Category Archives: Reviews

Trip to Paris

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Last week I was on a short visit to Paris, and while there I checked out some of the local beer shops and pubs. I ended up buying a total of 14 bottles home (one I actually had at the hotel). Here are some short comments about the places I visited.

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La Cave à Bulles

A fantastic bottle shop, featuring loads of French craft beer. The owner was really friendly and talkative. The focus was mainly on French beer (the prices varied from around 3.5€ to 7€ depending on bottle size and type), but there were some imports as well (e.g. Cantillon, Jester King, Hoppin Frog, Port Brewing, BrewDog, Mikkeller, Nogne O, and Dieu du Ciel). I bought 7 different French IPAs, which should be really interesting to try out (I’ve actually already had one bottle, which was okay). The imports were a lot more expensive, and only ended up buying a bottle of Dieu du Ciel’s Aphrodisiaque. I don’t have any pictures from inside unfortunately, but I definitely recommend a visit! They seemed to have quite a nice line-up of Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, and other lambic, but since those aren’t really my cup of tea I didn’t buy anything.

la_cave_a_bulles_map

Homepage – RateBeer link – Google Maps link

 

Bières Cultes

Another bottle shop I visited briefly, since it is quite close to La Cave à Bulles. The shop was a little smaller, which also meant that the selection was a little smaller. The selection consisted mostly of Belgian beer, and since most of those are quite easily accessible for me, I choose not to buy much from here. They had some imports as well (e.g. Kernel, Brewfist, Brewdog, Nogne O, Fano and Rogue), and I decided to buy a bottle of Kernel’s Export India Porter and Brewfist’s 2Late. The prices seemed to be slightly lower than at La Cave à Bulles, so that is nice. As mentioned earlier, it is very close to La Cave à Bulles, so why not pay a visit if you are in the area? There are apparently other Bières Cultes shops around town as well.

bieres_cultes_map

Homepage – RateBeer link – Google Maps link

 

La Moustache Blanche

This was the last of the three bottle shops I visited. The shop was of similar size to Bières Cultes, and featured a nice mix of French craft beer and imports (e.g. Kernel, Mikkeller, To Ol, Green Flash, Nogne O, Amager, and Struise). Since I had already bought quite a lot of bottles, I didn’t buy much here. The prices were quite similar to the other shops. The imports were priced similarly to Bières Cultes (i.e. slightly cheaper than La Cave à Bulles). The owner was friendly and talkative. I definitely recommend a visit to this shop as well!

la_moustache_map

Homepage – RateBeer link – Google Maps link

 

Express de Lyon

A pub/restaurant located right next to the Gare de Lyon station. I came here only to try a few beers, but ended up having a cheeseburger as well (which was good, but not great). They didn’t have a large selection (around 15 taps and a similar amount of bottles), but there was good variety and some nice craft beer to choose from. Beers were mostly European, but there was some American beer as well. I had a Rogue Yellow Snow IPA (which was tasting slightly unclean unfortunately) and a De Molen Amarillo (amazingly fruity and really nice) from tap. The beers and a Cheeseburger was around 20€, so quite nice prices as well (oh, and it was cheaper to drink at the bar than at a table). The place was quite filled up around lunch hours (most people were not there to drink beer it seemed like), but the place started emptying up while I was there from around 1 to 3 pm. They had Struise Black Albert on tap as well, but was not really in the mood for a strong Imperial Stout at the time. Overall a really nice place and I recommend paying a visit (+ they had free wireless).

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Rogue Yellow Snow IPA

de_molen_amarillo

De Molen Amarillo

express_de_lyon_map

Homepage – RateBeer link – Google Maps link

 

La Fine Mousse

The final place I visited was a bar specialized in craft beer. I came here a couple of minutes after they opened and there were already a couple of people inside drinking beer (blend of tourists and hipsters). The place had a clean and modern, almost industrial, style look. Behind the bar was a row of 20 unlabeled tap handles and above them on the wall was a chalkboard with a list of what was on tap. The tap beers were mostly French, with a couple of Belgians, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace and Nogne O #100. They also had a large bottle selection (around 150 bottles I think), but I didn’t try any. The owner (at least I think it was him behind the bar when I came in) was friendly and recommended me a couple of beers when I asked for something hoppy. I ended up trying four beers in total, 2 being great, one was good, while I think the final was infected. Etoile du Nord was the first I tried (sold as an English IPA, but apparently more of a Saison), but it wasn’t very IPA-ish and tasted like plastic. I think this might have been infected? I moved on to La Sylvie’cious, which was an okay IPA, featuring some floral hops and a slightly unclean flavour. Outland’s West Coast IPA was the best of the French beer, with nice hop tones of tropical fruit. I was surprised with the color though, and would classify it as an American Brown Ale rather. The final beer of the night was Nogne O’s #100, which was as fantastic as ever. Really delicious and complex flavours. Prices were quite fair, and I think I ended up paying around 22 euros for the 4 beers. The place was quite small, and it started to get a little crowded as the evening progressed, so I recommend you come there early. I definitely recommend a visit if you are after craft beer in Paris!

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etoile_du_nord

Brasserie Thiriez Etoile du Nord

sylviecious

Brasserie Le Paradis La Sylvie’cious

outland_west_coast_ipa

Brasserie Outland West Coast IPA

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Nogne O #100

 

la_fine_mousse_map

Homepage – RateBeer link – Google Maps link

Tasting Impressions: K04 Extra Special Bitter

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It was time to try a bottle of our recently bottled ESB. It was tasting quite nice during bottling already so am really looking forward to trying this one. The beer pours with a slightly hazy amber-orange color and a slight cream-colored head is formed. The foam head collapses quickly leaving some lacing along the glass. The aroma is a nice mixture between fruity esters, a nutty maltiness, some caramel, as well as some earthy and herbal hop tones. The aroma has a nice ‘British’ vibe, and suits the style well. Not really much to complain about. The aroma could perhaps featuring some more hoppiness for my taste. The flavor begins with lots of maltiness, and the tones you get are bready, nutty and caramelly. A slight fruitiness joins in (yeast derived, rather than hop derived) and it reminds me almost of apples and pears. The flavour finishes with an earthy and herbal hop bitterness and a semi-dry finish. There are some slight alcoholic and solvent-like notes in the background, but fortunately they stay quite well hidden. The relatively strong bitterness works well here, balancing out the slightly sweet maltiness. The beer has a medium-full body and medium carbonation level. Feels quite good in the mouth, but the bitterness and slight alcohol notes draw away from the drinkability. Overall a good beer, but it is far from perfect. I would maybe up the aroma hops slightly and use a different yeast strain.

k04_esb

 

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack

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  • Brewery: Firestone Walker
  • Country: USA
  • Style: Black IPA
  • ABV: 8.3 %
  • Size: 650 ml
  • Bought from: Online
  • Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

Next up for the evening is Firestone Walker’s Black Rye IPA, Wookey Jack. I’m a very big fan of Firestone Walker, and have loved practically every beer I’ve tried from them. They seem to be able to balance flavors fantastically, whilst still keeping their beers hop-forward and clean. The beer has been brewed with pale ale, rye, cararye, midnight wheat and black malt, while hopped with Magnum, Citra and Amarillo to 80 IBU. As with the majority of Firestone Walker beer, it has been fermented with an English yeast strain. We brewed a Black Rye IPA inspired by this beer earlier this autumn, and it will be really interesting to try the original! Cheers!

[easyreview title=”Firestone Walker Wookey Jack” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a very dark brown, almost black color, and a huge and fluffy tan-colored head is formed, that collapses slowly leaving drapes of lacing along the glass. Held against the light, you can see that the beer is crystal clear and that there are some ruby-like colors in the beer as well. A really nice appearance!” cat1rating=”4.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is surprisingly light, with some roasted coffee and chocolate, together with some tropical fruits, citrus and resin. Compared to our own homebrewed Black Rye IPA, hopped with the same varieties, the hop aroma is much more muted. However, this beer is almost half a year old, and the beer was most likely much different fresh. Some slight notes of caramel, alcohol and spicy rye as well in the background. Not bad, but I must admit I’m slightly disappointed. It does get better as the beer warms up though, and I may have opened it a bit too cold. I had first planned on giving 3-3.5 points for the aroma, but when the beer gets warmer I must say it gets closer to a 4-4.5, with the aroma amplifying.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a slight roastiness and sweet caramel tones, giving off an impression of mocha. There is even a slight ashiness present. A fruity (its mostly mango and grapefruit) hoppiness then joins in, and the longer the beer lingers in the mouth, the more the flavor shifts into the pine and resin territory. Throughout there is a slight spiciness from the rye as well. The finish is semi-dry and the beer has a firm bitterness. The flavors balance well together, and whilst the aroma was a slight disappointment, the flavor certainly delivers. Not quite as roasty and heavy as Imperial Stouts usually are, and with the fruity hoppiness of a nice IPA, this Black IPA gives a great balance of both. The alcohol is hidden well behind the other flavors. Compared to our own homebrew, the flavor is cleaner and slightly less roasted.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium-full body and a medium-high carbonation level. The texture is smooth, and the beer makes a great slow sipper because of the roastiness and bitterness.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”Overall a very nice beer, that was quite similar to our homebrew. The combination of roasted tones and fruity hoppiness works very well here. I imagine this would be even better fresh, but this still features a nice range of hop tones. I must say that I’m a bigger fan of traditional IPAs, but here all the flavors worked very well together.”]

Homebrew: Ilkka’s Grainy Day

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  • Brewery: Ilkka’s Homebrewery
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Saison
  • ABV: 4.7 %
  • Size: 500 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

Today it’s time to try a homebrewed Saison that I got from my colleague Ilkka. I’ve tried some really interesting beers from Ilkka before, and this one sounds very interesting on paper as well. The malt bill consists of pilsner malt, flaked spelt and flaked buckwheat. The original gravity was 1.042, while the final gravity is 1.004, giving it an ABV of 4.7%. It has been single hopped with Sorachi Ace to 25 IBU. I’m a bit skeptical towards Sorachi Ace, as I haven’t tried that many beers hopped with it that I’ve liked, but hopefully its hop aromas stay in the background in this beer. The beer has been fermented with Wyeast’s French Saison 3711 yeast, and also oak with some oak chips for 15 days. There seems to be a lot going on in this, and it will be very interesting to taste it! The beer was brewed in the end of May, so is approximately 7 months old.

[easyreview title=”Ilkka’s Grainy Day” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a brilliant golden yellow color, and there is just a slight amount of haze. A fluffy white head is formed as well, but it collapses quite quickly leaving some spots of lacing along the glass. A nice appearance!” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is surprisingly sweet, featuring a candy-like sweetness combined with some spicy yeast notes. Luckily I can’t detect any of the dill tones you can sometimes get from Sorachi Ace hops. There is a slight presence of citrus as well. A nice and quite ‘easy going’ aroma.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”At first the beer gives off a sweet impression, with an initial hit of honey-like graininess. Quickly however, the flavor becomes drier, more spicy and fruity, with typical yeast products. The beer features some lemon and citrus flavors as well, which works well with the spiciness. The beer finishes dry and with a slight bitterness. I’m unsure what the spelt and buckwheat brought to the beer, but there is something in the aftertaste I can’t really chart, and could be from the speciality grains. I like that the flavor isn’t overly spicy and yeasty, which some saisons seem to be, and rather there is quite a lot of fruitiness present as well. I also can’t really detect any oakiness, but I guess its subtleness adds to the whole experience.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is light and the carbonation level is medium high. The beer is very refreshing, and would be very suitable for a hot summer day. The spicy notes leave a slight bite, but otherwise a very nice drinkability.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”Overall this was very nice beer! Especially for one being only 4.7%. I wouldn’t mind buying it from the supermarkets here in Finland. The spiciness, fruitiness and apparent sweetness work well together, while the dry finish and light body give it great drinkability. Thanks for the beer! Really looking forward to trying the other beers I got from Ilkka!”]

Kosoolan Panimo Belgiblondi #73

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  • Brewery: Kosoolan Panimo
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Belgian Blond
  • ABV: 5 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

Time for another homebrew from Juhani@Kosoolan Panimo. This is another beer I received from him in the end of July, and it has been in my fridge since the end of August. I don’t have much information on it, other than it should be close to 5% ABV and it has been hopped with East Kent and Styrian Goldings. Let’s see how it tastes!

[easyreview title=”Kosoolan Panimo Belgiblondi 73″ cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a clear golden-yellow color (just a hint of orange) and a massive fluffy white head is formed. The head collapses relatively quickly, but leaves nice patches of lacing along the glass. A really nice appearance!” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is mostly bready and yeasty, with some sweet grainy tones combined with some spicy phenolics and a light fruity esteriness. There are slightly solvent-like, alcoholic and grassy hop tones present as well, but these stay mostly in the background. The aroma profile reminds me a bit of my Belgian Blond and Belgian Dark Strong Ale I brewed around a year ago with Wyeast’s 3787, could this perhaps have used the same yeast? The overall aroma is quite light, but suitable for a beer like this.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins similarly to the aroma with a slightly sweet, grainy and bready maltiness. These are joined by a light grassy hoppiness and some spicy yeast tones. The phenolics leave a slightly astringent impression. The finish is quite dry (despite the initial impression of sweetness) and moderately bitter. There is some warming alcohol in the finish as well. The flavors are quite well balanced, and work nicely in this blond. I like how the spicy phenolics from the yeast work together with the grassy and spicy hop tones. The slight astringency pulls down my points slightly.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is light and the carbonation level is high, giving a very sparkly mouthfeel. Suits the style and flavor profile well.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”Overall a well-made beer, that reminded me a bit of my own Belgian Blond I brewed slightly over a year ago. The style isn’t a favorite of mine, but this beer worked well. The ‘belgian’ tones were quite subtle in this, with the yeast and hops working together nicely. A slight astringency and some solvent-like/alcoholic tones took away a little from the drinkability. Otherwise a really nice beer!”]

Homebrew: Tasting a 15-month old Imperial IPA

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In June 2012 I brewed up an Imperial IPA that was loaded with 500 grams of hops in a 20 liter batch. I never made a ‘proper’ review or tasting notes of the beer, but published some short ones right after the beer was kegged and bottled. Overall I was quite happy with the beer, as it featured a strong bitterness, loads of hop aroma (especially when fresh), some nice resiny hop flavors, and a slightly sweet maltiness to balance it all up. The beer was a little grassy and ‘raw’ though, and when we are brewing an IIPA next week (recipe will follow soon), we will replace some of the hops with hop extract to hopefully reduce the amount of grassiness in the end product. Anyways, I found a couple of bottles of this homebrewed IIPA (at least I think it is, as the bottles have no labels or text, just a golden bottle cap) stored away in a closet (we are currently moving, and have been cleaning and packing up everything). I though it would be interesting to try how this one has held up. The general consensus is that IPAs should be drank fresh, and I mostly concur with this statement, however some of the sweeter IIPAs can get really nice with some age in my opinion. This doesn’t mean that I purposely age (I)IPAs, but if I find a bottle that has been forgotten in the fridge/closet for several months I still tend to enjoy them. Hop aroma, flavor and bitterness tend to fade with age, while malty sweetness tends to strengthen. This beer has been stored in quite poor conditions, as the temperature of our old apartment has been quite high (especially during the summers), so my expectations are not that high. Anyways, lets see how it tastes! Oh, and sorry about the picture below. Since we’ve just moved, I’m trying to find a new setting for taking beer pictures. The table and wall combination here results in pictures slightly red-tinted and almost with a desaturated look. Will have to experiment a little.

  • Brewery: Sly Cat Brewery
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Imperial India Pale Ale
  • ABV: 7.7 %
  • Size: 500 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

[easyreview title=”Sly Cat CatnIPA – Imperial IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a really murky orange-amber color, and a slight oily off-white head is formed that collapses rather quickly. The beer was crystal clear when I looked through the bottle when I found it in the closet, but 24 hours in the fridge resulted in lots of chill haze that didn’t have time to settle. Very heavily dry-hopped beers tend to have some dry-hop haze, so I guess it suits the style. It could look prettier though, but I’ve never cared that much about appearance. The appearance is similar to what I remember it fresh.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is fairly sweet, with quite a large malt presence (caramel). There are hop tones left though, despite the 15-month age, and they are mostly floral and perfumey, with some citrus and resin in the background. Quite a nice aroma actually, but it steers more towards the American Barleywine category than the Imperial IPA category. A lot of hop aroma has been lost, but was is left is still a nice combination of sweet caramel and floral hop tones. Reminds me of many IIPAs I’ve consumed ‘old’ (e.g. Port Brewings 3rd Anniversary Ale and Alesmith’s Yulesmith Summer).” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavour is similar to the aroma, with an initial impact of caramelly sweetness, quickly followed by a mellow resiny hoppiness. These combine quite well, and also give off a Barleywine vibe. The finish is semi-sweet, moderately bitter, and features some warming alcohol, which strengthen this impression. Overall the flavors are not bad, but quite different to when the beer was fresh. The beer has changed alot during 15 months, but change in this case isn’t bad, as the beer has turned into a nice Barleywine. The dank, earthy and fruity hop flavors have definitely mellowed, and left are only the resiny and floral tones (myrcene- and linalool-derived perhaps?). What really makes me happy is that there are no signs of infection or other off-flavors, suggesting that my sanitary practices are good. I really like this, but if I tasted this blind I wouldn’t guess it was an IIPA, rather a Barleywine or American Strong Ale.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium-full body and a medium-low carbonation level. Not a thrist-quencher for the heat, but really fits nicely as a slow-sipper a rainy autumn day like today.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”Overall, this beer has aged poorly as a IIPA, but quite nicely as an American Barleywine. The huge hoppiness that was present in the fresh beer has faded, but left is a nice caramelly maltiness together with a mellow floral and resiny hoppiness. We will be brewing a new IIPA next week, and this time I will tweak the recipe for a slightly drier finish. This time around I will try to drink them all while they are still fresh. “]

Kosoolan Panimo Iltakalja

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  • Brewery: Kosoolan Panimo
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Red Ale
  • ABV: 4.5 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

It has been way too long since I last reviewed a beer, so I thought I’d try a homebrew I received from Juhani in July. I’ve tried Juhani’s beers several times before and his beers have been really nice. He has tried some strange experiments before, but today’s beer should be a quite ‘traditional’ red ale. Iltakalja, which translates to Evening Beer, should be a perfect beer for a warm summer evening. I don’t have much information about it, but I know that the ABV is 4.5%, the calculated IBUs are 35, and if I remember correctly the beer is hopped with Willamette. The beer was brewed in the middle of May, so it should be at a very good age. I’ve used Willamette some times before, and I think it gives a very pleasant floral hop aroma. Let’s see how it goes in this beer!

[easyreview title=”Kosoolan Panimo Iltakalja” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a warm orange-amber color, and when held against the glass it shows some hints of red as well. Maybe a touch light for a red ale? But color is of course not important. A fluffy cream-colored head is formed during the pour as well. However, it collapses relatively quickly. Some patches of lacing are left along the glass and a thin foam layer remains upon the liquid. The beer is quite hazy, despite spending roughly 3 weeks in the fridge, so I suspect either chill haze or dry hop haze. Quite a typical ‘homebrew’ appearance.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is mostly hoppy, and the hop tones seem floral, grassy, spicy and almost soapy. The hop aroma is quite intense, so I assume the beer has been dry-hopped (which would explain the haze as well). The hop aroma is really pleasant, and a nice variety to all the beers hopped with citrus-like hops. Behind all the hop tones you can sense some malt and caramel, which complement the hop tones well. A really nice aroma, and no off-aromas at all.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The taste begins with a slight maltiness and a herby and earthy hoppiness, but the flavors seem to last for only a short time, as they quickly end in a dry and moderately bitter finish. The overall flavor is a little watery and there is a slight minerally aftertaste which gets me thinking of carbonated mineral water (are there any salt additions?). I guess the low ABV% and probably a quite low final gravity, have made this beer quite light and watery. I would have liked a slightly more complex maltiness and firmer body (maybe more speciality grains or a higher mash temp). You can tell that some of the nice hop tones from the aroma are present in the taste as well, but they are quite subdued and could have been slightly more present. I guess some kind of a neutral yeast strain was used for fermentation, as there are not much yeast-derived flavors present either. After the nice aroma the taste is a slight disappointment. No large off-flavors, but the taste is quite watery and the minerally finish is a little disturbing.” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a light body and a medium-high carbonation level, that together with the minerally finish give the beer a ‘harsh’ mouthfeel. Great as a thirst-quencher a warm summer day, but would have preferred a slight fuller body, as it would probably have benefited the taste as well.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”Overall, this was an okay beer, featuring a really nice aroma, but a slightly too light taste and body. I don’t know what the purpose of the beer was, but as a thirst-quencher for the summer this was really good. As a ‘drink with food’-beer or a ‘sipping’ beer, this could have used some more flavor and more complex malt backbone. The minerally finish was somewhat surprising, and I’m wondering if any brewing salts were used during brewing? If yes, then perhaps these could be decreased a bit. Thanks for the beer, am looking forward to trying the other two beers brewed by Juhani I have in the fridge!”]

Tasting the Amarillo Hefeweizen

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  • Brewery: Sly Cat Homebrewery
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Hefeweizen
  • ABV: 4.8 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

I’ve been really bad at reviewing beers lately, with my previous review dating back a couple of months, so I though I’d write up some tasting notes on the Amarillo Hefeweizen we brewed in April as our first batch in our new premises. The batch didn’t turn out exactly as we hoped for, which I’ll come to later, but it is a nice thirst-quencher for the summer. I like the combination of new world hops and Hefeweizen yeast, and am surprised that more breweries out there don’t make these kinds of beers. This beer has been one of the only successful batches thus far this spring/summer, as a thick burnt trub layer formed around our heating element in the brew kettle as a result of this batch (a lot of protein in wheat), and we only realized this after brewing three other batches, great. We performed a thorough clean-up a couple of weeks ago though, and I’m happy to say that is seems to have helped, since I tasted a small sample of the Simcade Pale Ale brewed two weeks ago in connection with adding the dry hops to it, and it tasted awesome! Anyways, back to the review! This was brewed with Wheat, Pilsner and Munich malt, hopped with Amarillo and fermented with WLP380.

[easyreview title=”Amarillo Hefeweizen” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a hazy golden-orange color, and a big fluffy white head is formed. The head collapses really quickly though, which is quite surprising, since there is a lot of wheat in the malt bill. I had the same problem the last time I tried to brew a Hefeweizen (the exact same malt bill), and am starting to wonder if the actual malt is to be blamed (I’ve used Viking Malt’s products). This time we used a 15 minute protein break in the beginning of the mash, and it doesn’t seemed to have helped (not sure if it has made matters worse). Otherwise, the appearance is quite typical for a Hefeweizen. Shame about the head though.” cat1rating=”3″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”I’m usually not a big fan of Hefeweizens, mostly because I don’t really like the banana-like aroma (caused by isoamyl acetate) that is usually present in them. The aroma of this beer however is quite nice, since the banana tones are not that pronounced, and instead there are some nice pineapple and orange (from the Amarillo hops) that dominate. The banana tones blend in nicely with the hoppy fruit tones, and the overall impression is really fruity (think Juicy Fruit). There are not many clove-tones (caused by 4-vinyl guaiacol), even though the WLP380 yeast strain is famous for them. There is a slight malty sweetness in the aroma as well, which adds to the fruity impression. Quite a nice aroma, but not exactly style-typical.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The initial flavours are malty, bready (sourdough bread), and somewhat sweet (some vague caramel tones). These flavours actually dominate, as the fruity tones from the aroma are much more subdued when the beer enters the mouth. There are still though some citrusy and pineapple-like hop tones hiding behind the malt, and the more I sip of this beer, the more they come forward. The finish is moderately bitter (slightly more than a typical Hefeweizen) and quite dry. There is a slight tartness in the flavor as well, and I’m not really sure where it is coming from. It has been here the whole time, and not become worse with aging, so I doubt it is a result of an infection. The flavours are not either very style-typical for a Hefeweizen, and overall they are a little on the light side. On the other hand, this makes it a really ‘easy’ beer and a great thirst-quencher. We fermented this beer quite cold (if I remember correctly around 16-17 C), which means the yeast produced less esters during fermentation, and the beer is cleaner than a typical Hefeweizen. For a summer beer this is great, for a fan of the style this is a bit watery.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a very light body and a moderate carbonation level. I’m very surprised that the body is so light, and I’m starting to suspect the protein break (during the protein break, wort proteins are hydrolyzed, resulting in less body-enhancing high molecular weight proteins in the beer). Probably won’t be using protein breaks again when I’m mashing, as single infusion mashes have served me good. The light body makes this beer very easy to drink though, and the fruity hops and the slight tartness make it refreshing. The overall impression though is a watery beer.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”Overall, I’m not really happy with this beer. The light body and flavours make this beer feel watery and very untypical for a Hefeweizen. The aroma is surprisingly nice though, and as a summer brew, it is very suitable. If I were to brew this again, I would get rid of the protein break during the mash, maybe add in some more specialty malts (maybe increase the munich or add melanoidin malt), and ferment with a slightly higher temperature to increase the esters and phenols. Don’t be afraid to try the combination of new world hops (e.g. Amarillo, Citra, or even Nelson Sauvin) and Hefeweizen yeast, because i though that was one of the most successful aspects of this brew!”]

Tasting From Seamless To Shameless 2

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  • Brewery: Sly Cat Homebrewery
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: American Pale Ale
  • ABV: 5.0 %
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

Yet another post for today (I should learn to spread the posts out over several days), and now it is time to taste the rebrew of From Seamless To Shameless I brewed for Team Seamless of Aalto’s PDP Course in the beginning of March. The beer has been well received, and compared to the first version, the second version is maybe slightly more bitter. I have one bottle left, so I thought I’d write up a review on it. The malt bill is simple, and consisted of Pale Ale, Vienna and Crystal malt. The beer was hopped with Simcoe and Cascade and IBUs should be around 30. The beer was fermented quite cool with US-05, so it should hopefully be quite clean. I kegged the beer together with a small amount of Simcoe and Cascade about a month ago, and transferred it to bottles about two weeks ago, so the beer should have had a little time to mature, but is still hopefully features some nice hop tones. Let’s see how it tastes!

[easyreview title=”From Seamless To Shameless 2″ cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a just slightly hazy amber-orange color. A compact white-colored head is formed and the structure of it seems fairly solid. The head collapses quite slowly and it leaves drapes of lacing along the glass. Not a bad appearance.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is quite hoppy, with citrusy and floral tones dominating. There is a slight underlying tropical fruitiness, that brings my thoughts to mango, which could be from the Simcoe dry-hop. The aroma is not all hops though, as there is a slight caramel- and honey-like maltiness hiding in the background. The aroma is not that potent, but that is not a bad thing in a easy-to-drink ‘beer for the public’ like this. No off-aromas or otherwise off-putting smells either. Quite promising!” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”As the beer enters the mouth you are first hit with a caramelly, honey- and biscuit-like maltiness that is reminiscent to what was found in the aroma, but the taste is much more potent. The malt tones work very well, and these are joined by a citrusy and floral hoppiness. You can tell that quite a lot of late hops have been used, as the hop flavor is really present. The finish is slightly bitter, much less so than I had expected, and quite dry. The lower bitterness is not a problem either, as the beer still feels well balanced, and this makes it more drinkable for the larger mass as well. If I would rebrew this solely for my own enjoyment, I would probably up the IBUs by around 10-20 (making it border on IPA territory) as I think it would complement the strong malt and hop flavors better. Still, this is a very tasty brew. When I tasted the beer is connection with bottling it had a slightly sharp/astringent bite, but that is all gone now, and I assume it resulted from over-carbonation in the keg (carbonic acid bite). Quite happy with this one. Not perfect, but really good.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and carbonation level. It is very easy to drink, and the citrusy hop flavors make it really refreshing.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”As I already mentioned, I’m quite happy with how this one turned out. Since it’s quite fresh still, there is a lot of nice hop aroma and flavor left. The bitterness was maybe slightly on the low side, and I think this same recipe would work very well for an APA/IPA hybrid with an IBU around 50. The malty and biscuity flavors were surprisingly strong in this one, despite the quite simple malt bill. I really like using a large fraction of Munich or Vienna malt in my recipes, as I think it brings quite nice tones to the flavor. Hope I can achieve something similar with the beer we’re brewing on Monday!”]

Tasting the Eubayanus Blond

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  • Brewery: Sly Cat Homebrewery
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Blonde Ale?
  • ABV: 4.5 %
  • Size: 500 ml
  • Bought from: –
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • Not on RateBeer

The beer I brewed with Saccharomyces eubaynus has now been in the keg and bottles (I managed to squeeze out three 500 ml bottles that didn’t fit in the keg) for 13 days, so I thought I’d pop one of the bottles for a quick taste. As far as I’m concerned, this is the first time the yeast has been used for (home)brewing beer (outside of research purposes), so it will be very interesting to see what kind of beer it produces. The attenuation was quite low (66%), so hopefully the beer isn’t grossly overcarbonated, as a result of further fermentation in the bottle. The beer appears to have dropped crystal clear, which is surprising, since the yeast showed really poor flocculation properties in the starter and fermentation vessel. Perhaps, similarly to Brettanomyces sp., the yeast flocculates as soon as it is subjected to pressure. Not really sure how to classify this beer (since S. eubayanus is neither an ale or lager yeast), but I guess this is something similar to an American Pale Ale, but without a large amount of late hops. Let’s see how it tastes! PS. Keep in mind that the beer has only been two weeks in the bottle, so the flavor profile will most likely change a bit in the upcoming weeks.

[easyreview title=”Eubayanus Blond” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”A reaffirming pop is heard as I open the cap of the bottle, and the beer pours into the glass with a slightly hazy golden-amber color. The yeast layer at the bottom of the bottle is very loose, and the amount of yeast in suspension rises quickly (quicker than usual) as the pour gets towards the latter half of the bottle. A minimal off-white head is formed, which collapses quite slowly. I’m suspecting that the carbonation level might be quite low. The beer leaves some traces of lacing along the glass as the surface level drops in the glass. Overall, not a bad appearance, but could use a bit larger and more retentive head and a slightly clearer look for my taste.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The first thing that comes to my mind when smelling the beer is a hoppy pilsner, and the aroma is quite ‘lager-like’ (I know, a poor description, but that was honestly what I first thought of as I took the first smell). The aroma is surprisingly clean (no hints of fruity esters, phenolics or funkiness), so the low fermentation temperature probably did its thing. The aroma features some sweet tones of caramel, biscuits and grainy maltiness, coupled with a grassy, citrusy and slightly resiny hoppiness. The overall aroma level is quite low. Not bad at all, and I’m actually looking forward to tasting this one.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”As the beer enters the mouth, you can directly tell that the attenuation level of the fermentation was quite low, as the flavor begins with a sweet biscuit-like maltiness. Even though the beer is quite sweet, I don’t think it’s too sweet. After the initial hit of maltiness, a citrus-like fruitiness joins in, which I assume is from the Simcoe hops. There is a definite hops presence, but it doesn’t take over the flavor, and lets the other components of the beer shine. The finish is also quite sweet and it features a clean, but firm, bitterness, that backs up the sweetness quite well. Glad I aimed for quite high IBUs, as with lower bitterness, this beer would probably have been cloyingly sweet. The beer has a slick mouthfeel and maybe some slight hints of butterscotch, so there may be some diacetyl present, but the levels are so low that I can barely tell if I’m imagining or if they are really present. The flavor is not bad at all, and in fact I quite enjoyed it, being an experimental beer. The sweetness was perhaps slightly too high, but not much to be done against that considering the yeast. It might also have been interesting to use some noble hops for this beer, as they might have worked better than Simcoe.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The mouthfeel is quite slick (feels slightly oily somehow, even though the hop levels are low), and the body is medium-full. The carbonation level is a bit too low, but that is something that either a couple more weeks in the bottle will help against or drinking from the keg.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised about how this one tasted. I had expected a funky and undrinkable mess, as this is basically a ‘wild yeast’, not adapted to brewing environments and purposes, but in fact, the beer tasted and smelled surprisingly clean. The malt and hoppiness really shined through, even though it wasn’t the purpose. The yeast performed well at low temperatures (fermentation fridge set at 12C), so the yeast most likely contributes the cold tolerance and performance to lager yeast. The residual extract level of the beer was quite high, even though I mashed at a very low mash temperatures in order to make the wort as fermentable as possible. The attenuation level of the yeast was only around 66%, so it left quite a bit of sugars left. Looking forward to using this yeast again, perhaps in a low alcohol beer (because of the poor attenuation). Will be interesting to see how this one develops with time.”]