Secret Santa 2019 Reviews

[strange-steve]

Thanks to everyone who got involved in the swap this year, please post your reviews here. The tasting period runs from now until the 1st Jan :hat:

 

[RichardM]

And there was me thinking I had to taste both today (and the last beer from my beer advent calendar)!

 

[user 23602]

My first of 3 beers (as 1 person kindly sent 2).

Sprout Stout 5.4%
The pour was smooth. A rich and dense colour with a light off brown head.
Aromas of bitter chocolate and cold black coffee.
Lovely tastes of cocoa, coffee and nuts.

Overall, loved it. Was scared to death that it was sprouts in it, but I was very impressed with this beer.

 

[user 23602]

The 2nd beer.

Breakfast Stout 5.8%
The pour was like light flow of black coffee.
A nose of nuts and milk chocolate.
A sharp taste with light chocolate, oats and even some liquorice.

Overall, a good beer and a style that I always love. The only thing I would want to change is making the beer a bit more dense.

 

[fury_tea]

Breakfast Stout.

Appearance: Jet Black, creamy light brown head.

Smell: Coffee, chocolate, sweet malt.

Taste: Bitter, coffee, chocolate, deep maltiness, tobacco on the finish. Doesn’t taste alcoholic which could be dangerous!

Head dissipates a bit as you drink, but never fully.

Overall I enjoyed this (I love coffee and stout so win-win). It reminded me of sitting on the streets of Paris sipping espressos and smoking cigarettes. I also didn’t follow the rules (“drink between 7am and 10am”) and drank this at 11pm on a work night and I think it’s the reason I didn’t get to bed until 2am!

Smoked Porter.

Appearance: Velvety dark brown, light brown head.

Smell: Wow. Overwhelmingly smoky. After smelling this for a few seconds you can smell some caramel or toffee, like a slightly sweet maltiness but it’s well covered by what I can only describe as the smell of a roaring camp fire!

Taste: Smoke. Some roasted malt flavours underneath. A bit of a chocolatey undercurrent and a bit of a carbonated bite on the tongue followed by more smoke. You can taste smoke on the exhale for a good few minutes after a sip and even in burps later on in the night! It’s a lasting experience, that’s for sure!

Head was lacy all the way down the glass.

Overall this was quite enjoyable, but a bit too smoky for me. Like the smell that you have on your clothes the day after standing next to a fire. I’ve had 2 smoked beers in the past and I am not really a fan to be honest. You can tell that this was made by a skilled brewer, kudos for your bold approach, but now I've given up the fags I can't handle it anymore.

 

[samale]

My first of 3 beers (as 1 person kindly sent 2).

Sprout Stout 5.4%
The pour was smooth. A rich and dense colour with a light off brown head.
Aromas of bitter chocolate and cold black coffee.
Lovely tastes of cocoa, coffee and nuts.

Overall, loved it. Was scared to death that it was sprouts in it, but I was very impressed with this beer.

View attachment 22019

The sprout stout I believe is mine, I let my seven year old son pick a Christmas name for it. he likes to keep it simple.
Glad you liked it and merry Christmas to you and your family

 

[user 23602]

The sprout stout I believe is mine, I let my seven year old son pick a Christmas name for it. he likes to keep it simple.
Glad you liked it and merry Christmas to you and your family

He did a good job with the name
Thank you for the beer, was a pleasure. Sorry for the brief review, not great at doing them. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

Fab Stout.
Perfect smooth carbonation topped by a small tight head which lasted to the end.
Mocha coffee aroma & taste , lovely mouthfeel not too thick or cloying. Sweetness gives in to slight bitterness.
An accomplished brew by someone who knows how to balance a beer both in flavour & feel. Can’t wait to try your 2nd experimental Christmas stout. 10/10 for me. Perfect start to Christmas thank you & happy Christmas

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

Sorry about the pic had one of my imperial stouts & 3 Belgian tripels after your perfect stout

 

[Winterbournebrewery]

 

[mitchmalt]

My first of two was Essex AIPA, Single Hop.

This arrived very early in the month, which was great as I saw it clear significantly over the two weeks I kept it in the cold garage.

On opening, I got a fresh smell, slight citrus and grapefruit. The beer poured clear and had only a slight haze on finishing. The head dissipated quickly but was roused easily with a swirl, and released the fresh smell again.

Carbonation was spot on and the taste was slightly sharp, again the grapefruit taste, and a good mouth feel for me.

The finish was quite bitter, which is spot on for me.

Overall I enjoyed this very much. Thanks a lot for sharing.

I suppose I better risk looking foolish and guess the Hop, Cascade?

Thanks
Andy

 

[mitchmalt]

Bottle 2 of 2

Christmas Tree.

Firstly, loved the clip art tree label. Absolutely spot on.

Poured dark into the glass, left a nice thick light tan head, which hung around, and was easily roused with a swirl.
My wife and I had a stab at the nose, and we both thought there was a light spice bill, I said nutmeg and she said clove, it was not overpowering at all, just a hint.

Taste was chocolate, and slight burnt notes which I loved, maybe a coffee hint. My wife also really liked it, which is amazing as she is not generally a dark beer fan.

For me the dark malt taste was balanced really well by the bitterness, in terms of abv, I love the way I was left to guess btw! I initially thought about 5.5, but as I write this I’m thinking it might be a bit more! Perfect winter beer. I would love the recipe.

Thanks a lot
Andy

 

[An Ankoù]

And there was me thinking I had to taste both today (and the last beer from my beer advent calendar)!

You really should. You might be burgled for it or the world might end and you'll have missed it, or you or it might be abducted by aliens or reindeer.
Better safe than sorry, I always say.

 

[RichardM]

Tried my first of two

Enjoyable IPA. Good head, aroma and flavour.
Thank you to whoever sent it.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

View attachment 22028
My first of two was Essex AIPA, Single Hop.

This arrived very early in the month, which was great as I saw it clear significantly over the two weeks I kept it in the cold garage.

On opening, I got a fresh smell, slight citrus and grapefruit. The beer poured clear and had only a slight haze on finishing. The head dissipated quickly but was roused easily with a swirl, and released the fresh smell again.

Carbonation was spot on and the taste was slightly sharp, again the grapefruit taste, and a good mouth feel for me.

The finish was quite bitter, which is spot on for me.

Overall I enjoyed this very much. Thanks a lot for sharing.

I suppose I better risk looking foolish and guess the Hop, Cascade?

Thanks
Andy

Hi Andy

The Essex AIPA was mine. Only my third go at BIAB so I’m still learning but I’ve been pleased with my results so far. I used a recipe for the Bells Two Hearted IPA as a base to create something similar but more sessionable. I really appreciate your review, thank you. The hops used are Centennial so I suppose as this is known as super Cascade it was a very good guess and you don’t look foolish at all

 

[Cowman]

Just tried my first one today and the second one will be tomorrow. This beer came with no label so I had no idea what it was but was expecting a stout or porter.
I was wrong( I think).
The beer was jet black and very clear with a tan head that lasted to the end of the beers short life. Surprisingly the mouth feel was thinner than expected.
It had a citrusy scent to it. ( cascade?)
The beer started with a citrusy taste and an appley, bitter aftertaste which I enjoyed. The apple was only a subtle hint which complemented it and took me a while to figure out. My step dad tried it and said he tasted coffee in it which I didn't detect.
It was a lovely beer to sample and couldn't fault it at all. Very enjoyable. I would have a guess at it being a black IPA with a abv of 6-7%
Cheers very much Santa

 

[SteveH]

Enjoyable IPA. Good head, aroma and flavour.
Thank you to whoever sent it.

That one was mine, glad you enjoyed it, Merry Christmas!

 

[SamBrewster]

Excited to try my beers but think I will leave it a day or two

Happy Christmas all.

 

[pmh]

Currently drinking my 1st and thoroughly enjoying it, the first thing you notice with the Breakfast Beer is the mouth feel, it's got the thickness of a stout but the flavour of an ale.
The bitterness for me is perfect, it's subtle but it's there, the biscuit malt shines through. The head retention is there too which is great. Hats off to who ever made this beer.
Btw the recipe is on the back which I will certainly be using and I'd happily share on here with the brewer's permission.
Will be trying the 2nd one once finished this pint....

 

[samale]

So here goes my review of an American amber ale. This is a style which I really enjoy I haven't brewed one in a while. Looking back it could be nearly two years.
So the beer itself is spot on for style. It is well carbonated and pours with a lovely thick head which is lasting the full way down the class.
The mouth feel again is spot on nice full flavours with the right amount of bitterness.
On the nose I get very little hops, nice sweat burnt toffee smell and malt.
Tasting the beer is similar to it's smell. Lovely sweat Carmel toffee flavour with a nice balance. Taste is nice and strong. The colour is a really dark red when held to the light.
Really impressed with your beer. I would happily buy this beer if it was available in a local bar and come back for more.
I would be really interested in seeing the recipe and the yeast used.
Overall a really well made beer just a pity I only had one.
Thank you and merry Christmas