What are you drinking now?

[Chris]

Wernesgruner from Aldi
Probably the best tonight.

Pretty good beer for the price. It's even in MJ's Beers of the world.

[drsmurto]

My dusseldorf altbier.

Same recipe i have used since AG #3.

Malty, 50 IBU but so easy to drink pint after pint after.....

[Bum]

Abbotsford Invalid Stout - not an amazing beer but way better than BUL Guinness. I think this one might be my default beer for taking a sixer to a party. Did not have to worry about them going missing from the fridge all night and actually enjoyed it more than any Australian attempt at an APA (which was my former usual BYO beer). And you can get them from any supermarket. Too easy. Did get told I was drinking "old man" beer all night though. Wasn't too bad though as most of them were drinking Stellas so I was able to retort that they were drinking "girl beer".

[Fifey]

HB Stout. I think it must be Nick's from when he was testing out the cheap and nasty capper his brother got. Other than the glass, it's quite nice.

[Anna]

Had a German "Witbock" (sp?) - some sort of dark bock, over the weekend (can't remember the brand - starts with an 'E'). As I'm not a seasoned beer drinker I thought I'd try a different type of beer every time I go to Dan Murphy's. I didn't know what to expect, so naturally I was kinda shocked at the taste! My first thoughts: Linament! 2nd thoughts: Sarsparilla? And oily. Couldn't finish the glass, let alone the bottle.

So....

and as I'm a glutton for punishment....

thought I'd also try a James Squires IPA. OMG! Same taste, but not as pronounced. The label said it was made with Fuggles hops, so I'm thinking as they both tasted similar to me (you experts are probably now rolling around the floor laughing...), does the bock have Fuggles as well?

If not, then where the hell does that horrible linamenty taste come from?

Anna

[drsmurto]

Have no idea what the first beer you tried as a witbock isnt something i have heard of. Weisbock perhaps.

Linament or sarsparilla? A german wheatbeer will have cloves/bubblegum/banana type flavours/aromas. Absolutely no fuggles hops in a german beer. .

JS IPA is a nice english IPA with the earthy Fuggles hop flavour.

A little surprised you think they tasted the same, they are very different beers. But its good to see you challenging your tastebuds!

I had session 5 for the BJCP study course on the weekend which was porters and stouts. Tasted more than 15 beers. Finished the session off with 4 imperial stouts including Rogue (Link) and Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Highland Edition) - Link. Both amazing beers, although the Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial porter was right up there as well.

Next session is old ales and barleywines! Education is fun.

[Anna]

I think it was Weisbock - is that a wheat beer? (The nice European gentleman who found it for me said it was...) Felt like I was drinking oil. Very dark - nearly black. I actually felt pretty crook afterwards! I did think that a German beer wouldn't have Fuggles in it, but to my taste, yes, it had the same weird taste as the IPA. Go figure!

So I think my tastebuds are completely out of whack. I read all the descriptions of what hops/yeast etc. are supposed to taste like, and then when I try something I think "Nope! Tastes nothing like that.... tastes like.... eg. sarsparilla!" And then there was my "Smoked Fish Ale", remember? Still trying to drink that - getting no better. That was Coopers Dark Ale, which I usually like. The only difference with that one was that I used a US-05 yeastcake from a previous JSGA clone.

Still to try the delights of Stout and Porter - oh, and barleywine. I'll let you know what wayout description I can put to those!!

[Bum]

I'm assuming the Rouge imperial stout was from the XS range? Very keen to try that (and the barleywine) after how much I enjoyed the XS IIPA. Pretty pricey though.

Anna, might be a good idea to start with more adventurous but lighter coloured beers. An Australian version of an APA perhaps?

DrSmurto, wondering if Anna's linimenty experience might just be a somewhat solventy eisbock?

[drsmurto]

Ah, an eisbock, didnt think of that.

Certainly would have been higher in aclohol and possibly a little solventy.

Yes, was the XS RIS. Shared amongst 7 people the price isn't too bad. So far the group has spent more than $1000 on beer but we are learning so much. Hopefully we all pass the exam in December and become certified judges.

The Rogue RIS was sublime, way too easy to drink. We have had Rogue beers on tap here in Adelaide at the Wheaty and most of the range is available to buy in bottles but yes, very pricey. From memory the Rogue Stout was near $40 and the Mikeller closer to $50.

[Anna]

$40-50! What?? Per bottle??? Don't think I'll be testing any of those too soon...

Yes, the 'eisbock' (or whatever) was pretty high alcohol - around 7.6% I think. (Not that I could finish it to find out!)

Hmmm, must Google it now....

Yes Bum, I did like the Amarillo taste in the JSGA, so I'd better find out what Chinook and Cascade taste like now.

[drsmurto]

Yes, per bottle.

As I said, very pricey but when the cost is split between 7 people it gives us the opportunity to sample beers we would otherwise not.

Plus, it's all in the name of study.

[warra48]

Anna,
If it wasn't an Eisbock, could it have been an Erdinger Dunkelweizenbock, also known as Pikantus?
Learning is fun, as DrS said. If you don't try things you haven't tasted before, you don't learn and develop your taste and perception.
I went through this with my wines in the 70s and 80s, and built up quite a nice cellar of wines.
In the 90s and 00s I went through the learning experience with beers. I've never been a fan of the standard issue Aus beers. Even Coopers, nice as it is, didn't really do it for me. Eventually I got into JS Amber Ale, and then Little Creatures Pale Ale, Sheaf Stout etc, and that set me on a path of trying all sorts of other non mainstream beers.
Once I retired I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to brew. I did 3 or 4 kits and bits, then extract beers, and by brew 13 it was my first AG brew. I just love the variety of beers I can brew, and how much control I have over the process. I love my brew days.
I'm about to transfer a Munich Dunkel for lagering, will do it either later today or tomorrow. I also pitched a slant of WY3068 into a ½ litre starter this morning as a first step for my next brew, a Hefeweizen.

[Anna]

Yes Warra, that's what it was !! I've been Googling and apparently "weizen" in Germany is wheat: "South German-style dark wheat beer, 8% vol, with roasted, chocolate, banana and clove aroma and flavor." Maybe it was the cloves that gave it the sarsparilla taste (to me). OH is not so adverturous - his comments when I pulled a face at the taste: "There - satisfied? Now you can stop wasting good money on fancy beer". (Philistine!)

PS: What's a "slant"?

[earle]

Stick with it Anna. I remember when I first started trying different beers - there were some I had trouble finishing esp some Belgians. Now that my beer palate is more developed I greatly enjoy the very same beers.

[Anna]

God! I'm a virgin!!! (again!)

[Tipsy]

Stick with it Anna. I remember when I first started trying different beers - there were some I had trouble finishing esp some Belgians. Now that my beer palate is more developed I greatly enjoy the very same beers.

Exactly my experience.

[warra48]

Yes Warra, that's what it was !! I've been Googling and apparently "weizen" in Germany is wheat: "South German-style dark wheat beer, 8% vol, with roasted, chocolate, banana and clove aroma and flavor." Maybe it was the cloves that gave it the sarsparilla taste (to me). OH is not so adverturous - his comments when I pulled a face at the taste: "There - satisfied? Now you can stop wasting good money on fancy beer". (Philistine!)

PS: What's a "slant"?

A slant, as I understand it, is a small laboratory type of tube. I stand to be corrected by the resident scientist DrS as to the correct terminology.
I use them when I grow a yeast starter from a new pack. I'll pitch most of the starter, but I save a small amount to pour into the slants, cover with cooled boiled water, lable them, then store in the fridge until needed to build a new starter.

Funnily enough, there's a long thread, started by Trough Lolly, on this forum about brewing a clone of Pikantus. I've brewed it myself a couple of times, and have enjoyed them. I've also bought them from Dan Murphy on a few occasions when I've been in Sydney.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6461&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=dunkler+weizenbock

[bullfrog]

A yeast slant is a gelatin and malt base which is set on an angle (or slanted) which is then inoculated with a yeast strain. It's just a method of storing yeast which you can then use to build a starter from. The jelly-malt is set on an angle for some reason to do with moisture (again, I'm sure the Doc will be able to be a lot more specific here.)

Another method of storing yeast is to keep them under sterile water, like what Warra does, but that's not technically a slant.

That's my understanding, anyways.

[Anna]

Thanks for the lesson all you gurus! Just read through that Trough Lolly thread Warra - wow! I really am a beginner huh?
Doc, to refresh your memory (and save you re-reading the thread), here's what you had to say:

"Very latecomer to this beer.

probably cos i just dont get into wheat beers. Or belgian beers

Anyway, grabbed a bottle of this on my way home Friday and cracked it Saturday night.

Effin gorgeous."


It will be a long, long time before I can second that comment! Anna

[drsmurto]

Slanting is outside my area of expertise (I am a chemist, not a biologist) and I also have never done it myself.

From what i have read and the slants i have been given the responses are spot on.

Cheers for reminding me of what i wrote Anna, it's been way too long since i had one. Might have to go home via a bottleshop to refresh the memory.

I planned on using the yeastcake from my dunkelweizen to brew TLs clone but yeast was dodgy so got ditched.

I have a bag of rye now and a roggenbier is on the cards which will give me enough yeast to brew TLs Pikantus.

It took me a while to get used to extra hoppy beers. English ales i loved after living in the UK for 2 years and have always been a fan of dark ales and stouts thanks to Coopers and Adelaide Hills winters. Lagers don't do much for me except Munich Dunkels which i brew regularly but then i have a bad Munich malt addiction. (just look at the 3 recipes i have listed on AHB in the recipeDB.......munich is all of them)

Belgians and weizens still challenge me. I've only ever brewed one belgian beer, a belgian pale ale and i gave away the keg after only drinking 1/3 of it. Not to my taste. Weizens are growing on me and the dark variants particularly.

Later in the BJCP study group we will be tasting the funky/sour beers - lambics, gueze, flanders ales..... that will really challenge my tastebuds.