Strange-steve's Homebrew Reviews

[stigman]

Thanks for the mention Steve I'll be sure to do a few more swaps this year, all the best mate and happy new year to you.

 

[divrack]

Damn pipped at the post!
Glad you liked it though, its nice to know the months of patience is worthwhile. Particularly with weird things like that

 

[JFB]

Being the end if the year and all, I had a look back over my notes from the 21 beers I was very kindly sent this year. I have to say the quality of the beers was outstanding overall, but I've chosen my highlight of the year, but first a few honourable mentions:

We got off to a cracking start with @stigman's NEIPA which is probably the most intensely hoppy homebrewed beer I've ever tasted, it was wonderful.

Next up was a blackberry brett beer from @JFB which was complex, elegant and delicious.

Then @clarkeuk sent a chocolate coconut stout. This was an extremely well made beer, perfectly balanced and the fact that I love coconut meant this was right up my street.

@divrack then sent me a funky oud bruin typ thing which was really delicious. A very complex, interesting beer with a lot going on in every mouthful. I was really torn between this and the beer which got top spot, it was extremely close.

So those are the honourable mentions, and now my top beer of 2018 was...

Snow Red by @JFB. This Flanders red ale was truly outstanding. It was a pretty much flawless example of the style, better than some commercial ones I've tried and it's a beer I would gladly have paid for. Excellent work and something I'm going to attempt to copy someday

As a small thank you I have 225g Citra hop pellets with your name on them courtesy of CML. Are you still at the same address, Upper Bucklebury?

Sorry not been on the forum for a while. Still at Buckleburry:thumba:
Glad you enjoyed the beers. I just got around to putting another flanders red ale on the other day. so give it another year and a bit to see if the first one was a fluke!
Still I bottled a American Lambic the other day and have a Oud Bruin on that could be ready by summer time. If they turn out any good ill send a bottle across.
Cheers
John

 

[strange-steve]

Sorry not been on the forum for a while. Still at Buckleburry:thumba:

CML are out of the 225g bags I'm afraid so two 100g bags of Citra are on their way :hat:

 

[JFB]

CML are out of the 225g bags I'm afraid so two 100g bags of Citra are on their way :hat:

Thanking You

 

[JFB]

Received the citra today thanks. What ever I brew ill be certain to pop one in the post for you.
Thinking along the lines of a biere de citra

 

[strange-steve]

Well this is my first review of the year, courtesy of @Oneflewover, and it's a chocolate, coconut rum stout at 8.5%. Chocolate and coconut is a great combo and I reckon this could work beautifully in a stout...

Aroma
A black coffee aroma initially, roasty dark chocolate and some fruitiness. The coconut was very subtle at first, but as the beer warmed it became more obvious. Really nice.

Appearance
Beautiful black, with brown highlights when held up to the light, nice lacing from the head.

Flavour
Layers of bitter chocolate and coffee straight up, with some fruity esters and a very dry roasty finish. The coconut is again quite subtle, perhaps a little lost against the other big flavours.

Overall Impression
This is first and foremost a really good dry stout. There's a slight tang to it, rather like foreign extra Guinness, and it's really quite pleasant. There's a nice complexity, as you'd expect from a strong stout, but despite the bold flavours there's a surprising lightness to it which gives it the Belgian "digestibility" factor and makes it very drinkable. I personally would have liked a bit more coconut in the flavour, but the rum addition definitely adds to the complexity of flavours. The alcohol content is well hidden, there's no harsh or hot flavours at all. This is a well made beer and I thoroughly enjoyed it so thanks for sending it mate :hat:

 

[Oneflewover]

Well this is my first review of the year, courtesy of @Oneflewover, and it's a chocolate, coconut rum stout at 8.5%. Chocolate and coconut is a great combo and I reckon this could work beautifully in a stout...

Aroma
A black coffee aroma initially, roasty dark chocolate and some fruitiness. The coconut was very subtle at first, but as the beer warmed it became more obvious. Really nice.

Appearance
Beautiful black, with brown highlights when held up to the light, nice lacing from the head.

Flavour
Layers of bitter chocolate and coffee straight up, with some fruity esters and a very dry roasty finish. The coconut is again quite subtle, perhaps a little lost against the other big flavours.

Overall Impression
This is first and foremost a really good dry stout. There's a slight tang to it, rather like foreign extra Guinness, and it's really quite pleasant. There's a nice complexity, as you'd expect from a strong stout, but despite the bold flavours there's a surprising lightness to it which gives it the Belgian "digestibility" factor and makes it very drinkable. I personally would have liked a bit more coconut in the flavour, but the rum addition definitely adds to the complexity of flavours. The alcohol content is well hidden, there's no harsh or hot flavours at all. This is a well made beer and I thoroughly enjoyed it so thanks for sending it mate :hat:

Thanks for the feedback @strange-steve. You aren't the first to have commented upon the relative lack of coconut. Pleased that you enjoyed it nevertheless.

 

[Braindead]

How much coconut did you use

 

[Oneflewover]

How much coconut did you use

Obviously not enough!

From memory it was 200g at flameout and 200g in the fermenter in what ended up as a 26l batch (I overshot). My recipe was for 300g each, but I remember I didn't have enough in. I used flaked coconut from the health food shop (toasted), don't know if dessicated would have given up more flavour? It would certainly have been messier!

 

[Braindead]

I use 600 Gram probably a week before kegging.
Toast my coconut so I get the amount of toast I want then pat the oils off with kitchen roll.
Day of begging I pass it from the fermenter through my hop rocket which is filled with another 300 grams into the keg.
I wouldn't use desiccated only flaked

 

[strange-steve]

Tonight I'm having the first of @Ajhutch's two offerings, called Veneti which is a sour ale with apple juice added. Sounds very interesting...

Aroma
A bit of bretty barnyard funk initially, tropical fruits, boiled sweets, and a sharp farmhouse cider type aroma overall. Very nice indeed.

Appearance
A really nice orange golden colour. No head, which isn't unusual for a sour beer although it could be because of my glass.

Flavour
Quite sharp initially but a very clean sourness. Lots of fruitiness, and a lovely grainy, bready malt background. Fades to an interesting sweet and sour finish. A pleasant overripe apple flavour, which isn't too obvious, but it adds to the complexity of the brew.

Overall Impression
This is a complex and interesting beer. Very well made with crisp, clean flavours, and the apple juice addition blends very well. It adds a fruitiness which combines beautifully with the brett flavours and actually this drinks just like a good lambic, which to me is a sign of a well balanced addition. I can see why this did well at the NHC, I really can't find anything wrong with it. It just works well and it went down very nicely. Thanks for sending this, and I'm looking forward to the next one :hat:

 

[strange-steve]

After a long week I badly needed a beer, so tonight I've cracked open a Table Saison courtesy of @brewhaha so let's have a look...

Aroma
Gentle peppery spice, fruity and a slight citrusy tartness, but also crisp and clean. Subtle but elegant and inviting.

Appearance
Brilliant clarity (how'd you manage that aunsure....) and a lovely pale copper colour. Thin white head with really good retention.

Flavour
Very crisp, clean flavours with light peppery phenolics and earthy hop flavours with some subtle grainy malt coming through. A quick fade on the finish with some lingering hop bitterness. Very light bodied with perfect carbonation for the style.

Overall Impression
Table beers aren't usually the sort of thing I would choose, I tend to lean towards higher ABV beers. That being said I really enjoyed this, a lot more than I expected to. Straight away I could tell this is a very well made beer, the flavours are really clean and this would be a perfect summer beer, crisp and refreshing. The issue I find with session/table beers is that there is usually a lack of complexity, a bit of a "flavour gap" somewhere between the initial flavours and the finish, possibly due to the small grain bill. There is a bit of that in this beer tbh, but it works to achieve the desired result of an easy-drinking brew and the yeast choice adds a lot so it's certainly not one-dimensional. There's a lot more going on here than in most session IPAs for example. A quality beer this, and I could see myself brewing something similar for the summer. It went down rather swiftly this evening so thanks for sending this mate. You asked me to guess ABV (which I'm useless at) but I'd go with around 3.5%

 

[brewhaha]

Wow, cheers for the review Steve. It's actually 2.6% but I think I preferred the recipe at 3% as I'm beginning to pick up the flavour gap you mention - a bit watery.

I think the tiny grain bill helps with the clarity as my other beers certainly don't look like this one!

I'll be brewing this one again in time for the summer. If you're interested, I'll post up the recipe.

Cheers again & glad you enjoyed it.

 

[strange-steve]

That's really impressive that it was only 2.6%, great job! I'd be interested to see your recipe actually

 

[brewhaha]

60 minute mash at 65C with the following grist:
80% Weyermann Pilsner
20% Weyermann Munich II

60 minute boil with 25g (17.5 IBUs) Amarillo as a FWA
25g Sorachi Ace at 5 mins
25g each of Sorachi Ace & Amarillo as an 80C hopstand for 20 mins

Wyeast 3711 French Saison pitched at 25C rising to 27C after 4 days. Cold crashed for a couple of days before bottling.

Think I might up the Munich a touch of I brew at that ABV again to try & fill it out a touch.

 

[Ajhutch]

Tonight I'm having the first of @Ajhutch's two offerings, called Veneti which is a sour ale with apple juice added. Sounds very interesting...

Aroma
A bit of bretty barnyard funk initially, tropical fruits, boiled sweets, and a sharp farmhouse cider type aroma overall. Very nice indeed.

Appearance
A really nice orange golden colour. No head, which isn't unusual for a sour beer although it could be because of my glass.

Flavour
Quite sharp initially but a very clean sourness. Lots of fruitiness, and a lovely grainy, bready malt background. Fades to an interesting sweet and sour finish. A pleasant overripe apple flavour, which isn't too obvious, but it adds to the complexity of the brew.

Overall Impression
This is a complex and interesting beer. Very well made with crisp, clean flavours, and the apple juice addition blends very well. It adds a fruitiness which combines beautifully with the brett flavours and actually this drinks just like a good lambic, which to me is a sign of a well balanced addition. I can see why this did well at the NHC, I really can't find anything wrong with it. It just works well and it went down very nicely. Thanks for sending this, and I'm looking forward to the next one :hat:

Thanks for the review, and glad you enjoyed it. I’m really quite pleased with it and just annoyed I didn’t make more! Will definitely be revisiting it at some point.

 

[strange-steve]

60 minute mash at 65C with the following grist:
80% Weyermann Pilsner
20% Weyermann Munich II

60 minute boil with 25g (17.5 IBUs) Amarillo as a FWA
25g Sorachi Ace at 5 mins
25g each of Sorachi Ace & Amarillo as an 80C hopstand for 20 mins

Wyeast 3711 French Saison pitched at 25C rising to 27C after 4 days. Cold crashed for a couple of days before bottling.

Think I might up the Munich a touch of I brew at that ABV again to try & fill it out a touch.

The sorachi ace is clever, I didn't pick it out but the flavours would blend really well with the citrusy yeast profile. Also I think a little more Munich malt would be good, the flavours were definitely trying to come through

 

[strange-steve]

Tonight I'm having a Weizenbock courtesy of @Zephyr259, and I'm looking forward to this cos I don't have much experience with this style...

Aroma
Clove like spicy esters, vaguely fruity but not banana, perhaps a touch of DMS but only minor.

Appearance
Good clarity on the initial pour, but I added some of the dregs as per the style which gave a nice haze. Golden colour with a thin white head. A very pretty beer.

Flavour
Lots going on here. Very yeast driven initially with spice and fruitiness but a very solid malt backbone propping it up. There's a nice depth to the malt flavours with a fruitiness to it. A little hint of alcohol coming through followed by a well balanced hop bitterness. Really nice mouthfeel and perfect carbonation.

Overall Impression
This is my kind of beer. Rich, complex, spicy and delicious. There's a slight kick from the alcohol which I enjoyed and it adds to the overall complexity. There's very little in the way of hop flavour, as per the style, but the bitterness is perfectly balanced allowing just a hint of sweetness in the finish. I'm far from an expert on this style but I believe this is on the lighter end of the spectrum, both in colour and ABV, so I wonder if upping the grain bill might deepen the malt flavours even more, bringing out some melanoidins like a doppelbock. This isn't really a criticism though, because this beer works beautifully as is and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so thanks for sending this mate :hat:

 

[Zephyr259]

Tonight I'm having a Weizenbock courtesy of @Zephyr259, and I'm looking forward to this cos I don't have much experience with this style...

Aroma
Clove like spicy esters, vaguely fruity but not banana, perhaps a touch of DMS but only minor.

Appearance
Hazy and golden with a thin white head. A very pretty beer.

Flavour
Lots going on here. Very yeast driven initially with spice and fruitiness but a very solid malt backbone propping it up. There's a nice depth to the malt flavours with a fruitiness to it. A little hint of alcohol coming through followed by a well balanced hop bitterness. Really nice mouthfeel and perfect carbonation.

Overall Impression
This is my kind of beer. Rich, complex, spicy and delicious. There's a slight kick from the alcohol which I enjoyed and it adds to the overall complexity. There's very little in the way of hop flavour, as per the style, but the bitterness is perfectly balanced allowing just a hint of sweetness in the finish. I'm far from an expert on this style but I believe this is on the lighter end of the spectrum, both in colour and ABV, so I wonder if upping the grain bill might deepen the malt flavours even more, bringing out some melanoidins like a doppelbock. This isn't really a criticism though, because this beer works beautifully as is and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so thanks for sending this mate :hat:

Thanks for the kind words Steve, did this pour naturally hazy for you? My bottles have been almost crystal clear and I've added a small touch of the dregs to add some haze.

I had issues with my mill on this brew and my efficiency suffered so only hit 1.062 instead of 1.068. You are correct that this is a pale version of the style, it would normally be amber like a traditional bock but this beer was from the same grist as the Saison so is pale, my wife doesn't like belgian yeasts so I fermented half with the weizen strain and got 20 bottles of each rather than 40 bottle of something only I like.

To accommodate this I made some alterations to the wort, I separated 1L of pre-boil wort, simmered it with extra hops for 15 mins then strained, reduced to a syrup and added to the FV, this was to boost the bitterness compared to the saison and add some more malt character so I'm glad the bitterness was good as it was mostly an educated guess which conveniently emptied the packet of Perle. The syrup doesn't carry the same oomph without munich malt in the grist it seems as this one doesn't have the malt aroma the syrup method has given the other brews I've used it with.