Chat Thread - Official BotRH Beer Club

[Barmacral]

I tried my strong bitter (formerly ESB - but I don't think it counts as one anymore) today and it is very good. It is also very strong at 8.7%. We want to brew it again in a few months after we've got a lot more experience under our belts, and I'm definitely going to be doing some tweaking to the recipe. Not sure what all beyond lowering the ABV though. But I've got 16 more bottles to work on that.

 

[Krakalakachkn]

My local brewery (open ~6 months) knocked it out of the park last night.  

 

Galaxy dry-hopped Athena (berlinerweisse)

 

100% brett Athena 

 

Koko Buni (brown/porter w/ vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, toasted coconut, and coffee)

 

Southerly Love (a collaboration they did with 7venth Sun - tart 100% Brettanomyces American wild ale is dry hopped with Amarillo and Simcoe hops)

 

 

They were all friggin amazing.  It makes me really excited to see what's next.  The only problem is they haven't started canning/bottling yet.  Only kegs atm.

[Krakalakachkn]

I tried my strong bitter (formerly ESB - but I don't think it counts as one anymore) today and it is very good. It is also very strong at 8.7%. We want to brew it again in a few months after we've got a lot more experience under our belts, and I'm definitely going to be doing some tweaking to the recipe. Not sure what all beyond lowering the ABV though. But I've got 16 more bottles to work on that.

 

 

 

Sounds like something I'd dig.

[Yates]

I tried my strong bitter (formerly ESB - but I don't think it counts as one anymore) today and it is very good. It is also very strong at 8.7%.

Wow is that dark! As long as it tastes good, though, who cares...

 

Would you mind pming me the recipe. I've made a few of these so I'd love to try to figure out what happened here.

[Krakalakachkn]

Use a lot of caramel malt?

[Yates]

Probably added the dark grains too soon but I'd have to see the recipe to be sure.

 

Also... REALLY enjoying this Evil Twin Aun Mas Cafe Jesus right now. My goodness. Beautiful smooth velvety viscous mouth feel with just the right balance of sweet, roasty, and dark cocoa [think: 85% pure cocoa chocolate].

 

Love it. Need more.

[Krakalakachkn]

Victory Harvest IPA for me.  So-so.

[Barmacral]

Yeah will do, fair warning though, everything is in metric since I'm in Sweden. Also the colour system we use is EBC, not SRM or Lovibond.

[Yates]

Tonight I'm drinking a Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout and I'm quite enjoying it.  Could use a little more body and mouthfeel but the bourbon and oak are done with a light hand that I appreciate.  Another minor gripe is that it is slightly over carbonated and doesn't have any head retention at all.  I think more body would create more proteins which would resolve that issue.  Otherwise?  It's like a poor man's BCS.  And I'm down with that.

[Krakalakachkn]

Tonight I'm drinking a Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout and I'm quite enjoying it.  Could use a little more body and mouthfeel but the bourbon and oak are done with a light hand that I appreciate.  Another minor gripe is that it is slightly over carbonated and doesn't have any head retention at all.  I think more body would create more proteins which would resolve that issue.  Otherwise?  It's like a poor man's BCS.  And I'm down with that.

 

I had one of those in my cellar and drank it pretty recently.  Pretty much agree with everything you said except for the carbonated part (it was either a year or two old).

 

 

I know it's not beer but I'm drinking Tuthilltown's Half Moon Orchard Gin right now.  gin and tonic style.  apple-y and junipery and pretty good. probably best neat though.

[Barmacral]

Made an IPA today and we'll be doing a Christmas beer next week in hopes to have it ready for December. We also discovered that we were a little low on our pasteurization process for the honey last week. We heated it to around 70C for a minute or so, but discovered that we should have had it up to 80C for 60-90 minutes. Oops? We also realised that we need to ferment the pumpkin red for 3-8 weeks because of the honey, instead of the usual two that we do, so we're gonna give it three weeks this go around and see what happens. So far it has been far more active than the other beers for a longer period of time.

[Barmacral]

Went to a local craft beer festival and I just had a one-off that is probably amongst the top 5 beers in my life. It was called One and is by a local micro called Beer Studio, and there was only 20 litres of it. Super citrusy nose, beautiful colour (the photo does it no justice at all), amazing bitter aftertaste, just perfect. Listed as an American Pale Ale.

 

[Krakalakachkn]

We got Bell's Venus in yesterday.  I'll be trying it tonight.

[Yates]

We got Bell's Venus in yesterday.  I'll be trying it tonight.

Tease.

[Yates]

You know - I wrote off the Ommegang Take the Black stout after a terrible tasting.  Last night I pulled out a 1 year old bottle for this party I was at - mostly to get rid of it and also because it was kitschy.  It was WAY better than the stuff I had on tap.  I think maybe I just had a bad batch before.  I have a 2nd bottle so I guess I'll have to try again when the new season debuts!

[Krakalakachkn]

Venus was weaksauce. Just not for me.

[Yates]

Venus was weaksauce. Just not for me.

I'm imagining it would taste kind of like Magic Hat #9?

[Krakalakachkn]

Weirder and not as hoppy

 

 

Like a creamy (vanilla), wants to be funky but isn't combination of weird flavors in a Belgian golden. Apricot and vanilla are just weird together and cardamom was a bad choice

[Yates]

Apricot and vanilla are just weird together and cardamom was a bad choice

Yeah.  I can't imagine that combo tasting good together.

[Krakalakachkn]

Prairie Birra and Founders Harvest Ale

[Krakalakachkn]

And I'm not super happy because we got the Founders a month after it was bottled.  A big 'way to go' to the distributors.

[Yates]

Balls. The Harvest Ale is really good, though. I drank like a 12er of that last Thanksgiving.

[Krakalakachkn]

Yeah it's a great beer, just wish I'd gotten it a bit fresher.  A month or two back we got Jai Alai that was less than a week old.  That was pretty straight.

[Yates]

A month or two back we got Jai Alai that was less than a week old.  That was pretty straight.

Yates confirmed jelly.

[Barmacral]

I did a beer advent calendar last year and this year the winter / christmas seasonal beers all came out yesterday, so I've gone and started stocking up for next month before they all disappear. Here's the first 8 I've picked up (I'll be getting the rest over the next two weeks):