Homebrew Review : Tubedinoz Cherry Rye Porter

Homebrew Review : Tubedinoz Cherry Rye Porter
YouTube

Appearance:
Beers opens with a good hiss, pours nice and dark with a tight  tan head. Keeps a decent head for a bit then dies down in the glass to keep a tight bubbles cap. Very dark and opaque, more like a stout in appearance than a porter.

Aroma:
I have let this beer sit out for a while so that it can warm up. Served at just cool to the touch. The nose on the beer is fantastic! I pick up coffee/roast/spice/fruitiness with a vanilla/smoky finish. A nice complex bouquet which keeps on developing as the beer warms. There is a slight hint of alcohol heat, but you really have to look for it, and I mean really have to look.

Mouthfeel:
Nice carbonation, nice and low but has an effervescent quality, which keep the flavours moving around the palate. The body of the beer is light to medium leaning more towards medium. Body coats the palate and leaves those complex flavours to linger.

Flavour:
The flavour of the beer is similar to the nose. Complex and moreish. Nice smooth, upfront bitterness which eases into a complex spicy malt finish with a hint of the cherry fruitiness. First thoughts, big coffee notes, vanilla, spice and smoke. As the beer continues to warm up, the coffee subsides and the smoky finish is more prominent. There is a subtle alcohol heat on the finish behind the smoky/fruity flavour.

Overall:
Another cracker of a brew from Dean. Very easy drinking, only "fault" I can pick up is a hint of alcohol, but you really have to look for it. The beer is complex and a great sipping sessionable beer. The flavours just keep on coming and developing, coffee/vanilla/smoky/fruitiness and a subtle cheery fruitiness. Would I buy this at the bottle store? Yes I would! Would I tell Dean to brew it again? Hell yes!

Homebrew Review First Impressions: Tubedinoz 100% Green Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Homebrew Review First Impressions: Tubedinoz 100% Green Fresh Hop Pale Ale
YouTube 

Appearance:
Opens with a satisfying "hssst", pours a burnt orange with gold highlights. The beer is pretty much crystal clear with a mere hint of haze. Pours a pure white head with tight streaming bubbles. A great and refreshing looking beer.

Aroma:
Has the typical Nelson hop aroma, dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry with a hint of tropical fruit/tangerine. Which is backed up but a clean malt back bone. The nose is hop dominate and the Nelson hops really shine! No off flavours on the nose that I can detect, Just a clean/bright hop aroma and subtle malt back bone.

Mouthfeel:
Mouth feel has a medium fell, with a nice dry finish that cleans the palate. The medium body gives some chewiness to balance the tingling hops. Great carbonation, tight small bubbles that give a tingle to the taste buds. The dry finish cleans the palate of the malts but leave a nice fruity flavour.

Flavour:
A crisp upfront bitterness, like fresh orange peel, which eases into a smooth malt, bready/biscuity and with a hint of caramel. Like the nose the hops are the main feature, dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry with a hint of tangerine. Nice dry finish with a fruity aftertaste. Leave the taste buds wanting more. Clean/crisp with bright hop flavours balanced with a malt sweetness/chewiness. Very refreshing and moreish!

Overall:
This beer is a Nelson hop bomb. If you like the Nelson Sauvin hops this beer delivers. Dank/grape funk/overripe melon/gooseberry, clean bright hop flavours on both the nose and flavour. No off flavours, clean and crisp. The beer is more hop forward, but the malt backbone is balanced with the hop bitterness/freshness.
Fantastic and refreshing beer, going down so well. Overall a great beer! Makes me want to brew a beer with just Nelson!

First Impression's Video:

Homebrew Review First Impressions: Wagon Brewing Co Fresh Hop Pale Ale

Homebrew Review First Impressions: Wagon Brewing Co Fresh Hop Pale Ale
Youtube

Appearance:
Opens with a satisfying "hssst", the beer pours a burn orange/copper colour with yellow highlights at the edges of the glass. Pure white head with tight bubble. Not much of head retention but keeps a nice small cap. The beer does have a bit of chill haze/hop haze which is understanable with the amount of hops assed to the  beer.

Aroma:
Nose is more nelson centric at first, with the grape/dank/overripe melon aromas. As the beer warms up you start picking up the sweet hop characteristics from the Motueka, pineapple/passion fruit/tropical fruit mix. The nose is more hop dominate, with a good malt back bone of caramel/bready tones. As the beer warms up a diacetyl note becomes more apparent, which was first a caramel aroma, but has now turned into a more butterscotch. Even so, the hops work quite well with the diacetyl.

Mouthfeel:
mouth feel is where the beer is at its weakest for me. The body of the beer is a bit light, when a bit of chewiness would have been nice to compliment the hops. The carbonation is pretty nice, with a slight effervescence on the palate with keep the fruity hop characters dancing on the palate. The beer has a nice dry finish which cleans the plate and gets it ready for the next hop assault.

Flavour:
Smooth upfront bitterness which quickly eases into a caramel/bread malt back bone. The Motueka hops come more out on the palate, with the passion fruit/tropical fruit mix keeping the taste buds tingling. I do pick up a bit of diacetyl, which comes across as butterscotch/caramel. A very tasty beer with the hops keeping you guess on what fruits you are picking up. The dry finish keeps the palate wanting more and cleaning it for the next sip.

Overall:
I like this beer, its fresh and fruity, the hops keep you guess on what fruit flavours you can pick out. The beer is more hop dominate, and the hops deliver. The only comment  I have  is that there is some diacetyl which comes across as a caramel at first, but as the beer warms up, turns more into a butterscotch. Now this does not make this a bad beer, if anything, the butterscotch plays very well with the dankness of the Nelson and the tropical fruit tones of the Motueka. I feel the body could have a bit more chewiness just to back up the hops a bit more and to give a bit more mouthfeel.
On a crappy raining day, doing chores around the house, the beer is going down smooth and really hitting the spot. I feel that  it has great potential and looking forward to next years batch!

First Impression's Video:

Hoppy Saison

Hoppy Saison

Appearance:
Pours a golden orange with yellow high lights. Clearing up nicely but does have a bit of chill haze. Pure white head with a upside down snow storm of small bubbles. The beer looks light and refreshing.

Aroma:
The nose on the beer has developed quite nicely, the Nelson is not dominating the nose as much now, you still get the over ripe melon/grape aromas, but now you are picking up some of the motueka, with a bit of passion fruit/pineapple. All backed up by the spicy/black pepper from the bella saison yeast. Fresh bright/distinct and complex. I am really digging the nose on this beer.

Mouthfeel:
Light to medium mouth feel leaning more to medium. Carbonation is good, keeps the flavours dancing on the palate, nice and effervescent. Maybe a bit too dry, with a slight astringent finish. Not the biggest issue, but will add a bit of crystal in the next batch and a bit less water chem to leave a bit more sweetness. But still aiming for a dry finish.

Flavour:
Nice upfront grapefruit bitterness which is nice and clean, eases into a nice bready/malt finish. The spice from the yeast and fruitiness is nicely balanced, all backed up nicely by the malt backbone. The flavours are complex and clean, bright and distinct. Very easy drinking and will be great in summer and with a rich meal.

Overall:
I am pretty happy with this beer. It is not quite where I want it yet. but well on its way. Its a great starting off point and is high up my rebrew list. I think the beer is balanced and has clean flavours. I do not pick up any off flavours, but I have sent off a few bottles to better palates to get some feedback. This beer does really shine if served a bit warmer so the hops come through, too cold and you loose the fruitiness of the hops. There are two things that I would change on the beer, the hop profile is a bit unbalanced (Motueka is dominated by the Nelson) and the beer is a touch too dry(finished at 1.002) which comes across as astringent. Other than that, I am really enjoying this beer and looking forward to rebrewing it!

Recipe: Hoppy Saison    TYPE: All Grain
Style: Saison

The recipe can be downloaded via beersmith:
http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/757326/hoppy-saison

RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS
SRM: 16.5 EBC        SRM RANGE: 9.8-27.6 EBC
IBU: 29.7 IBUs         IBU RANGE: 20.0-35.0 IBUs
OG: 1.052 SG           OG RANGE: 1.048-1.065 SG
FG: 1.014 SG            FG RANGE: 1.002-1.012 SG
EE%: 72.00 %           Batch: 10.00      Boil: 21.43 l    BT: 75 Mins

SAMPLE TASTE NOTES

15/03/15:
Tasted gravity sample, no off flavours picked up. No DMS or diacetyl.
Aroma is more yeasty than hoppy, cloves,citrus,pepper with a clean bready backbone.
Smooth upfront bitterness with a dry finish, might be a bit too dry, slightly astringent.
Spicy on the flavour with a bready finish. Hops still not apparent, more yeast forward.

22/03/15:
After crash chilling @ 2c still hazy. Picking up black pepper, over ripe melon, green grape character on the nose.
Upfront citrus bitterness, which smooths out into a dry bready finish. Light to medium body, leaning more towards the light side. Black Pepper, grape, wood dank, citrus, complex but clean beer. Have high expectations for the carbonated version.

WATER CHEMISTRY ADDITIONS

Amt                   Name                                             
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)                    
2.00 g                Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash 60.0 mins)                  
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins             
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins)                   
2.00 g                Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins)                  
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins            

Total Grain Weight: 2.32 kg    Total Hops: 66.00 g

MASH/STEEP PROCESS

Amt                   Name                                             
1.80 kg               Gladfield Pilsner Malt (3.8 EBC)                
0.22 kg               Gladfield Wheat Malt (4.2 EBC)                   
0.20 kg               Gladfield Munich Malt (15.5 EBC)                 
0.10 kg               Gladfield Shepherds Delight Malt (300.0 EBC)          

BOIL PROCESS

Est Pre_Boil Gravity: 1.034 SG    Est OG: 1.052 SG
Amt                   Name                                             
6.00 g                Nelson Sauvin [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min      
3.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins)                    
2.00 g                Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Boil 60.0 mins)                 
2.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Boil 60.0 mins             
1.00 Items         Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)                    
10.00 g              Motueka [7.30 %] - Boil 10.0 min              
10.00 g              Nelson Sauvin [12.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min       
10.00 g              Motueka [7.30 %] - Boil 0.0 min               
10.00 g              Nelson Sauvin [12.10 %] - Boil 0.0 min       

NOTES

Brewday
07/03/15:
Added 1l boiling water to adjust temp from 63.8c to 66.3c
Had to stop sparge as the reading where getting to low. Was still 5l short of my boil and had to change it to a 75min boil and top up with 5l of water.
Hydrated Yeast at 33c in bottled water for 15min, mixed then left for a further 5 min.
Pitched yeast @ 22.8c fermenting @ 19.5c (Measure 20.4c)

Fermentation
08/03/15:
Fermentation has  begun and has a large krausen. Fermenting at 20.4c
Raised temp by 1c to for target of 21c, measured 21c
09/03/15:
Beer is slowing down but going steady, temp measured 21.4c. Have increased the temp to 25c to bring out more esters/phenols
10/03/15:
Checked fermentation temp, was set to 25c, measure temp is 23.9c. Fermentation is slowing but still steady.
14/03/15:
Fermentation has slowed down almost completely and krausen has disappeared. Finishing fermentation temp was 24.8c. Cooling down to 18c for dry hopping.
15/03/15:
Took gravity sample, SG 1.040 and FG is 1.002, with a ABV of 5.2%. Dry hopping with 20g of Motueka/Nelson mix for 5 days @ 18c
20/03/15:
Dropped temp to 1.5c for crash chilling till Sunday
22/03/15:
Primed with a 52.5g Dextrose solution. Used a syringe to add 5ml to each bottle. After bottling:
8x 330mls
2x 500 mls
4x 650mls
2x 750 mls
Leaving bottles in fermentation chamber @19c for two weeks


Reviews by fellow Brewers:

Tubedinoz:
Link to FB Page

Kerry Davis:
Appearance: 
Vigorous carbonation; Pours a golden light brown with generous white head; Bottle conditioned
Aroma: 
Grape, champagne, Slight alcohol, fresh 'zing'
Flavour: 
Light, crisp,  fruity, Cider, Pleasant bitterness which subsides on the finish, medium body
Notes: 
Refreshing sessionable drop

Marcus Bökkerink:
Really liked the beer. I was pretty harsh on judging it. But have to say your on to a good recipe base. Some slight tweeks and you'll have an excellent beer. I followed BJCP guidelines for scoring.

Aroma:
estery, grassy, herb, pepper and banana aroma. Acetaldehyde with slight DMS. Malt character shows through when warmed.

Flavour: 
banana and slight lemon tartness. Grassy herb spiciness overwhelms malt characters.

Mouthfeel: 
medium dry. No hotness from alcohol appropriate for style. No zestiness from bubbles. tartness possibly from lemon.

Appearance: 
good white head lasts till the end with moderate glass lacing. Amber colour with slight golden hue. Thin bubbles disappearing once warmed.

Overall impression: 
An excellent attempt at a saison. Excellent colour, and great lemon tartness, however missing that usual balance of fruitiness spiciness and malt character. Felt I was searching for a balancing sweetness of orange or coriander. Needed more pepperiness and higher carbonation. Body and mouthfeel good except for the effervescence from carbonation. DMS and Acetaldehyde maybe from old grain, poor crush or fermentation based result. Grassiness probably an off spin from acetaldehyde or from increased hopping rates. Few things to clean up to create a world class style however on a great track.

28/50. - following BJCP style guidelines for Saison.

Zane Maxwell's(Rookie Brew) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Homebrew Review

Zane Maxwell's(Rookie Brew) Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Homebrew Review
YouTube

Appearance:
Pours with a burnt orange/yellow straw colour. The straw colour coming through on the highlights. Pure white head with tight bubbles. Slight chill haze, but clearing out slowly. It's a good looking beer.

Aroma:
Now I am not sure how old the beer is, but there is a decent hop character on the nose. Quite a fruity nose, I pick up ripe mango/strawberry, a bit of grass/onion notes and a bit of dankness. All followed up by a good malt/bready backbone.

Mouthfeel:
A good solid mouthfeel, bit on the meaty/chewy end, which I quite enjoy. Carbonation is spot on, vigorous but not overpowering. Keeps the flavours dancing on the palate. Nice sweet finish with a hint of dryness on the end.

Flavour:
Good upfront bitterness, which eases into a sweet malt/bready finish. There is a bit of residue sweetness on the palate as the beer goes down, leaving a subtle bitterness which make the beer moreish. Fruity hops on the palate, kiwi fruit/grass/hint of mango and strawberry. The flavour is a bit more malt and bitterness driven with subtle fruit hop character.

Overall:
The beer has a great hop forward nose, while on the palate is is more malt/bitterness driven with fruity hop highlights. I would love to have had this beer fresher so that the hops could shine, but even now the hop character is good, sweet/dry finish and malt backbone, the beer is very moreish and goes down smoothly. Great beer Zane!

Scott Bennison's Citra APA Homebrew Review

Scott Bennison's Citra APA Homebrew Review
Find Scott at the Huttbrewer FB Page

Appearance:
Opens with a satisfying "Hsst", pours a straw to copper/amber colour, leaning more towards the copper/Amber with a straw/gold highlights. Off white/subtle tan cap with creamy tight bubbles.

Aroma:
Damn nice nose on the beer. Citrus/grapefruit/resin, which is balanced with the sweet malt backbone. If given a vigorous swirl you pick up fresh lemon zest. A great citrus hop bomb with distinct hop character. Great aroma on this beer!

Mouthfeel:
Nice light to medium mouthfeel, leaning more towards the light side. Carbonation was a bit subtle, but I suspect it was bottled from the keg. Very easy drinking and is a fantastic summer session beer. Dry finish really helps the moreishness of the beer.

Flavour:
Nice smooth upfront bitterness, reminds me of orange zest bitterness, which eases into a nice malt character. The beer is hop dominate, with the malt balancing out the hop character/bitterness with  the malt sweetness. Very Palatable. The only small fault I can pick up is a subtle butterscotch on the back end. But nothing that takes away or distract's from the beer. If the beer was super fresh you would not even pick up on it. Other than that the flavour of this beer is fantastic, hop character/bitterness to sweet malt is balanced and tasty.

Overall:
This beer is a balanced citrus hop bomb, which is light and very easy drinking. The beer went down so smooth on a hot summer's day and left me with a profound feeling of "I want more" and honestly I cant say more than that. Its a great beer and I feel privileged to have tried it.

Scott Bennison's Pinefruit XPA Homebrew Review

Scott Bennison's Pinefruit XPA Homebrew Review
Find Scott at the Huttbrewer FB Page

Appearance:
Opens with a small “hsst”, the beer is keg conditioned so not expecting any fireworks. The beer pours crystal clear and a fantastic amber/orange colour, really great looking beer in the glass. Has a pure white head with tight small bubbles. The beer keeps a small cap, but does generate a small decent head once swirled. Some great lacing on the beer though, so it might just be a dirty glass.

Aroma:
This is a very complex aroma, fantastic and complex. Major pine notes with a sweet resin back bone with just a bit of dankness in there for complexity. Pungent comes to mind, but in the best possible way. The malt does not come through on the nose, very hop dominant! And it's great! And just to note, I have as light head cold while drinking this brew, but the pine and resin are coming through in spades.

Mouthfeel:
The beer has decent carbonation, if not a bit on the light side.  Mouth feel is light to medium leaning more towards the light side. The low carbonation lets the resinous flavour coat your taste buds and lets those hops shine on the palate.

Flavour:
The beer is hop dominated by far, upfront bitterness that's lingers once swallowed. The pine/resin hop character lingers on the palate, leaving the drinker with the feeling of a face full of pine cones, but in the best possible way. The malts come through on the finish with a sweet malt, just to help ease the palate from the pine/resin assault. There seems to be subtle kiwi fruit hop fruitiness behind the more dominate hop character.

Overall:
As I mentioned above, I have a slight head cold,  it this beer is not letting that get in the way, the hops are coming through in spades. The brew is hop forward and those hops dominate! The beer is very easy drinking and going down well chilling on the patio. My overall verdict is not going to be long as I want to get it over so, I can just relax and enjoy the beer. To me, there is no better verdict or "dammit, let's get this finished so I can just enjoy the beer!"