over carbing to start with until I got used to the pressure needed for the larger headspace during the force carbing. Now seems to be ok for the style. My IPAs etc have a bit more carb.
previously bottle conditioning I managed to over carb everything.

 

[Oneflewover]

They were bottled from the keg using a Pegas counter pressure bottler. I tend to fill a full corny and then put the rest (usually about 5l) in a 10l corny, which I use for bottling. I was over carbing to start with until I got used to the pressure needed for the larger headspace during the force carbing. Now seems to be ok for the style. My IPAs etc have a bit more carb.
previously bottle conditioning I managed to over carb everything.

I suspected that might be the case given the lack of sediment and lovely clear beer. Reason I'm asking is I am tempted to give those yeasts a go based on your great results, but I can't abide yeast that stays 'mobile' in the bottle

 

[Dads_Ale]

I suspected that might be the case given the lack of sediment and lovely clear beer. Reason I'm asking is I am tempted to give those yeasts a go based on your great results, but I can't abide yeast that stays 'mobile' in the bottle

They did not pack down as tight in the fermenter as SO4 but did clear down well in the keg.
The pitch rate is 1 packet (10g) to 20 litres

 

[Clint]

They did not pack down as tight in the fermenter as SO4 but did clear down well in the keg.
The pitch rate is 1 packet (10g) to 20 litres

Interesting regards to the yeast...like I said I thought there was a distinct difference. I liked the Beior a lot,there was a nice tart flavour about it....good job I have some in stock for a Guinness clone,with a bit of acid malt it should work a treat to get that original Guinness slight sourness.

 

[UKSkydiver]

This is my second of two Secret Santa reviews and I'm a bit intimidated by this one:
- I'm quite new to all of this brewing lark
- I don't really have the tasting vocabulary as many here do
- It's in a can!

Groundswell English Porter 5.6%

Appearance
A good tan coloured head on the pour Dissipated to a thin layer, but good lacing througout. Dark brown in colour, very clear.

Aroma
Very little to discern. A plain beery smell. I didn't get any hoppines.

Taste
Smooth, with a little bitterness maybe from the dark malt rather than the hops. Easy drinking.

Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

View attachment 38414

My second secret Santa beer is Stay At Home Irish Stout coming in at 4.7%

Light hiss on opening, gave it a fairly vigorous pour and got a low tan head, became a ring of bubbles fairly quickly.

Aroma is pretty complex, some chocolate upfront and burnt coffee following. I wonder if I got a tiny hint of smoked malt in there? But that could be roast character that I’m getting wrong.

It pretty highly carbonated which rounds out the mouthfeel nicely, underneath the carbonation I would probably like a little more body in a stout but it’s pretty true to the style so all good there.

The roast is less prominent in the flavour and takes a backseat to a really rich chocolate flavour and a little sweetness on the finish.

I probably poured this beer a little cold, straight from the fridge. After about 15 minutes it rounded into a more complex and interesting beer and the high carbonation had dropped off a little bit.

I think the recipe here is spot on. If the head stuck around a little longer and the carbonation was slightly lower I would score it very highly indeed. As it was, a really enjoyable afternoon beer after a walk in the park. Thanks Santa!

This one was from me.

A simple grain bill was used:
70% Maris Otter
10% Roasted Barley
20% Flaked Barley.
Hops were EKG
CML BEoIR Yeast

I agree this benefits from a warmer temperature. I currently have a keg on tap and my outdoor kegerator is heated to 14 degrees for it. Also on the keg I can control the carbonation a bit better. I wish I’d pulled one off the keg for you now as opposed to sending one that was bottle conditioned. However, even after pouring through a stout spout, there not much of the lovely creamy head left by the time I get back indoors with it ☹

Thanks very much for your feedback

 

[DavidHatton]

Tripel Threat 8.4%

My second secret Santa swap bottle is a Tripel

Popping the cap it gushed out of the bottle slightly, but not a full on gusher, poured clean with most of the yeast staying back in the bottle.

Very nice golden appearance, but not much on the aroma just light maltiness.

Tasting this big beer it's really light and refreshing, but most noticeable is the biscuit flavour
very similar in fact to champagne, not sure if this is because of the yeast.

Not an expert on the tripel style, But I would say this really drinks like a sparkling wine/champagne as the malt is very subtle.
Nice carbonation pushes the biscuit taste around the mouth, along with great head retention this was a strong but refreshing beer that I drank whilst watching the football.

Although Big Sam parked his bus at Anfield, resulting in a draw, This beer was a win!

Thank you Santa.