homebrewandbeer.com

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

It is very nice and unashamedly American in style but, if I'm reading between the lines correctly, I'm sure you'll agree it is missing a certain tongue-scraping quality to truly be thought of as an AIIPA. Very nice beer either way and I am quite upset that it'll be difficult for me to get more of them without a trip to the brewery.

drsmurto wrote: 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'm sure we all have our preferences and (obviously, duh) we should all brew to those preferences but I'm sure I'm not telling you anything that you don't know when I say that "balance" isn't a universal constant across styles. What might be perfectly balanced in one style will be horrendously offensive in another and I think this becomes greatly more apparent once you get up into AIPA and beyond. "Balance" becomes a tricky thing to pin-point when the aim is to be that aggressive. If someone is making a lawnmower American Imperial IPA I think they've missed that balance by a long shot (even if that beer would be more in more of a mathematical kind of balance).

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

Nah, I'm as happy to read 'em as I am to post 'em. We all will see the same things in a slightly different way - that's one of the great things about this hobby to be honest. And I know very well that if I were in the States I'd probably be posting a similar argument but only that "Pacific Mid-West brewers don't get it!!! Use US Northern Brewer, not German, you n00bs!!!" (This should be taken as random hyperbole for humorous purposes only.)

So basically you have taken the soft side of the debate now and have agreed that it is actually a good example of an Australian brewed America style

What gets up my nose is that people cast there opinions on what they preserve to be gospel in beer folk law

Bum you can rant and rave! All you like about the righteous AIPA American beer
From America but if we here! In the down under land use there hop, yeast and know how it would be fair to say it would be close to the mark
Transport time frame spoilage or not

Dr if you are studying for certificate in beer tasting be aware that there are plenty of things too sway your mind on assessment

I can guarantee that if there was one style put in front of the cyber crew and blind tasted there would be a tonne of different comments
And that is why beer is beer

I will post my interpretation of APA (only comes in at 5.8%) for criticism or ridicule but there is a need for nelson sauvin hop

It seems that there is an elite or self appointed advisors the posters here so if you or other readers are put-off by there pompous comments don’t be
speedie

speedie wrote:So basically you have taken the soft side of the debate now and have agreed that it is actually a good example of an Australian brewed America style

Read my first post about this beer. My position has not changed in the slightest. I have perhaps moderated my language in regard to comps but not my point.

speedie wrote:Bum you can rant and rave! All you like about the righteous AIPA American beer
From America but if we here! In the down under land

Then take the word "American" off the label if you don't want to be pinned down by the style.

speedie wrote:I can guarantee that if there was one style put in front of the cyber crew and blind tasted there would be a tonne of different comments

And you'd tolerate all of them? Even the ones that disagree with yours?

speedie wrote:I will post my interpretation of APA (only comes in at 5.8%) for criticism or ridicule but there is a need for nelson sauvin hop

5.8% is fine for an APA. Speaking for myself, I don't pin down styles purely by geography - most of the "New World" hops are entirely appropriate in an APA, IMO.

speedie wrote:It seems that there is an elite or self appointed advisors the posters here so if you or other readers are put-off by there pompous comments don’t be

I disagree. Be put off entirely. Then ask them to be banned. Plead for it.

PLEASE, GREG!

Bum wrote:

speedie wrote:PLEASE, GREG!

+ 1

Hirns

I had our most recent lager and bitter. Beautiful stuff. Might be time for a gushing thank-you thread!

My Pliny tribute mentioned elsewhere. It isn't Pliny but it is Pliny enough to be thought of as Plinyesque - which has me stoked. A bit grassier where Pliny isn't really all that grassy but it works in this beer so I'm cool with it. Aroma is a little low for style (and considering how much hops I put in it - no more hop teas for me!) but still enough there to let you know what you might be in for. Flavour is lacking nothing I wanted. A wall of bitterness but still allowing malt presence and hop flavour to be felt. Really happy with it.

Also had a sneaky taste of a RIS I bottled tonight. A clone attempt of Old Raputin. It is a little rough around the edges right now but even if the flavours don't develop too much and it just smooths out slightly I will be really happy with it. Has the hallmarks of the original at the moment (though not as good) so I am really looking forward to some 40 degree day in December when it is ready to try...

Bum wrote: so I am really looking forward to some 40 degree day in December when it is ready to try...

Maybe Christmas Day with a big turkey and plum pudding and chestnuts roasting over an open fire

Had the 2nd to last of the BJCP study sessions last night at my place. The styles were the funkys. Last session is the doctored beers which should be really useful in fine tuning our fault finding skills.

Definitely challenged a few of us, some such as an unblended lambic were ok, almost refreshing, the others were hard work. When you are able to describe a beer with the following ' like licking a wet goat' you'll begin to understand. I now understand what horse blanket, wet leather actually tastes and smells like.

Not my cup of tea but when you are judging in comps you judge the category you are given so you need to understand them.

The first beer of the night was an authentic belgian pale ale brought back by one of the boys. Not available in Australia. It was gorgeous. It didn't have that strong belgian aroma and i immediately realised why my one and only attempt at the style scored so poorly in the comps last year. It's a subtle, session beer. You don't want all those esters you find in the stronger belgians.

The boys also sampled my house ale, the rye 'golden' ale with homegrown chinook and they were impressed. They also got to admire the hop plantation which is growing in front of my eyes after the last week of warm weather. At least i built the trellis in time and the hops are winding themselves up the string, some already nearly 2m in height.

We had a sample of my RIS which is in a keg with a plank of american oak. Why i have it in a keg and why i carbed it up and attached a picnic tap is anyone's guess. I argue i had to sample it prior to bottling it. Glad i did as the oak has definitely come through, a lot of vanilla flavour as well as the expected woody flavour. So i plan on bottling this via CPBF soon and leaving it till next winter when hopefully the rough edges are smoothed out.

And whilst not beer related, we took a sample of the wine that we are making. Tastes magnificent! Lovely blackberry aromas and flavours, plenty of tannins and the oak has come through so now we just need to organise to have it bottled. 800L worth so am somewhat relieved it has turned out as good as it has.

drsmurto wrote:Definitely challenged a few of us, some such as an unblended lambic were ok, almost refreshing, the others were hard work.

I like flanders reds, some other sour belgians and SWMBO's fruit lambics and decided one day that I'd get into a more manly example and got myself a Cantillion 100% Bio Gueuze Lambic. Never again. That was awful. I had been prepared for descriptors like "goaty" and "barnyard" but this seemed closer to "vomity" to me. I'll stick with the flanders reds, thanks.

Earlier tonight I tried my AG Bohemian Pilsener, 100% Pilsener, Nortern Brewer, Hallertauer, B Saaz flowers. So clear. I love the flavours from the hops, It does taste stronger or have more flavour than the Pils malt would suggest. Followed by DSGA & TL SNPA, which has taken top spot on the repeats at the moment.
Cheers

drsmurto wrote: Definitely challenged a few of us, some such as an unblended lambic were ok, almost refreshing, the others were hard work. When you are able to describe a beer with the following ' like licking a wet goat' you'll begin to understand. I now understand what horse blanket, wet leather actually tastes and smells like.

Not my cup of tea but when you are judging in comps you judge the category you are given so you need to understand them.

"Let's give the lambics to the new bloke!"

I WAS at one of Melbourne's most upper class wedding reception venues in Toorak and drinking from a longneck of Carlton Draught sitting in an ice bucket

Personally I preferred my small informal reception and my guzzling down decent beer from a variety of local micro's.

Just got home from the "Tastings of the Hastings".
http://www.hastings.nsw.gov.au/www/html ... entID=8526

Had a Wicked Elf Pilsner, from the Little Brewing Company.

Also had a Black Duck Brewery Bitter. Got to meet Mr & Mrs Black Duck, and had a good chat. Their Bitter is brewed 400 litres at a time. They tell me they use Target, Admiral, and Challenger hops, and ferment with dry US05 yeast. They don't brew often enough to make liquid yeast viable, but will probably do so in future as they expand. The Bitter has very clean malt, not much obvious hop aroma or taste, but very nicely balanced bitterness.
http://blackduckbrewery.com.au/

I see the Black Duck website still has the old logo. Have they taken on any of the logos from AHB Warra?

there are others out there that brew 400 litre batches!

earle wrote:I see the Black Duck website still has the old logo. Have they taken on any of the logos from AHB Warra?

They eventually went with a logo very close to the initial one they had!
I didn't think there was anything wrong with the original one, but I'm no graphic designer.

I think I speak for everyone who is familiar with their recent endeavours to find a new logo when I say that I feel mightily shocked and disappointed that Guitar Carrying, Green Hatted, Blue Tied, Red Eyed Black Duck didn't win!

a brew from france which is a nice suprise has more of a german aspect to it but being in the right area for accsess to good hop probably gives its flavour named "uberbrau"
a really nice lager for trhe price
first choice $35/24 pack 330Ml
i do splash out and buy beer on occasion

Not sure $1.45 each counts as "splashing out" exactly. \

Before: my most recent and worst GB, very disappointing.
Now and for the remainder: 0min APA, quite happy with this one still. Not showing any sign of fading up front yet.