Secret Santa Review Thread 2021!

Clint said:

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Last of my SS...a Belgian triple! Instructions to serve cold..Big hiss and lots of fizz,soft white billowing head which receded to a half cm retained head powered by the fizz. Pale golden and crystal clear!
Now,I'm not "into" Belgian beers and very rarely buy them so I can only pass a comment on how this was for me and not a comparison to the style. So here goes...
Visually pleasing.
Spicy aroma!
Fizzy!
Tasty..very much (to me) SAISON like..but not quite!
Overall...I feel this is a very well made beer that I'd drink again. Can't remember/,recall a stated IBU but being a Tripel its gotta be quite high...in fact I'm starting to feel a bit warm round the face! Ideal in my Arctic extension!
Lovely....thanks for sharing!

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That's mine, glad you enjoyed it bud. I can't remember exactly what the ABV is (IBU? ) but I think it's around 8%. Merry Christmas!

Oneflewover said:

That's mine, glad you enjoyed it bud. I can't remember exactly what the ABV is (IBU? ) but I think it's around 8%. Merry Christmas!

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Ha! Nice one...that's 3 you sent me...I think!

Alastair70 said:

My first SS beer, both are Impy Stouts so no pressure guys.
Big hiss on opening the bottle, but fear not, carbonation level is great. It’s a very big beer with a lot dark malt bitterness and benefits from the fizz carrying the rest flavours. Pours with a tan head that settles out quickly. Dark chocolate malty flavours predominate with a pleasing residual sweetness that offsets the background bitterness.
It’s a clever brew. The high ABV is well hidden and the dark malt bitterness has been perfectly balanced with a higher carbonation and lower attenuation (I’m guessing FG finished high).
It’s a very good beer now, and I reckon it’ll only keep getting better with age for many more months. Thank you Santa :hat:

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Broken Toe said:

Might as well double up on this. Agree with @Alastair70 this is a deceptive little number. Does not present itself as 8%. Beautifully rich and decedent with a rich and full mouthfeel to it. Thank you very much indeed. View attachment 60146

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Thanks for your kind words and glad you enjoyed it!

Griff097 said:

Next up was a 12.2% Quad, a nice hiss on opening, lovely carbonation and beautifully clear in the glass, with that distinctive malty flavour, didn't taste like the 12.2% it is, a sipper for sure.

Thank you Santa.

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Someone was sending you some super strong beers

A nice beer, some sweetness balanced with a smooth bitterness with subtle yeast esters. Thanks for sending this, I shared it with my dad who also enjoyed it.

Second ss, drank today.
A nice ipa, went down a bit too well for something that was 7%! Quite a dry finish with a good carbonation. Head dissipated quite quickly but easily aroused with some swirling. Hops came through both on the nose and taste. Beautiful beer

My second beer was a 12.2% Quad Big hiss on opening and a bit of a gusher, but I managed to save most of it.
A strong flavour as you would expect but the alcohol didn't overpower it. It was also lighter than it looks in the photo.
A very nice beer that also disappeared much too quickly.

Thank you Santa

Dads_Ale said:

My second beer was a 12.2% Quad Big hiss on opening and a bit of a gusher, but I managed to save most of it.
A strong flavour as you would expect but the alcohol didn't overpower it. It was also lighter than it looks in the photo.
A very nice beer that also disappeared much too quickly.

Thank you Santa

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Quite some man cave you have there

Time for a Secret Santa. The bottle tells me this is a 7% “monk beer”. The colour, aroma, and flavour tell me this is a Dubbel.



The beer is fairly softly carbonated (but carbonated enough for me), deep copper colour and crystal clear. Aroma is malty with chocolate and dark fruit, hints of clove and warming alcohol. The flavour is dark caramel malt with raisin fruit, toward the end mild Belgian spice and hints of chocolate. Bitterness is just enough for balance. Maltiness lingers. Despite a malty sweet impression the beer finishes dry and with just a little warmth from the alcohol - smooth.

This was a lovely well made beer, it was very drinkable and one to enjoy sitting in front of an open fire.

Thank you Secret Santa! :hat:

My second SS - an Oatmeal Stout (5.8%). Santa put the ingredients on the label..thx as this helped me try and identify the flavour. The bottle was nicely carbonated and poured with a nice head. This is an easily drunk stout, with maybe a hint of blackberry. Sorry I can't give more info about the flavour, apart from saying it's lovely. I'll like to know how many blackberries went into this. The magnum and RKG hops work well together. Lovely smooth drink, perfect for a winter's eve....many thanks

The-Engineer-That-Brews said:

Am I the only saddo who keeps refreshing this thread every couple of minutes looking for 'one of mine' like an expectant father

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I've seen one of mine so far. I'm waiting for the other before I repsond to the reviews

Clint said:

Ha! Nice one...that's 3 you sent me...I think!

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Yep, glad you were able to drink them even if "Belgian' beers aren't your thing

Oneflewover said:

Yep, glad you were able to drink them even if "Belgian' beers aren't your thing

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They were most appreciated!

My second SS was a 4% Kolsch, I'm quite happy I received this as I have very recently been appreciating lagers/lager style beers more.
Upon opening there was a very satisfying hiss, not much aroma other than an ever so slight whiff of malt and yeast. I did quite a vigorous pour towards the end as didn't seem much of head forming but once it did I was pleasantly surprised how long it stayed throughout the drink. There was little to none sediment in the bottle (I presume this is achieved by bottling from keg?) however upon close inspection possibly some hop debris in the beer but really had no effect on the flavour and doesn't put me off.
The carbonation is what I'd expect with this style and is definitely on point. The initial flavour is very crisp but a lovely ever so subtle honey sweet flavour. Overall this is a very satisfying quaffable drink, it was perfect to have after a heavy cheese and cracker lunch which was accompanied by a 10% imperial stout (not the stout that came with the Kolsch this be reviewed either later or tomorrow). Thank you Santa for providing such a light drink that saved me going into a dairy coma today.

My second Secret Santa, a Simcoe/Cascade American Pale Ale.

There was a satisfying hiss when I opened the bottle and the beer poured with a good head, although it dissipated failry quickly, but didn't go completely.
As you can see in the photo there was a lot of sediment, which I disturbed when pouring, so the beer was a little hazy in the glass.
There has a good hop aroma as soon as the bottle was opened and little or no malt aromas coming through.
The colour is light amber, spot on for an APA.
The flavour is dominated by the hops and is quite dry desipte there being 360g of Cara Malt in an 18 litre batch. At 49 IBU it is towards the top end of the range for an APA.
It has a light, clean mouthfeel and is not as carbonated as hightly as I expected, the brew sheet says, 2.4 volumes, but I'm not complaining, it's how I like it.
Overall, this is a very good beer. There are only 80g of hops (inc 30g of dry hops) but they are well chosen varieties that do their job, coming through over any malt aromas or flavours.
I'll be adding this to my "to brew" list. Thank you Santa, for the beer and the brew sheet.

pmh said:

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My second SS was a 4% Kolsch, I'm quite happy I received this as I have very recently been appreciating lagers/lager style beers more.
Upon opening there was a very satisfying hiss, not much aroma other than an ever so slight whiff of malt and yeast. I did quite a vigorous pour towards the end as didn't seem much of head forming but once it did I was pleasantly surprised how long it stayed throughout the drink. There was little to none sediment in the bottle (I presume this is achieved by bottling from keg?) however upon close inspection possibly some hop debris in the beer but really had no effect on the flavour and doesn't put me off.
The carbonation is what I'd expect with this style and is definitely on point. The initial flavour is very crisp but a lovely ever so subtle honey sweet flavour. Overall this is a very satisfying quaffable drink, it was perfect to have after a heavy cheese and cracker lunch which was accompanied by a 10% imperial stout (not the stout that came with the Kolsch this be reviewed either later or tomorrow). Thank you Santa for providing such a light drink that saved me going into a dairy coma today.

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I received the same one, ace wasn’t it?

Moe said:

I received the same one, ace wasn’t it?

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Yeah I was very satisfied with it thoroughly enjoyed it

4.6% English Bitter!

Nice hiss when opening, and seems to pour flat but then a decent head developed. Looked cloudy, but I did 'juggle' it just before opening and pouring because I'm a clumsy oaf...

Very refreshing, and reminiscent of Stones Bitter.

Thank you!

Evening all.

Here is my first Secret Santa review: a 5% Smoked Porter



Slight hiss on opening suggested maybe a tad under carbed, but no such thing. Perfect carbonation giving a lovely light tan head without any aggressive pouring. Dark brown with a hint of red, perfectly clear without sediment which suggests bottled from keg?

Aroma. Something I can't quite work out. First I thought medicinal (and I mean that as a descriptor, not as an off flavour) Maybe alcoholic, but not harsh. Certainly does not detract, just that I can't put my finger on it. Not getting any smokiness at this point. (Mrs UKS says she can smell pungent smokiness, so what do I know)

Taste: Ah. There is the smokiness. Just as you close your mouth and tilt the glass away you get a hint of smokiness. Just enough. For me anymore would be too much, so this is nice. Certainly a bit unusual. Tastes like a smokey porter

Mouthfeel: Comparable with many other commercial porter examples. Not as heavy as a stout, not as thin as some 'watery' bitters. Perfect carbonation. With each sip, as the brew sloshes back, a few more bubbles are released from solution.

This has to be at least 10 mins after opening.



A lovely brew. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas.

This was my second SS beer. After the first I was apprehensive if I’m honest.
Thankfully this one’s not bad at all. A Good carb in the beer from bottle conditioning. Thankfully it was a big bottle so dumping the last bit in the bottom of the bottle to dregs was fine and I was still left with a full glass which was a win win.

Loads of malt backbone to it, maybe more than I personally would expect from a Vienna lager. And once it had warmed a bit the Vienna lager was a bit sweet on the finish. some thought into tweaking the recipe in yeast attenuation, bittering hop additions, water profile or mash profile to dry the beer out a bit more to where I would suggest to get the beer more crisp and in balance. But a pretty good Vienna lager attempt none the less as it’s not an easy style.

However it was clean and it didn’t have any off flavours or bad aromas. So all in all not a bad beer overall and pleasant to drink after my Boxing Day run.

Thanks Santa.