Xmas Swap Review Thread

[IainM]

First Gold.
As arranged through Steve with the sender,this was sampled by my son and not myself.Having attended hospital on the 23rd with much prodding,poking,blood and urine tests and rummaging around unspeakable areas i was allowed home along with strong painkillers and a urologist appointment on 9th jan. No alcohol until at least that date:twisted:.

Crickey. Hope it isn't serious. Get well soon!

 

[Ajhutch]

Get well soon chub1


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[pvt_ak]

Sure, in a competition you might've lost a few points for the head, clarity and slightly low carbonation for the style, but this isn't a competition and I loved it.

Mate - I’m chuffed you liked it and it’s really lifted my spirits.

Would love to do more bottle swaps now.


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[MagnusTS]

Get well soon @chub1. Hope you are back sampling beer in the near future.

The First Gold was mine. Well actually, it was the ‘First Gold IPA’ recipe pack from Geterbrewed.

Thanks for persuading your son to try it. Many thanks to you both for the kind words.

 

[chub1]

Get well soon @chub1. Hope you are back sampling beer in the near future.

The First Gold was mine. Well actually, it was the ‘First Gold IPA’ recipe pack from Geterbrewed.

Thanks for persuading your son to try it. Many thanks to you both for the kind words.

Keep it up mate,sorry i was unable to sample it myself:-(

 

[BeerCat]

Swift recovery Chub. All these beers look great, really want to try and amber ale soon.

 

[stigman]

Sorry for the late review on this one drank this "stout 5%" the other night just.

Appearance- nice dark black colour with a good tan head that lasted well.

Aroma- just what you expect, dark malts some coffee and chocolate with a slight sweetness.

Flavour- just as the Aroma with a nice subtle bitterness that lingered on the tongue.

Overall- very nice stout slightly thin on the body for me. Carbonation spot on for style.

 

[stigman]

Right - Beer #2
Cluster Hop Double IPA At 8.5%

A cracking hiss on opening and a slight foam over, so a slow pour into the glass. This is a lively one.

Carbonation led to a good head, it calmed a little after a few sips and kept its head until the bottom. Great body !

Pleasant to look at, hazy and in keeping with its style.

Supping is delightful, a real tropical fruity note, not too overpowering either.

Lovely crisp mouthfeel, for an 8.5% I was worried about it being too sweet or the alcohol over powering , but it’s a lovely balanced smooth drinker.

Overall - A super sup !! Great body, I’m feeling the kick of the 8.5% as I near the bottom.
Tropical fruity flavours stay to the end and a great bitterness balance.

I’d say this is definitely brewed by someone with experience, and if I can churn out such a great tasting beer next year I’d be a happy chappy.

Well done that brewer 10/10 !!

 

[strange-steve]

Well the Mrs is at work and there's peace in the house so time for the second of my swaps. This is Black IPA mark II at 5.4% brewed with some of my favourite hops, so let's go...

Aroma
Fruity, citrusy hops, orange and grapefruit with a slight hint of coffee, very inviting.

Appearance
A truly beautiful looking beer. My shoddy photo doesn't do it justice, black with a lovely reddish hint when held to the light, crystal clear and a creamy white head with fantastic retention.

Flavour
Excellent full bodied mouthfeel. Citrusy hops initially, predominantly grapefruit, well balanced with the malt flavours, with a very slight roastiness and a dry finish.

Overall Impression
This is a cracking BIPA. I was curious how the chocolate malt would work, but it's light enough that it blends very well with the hop bitterness in the finish, leaving just an impression of black coffee. The dark malts are very well judged. The oats add a beautiful silkiness which make it very smooth, but it's not heavy. The dry finish balances it out nicely. A great beer, very well brewed so thank you for sending this :hat:

Edit to add: look at the head retention on this, outstanding!

 

[sdt7618]

So the first of my santa swaps was Saisons Greetings., 5.2%seison.

Have uploaded two pics, one with the wee card that came because I think there might be two with the same name out there.

The beer poured with a nice big head, and was straw coloured verging on golden, looked great in the glass. Was hazy when poured but I understand this can be part of the style

The aroma from the glass was one of spice and fruit, it's not really a beer style I am familiar with apart from hop fiction but did like this one.

The taste was light, with hints of bread and fruit, was very clean tasting almost like drinking a pilsner. There was a hint of spice in the after taste which enjoyed.

After a day out working in our woods and coming in for lunch I was more than happy to quench my thirst with this beer, and would be happy to spend and evening supping more.:grin:


Well done to the brewer and hopefully sometime soon when I get the brewer shed sorted can do something similar.


My second santa brew scares me a little at 10.2% :-?

 

[jceg316]

So the first of my santa swaps was Saisons Greetings., 5.2%seison.

Have uploaded two pics, one with the wee card that came because I think there might be two with the same name out there.

The beer poured with a nice big head, and was straw coloured verging on golden, looked great in the glass. Was hazy when poured but I understand this can be part of the style

The aroma from the glass was one of spice and fruit, it's not really a beer style I am familiar with apart from hop fiction but did like this one.

The taste was light, with hints of bread and fruit, was very clean tasting almost like drinking a pilsner. There was a hint of spice in the after taste which enjoyed.

After a day out working in our woods and coming in for lunch I was more than happy to quench my thirst with this beer, and would be happy to spend and evening supping more.:grin:


Well done to the brewer and hopefully sometime soon when I get the brewer shed sorted can do something similar.


My second santa brew scares me a little at 10.2% :-?

This was my one! Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[strange-steve]

By my count that's 23 reviews down and 14 more to go, well done and keep em coming lads :thumb:

 

[Oneflewover]

Biere de Garde just delivered (many thanks Steve!). I'll give it a couple of days to settle before posting a review. :hat:

 

[strange-steve]

Biere de Garde just delivered (many thanks Steve!). I'll give it a couple of days to settle before posting a review. :hat:

Bloody hell that was quick, only posted it yesterday!

 

[AlanManley]

This one's mine. [emoji16]

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=729145

Glad you liked it. There was no fruit involved. Just a LOT of hops. I'll post the recipe shortly.

It's .my first dive into the realm of NEIPA's so very chuffed with the feedback.

Thank you. [emoji482]

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[AlanManley]

So my first of two is SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER. a 4% "Golden Quaffing Ale".

It certainly is! Upon opening there was a lovely crisp hiss. When poured it had a good head however sadly it faded quickly.

Good carbonation and a lovely hoppy tingle on the tongue when drinking. Lots of citrus both on the nose and pallets as you would expect from the hops involved.

All in all a very good drop. I'd be happy to drink this for an afternoon (or two).

I can't add photos at the moment for some reason. Every time I click to add a photo it opens Tapatalk? I'll keep trying.

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[AlanManley]

https://alanmanley.smugmug.com/Beer-Photos/i-Csg2Qfk/A

 

[Dexter101]

2nd beer tonight, a delightful saison. Recommended to chill to drink.

A lively light effervescent beer, perfect for a summers afternoon, post surf. Head was energetic but not problematic!

Aroma
Fruity hops (got grapefruit) and a lovely cidery apple note.


Flavour
Lovely light malt flavour, not sweet but not too dry. Some slight hop bitterness but doesnt linger but just dries out and makes you want another mouthful. Nice bit of spice as a saison should but doesnt get overly complex.

Mouthfeel
Doesnt feel watery on the mouth which is good for a light beer. Lovely fine bubbles.

All in all i could drink pint after pint of this very happily. This one disappeared very quickly and i was quite disappointed i couldnt enjoy another.

Thanks, very much appreciated

 

[AlanManley]

Beer 2...
Gerald's Grand Job @ 4.5%.

Very lively upon opening. Good head which stayed all the way down.

Very fruity on the nose and in flavour with a slightly bitter finish, but in a good way. Mouthfeel is quite thick and creamy.

Another good one.

https://alanmanley.smugmug.com/Beer-Photos/i-Z2LjHMv/A

Very chuffed with my two beers. Cheers to both senders and thanks Steve for organising. [emoji482]

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[Jakeyboi]

So I finally managed to drink my secret santa swap. I was sent a rye apa 5%.

I was very keen to try this as I have never drunk a rye beer before. I'm just going to say that this beer was lovely. Whoever brewed this done a great job. I've never reviewed a beer before so here's what I managed to write down whilst supping away.

There was a good hiss upon opening

It was very lively and poured beautifully clear, a deep red/amber colour, with a thick head on which lasted to the bottom.

There was a nice citrus aroma and a small hint of phenolic/peppery Belgian smell.

Taste: a good balance between the bitterness and the malt, just how I like it. It had a good mouthfeel partly due to the high carbonation but also I'm guessing from the malts. I was surprised that the hops didn't jump out and whack me as I was expecting, they were much more subtle which was actually quite refreshing. The hop flavour was that of an apa, citrusy. Then it rounded of with the malty/phenolic/slightly peppery flavour which kind of left a warmth in the mouth. I would have to guess that this beer has been conditioned in the bottle a while, the flavours were all very rounded, either that or I'm used to tasting my crappy extract brews.

All in all 10/10, wish I had a few more, and I also wish I could brew a beer that good.

Thanks santa!