The Friday Night 6 Pack Session

[Beerlust]

Some nice looking recipes on that Avery Brewing page John.

 

A couple of them have certainly got me thinking outside my usual thought processes.

 

Thanks for the link.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Leffe Nut]

 

BTW good on you for giving all-grain a go ....

 

Thanks John - you were actually the inspiration for me to have a go at all grain! I didn't think I wanted to commit to the equipment required for a full volume boil but after reading about some of your efforts in the Craft fermentor I picked up a 15l fermentor' date=' a 19l Big W pot and a large paint bag from Bunnings and away I went.

 

Like you I have found some of the Belgian Tripels a bit too harsh with alcohol, but I have really enjoyed most of the Dubbels I have tried. I liked the Westmalle Dubbel much more than the Tripel. Of course I still love a Leffe Radieuse and my forum name shows what I would be prepared to sacrifice if I could pull off a good clone of that [img']lol[/img]. The good thing about a lot of the Belgians is that many come with free yeast! Last week my wife sent me to the local shops for some bread and milk but with no cash and a $10 EFTPOS limit a bottle of Chimay red solved that problem. A week later I have about 50ml of Chimay yeast in the fridge!

 

I will post the results of my small batch all grain attempts once I have actually tasted them - and next time I am at Plonk or Bentspoke I will keep an eye out for a Porsche 911 parked out the front

 

[Brownsworthy]

G'day guys,

 

Grabbed a six pack of Rogue Yellow Snow IPA very nice lemony, piney dankness and a lingering bitterness its lovely.

 

Also grabbed a Stone Cali-Belgique IPA and have a couple of Ballast Point Big Eye IPAs in the fridge for the footy tonight.

 

Been having issues with poor flowing beer from my taps it'll foam up then nothing. I've tried everything pulled the pick up out it was blocked cleaned sanitised replaced still nothing, blew compressed air through the tap with disconnect open and blew it clear, gas is fine, lines cleaned still nothing. I tried my keg of stout, I had wanted to age, to see if it flowed and it did so it looks like it's the keg though beer comes out of it when the connector is depressed. it's gote buggered

[Beerlust]

Hi Brownsworthy.

 

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with pouring a particular beer. If the stout keg is pouring fine, I'm less likely to believe it is tap related, & more likely to think the problem is isolated to that particular problem keg.

 

If I was to have a guess, I'd suggest there might be a problem relating to your beer out post connector/beer out tube &/or the connector with the beer hose attached to this part of the keg. The beer out post connector might be sticking due to built up residue (sticky beer from past brews), thus not allowing it to open properly during pouring.

 

I'm not sure what practice you've adopted for cleaning your kegs, but I mix this product with 4-5 litres of very hot water inside my empty keg, shake the crap out of it for a minute or so, then hook my C02 up to the keg @ approx. 20 PSI & run this solution through my beer out line hose, tap & all. Once the keg is emptied of this solution, I'll then add 4-5 litres of fresh tap water to the keg & run that through the beer line. It's a good product & I haven't had a single flow issue in the 15 odd months while using it.

 

If indeed it is a sticky beer out connector, you can avoid this situation by not letting your emptied kegs sit around too long before you clean them. The remaining beer sitting in that valve is what dries & hardens causing it to stick.

 

If it's not a blockage, you may have a leak of some kind reducing flow pressure.

 

Good luck with sorting it out.

 

Lusty.

[Brownsworthy]

Thanks for the advice Lusty,

 

I use sodium percarbonate in the same manner as you do then rinsed then starsan every 3-4 kegs and clean kegs the same every brew. The skewer was blocked with hops so i cleaned it and the connector though still nothing.

 

Might have to drink the stout then decant it into that keg and tear down the other.

 

Thanks again mate.

[Beerlust]

Hi Brownsworthy.

 

The sodium percarbonate you are using is more effective when used as a soaker than it is an out & out cleaner. When it's allowed to sit in contact with a desired area for a period of time it does it's best cleaning work. That's a bit hard to do when talking about a pressurized valve though, unless you completely disassemble the valve each time & let it soak in the sodium percarbonate solution.

 

The link I provided in my previous post is to a "Keg Cleaner" product that has sodium metasilicate as it's core ingredient. Some might say, "Well who gives a @#$%?!" And normally I would be one of those people, but in this case it does have some bearing on a better outcome with cleaning kegs in particular.

 

My understanding of sodium metasilicate is that it is made by fusing sodium carbonate with sand at very high temperatures that produce a more granulated rock salt-like product. Intern it is likely to be a better flushing type cleaner than sodium percarbonate is, & better for running through keg lines & using on stainless steel.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Lusty.

[Brownsworthy]

I usually leave it in for about 10-15 min before rinsing but i will certainly give the metasilicate a go as your advice has never led me astray.

 

Cheers mate

[Beerlust]

...but i will certainly give the metasilicate a go as your advice has never led me astray.

So what's it like to be part of a small minority Brownsworthy?!

 

I just thought I'd post that before someone else did!

 

Hey' date=' if you can't take the @#$% out of yourself once in a while, you probably shouldn't be taking it out of anyone else I say. [img']wink[/img]

 

I'm an easy target too, which makes my job of self-humiliation a lot easier than most!

 

 

Cheers & good luck sorting that pouring problem out Brownsworthy.

 

Lusty.

[Brownsworthy]

Bah hahaha!

 

Good on ya Lusty!

[Gibbo]

Have been sticking my head into various bottle-shops over the last few weeks to supplement the cellars while my brews are bottle-conditioning:

 

Stout (4 Pines Brewing Company)

Chocolate and coffee on the nose (hint of caramel, even?), medium-bodied and roasty on the palate with a satisfying, lingering bitterness. My kind of stout! - 4/5

 

Altenmünster Red (Allgäuer Brauhaus)

Decided to try this since it was on special, and I needed a single replacement swing-top stopper anyway...

A no-nonsense lager in a swing-top bottle. Clean and crisp with no particularly distinctive characteristics, but a nice level of bitterness all the same. - 3.25/5

 

Monteith's Black Beer (Monteith's Brewing Co.)

I like this a lot more than I thought I would. Chocolate/coffee/biscuit flavours like a stout, but with the unmistakable body and crispness of a lager. - 3.75/5

 

Atomic (Gage Roads Brewing Co.)

A respectable pale ale. Was expecting a little more bitterness and body, and it might have scored higher if it were a fresher bottle. - 3/5

[antiphile]

Whilst getting myself drenched in mist and rain in Brisbane for nearly a fortnight (and they call it the Sunshine State; yeah, right!), in the interests of research, it's been necessary to track down commercial versions of Scotch Ales (aka Wee Heavies) for comparison purposes*.

 

Sadly, I've only found three that fall into that category according to strength and description.

 

1. Grand Ridge Dark Scotch Ale (Grand Ridge Brewery, Gippsland, Victoria). ABV 8.5%. To my taste (predominantly since it tastes almost exactly like mine), a lovely Scotch Beer. Lashings of caramelised flavours, hints of toffee, sweetish, with low bitterness. Heaps of malt in the foreground. Dark colouring, nearly as dark as a porter but not quite, low-mid carbonation. A beer to sit out on the deck with on a cold winter's night (with a nice cigar if you're a smoker) when it's getting a little too cold for a stout. It's a shame I couldn't track down a stubby of Grand Ridge Moonshine Scotch Ale (11% ABV).

 

Authors Note: I shouldn't mention this but the Grand Ridge Brewery website is running a competition at the moment that only needs your name, phone number and email address, to win your weight in beer. All you scrawny buggers that weigh less than 100 kg leave well alone please, and let us fat bastards win something for a change.

 

2. Blackfriar Scotch Ale (The Inveralmond Brewery, Scotland). 7.0% ABV. Really disappointing. Not as much a malt emphasis as I would have hoped for, and somewhat "hollow" in flavour. Even though it is the lowest in alcohol, it showed the most "alcohol taste"; in fact, it tasted like the dominant flavour. But again, low--medium hop bitterness as expected. Personally I wouldn't buy it again.

 

3. Skull Splitter (The Orkney Brewery, Orkney, Scotland). 8.5% ABV. Similar to the Grand Ridge, but not quite as much caramel. The label describes it perfectly saying: "On the palate: rich and complex with sweet toasted malt, molasses, fresh and dried fruits, and hints of warming spices". In comparison with the Grand Ridge, it's fair to say it's a little less cloying in sweetness, but overall I prefer the Grand Ridge by a smidge.

 

*Lusty, you can help since you're in the trade. If I put down my occupation as professional beer taster and keep the receipts, can I claim bottleshop purchases as a tax deduction?

[Beerlust]

Hi Antiphile.

 

As fate may have it, I've actually just transferred a fermenter of mine with the Coopers DIY Scotch Ale in it into my fridge for crash chilling. Nice & dark & smelled pretty good too. I used the Mangrove Jacks British Ale yeast with it, & a late smidge of PoR @ flameout.

 

As far as claiming tasting stock goes, I'm pretty sure the ATO has tightened up on that considerably over the last 7-8 years. Even back then I think it was restricted to wine & classed as something attributed to widening your product knowledge within the industry.

 

I think one year I began doing it, but realised you'd have to be a full blown alcoholic spending vast amounts of money on the stuff to make it worth your while, & given all the faffing about collecting receipts all the time, it hardly seemed worth the effort. That said, it would be interesting to know exactly what can be claimed (if anything) under the current tax laws.

 

Cheers & good brewing,

 

Lusty.

[antiphile]

Geez you're becoming a wet rag these days, Lusty. I come up with brilliant ideas and you shoot them down in flames!

 

I'll have to check my brewing notes when I get home, provided Brunhilda with the Hitler-like moustache (and weighing more than all of Rommel's African Panzer Divisions) lets me in the house. I have a feeling I may have made that Coopers recipe, but alcoholic amnesia must have set in 'cos I don't recall it. However, if I did (and I'm certainly not putting any shite on PB2's recipe), I do know that the first AG version when I did quite some kettle caramelisation tasted a lot "richer" in caramel flavours because I was really surprised. The latest version was even more complex in taste (the recipe I made up was posted here somewhere - I'm guessing in CanCanMan's brewday thread). It's only been bottled now for about 4-6 weeks, but in another month or two I hope to get the seal of approval from my Scottish BIL. If not, there's going to be a lot of serious alcohol intake on my part.

[Hairy]

*Lusty' date=' you can help since you're in the trade. If I put down my occupation as professional beer taster and keep the receipts, can I claim bottleshop purchases as a tax deduction?[/quote']

Lusty's trade? Is he a tax agent?

 

Phil, it won't help you now but Malt Shovel released a limited batch of scotch ale called Wee Heavy. It was very nice. They even had it on tap at Panthers

[ben 10]

Picked up a sixer of Hop Thief from Dans for $10. Not bad, not nearly bitter enough for me though. Tastes in the region of 30 IBU.

Grabbed 4 cans of SNPA. What a great drop from a can, could really taste the Perle.

[antiphile]

Lusty's trade? Is he a tax agent?

Hmmm. You're right' date=' sir, that was a pretty big call on my part. But you have to admit he is rather taxing.

 

Phil, it won't help you now but Malt Shovel released a limited batch of scotch ale called Wee Heavy. It was very nice. They even had it on tap at Panthers

Surprisingly, that did help me. I found their press release from April 2013 for the Wee Highlander (made by one their brewers called "Hamish" - what else? ) who said it contained a tiny bit of peated malt and some Malted oats. I can feel version 3 coming on.

 

As for you, Benjamin*, I would have thought Hop Thief would have been the refresher you have after mowing the lawn on a hot summer's day. The normal person's Solo. Low on IBU so you can slam it down fast.

 

*Or is it our very own Underbelly Benji?

[Magnaman]

Whilst getting myself drenched in mist and rain in Brisbane for nearly a fortnight (and they call it the Sunshine State; yeah' date=' right!)[/quote']

 

Okay P2, one more time, it's not rain "Liquid Sunshine".

[antiphile]

Hoodles Mummy's-Man (methinks I'm starting to run out of names for you)

 

You are really starting to concern me, now. My psychiatrist, Dr BlustyLusty, told me about you type of wierdos, and I never believed him that such a fetish could exist. Golden showers, eh? whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

 

What's the difference between a fetishist and Magnaman. A fetishist uses a feather, MM uses the whole chook.

[Magnaman]

What's the difference between a fetishist and Magnaman. A fetishist uses a feather' date=' MM uses the whole chook. [img']ninja[/img]

 

Duck.

[Hairy]

Picked up a sixer of Hop Thief from Dans for $10. Not bad' date=' not nearly bitter enough for me though. Tastes in the region of 30 IBU.

Grabbed 4 cans of SNPA. What a great drop from a can, could really taste the Perle.[/quote']

I picked up a couple of six packs for $10 each too. I prefer the version 6 but this is OK. I think the bitterness is fine for an APA but I wouldn't mind a bit of extra kick.

[Hairy]

I bought a couple of six packs on State of Origin night (shut your mouth Kelsey ) and I am having a few tonight.

 

I picked up a sixer of Samuel Adams Boston Lager as part of the Dan Murphys $10 deal. It is a nice, creamy lager (Vienna?) with a decent body but it is a little on the sweet side and had to stop at two.

 

The other was the Founders All Day IPA. I really like this beer. It is more of an extra hoppy pale ale as it lacks the firm bitterness of an IPA but it is easy to knock these down.

[porschemad911]

Let's go for a 7-pack this time:

• 4 Pines Kolsch - very nice
  
• Wicked Elf Kolsch - a bit too light and fizzy
  
• Wicked Elf Pilsner - ok, didn't really stand out, probably the wrong time of year for this one
  
• Firestone Walker DBA - could have been good, but I don't think I've had one oaked beer that I really enjoyed
  
• Blackheart Vienna Lager - very nice malt flavour, but I think they overdid the finishing hops (I swear it tasted just like the Hallertauer smelt when I threw them into my Oktoberfest)
  
• Blackheart Bohemian Pilsner - great, plenty of body and malt flavour, good bitterness and hop presence
  
• Coopers 2015 ESVA - yum, yum, yum!
  

[Hairy]

Let's go for a 7-pack this time:

• 4 Pines Kolsch - very nice
  
• Wicked Elf Kolsch - a bit too light and fizzy
  
• Wicked Elf Pilsner - ok' date=' didn't really stand out, probably the wrong time of year for this one
  [*'] Firestone Walker DBA - could have been good, but I don't think I've had one oaked beer that I really enjoyed
  
• Blackheart Vienna Lager - very nice malt flavour, but I think they overdid the finishing hops (I swear it tasted just like the Hallertauer smelt when I threw them into my Oktoberfest)
  
• Blackheart Bohemian Pilsner - great, plenty of body and malt flavour, good bitterness and hop presence
  
• Coopers 2015 ESVA - yum, yum, yum!
  

I struggle with oak beers too. Some are ok but others I can barely stomach.

 

I picked up a six pack of the 2015 Coopers ESVA and I am looking forward to these (over time).

 

I also grabbed a four pack of Little Creatures Return of the Dread extra stout. I will report back on this later.

[Hairy]

Little Creatures Return of the Dread - top drop

 

I didn't get to try their dreadnought the first time around so I made sure I grabbed some of these. A good chocolatey stout with coffee undertones. I also get a lingering sweetness which I can't quite pin down. Some vanilla perhaps

 

Great beer all the same.

 

Coopers is still my favourite widely available stout but there are some other great stouts around. Murray's do some awesome stouts.

 

And the Thirsty Crow Vanilla Milk Stout on nitro would be one of the best beers I have ever tried. Ever. (Yes Scottie, maybe best beer ever).

[porschemad911]

Little Creatures Return of the Dread - top drop

 

I didn't get to try their dreadnought the first time around so I made sure I grabbed some of these. A good chocolatey stout with coffee undertones. I also get a lingering sweetness which I can't quite pin down. Some vanilla perhaps

 

Great beer all the same.

Sounds great, I'll have to look out for some. Enjoy your 2015 ESVA by the way ... I too bought a 6 pack and enjoyed a few of them tonight while I watched the 1998 NBA playoffs Eastern Conference finals game 7 and reminisced on what could have been if my Indiana Pacers had managed to overcome Jordan's Chicago Bulls.