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Murray's Icon 2IPA - Closest I've ever had to an actual US-style beer from an Australian brewery. I don't think they nailed the grainbill but it is a lovely beer if you like that sort of thing.

Never much cared for heavy IPAs or IIPAs. They always seem to make me look like Renee Zellweger after I've finished a glass; face all puckered up like I've been sucking on lemons for the past three months.

Still working on my DSGA but I've also had a couple of pints of my ESB tonight. On one right now. If I were a religious man then I would thank my respective almighty sky fairy for this brew. Heavy in body but light on the palate, a lot of hops straight up and some on the back of the tongue as it goes down the old beer pipe. Very balanced. Very beautiful. Very much a beer that makes me punch myself in the head for drinking because I want to age it for longer.

Friday Night I sampled my Stockmans Draught which was modelled on Boonies LCPA clone recipe although I left out the chinook.

Has been in the bottles for 4 weeks.

At first i really wasnt sure what i had brewed as this brew was the first of mine to use hop bags and there was a definate aroma that was not familiar to me, not at all bad but very new.
At first taste it came across quite bitter.. but then smoothed out throughout the glass.
I'm very keen to see how this one pans out over the next few months

Sat'dy night I grabbed a sixer of Williams Pale Ale .. which i had tried before, sadly i only got through 3 of them .. before i was on the nod after a big home delivered thai feed

bullfrog wrote:Never much cared for heavy IPAs or IIPAs. They always seem to make me look like Renee Zellweger after I've finished a glass; face all puckered up like I've been sucking on lemons for the past three months.

Still working on my DSGA but I've also had a couple of pints of my ESB tonight. On one right now. If I were a religious man then I would thank my respective almighty sky fairy for this brew. Heavy in body but light on the palate, a lot of hops straight up and some on the back of the tongue as it goes down the old beer pipe. Very balanced. Very beautiful. Very much a beer that makes me punch myself in the head for drinking because I want to age it for longer.

Hi Bullfrog,

Sounds like you might have to put some ESB away before your evil side drinks it all on you. Is it kegged or bottled?

It's in the keg, Rum. I've disconnected the beer-out line to it to prevent impulse pouring for the now. Will get back into it in a couple of weeks. I've got two other brews on tap at the moment, so I've got plenty else to keep my thirst satisfied in the mean-time.

Feral Hop Hog AIPA - Been hearing good things about this brewery for a while and this was my first chance to check out one of their beers. Very nice and blatantly American but less blatantly an IPA. Pretty timid for style up front in aroma and bitterness. Way too dry for style. Nice lingering bitterness though and a distinct US grassiness. Great beer but not as good an IPA.

My new Belgian wheat beer.. Wasn't too sure as I picked up the wrong yeast of 3942 not 3944.

Well Its been 16 days since brew day to my glass and this beer is bloody good Not overly phenolic but still with that hoegardeen aroma to go with a good hit of citrus and fair whack of coriander. Not a lot of banana bubble but hints of it with other fruit. Its actually quite complex but still so easy drinking and will be on tap all of summer from this point I'd think. So easy to make and so quick to hit the keg. I'd def say give this yeast a go.

an american IPA dude (AIPA)

Hay bum I couldn’t hold back and had to post
Hop hog is a really good well balanced beer inspired by American style
Read the BJCP spread sheet on AIPA and see if it fits the criteria

The guy that owns (Brendon) feral is one of the guys that puts his time into judging beer (aside full time brewing) both here and in the east coast has won Australian top micro brewery award
Been invited to the states to judge in the big show

Has had much discussion with award winning brewers there re style
speedie

I've drunk tonne of US beers in the US and none of the ones brewed here even come close to the lesser examples. Brewers and even more so judges here DO NOT understand the style and the ones that get shipped here do not reflect what they are like there. This realisation is my primary motivation to not enter comps. All a judge has to do to get accreditation is remember stuff they read about beer.

Brb, gotta go dance about architecture.

As stated Hop Hog is a nice beer and is definitely one of the best examples of a US style brewed by an Australian brewery. But it ain't an IPA, really. Bloody hell, even the alc only just squeaks in to BJCP guidlines for style - don't try to tell me this is anything but a "safe" beer for style. This is a session beer.

so that out of the way
it only reflects your tastes and not the forums!
if you love the beer there so much go back
let the curent brewers do what they do best and brew good beer
not sit and run down someone elses product and say it aint to style
if it an heavy enough on A/V% for you then you are drinking for drinkin

speedie wrote:so that out of the way
it only reflects your tastes and not the forums!
if you love the beer there so much go back
let the curent brewers do what they do best and brew good beer
not sit and run down someone elses product and say it aint to style
if it an heavy enough on A/V% for you then you are drinking for drinkin

1. Yeah, it may reflect the forum's taste but it doesn't change Bum's point that Judges of APA's here in Australia hone their tastebuds on AUSTRALIAN versions of APA's and not the always the REAL thing!

2. BUM visits AMERICA on occassion and this doen't mean he's a yank, but that's is not his or my point, or any other Aussie's point anyway!

3 & 4. No ONE said they DIDN"T brew good beer, the point was simply made that what's called a style in AUSTRALIAA is not needingly true to world styles!

4. "if it an heavy enough on A/V% for you then you are drinking for drinkin" .............PLEASE Exlain!!!.. No don't bother!!!!

By tomorow morning I know you will have forgotton this post and won't even bother to apologise for your dribble and mindless attack!


BAN HAMMER!!!

speedie wrote:it only reflects your tastes and not the forums!

There are two fundamental problems with this statement. The first is that I don't think I ever pretended to be speaking for the forum - or anyone but myself for that matter. The second is that the entire forum has expressed that it doesn't want you here and yet you're hiding behind some sort of consensus rule on opinions? Then leave.

Later, dude.

1. Yeah, it may reflect the forum's taste but it doesn't change Bum's point that Judges of APA's here in Australia hone their tastebuds on AUSTRALIAN versions of APA's and not the always the REAL thing!

2. BUM visits AMERICA on occassion and this doen't mean he's a yank, but that's is not his or my point, or any other Aussie's point anyway!

3 & 4. No ONE said they DIDN"T brew good beer, the point was simply made that what's called a style in AUSTRALIAA is not needingly true to world styles!

4. "if it an heavy enough on A/V% for you then you are drinking for drinkin" .............PLEASE Exlain!!!.. No don't bother!!!!

By tomorow morning I know you will have forgotton this post and won't even bother to apologise for your dribble and mindless attack!
2.
response

1 have you ever been on a judging I think not
Most beer judges reference back to the style in question from past tasting of the style from the beer being judged

2 I don’t care if bum! Visits yanky land if he does good for him especially now the dollar is stronger

3&4 how would you reference what is to style
at one stage we ostralians didn’t make good wine now we are referenced too!
So it is fair to say that there are to style products coming from here

4 bums comment about IPA is suggesting that the alcohol content isn’t high enough for an imperial ale and mine is that he is drinking not for taste cause to % is too! Low

It is tonight and no apologise if any one has displayed mindlessness I think you should put your hand up dude!

checout this site
http://bhamweekly.com/birmingham/articl ... -beer.html

Surprising no one, I am sure, only 3 of those beers are even remotely relevant and none of them say anything about what the beers should be like. However, of the few things it does mention in terms of style is that SNPA is the benchmark for APAs (which in some ways I will agree with). At 5.6% I don't think another 0.2% would be enough to bump it up to an AIPA in anyone's books. The SNPA is also more bitter up front than Feral's supposed AIPA, has a tonne more hop aroma and flavour up front and isn't as dry as a chip (all qualities that should be bigger in an AIPA than an APA).

Anyway, you needn't have me read puff-pieces to sway me on the brilliance of the US brewing scene. You're preaching to the choir on that one.

I've brewed a couple of AIPAs and IIPAs.

The first AIPA was judged lacking in hops which did surprise me as i stuffed it full of hops but will admit that i always tend to go to the lower end of the OG and IBU range for these type of beers. Since then i have gone larger but haven't entered any into comps since, as they weren't fresh at the right time. I still brew for me and not comps so the only beers i enter are ones that i feel are at their peak at the time of judging.

The IIPAs i brew are Imperial Landlords of sorts so the english interpretation of a largely american style (am i confusing anyone other than me?) and will always be marked down in a comp accordingly. They are also on the lower end of the scale for an IIPA, only just above that of an AIPA (OG 1.075 - 80 and 75 - 80 IBU). I did enter one as an IPA a few years ago but it was judged too big for style so clearly the judges were aware of the differences.

In understand what you are saying about these 2 styles Bum but i suspect what you taste(d) in the US was very fresh whereas what most judges are confronted with are IIPAs in particular that have been aged for a few months. The edge is gone from them but they still fit the BJCP guidelines but at the lower end. The 'guidelines' have a range of OG and IBU so are open to interpretation.

Apologies for what may seem a fairly judgemental response but i am studying for a BJCP exam in December and having judged in comps for few years now i feel i have some experience in this. No, i haven't been to the US so the only 'real' AIPA/IIPAs I've tasted have been shipped here and consequently aren't fresh. We do take this into account when judging them.

I recall tasting a Pliny clone a few months ago and it was fresh and an amazing beer. By the time the competition came around it had been in the bottle for 4 months as whilst it did well it didn't win as it wasn't as fresh as others. Still an excellent beer but the judges did understand the style and marked it down accordingly.

Also, i am only speaking for the SA comps and judges, what goes on in other states may be very different.

Interesting reading here, as i'm new to brewing i'm learning from you fella's.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling the entire beer comp establishment out. Just going by what I have seen many, many judges say about the style and how it differs from what I see as how the style works.

I understand the difficulties in getting pristine examples of US brewed beers here as well as just about anyone so I'm not ignoring that in the equation (FORMULA!?) but rather than being a defence I think it is more in support of my position. If your benchmark is already skewed what hope do you have of having an accurate standard? I know judges are also aware of these things but I don't think it is fair for a comp to be decided on a judge "filling in the gaps" based on what they've read rather than tasted. I'm not having a dig at anyone personally - I'm sure every judge approaches every beer in a professional manner. I do get sick of reading comp judges advising everyone at AHB to put more wheat in everything though. Happens quite a bit. Australian brewers seem to think wheat and APA/AIPA are synonymous.

Your response didn't come across as judgemental at all - and obviously far less so than the statements you're responding to in any case.

Judging aside, fresh Australian A(I)PAs miss the mark by a wide margin in most instances. As recently stated, Feral Hop Hog and Murray's Icon 2IPA are narrowing the gap but there is nothing that can be said that will sway me from thinking that Feral's example should be thought of as more the top end of APA than the bottom end of AIPA (obviously, mine is from a bottle, tap might be another beast entirely).

RUMS, I'd suggest you defer to the good doctor in all instances. Just take my stance here as more food for thought than anything else.

I did enjoy Murrays Icon 2IPA but because it wasnt rip your tongue off bitter or hoppy

Probably due to the fact i like my beers balanced now. I started off brewing APAs and IPAs but have long since settled back into aiming to brew a balanced beer. Maybe thats due to a lot of chats with Butters over a bitter or maybe thats just where my palate lies, who knows.

I have seen judges comment about ingredients and i personally think that is the wrong thing to do. As for wheat, not sure where that idea comes from. I put wheat in some beers, the golden ale being the main culprit but bitters as well. I haven't read it but then i tend to skim read AHB mostly and spend more time making terrible puns that offering my opinion.

Glad you didn't take my essay as a swipe at you.

Just remembered, we get Rogue beers on tap in Adelaide at the Wheatsheaf. None on tap at the moment so I'll have to struggle through a Mikkeller single hop IPA (amarillo) or Dieu du Ciel (Imperial Coffee Stout)...