Strange-steve's Homebrew Reviews

[dad_of_jon]

Had Steve's 8.3% bier de garde earlier.

Light body and very quaffable a reddish orange tint to it. Low bitterness sits well with the Light carbonation and a delicious subtle after tang, like you get in some belgians that gives you that extra dimension just when you thought the beer has finished. The only bier de garde I drink often is 3 monts and steves beer is more spicier and interesting than that, it has a mild saison finish. It was uber drinkable now. I know you're suppose to let them keep, but if that was my brew it wouldn't last long enough for further aging. :thumb:

it would be good to lay a few down to see what it does next but i'd be making my way through the stock if it was my beer. - well done Steve for a deliciously different beer. :hat:

 

[strange-steve]

Glad you liked it. :thumb:
It's definitely going in for the comp, will be good to get more feedback on it.

I reckon you'll do well (unfortunately, since I'm entering :-?)

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks @dad_of_jon I appreciate the review and I'm pleased you liked it. It's a fairly simple style to brew and one that I'll be revisiting soon, this one was a combination of pilsner and munich malt with a little crystal for colour, fermented with kolsh yeast.

It's only about 3 months old, but I have stashed most of them away for some aging to see what happens.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Drunk last weekend, I made notes as I was trying it out because I was pretty tired at the time. My sneaky suspicion I'd not get around to posting the review for a few days was correct :whistle:.

Pouring - Light Carbonation, safe to pour moderately quickly as I couldn't wait. :grin:

Aroma - Raisins, sultanas, dark fruit

Taste & body - you know it's 10% with the alcohol character at the front. The beauty of this is that if you're not a fan of liqourice, the alcohol subdues it making for a more pleasant mild liqorice flavor. I've had some truly awful licorice bombs from Belgium so Steve's beer shows how liqorice should be done. :thumb: I thought that was it! but then got coffee at the end, that was a really pleasant surprise. with some sultanas as well.

Focused yet complex, I recommend speaking nicely to Steve and arranging a bottle swap ;-) You'd be happy to be served a bottle of this in Belgium.

Steve: I couldn't choose between this and your bier de garde I enjoyed them both. Thanks for the choice of styles sent. :thumb:

 

[strange-steve]

Thanks again @dad_of_jon for the kind words. I made this beer after reading Brew Like A Monk and I was fascinated by the simplicity of most of the great Belgian beers, so this recipe was simply 84% pale malt and 16% homemade candi sugar, styrian golding hops and Wyeast 3787.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Thanks again @dad_of_jon for the kind words. I made this beer after reading Brew Like A Monk and I was fascinated by the simplicity of most of the great Belgian beers, so this recipe was simply 84% pale malt and 16% homemade candi sugar, styrian golding hops and Wyeast 3787.

no probs, I really enjoyed them.

you can never go wrong with candi sugar :grin:

I was surprised to find I can do belgian beers and equally that lagers are much harder to do i'd have thought it would have been the other way around!

 

[strange-steve]

Tonight's beer is a coffee stout brewed by @peteplus1 which I've been looking forward to, because my recent attempt at a breakfast stout was a disaster...

Appearance
Pours like motor oil, looks fantastic, opaque black with a lovely tan head, good lacing.

Aroma
Smells delicious, rich dark roasty coffee and dark chocolate, some fruitiness. Very enticing.

Flavour
Loads of roast flavours, nice coffee flavour, a slight acidic tang (possibly from the coffee) which is quite pleasant, a long very dry finish with just a hint of dark fruit at the end.

Overall Impression
Mouthfeel is excellent, full bodied and very smooth. The carbonation is light but perfect for my taste. A very enjoyable stout, nice clean flavours and I could happily drink a few of these. The coffee wasn't a strong as I was expecting but it's well balanced and very easy drinking. Thanks for sending me this mate, I'd like to see your recipe cos I really want to brew a good coffee stout someday! :hat:

 

[strange-steve]

Tonight it's the turn of a California common brewed by @JFB
It's not a style I'm very familiar with, I've had Anchor Steam but that's probably about the only one I've had, so looking forward to this one.

Appearance
Very nice amber colour with a thin white head which lasted well.

Aroma
Malty, caramel aroma with fruity esters. Reminds me of a good cask bitter.

Flavour
Sweet malty flavours initially with lots of yeast derived fruit then a long dry finish with a caramel flavour at the end.

Overall Impression
A very drinkable beer with a good depth of rich, maltiness. I'm curious what yeast you used for this beer because it seems to be a lot more estery than I'd expect for the style (I'm going to take a guess that it's a Mangrove Jack yeast?). It's a good attempt at the style, perhaps just a little less fermentation character would allow the malts to take centre stage, but still an enjoyable beer. Thanks for letting me taste it, and looking forward to the next one :hat:

*

 

[JFB]

Glad you enjoyed the beer. Used the cali larger yeast from mangrove jack brewed at 17c. Its the second time Ive brewed with the yeast and it does give off esters even when fermented low. I did think fizzy bitter when drinking!
Went down very well with the Czech guys at work who love there larger.
Next time I try the style I'm going to give wilkos yeast ago at 14c and see how that goes for a cleaner taste.

 

[strange-steve]

This is the second of the beers sent by @JFB this time it's an 8.5% Belgian strong ale :drink:

Appearance
Very nice golden colour with a decent white head and good lacing, very good clarity.

Aroma
Spicy, clove - like phenols, light malt and a hint of fruit, exactly as I'd expect for the style. Slight hint of sulphur.

Flavour
Lots of spice, a good level of hop bitterness, pleasant dry finish with some grainy pilsner malt and a big kick of alcohol in the finish.

Overall Impression
Hits all the right notes for the style, I'm guessing this is something of a Duvel like recipe? The spice is well balanced, as is the level of hop bitterness, prominent but not overboard. A very pleasant maltiness in the finish and the light body and high carbonation make it very easy drinking. The alcohol is a little harsh at the minute, but that'll age out nicely. I'm going to guess again that this was a Mangrove Jack yeast? Thanks for the tasting mate I thoroughly enjoyed both the beers. I'll get a biere de garde sent out to you hopefully early next week :hat:

 

[JFB]

Glad you enjoyed:thumb:
This is my first go at a Belgium style beer and was really happy with the results.
As my misses said it tastes of Bruges.
The recipe was pilsner, brewers sugar, a little wheat, saaz and ekg.
Again MJ yeasts M47 Belgian abbey. I was originally going to add coriander and orange peel but decided to keep it simple in the end. I think the yeast gave it plenty of spice and fruit so that was probably a good move.
You pick out the MJ yeast both times, can I ask what it is about the yeast that you pick up on?
Thanks for tasting and giving feed back its a great help..

 

[strange-steve]

Glad you enjoyed:thumb:
This is my first go at a Belgium style beer and was really happy with the results.
As my misses said it tastes of Bruges.

Actually it did remind me somewhat of the Bruges Zot I had at the Halve Maan brewery, just a little less hoppy.

You pick out the MJ yeast both times, can I ask what it is about the yeast that you pick up on?

I've tasted a few different MJ yeasts brewed by various people and I've found that they all have a distinctive flavour just in the finish. It's quite subtle in some and very obvious in others. I can't understand why that should be the case for different strains though.

 

[chuffer]

I've tasted a few different MJ yeasts brewed by various people and I've found that they all have a distinctive flavour just in the finish..

In good way or not-so-good way?

 

[strange-steve]

In good way or not-so-good way?

It's not really good or bad, just that I've found them to be a little samey.

 

[chuffer]

It's not really good or bad, just that I've found them to be a little samey.

Is it like a "dry" after taste? The two times I used MJ yeast I thought the beer had a dry / alcoholic twang but I put that down to mashing at a slightly lower temp than ideal

 

[strange-steve]

Is it like a "dry" after taste? The two times I used MJ yeast I thought the beer had a dry / alcoholic twang but I put that down to mashing at a slightly lower temp than ideal

I wouldn't say dry, sort of an estery twang, hard to describe exactly :hmm:

 

[strange-steve]

@IainM very kindly sent me a bottle of his New England DIPA so that is tonight's beer.

Appearance
Hazy orange/brown colour. Poured with a big head which lasted well with good lacing.

Aroma
Fantastic aroma of sweet malts and a big burst of mango, orange and passion fruit.

Flavour
Lots going on with this. Plenty of hop flavour, well balanced with a good malty backbone. Tons of bitterness in the finish which gives it a grapefruit juice sort of impression.

Overall Impression
A very well made beer, deliciously drinkable, and as far as DIPAs go this is bang on the money, a fantastic example of the style. It has the look, aroma and soft, full body expected from a NEIPA, but flavour wise it's dominated by the hop bitterness like a more traditional DIPA. I had the same issue with mine (actually this is very similar to my RIPa) I think it's a difficult task to reconcile the soft, juicy, fruitiness of a NEIPA with the dry, bitter finish of a DIPA.
That's not a criticism of the beer though, it's a really great DIPA that I'd be more than happy to drink a few pints of. I'm curious what the ABV is because the alcohol is well hidden. A cracking beer mate, the fruity aroma is wonderful especially, thanks for letting me try it :hat:

 

[dad_of_jon]

It's not really good or bad, just that I've found them to be a little samey.

That would be me using the same yeast in both recipes? :grin:

 

[strange-steve]

That would be me using the same yeast in both recipes? :grin:

No, I've found the same aftertaste in every beer I've had fermented with MJ, even in the California lager yeast oddly. As i say it's not a bad taste, I just find it​ unusual that it should be in widely different strains.

 

[IainM]

@IainM very kindly sent me a bottle of his New England DIPA so that is tonight's beer.

Appearance
Hazy orange/brown colour. Poured with a big head which lasted well with good lacing.

Aroma
Fantastic aroma of sweet malts and a big burst of mango, orange and passion fruit.

Flavour
Lots going on with this. Plenty of hop flavour, well balanced with a good malty backbone. Tons of bitterness in the finish which gives it a grapefruit juice sort of impression.

Overall Impression
A very well made beer, deliciously drinkable, and as far as DIPAs go this is bang on the money, a fantastic example of the style. It has the look, aroma and soft, full body expected from a NEIPA, but flavour wise it's dominated by the hop bitterness like a more traditional DIPA. I had the same issue with mine (actually this is very similar to my RIPa) I think it's a difficult task to reconcile the soft, juicy, fruitiness of a NEIPA with the dry, bitter finish of a DIPA.
That's not a criticism of the beer though, it's a really great DIPA that I'd be more than happy to drink a few pints of. I'm curious what the ABV is because the alcohol is well hidden. A cracking beer mate, the fruity aroma is wonderful especially, thanks for letting me try it :hat:

Thanks for the kind feedback. It has taken a few brews to get the process right, but this was the first IPA and first big beer that I've been very happy with, which I put down to proper oxygenation (with a paint stirrer and drill), water chemistry, pitching rate, constant fermentation temperature and making sure the wort wasn't scorched. In fact, the 'New England' part was mostly because I didn't want to do more than a 30 min boil to avoid scorching. Hop bursting and double dry hopping certainly helped reproduce that heady flavour and aroma profile that makes a good DIPA. I was amazed by it and had to get a second opinion to check if it was just me being biased. It finished at 8.5% after priming, so I was surprised that it was drinkable after 4 days in the bottle. You really didn't have to send a bottle in return, but I admit I'm rather looking forward to trying your award winning Biere de Garde at the weekend.