#16 “Fireside Red” brewed by JRbarley
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This was a smooth drinker with alot of malty character going for it.
Kinda deep amber color that you can see right through under that bubbly white head of foam.
Initially there was a roasty, toasted caramel smell with a lightly fruity yeast background.
As it warmed up some I thought the fruitiness came out more,
It seemed like there was a hint of boozy alcohol that tied everything together,
Making me think I was drinking something alot stronger than I expected.
I pulled out JRbarleys note and reread it so I could see what he thought about this beer,
And found out this was one of his first brews, An NB kit that he tweaked with some smoked malt.
I think that that is where I got that hot boozy alcohol smell that you get with strong malty beers, the smoked malt.
Really nice beer, nicely balanced, great idea with the smoked malt.
Thanks JRbarley! Scott.
#17 “Wee Heavy” brewed by Breslinp
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This one had just a touch of carbonation, with a short head that stayed there while I sipped it.
Strong aroma of sweet carmelized syrupy malt poured over warm, slightly boozy alcohol.
Aromatics and alcohol seem to be at a nice level to me.
I’ve had some commercial examples that were way over the top, like syrup mixed with vodka,
And those kinds are really hard for me to finish, just too much of everything once they warm up.
This thing, I could develop cravings for if I’m not careful. Strong and smooth at the same time.
This one had a nice warming alcohol, mouth coating body when it warmed up a bit, without being cloying.
I cant say that I could smell any hop/yeast aromas in the mix,
My nose wanted to zero right in on the burned sugar.
Thanks Breslinp, Scott.
#18 " Christmas Ale" brewed by Mainemike68
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Saw this one and figured I better drink it, christmas is almost over.
At Mikes house, you don’t put cinnamon or nutmeg or fancy stuff in the Xmas Ale.
You put hops in there. Lots of C hops, and if there’s any room left, more C hops
Throws off some killer red highlights from the clear deep amber brew.
Thick grapefruit citrus notes last from the pour till the last sip.
Hops dominate at first, then play nice with the malt when it warms a bit.
Little bit of alcohol aroma mixed in there, this seasonal has some ABV to it.
Clean tasting body, aggressive hops, this should not be limited to XMas,
This should be enjoyed year round.
Ho Ho Ho. Thanks Mike!
#19 “Innkeeper” brewed by Mvsawyer
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This Innkeeper kit sure makes a tasty little beer.
According to the cap, this one weighed in at 4.4 ABV.
Well carbed, it put up some foamy fluffy head for a “light” beer.
Seems very well attenuated, letting all the aromas pop,
Crackers/ biscuits, fruity yeast, followed by spice and flowers from the hops.
Can’t believe how much it smells like crackers, did you dry cracker this?
Good stuff packed into a small package, an addictive little thing.
Really making me want to brew my own to have year round.
Thanks Mvsawyer! Scott.
[quote=“Scott Miller”]#19 “Innkeeper” brewed by Mvsawyer
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This Innkeeper kit sure makes a tasty little beer.
According to the cap, this one weighed in at 4.4 ABV.
Well carbed, it put up some foamy fluffy head for a “light” beer.
Seems very well attenuated, letting all the aromas pop,
Crackers/ biscuits, fruity yeast, followed by spice and flowers from the hops.
Can’t believe how much it smells like crackers, did you dry cracker this?
Good stuff packed into a small package, an addictive little thing.
Really making me want to brew my own to have year round.
Thanks Mvsawyer! Scott.[/quote]
LOL, you’re welcome and no dry crackering! We steeped the biscuit malt for a good half-hour at 155*. 1.043 OG, 1.010 FG using 2nd gen. nottingham yeast. This was the fourth time we did this kit in less than a year and the best batch to date. This one will always be on tap at our brewhouse! Glad you enjoyed it.
#20 “Apple Cinnamon Ale” brewed by Tator2k
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This one was really lightly carbonated,
Just a little hiss when I opened it, so I knew it was safe to drink.
Who am I kidding, I would drink it if it was flat.
Tasty!, Theres even some spiky hops in there with the apple cinnamon,
Like cider kicked up with centennial,
(Not to be confused with the cider that can be made with old beer kits)
Seems really well balanced, everything the name implies without going over the top,
Doesnt taste like someone put a bottle of apple extract in there, or attempted an Apple IPA, etc,
Not sure if theres apple juice in there or if it is cider, mixed in with the malt,
But it sure tastes and smells like a clean fermented cider with a whiff of good hops playing in the background.
Neat! I liked it. Thanks tator2k, Scott.
edit: this came with a twin, so we’ll see if it carries more carb/ different flavors.
[quote=“Scott Miller”]#18 " Christmas Ale" brewed by Mainemike68
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Saw this one and figured I better drink it, christmas is almost over.
At Mikes house, you don’t put cinnamon or nutmeg or fancy stuff in the Xmas Ale.
You put hops in there. Lots of C hops, and if there’s any room left, more C hops
Throws off some killer red highlights from the clear deep amber brew.
Thick grapefruit citrus notes last from the pour till the last sip.
Hops dominate at first, then play nice with the malt when it warms a bit.
Little bit of alcohol aroma mixed in there, this seasonal has some ABV to it.
Clean tasting body, aggressive hops, this should not be limited to XMas,
This should be enjoyed year round.
Ho Ho Ho. Thanks Mike![/quote]
Yeah I wish I had saved some of this! I put most of it in the keg and could not stop pulling 20oz Imperial pints from it when I got home from work everyday! I will be making some more of this soon, I would love to have a bottle right now as the hops you are describing is what I was going for. 7.5% ABV
#21 “Smoked Amber Ale” brewed by Quietlymakingnoise
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AKA “Bacon Beer”
This was a bomber, so by the second glass it warmed some and really smelled like salty smoked bacon.
Initially though, there was some strong caramel malt that was hiding the smoke.
Seemed more like a roasty amber with a good shot of hops and a clean body.
That second glass though, you could have that sucker for breakfast.
I don’t think I’ve ever used smoked malt in anything,
It was surprising how much it could smell exactly like bacon without the taste of it
Had a nice complexity to it, could swear I could even smell fruit in there from something. Maybe the hops?
Just what I need…yet another beer style to think about brewing.
Thanks Rob!
Hey scott,
thanks for the review of the smoked amber! I really appreciate your review, of mine and others. And hats off to you man, you’re sticking to it, with photos and all. Giving due dilligence to worthy brews. Keep it up amigo, these are fun to read.
Cheers! Rob
[quote=“quietlymakingnoise”]Hey scott,
thanks for the review of the smoked amber! I really appreciate your review, of mine and others. And hats off to you man, you’re sticking to it, with photos and all. Giving due dilligence to worthy brews. Keep it up amigo, these are fun to read.
Cheers! Rob[/quote]
+1!
Thanks Scott I appreciate what you are doing as well, you are kind of setting the bar high for when I finally win one of those lotteries though! :cheers:
It’s alot of beers to drink and alot of fun to try and break them down in my head while I’m drinking them.
The “daily pales” IE the clean character, hoppy ones are the hardest to describe it seems.
Pale malt, some crystal and some hops, simple. What makes that stuff so good? Don’t know.
When you brew it, you know what hop you want for finishing, because you want that taste, and that smell,
So you have this pale beer that tastes like drinking a glass full of hops.
It tastes great, but its hard to describe why it’s so great.It must be an addiction to hop resin or something.
Got such a varied assortment of brews, like me, you guys and gal must love beer in general and not one particular style.
I’m kinda randomly going through them trying to get a beer from everyone before I start on the second round.
Good beer. It makes me want to research, brew, and drink some styles that I never thought that much about before.
Thanks for feeding the addiction, enablers. :cheers: -Scott
#22 “Dunkleweizen” brewed by Duxx
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Made a big ol schoosh when I popped open this weizen,carbed to style!
Pillowy head that wouldn’t let me get it all in one pour.
Carbonation pushing out the smells of clove, chocolate and toffee.
Blending together,making a spicy, foamy beer hat.
Yeast of the fruity/tart type adds a nice layer to the flavor,
Though it starts out full,creamy and spicy on the tongue,
The yeast ends it with a crisp finish, seeming very sessionable.
Should probably be consumed a liter at a time.
Thanks Duxx!
#23 “Baltic Porter” by Robotninja
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This big porter hit the spot after a long, cold day.
Cold, it was dangerously smooth. Clean with almost faint chocolate aroma.
After a few minutes, all the malt came out,
Roasty, full body laced with sweet caramelly grainy malts.
Can’t really pick up any hop aromas or yeast esters,
Conditioned to a smooth satisfying finish without seeming malt excessive.
Never was able to detect any alcohol, except for “feeling it”. Buried in all the body.
Really nice brew. Thanks robotninja!
That “baltic porter” started as Denny’s Nick Danger Porter but I had just moved to 10 gallon batces and my efficiency jumped about 10% so it isnt exactly the same beer. Either way I thought it was good, and I’m glad that you liked it too! Definitely perfect on a long cold day.
#24 “Cream Ale” brewed by Andjenliang, # 2
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Had to get this one up to the light to show the bubbles off.
Time in the fridge really helped settle things down from the shipping.
Just such an easy drinker, have to watch what you’re doing or it could be gone in one big sip.
More of that clean, light body, adjuncty flavor, with a nice crisp finish.
No frills, yet satisfyingly tasty at the same time.
Yet another one to put on the " to brew list "
Thanks Andjenliang!!
#25 “Cherry Whisky Saison” brewed by Steppedonapoptop
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Poured from a big ol bomber with plenty of carbonation,
Raising one of them big soft belgian heads. Lots of tiny bubbles.
With the deep red color, it looks like it smells, cherry-y.
I suppose you could describe it as cherries in a barn, or on a horse or whatever farmhouse description you like. Cherries and DuPont works for now.
Classic farmhouse high attenuated body and dry mouthfeel,
With a puckering saison sensation like it is pulling moisture out of your throat.
You get the cherries in your nose, but no sour cherry yeast acid like it makes you expect.
The bottle states an estimated FG of 1.010, wonder if it could be lower though?
Really interesting/ complex brew, and I pitched the dregs into some 1.020.
Thanks Steppedonapoptop!
#26 “Oktoberfest” by Stosh:
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This festive orange lager weighed in at 6.9%
Poured with a decent amount of carbonation, these keg to bottle beers are holding up well.
Really dark orange, almost red coloring to it that you can see right through.
Soon as I cracked it open, I got a nice whiff of kilned aromatic malts.
Like it has a good shot of dark german crystals in it to really beef up the backbone.
Even with all the malt, the bitterness was peeking out to pull it all together.
Really full body and malt complexity masks that ABV very well. Couple of these and you’d be feeling pretty good.
This has to have massive calories/ carbs. Sustenance Beer!
I imagine this is what german brewers would brew at home for their cellar,
More malt, more hops, more of everything. More is always better.
Thanks Stosh!! - Scott
#27 “Cranberry Oatmeal Stout” by Gregscsu:
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This one poured with a pretty low level of carbonation, not drinking these keg to bottle beers fast enough.
There was some bubbles and a little head that rose and fell. Bottoms Up!
Tangy cranberry aroma cuts through everything when you take a good sniff.
Has the mouth filling/ silk sensation from the oats, yet seems like clean fermentation makes it dangerously drinkable.
Stout/ cranberry combination works well, like the strong flavors of each mellows the other out some.
I really dug it when it warmed up. The cranberries got really tart and I just sipped at it enjoying the funky fruitiness.
If your doctor says you need more fiber in your breakfast beer, I highly recommend this.
Thanks Greg!
#28 “Co” brewed by Someone in/near Jersey.
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Still don’t know who sent me beers from Jersey,
This one just said “Co” on the cap. Any guesses as to the style?
Looks darker in the picture than it actually was, more of a clear deep red color to it.
I think it’s either a malty amber ale or an irish red.
There was some nice toasty/ biscuitty malts in the flavor and smell.
It seemed to be balanced with a big shot of citrusy hops, smooth, hopbursted?
Can’t really guess at what malts went in there, but it was some good stuff.
Thanks whoever made this! Scott.
