2012 Christmas in July Lotto

[earle]

Your brew turned up the other day Rotten. Thanks very much.

Drinking Earle's APA now. Good carbonation. Thin but persistent head. Good malt profile with some residual sweetness that balances the hops nicely. The hops or perhaps hop is where this one gets really interesting. Not the citrussy US flavour I was expecting (although I do enjoy that) but a spicy, aniseed like flavour that goes really well. I've no idea what it is, but would love to find out.

A real eye opener. I can see it not being everyone's cup of beer but I think it's fantastic.

By the look of the colour in the photo that must have been the amber ale. The nicko I wrote AA on the cap with was a bit old so might have been hard to read. Glad you liked it. As you have noted the head retention could do with some improvement. Maybe more time in the bottle will improve that. Hops are Willamette only but the flavour you are picking up could be a combination of those and the touch of choc malt. Recipe here for anyone interested http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10908#p112051

[emnpaul]

You're right, it was definitely the Amber. Not sure why I wrote APA but was a mistake.

Quite surprised about Willamette being the hop. I've used it a bit over the journey and it remains one of my favourite hops but I've never gotten aniseed from it. As others have said, and I'm paraphrasing here "It's the complexities that make this hobby such an enduring obsession". I might have to have a go at your amber ale and see if I can get a similar result. In the mean time could I trouble you for the origin and year of harvest of your Willamette?

@ Dr Smurto: I'm sure the quality will raise the bar to new heights.

[earle]

Yes the flavour was not quite what I was expecting either though as you say not in a bad way.

I normally get my hops from Craftbrewer but grabbed these "Williamette" (SIC) from the local store here in Toowoomba. To his credit he keeps hops and yeast in the fridge. They are Copper Tun packaged 4.8%, best before Dec 2015. No year of harvest info. Cost me an arm and a leg compared to Craftbrewer though.

[emnpaul]

nicko

Forgot to say: nicko is regional slang for premanent marker. Kinda like "grouse" if you're from Melbourne.

[earle]

Probably a bit more like "Hoover" as nikko is a brand name.

[big dave]

Well, Jesus.... Hoped you'd like it but didn't expect a report like that. Chuffed to bits that someone else likes it!

As an aside, I am really keen to win a beer lotto, but now the bar has been set high for reporting back....

Will dig up the recipe.

[drsmurto]

Beers are in the post. They were poured straight from tap to bottle via the 'dribble' method so need to be drunk asap. No need to give them time settle, they are sediment free.

Bo pils - double decoction, 3+ months lagering. I think its very malty and very drinkable.

Oatmeal stout - been in the keg for months but I forgot about it. Went to move what I thought was an empty keg only to discover it was 2/3rds full. Dry hopped with styrians to perk it up a bit and have been hitting it hard this weekend just gone.

Enjoy!

[big dave]

Recipe for the Dirty Scrumpet Golden Ale, with a massive nod to the good Doc. I have my preliminary notes here, and I don't think the actual brewing varied too wildly from the plan. Although my brewing is not a very exact science....

JW Pale Ale malt 3kg
JW Light Munich 1kg
JW Wheat malt 1kg
JW Caramalt 300g

Cascade 5%AA 40g at 40min
Amarillo 8.9%AA 20g at flame-out
Amarillo 8.9%AA 20g to no-chill cube after finishing draining into it, about 20 min after flame-out

90 min BIAB mash at 66 deg, aiming at around 75% efficiency
Hopping to 30-ish IBU
OG 1.044 as planned
Fermented with US-05, starter made with wort from the bottom of the keggle
FG 1.010
Two weeks in primary, no secondary, bottled with table sugar.

Dirty Scrumpet was what I ended up calling our first Jack Russell. We named her Scrumpy, but she loved rolling in cow shit and dead animals. She was a great dog, but we lost her to a lousy tiger snake that tagged her on the nose as she chased a tennis ball past it.

You brew a version of this, call it what you will.

[Tipsy]

You brew a version of this, call it what you will.

Dirty Scrumpet sounds good.

[drsmurto]

Beers are in the post. They were poured straight from tap to bottle via the 'dribble' method so need to be drunk asap. No need to give them time settle, they are sediment free.

Bo pils - double decoction, 3+ months lagering. I think its very malty and very drinkable.

Oatmeal stout - been in the keg for months but I forgot about it. Went to move what I thought was an empty keg only to discover it was 2/3rds full. Dry hopped with styrians to perk it up a bit and have been hitting it hard this weekend just gone.

Enjoy!

Have these arrived yet? I've had a number of issues with auspost this year selling rhizomes. Despite their so called tracking they couldn't find sand in a desert.

[emnpaul]

Have these arrived yet? I've had a number of issues with auspost this year selling rhizomes. Despite their so called tracking they couldn't find sand in a desert.

Absoluteley have.

I was shocked to discover 2 longnecks inside the package. When you said you were sending 2 beers I thought you meant stubbies. With any luck you'll win the next one so I can repay the favour.

[drsmurto]

Have these arrived yet? I've had a number of issues with auspost this year selling rhizomes. Despite their so called tracking they couldn't find sand in a desert.

Absoluteley have.

I was shocked to discover 2 longnecks inside the package. When you said you were sending 2 beers I thought you meant stubbies. With any luck you'll win the next one so I can repay the favour.

Self imposed penalty for my tardiness.

[emnpaul]

I've just finished Dr Smurto's Bohemian Pilsner. It was my intention to taste this along side my own boh pils but it won't be ready for a while yet, so I decided to just get into it.

Mmm, delicious. Malty, sweet and bitter. Complex malt character no doubt from the triple decoction. Clean fermentation (no detectable fruitiness or diacetyl) as you'd expect. Possibly the slightest hint of DMS, although I'm not the greatest beer taster in the world so it could be the decoction playing tricks on me. Deep saaz hop flavour which blends nicely with the Weyermann Pils malt. Clear and bright, like a XXXX summer lager, only a million times better. A fine example of the style.

[drsmurto]

Glad you enjoyed it. All that colour and most of the flavour comes from the extended decoctions. I'm very happy with it, I think it's the best one I have ever brewed. Very nice photo of it, looks like the carbonation has been retained.

[barls]

lambic still waiting or did you enjoy it?

[emnpaul]

Still waiting and possibly souring. Will get to it soon.

[rotten]

Gday emnpaul, have you tried mine yet? or was it that bad that you can't comment

I have the only other bottle as the rest was kegged and plan to drink it once you post your elaborate notes to compare.

Carn Hawks

[emnpaul]

Nah mate, haven't tried it yet but the hawks sticker on the bottle is a nice touch.

I've been off the turps while nerding it up for an exam but I'm back on it now. Hopefully I'll be posting some more notes this weekend.

[emnpaul]

Earl's Stone and Wood. Sorry no photograph.

Pours pale gold in colour. Good clarity. Strong hop aroma. Strong hop flavour with background malt. Lightish body with crisp, assertive bitterness. All about the hops this one. Would make an excellent single hop brew if a brewer wanted to try out a new hop variety.

Also had the good Dr's oatmeal stout. Once again no photo, sorry.

Minimal carbonation, no doubt due to being filled from the keg and hanging around in the bottle a bit long, my fault, I was advised not to do that but hadn't the chance to drink it sooner. Not a problem though as I like a low carbonated stout, kind of adds to the smoothness. Opaque black colour. Bitter and roasty, with a hint of oatiness in the aftertaste. Slightly sweet, tending to dryness in the finish. Lovely stout.

[emnpaul]

Rottens Pale Ale.

Light amber to gold in colour.
Nice fizz on opening with good, but not over the top carbonation. Dense, finely beaded head that can be clearly seen from the moon. Oops, I mean photo and some nice lacing although nothing that would rival Big Dave's contribution.
Interesting aroma. Mixture of yeast, minerals and floral hop.
Taste: Floral hops. A touch of fruit, with a hint of minerals and yeast on the back palette, followed up by a fair amount of graininess. Fairly neutral balance between sweet and bitter although I admit my tastes are skewed towards bitterness these days, having described Dr. Smurto's 40-ish IBU stout as slightly sweet.
Light bodied, highly quaffable and a pleasure to have tasted.
Cheers.