Secret Santa Reviews 2024

[phildo79]

Sorry forgot to take pictures in the glass was enjoying them too much!

The Pale Ale was delightful
Clarity brilliant
Perfect carbonation poured easy
Am not a beer drinker as such but this was a revelation very easy to drink nice balance of flavour really enjoyed it and a style I will look for in the future.
Very well made in every way hats off to Santa for this one!
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I have to admit I was a bit further on in the night when I tried the pair below
Might have been my pour but carbonation was greater and bigger head.
Cloudy but nice aroma
Taste very smooth not my preference so can't really judge but very well made and easy to drink the glass bottles felt great and make me rethink my bottles now.

Again big thanks to talented brewers

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Pale ale was mine. Glad you enjoyed it. It was a clone of Anchor Brewing 'Liberty Ale'. Which was a lovely beer, when I had it years ago. Not sure how close I got but was happy with the outcome.

 

[old dog new tricks]

Pale ale was mine. Glad you enjoyed it. It was a clone of Anchor Brewing 'Liberty Ale'. Which was a lovely beer, when I had it years ago. Not sure how close I got but was happy with the outcome.

It was lovely and very easy to drink brilliant clarity and really well made I would happily pay for that in a pub

 

[Agentgonzo]

Apologies! I've just been notified that I didn't post a review of Nodnol.

I had this a few days ago.
Absolutely delicious. Light carbonation, decent tan head and a good thickness to it.

Absolutely spot on for a porter. It has a decent amount of roastiness to it without pushing it into stout territory (that I'm not a fan of). Aromas of coffee and a light smokiness (though that could be the fire) and then a lovely rich mouthful and lingering flavour that stuck around for ages.

Went perfectly in front of the fire with a mince pie. Spot on for December. Cracking pint - really well done

 

[Leon103]

Last santa beer drank. Irish stout, at 4.2% this is the same strength as mine.i can tell this is more mature than mine and a quick look at the bottle confirms. Thanks Santa, only thought was that it was over carbed for style, amd my personal taste.

 

[Alastair70]

It looks like most of the reviews are in. The moving vans roll in at 8am on Monday and still there's a lot to do. I'm guessing I'll either be too busy or to p1shed to this over the weekend so here comes the swaps.

Look away if you still have one in the bag and you dont want to know where it came from.

 

[Alastair70]

@Alastair70	Sent to	@Leon103	@starseeker
@Nottsbeer		@nickjdavis	@allotment_fox
@brewhaha		@Twostage	@SMP Brewery
@starseeker		@UKSkydiver	@Nucbrewer
@stubrewworx		@Moe	@Agentgonzo
@Moe		@Kentish Mike	@tondy79
@pilgrimhudd		@Stu	@Nottsbeer
@tondy79		@Justin Dean	@pilgrimhudd
@Twostage		@jeremy Hall	@old dog new tricks
@Leon103		@pilgrimhudd	@pmh
@Agentgonzo		@Libigage	@Alastair70
@andyb13		@Nottsbeer	@fury_tea
@allotment_fox		@YeastFace	@Begbie
@YeastFace		@tondy79	@stubrewworx
@Kentish Mike		@pmh	@jeremy Hall
@Stu		@SMP Brewery	@dave_77
@Nucbrewer		@andyb13	@Stu's Brews
@Benfleet Brewery		@stubrewworx	@Leon103
@dave_77		@nidge	@Benfleet Brewery
@Libigage		@Nucbrewer	@brewhaha
@old dog new tricks		@phildo79	@Libigage
@nickjdavis		@Alastair70	@YeastFace
@Justin Dean		@Stu's Brews	@nickjdavis
@SMP Brewery		@brewhaha	@Stu
@nidge		@Begbie	@Twostage
@Begbie		@starseeker	@Justin Dean
@UKSkydiver		@dave_77	@nidge
@fury_tea		@Agentgonzo	@andyb13
@phildo79		@old dog new tricks	@UKSkydiver
@pmh		@Benfleet Brewery	@phildo79
@jeremy Hall		@fury_tea	@Moe
@Stu's Brews		@allotment_fox	@Kentish Mike

 

[Alastair70]

@Alastair70	Received from	@nickjdavis	@Agentgonzo
@Nottsbeer		@andyb13	@pilgrimhudd
@brewhaha		@SMP Brewery	@Libigage
@starseeker		@Begbie	@Alastair70
@stubrewworx		@Benfleet Brewery	@YeastFace
@Moe		@stubrewworx	@jeremy Hall
@pilgrimhudd		@Leon103	@tondy79
@tondy79		@YeastFace	@Moe
@Twostage		@brewhaha	@nidge
@Leon103		@Alastair70	@Benfleet Brewery
@Agentgonzo		@fury_tea	@stubrewworx
@andyb13		@Nucbrewer	@fury_tea
@allotment_fox		@Stu's Brews	@Nottsbeer
@YeastFace		@allotment_fox	@nickjdavis
@Kentish Mike		@Moe	@Stu's Brews
@Stu		@pilgrimhudd	@SMP Brewery
@Nucbrewer		@Libigage	@starseeker
@Benfleet Brewery		@pmh	@dave_77
@dave_77		@UKSkydiver	@Stu
@Libigage		@Agentgonzo	@old dog new tricks
@old dog new tricks		@phildo79	@Twostage
@nickjdavis		@Nottsbeer	@Justin Dean
@Justin Dean		@tondy79	@Begbie
@SMP Brewery		@Stu	@brewhaha
@nidge		@dave_77	@UKSkydiver
@Begbie		@nidge	@allotment_fox
@UKSkydiver		@starseeker	@phildo79
@fury_tea		@jeremy Hall	@andyb13
@phildo79		@old dog new tricks	@pmh
@pmh		@Kentish Mike	@Leon103
@jeremy Hall		@Twostage	@Kentish Mike
@Stu's Brews		@Justin Dean	@Nucbrewer

 

[Alastair70]

@Leon103 @starseeker

Thanks for the kind feedback on both beers I sent.

The Dry Irish stout was the bottled version of my Beamish-ish brew. It was brewed to serve on nitro so I had upped the roasted grains to compensate. I really liked the bottle conditioned version, but the draught nitro pints were truly sublime while they lasted.

The Biere De Garde is the gift that keeps on giving. I had a couple of bottles this evening and just keeps getting better and better. The yeasty esters that were apparent early on have disappeared and it's now a celebration of all of those glorious dark malts. If there's any left late Spring I'll enter them in LAB. I'm not holding my breath but

Recipes are in my BrewDay thread, if anyone wants a Brewfather sheet drop me DM and I'll send it.

 

[Leon103]

@Leon103 @starseeker

Thanks for the kind feedback on both beers I sent.

The Dry Irish stout was the bottled version of my Beamish-ish brew. It was brewed to serve on nitro so I had upped the roasted grains to compensate. I really liked the bottle conditioned version, but the draught nitro pints were truly sublime while they lasted.

The Biere De Garde is the gift that keeps on giving. I had a couple of bottles this evening and just keeps getting better and better. The yeasty esters that were apparent early on have disappeared and it's now a celebration of all of those glorious dark malts. If there's any left late Spring I'll enter them in LAB. I'm not holding my breath but

Recipes are in my BrewDay thread, if anyone wants a Brewfather sheet drop me DM and I'll send it.

I didn't wonder if you were the sender based on your previous posts. Really enjoyed the BdG, and will look to brew one this year, what sort of aging do you recommend?

 

[Alastair70]

I didn't wonder if you were the sender based on your previous posts. Really enjoyed the BdG, and will look to brew one this year, what sort of aging do you recommend?

Cheers Leon, it’s been a lean year on the HB front for a variety of reasons so I didn’t have much to pick from for the swap.
BDG has been on my to brew list for almost 10 years and I’ve only just got round to doing one. It hit its stride around 6 months in bottle and has been rounding out steadily ever since. I’m going to park it until late Feb and see how it’s getting on then. I think I’ve got around a dozen bottles left and I want to see what it’s like a year or so in.

 

[nickjdavis]

I've been unwell with a cold and not able to do the beers that were sent to me justice....so I've not sampled them yet. Feeling better now, so hopefully I'll get some feedback back to the brewers in the next two or three days.

 

[Moe]

@tondy79 @Kentish Mike @Alastair70

Thanks for the kind feedback on the bitter,

This was my best bitter v3, a slight inventory issue meant it was fermented with CML Pia rather than something more traditional, hence the name. I googled names in NZ, and Apparantly there is a Rotherham NZ as well as in S Yorks, hence the name

 

[Justin Dean]

Not drunk mine yet. Will do

 

[phildo79]

This sounds great, would be interested in the recipe for this one if possible (@ whoever the Santa is!)

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1532455

 

[starseeker]

My finale review for a Biere Du Garde ,and i know know

was brewed by Alastair70 ,this is my first time trying this style ,and what a gorgeous beer ,poured with a lovely head which was easily roused back into life with a couple of swirls of the glass ,first taste is of robust maltiness ,followed by a slight caramel sweetness ,this beer carries its 6.6% well and you could easily have a few of these ,if the mood took you , thank you very much for another stunning beer

 

[brewhaha]

My last 2 Secret Santa beers tonight. I shared these with the wife & promptly forgot to do photos!

I had a Dark Rock Autumn Equinox first, all pillowy & soft with a herbal fruitiness from the hops (guess at Ekuanot?). Really great carbonation being bottled from keg. Delicious start!

The second was the bonus homegrown Cascade pale. Super crisp with notes of white wine & grapefruit & a light, dry finish that kept me coming back for the next sip. Annoyed I shared this one! Brilliant effort on balancing the bitterness with homegrown hops too!

Thanks Santa & a huge thanks to @Alastair70 for organising. Just a brilliant way to end /start the year & always gives me a good bit of inspiration for new brews!

 

[brewhaha]

My last 2 Secret Santa beers tonight. I shared these with the wife & promptly forgot to do photos!

I had a Dark Rock Autumn Equinox first, all pillowy & soft with a herbal fruitiness from the hops (guess at Ekuanot?). Really great carbonation being bottled from keg. Delicious start!

The second was the bonus homegrown Cascade pale. Super crisp with notes of white wine & grapefruit & a light, dry finish that kept me coming back for the next sip. Annoyed I shared this one! Brilliant effort on balancing the bitterness with homegrown hops too!

Thanks Santa & a huge thanks to @Alastair70 for organising. Just a brilliant way to end /start the year & always gives me a good bit of inspiration for new brews!

Turns out my wife took a (admittedly background) photo of the Cascade pale! Reminds me to praise the crystal clarity too. Bravo!

The board game is Quest for El Dorado for those that are interested.

 

[nickjdavis]

Ok so belatedly my reviews...

Firstly...Big Lamp Bitter

This poured a lovely honey gold colour with a rich moussy white head that lasted right down to the last drop. It was quite lively and effervescent with lots of rising bubbles once poured. Clear but not perfectly brite.

The aroma was a nice balance of rich bready malt with a prominent floral hop note. Similar notes could be found in the flavour along with a positive supporting bitterness and a nice dollop of marmalade.

Light bodied with, for me, a level of carbonation that was a little high which resulted in a slightly prickly mouthfeel.

Overall though, this was a really enjoyable beer, striking a good balance between malt and hops and delivering supporting flavours that made it a pleasure to drink. Well presented with no obvious faults.

I'm not a big bitter drinker but I enjoyed this greatly. Nice one brewer....would love the recipe to have a go at brewing something like this.

 

[nickjdavis]

Second beer was an Oatmeal Stout called Smooth Operator

Unfortunately this beer gushed on opening but I was able to rescue most of it and get it in the glass where it presented as a rich mahogany colour with a low tan head.

The aroma presented as moderate roast notes with prominent coffee.

Mouthfeel was silky smooth with moderate levels of carbonation and a medium body.

The flavours were similar to the aromas, with a lightly roasted base intertwining with the same creamy coffee which gave way to a prominent but balanced bitterness which lingered well into the finish. Earthy hop flavours provided further depth to the overall character and there were notes of some dark fruit in the background.

Overall this was a smooth and well balanced beer, which despite gushing did not show any signs of possible infection which i was initially concerned about.

Very enjoyable....thanks brewer.