[Wort-H.O.G.]

Ok, more excellent beer from Wort-HOG to review. First of the night is his O-Fest. It pours an absolutely crystal clear deep orange/amber. Gorgeous color. Foam is thick, holding a solid two fingers for 5 minutes, then falls to a persistent one finger. Aroma is malty, toasty, bready. Flavor follows the aroma perfectly, and body is a well attenuated medium/light. Caramunich/caravienne character is minimal if at all (read: zero cloying sweetness). The malt character of this beer reminds me of SN's new Oktoberfest, minus the hop character which pushed the envelope for the style (though I loved it). This is just a great Ofest, the kind you want to crush liters of. Really well done, Ken. Thanks ! More to come.......

Thanks Jon. Thought you might like it as I thought the same as you regarding SN....less hop bite but great malt backbone.


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[Wort-H.O.G.]

Who is a happy swapper now? Thanks Mike G

And a home brew as well!

Scored mine also- super excited for my first Pliny ....thanks Mike!

Seeing you guys excited - that's awesome right there.    :-)

Enjoying my first ever Pliny Mike. Man this puppy is smooth, and has the longest lasting thick foamy head I've ever seen on DIPA.



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[HoosierBrew]

Thanks Jon. Thought you might like it as I thought the same as you regarding SN....less hop bite but great malt backbone.

Yeah, you nailed it. Real similar to the SN in malt character. Dangerous stuff !

[69franx]

Think I'll be having mine tomorrow night. Taking the kids out to haunted houses tonight

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Thanks Jon. Thought you might like it as I thought the same as you regarding SN....less hop bite but great malt backbone.

Yeah, you nailed it. Real similar to the SN in malt character. Dangerous stuff !

that was wlp833... 46% Vienna, 33% avangard munich light, 8.5% avangard munich dark, 8.5% weyermann carahell,4% weyermann carared. 26IBU 5.9%ABV.

[HoosierBrew]

Thanks Ken, I'll be brewing it !


   Next is Ken's Munich Dunkel. It pours a crystal clear deep amber/red, with slight tinges of brown. As before, nice thick foam with two fingers that settles into one finger. Aroma is malty rich, with notes of toasted bread. Flavor is wonderful, a balance of rich malt and toastiness that nonetheless finshes dry and leaves you wanting more. I love this beer -  I could make a keg disappear pretty quickly. Ken, you have a handle on the German lagers. Great beer ! Thanks.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Thanks Ken, I'll be brewing it !


   Next is Ken's Munich Dunkel. It pours a crystal clear deep amber/red, with slight tinges of brown. As before, nice thick foam with two fingers that settles into one finger. Aroma is malty rich, with notes of toasted bread. Flavor is wonderful, a balance of rich malt and toastiness that nonetheless finshes dry and leaves you wanting more. I love this beer -  I could make a keg disappear pretty quickly. Ken, you have a handle on the German lagers. Great beer ! Thanks.

Awesome , so glad you enjoyed.  Wlp833... 76% dark Munich,, 17% light Munich, 6%carapils., 1% carafa II 25IBU 5.5% ABV. key for me on this style is finish dry...1.010


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[HoosierBrew]

Thanks Ken, I'll be brewing it !


   Next is Ken's Munich Dunkel. It pours a crystal clear deep amber/red, with slight tinges of brown. As before, nice thick foam with two fingers that settles into one finger. Aroma is malty rich, with notes of toasted bread. Flavor is wonderful, a balance of rich malt and toastiness that nonetheless finshes dry and leaves you wanting more. I love this beer -  I could make a keg disappear pretty quickly. Ken, you have a handle on the German lagers. Great beer ! Thanks.

Awesome , so glad you enjoyed.  Wlp833... 76% dark Munich,, 17% light Munich, 7% carapils. 25IBU 5.5% ABV. key for me on this style is finish dry...1.010


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Yeah, totally. But the 833 leaves that malty mouthfeel at the same time. I'll be brewing both at some point. Thanks, man !

[coastsidemike]

Who is a happy swapper now? Thanks Mike G

And a home brew as well!

Scored mine also- super excited for my first Pliny ....thanks Mike!

Seeing you guys excited - that's awesome right there.    :-)

Enjoying my first ever Pliny Mike. Man this puppy is smooth, and has the longest lasting thick foamy head I've ever seen on DIPA.

I had one tonight as well, I really enjoy it.

The background on getting these is that there's a drop off around SF on Wednesdays.  I know I need to pick it up sometime in the afternoon, and that I'm limited to 2 or 4 bottles depending on the place.  Each places gets a 2-3 cases each, and it's delivered and stored cold.  As far as I know, every place that gets it also has a bar so you can enjoy it on-site.

The thing I'm wondering about is why use Carapils in an IPA?  Others are doing this as well (in particular the commercial beer that Frank sent - awesome btw, recipe here: http://www.madtreebrewing.com/recipes/psychopathyRecipe.pdf)

My SWMBO always wants an IPA, kinda thinking it's time to brew it.  But, is Carapil the secret to that foamy head?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Who is a happy swapper now? Thanks Mike G

And a home brew as well!

Scored mine also- super excited for my first Pliny ....thanks Mike!

Seeing you guys excited - that's awesome right there.    :-)

Enjoying my first ever Pliny Mike. Man this puppy is smooth, and has the longest lasting thick foamy head I've ever seen on DIPA.

I had one tonight as well, I really enjoy it.

The background on getting these is that there's a drop off around SF on Wednesdays.  I know I need to pick it up sometime in the afternoon, and that I'm limited to 2 or 4 bottles depending on the place.  Each places gets a 2-3 cases each, and it's delivered and stored cold.  As far as I know, every place that gets it also has a bar so you can enjoy it on-site.

The thing I'm wondering about is why use Carapils in an IPA?  Others are doing this as well (in particular the commercial beer that Frank sent - awesome btw, recipe here: http://www.madtreebrewing.com/recipes/psychopathyRecipe.pdf)

My SWMBO always wants an IPA, kinda thinking it's time to brew it.  But, is Carapil the secret to that foamy head?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/6351/doubleIPA.pdf

i will say one thing....and its somewhat controversial on this forum...carapils is something i use often; especially on low FG beers. it does provide that mouthfeel and assits head. my opinion and IME-like it or not!

[69franx]

First Pliny, poured beautifully.  Also got the gorgeously thick creamy head obviously. Really amazed at how smooth the bitterness is. I really expected more bitterness. Great hop flavors and aroma. I will definitely be buying this the next time I see it around town here

[coastsidemike]

I tried the first of five brews by Frank Laske, aka 69Franx, a Pilsner.  This is awesome. 



I'm really surprised by this beer.  It's not a style I've had a lot of and it was complex as much as it was easy to drink.  Is a split batch, this one fermented with WLP833 German Bock Lager Yeast.

Notes: 

Great pour, and the first impression is the lager yeast aroma.  I took a quick trip to rural Poland a couple years ago for a sporting event and the aroma reminded me of the fresh pivo we drank outdoors when getting food in the evenings.

I liked the carbonation levels.  Seems like the 2-3 finger head dissipates into a 1 finger head that remains while drinking.  If it was dissipating at the end, a quick swish of the glass brings it right back. 

The second impression is a combination of hops and malt.  It's full-mouth flavor - subtle floral hops and a nutty malt taste.  Although the beer has a dry finish, there's a lingering of a pleasant bitterness from the hops and malt nuttiness on the back of the tongue.  As much as I tried to taste breadiness, it is nuttiness defined the malt character.  Really surprising how long the hop and malt flavor lingers.  Slightly more bitter than commercial offerings yet very subtle none-the-less, and that's appealing to me.

Very quaffable; thankfully not something that needs to be sipped.  This beer did not leave me feeling full but refreshed and ready for another sometime soon.  Kinda thinking I should pair it with a cheese plate.

[klickitat jim]

Started into the box of goodies from erockrph. Beginning with the Foolproof Saison.


Overall, this is one of the better commercial American saisons I've tried. I would buy it frequently if available here. It pours a hazy light-gold, with a near white big bubbled head that dissipates in time to a ring. More leggy than lacy. Aroma is fermentation ester forward, spicy clovey belgian reminds me of a Lefe blond. Way in the back is a pils malt and faint nobel hop. Flavor is in line with aroma and fairly intense. Nothing off putting about this beer. In the after taste I get a faint lemon grass like tanginess that I wish was more pronounced throughout. Generally I prefer the more peppery ester versions, but this one was great too. Mouthfeel was medium bodied but effervescent and finished crisp and dry. 

Tasty! Thanks Eric

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Next up is mikes raspberry chocolate porter.... Dark brown almost black color. 1/2 finger head fades quickly to thin layer of brown cream. Aroma is roast with slight floral. Body is med/ light. Roast is smooth with chocolate and coffee notes, that finishes dry with hints of raspberry . Carbonation is spot on for style. Kind of reminds me of a coffee stout . No issues with process in this porter....easy drinking smooth roast beer Mike. My wife is especially fond of it, and I'd be happy to have a nice pint of this on a cold winters day. Well done.



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[69franx]

Thanks Mike, seems like high praise to me. I found the recipe here in the wiki. It is Ron "Bluesman" Price's "Ringler Pilsner." Very simple recipe for a newbie lager brewer like myself. 100% Avangard pilsner malt. 90 minute boil (but maybe not next time. Hallertau Mittelfrueh at 60 and I think 20 minutes. OG was 1.052, 30 IBUs mashed at 149 for 90, batch sparged, and I followed the fast lager that Marshall has recently brought back to the forefront of lager fermentations. I brewed this originally in January I think and we loved it so much I added a second batch (10 gallons this time) before we even finished the first batch
I so glad you liked it as well. Just a note my SWMBO loves this version while I love the 830 batch