Today I will be tasting and reviewing a trio of my homebrewing neighbor Juhani’s homebrews. The beers include his #24 Dubbel (with Orval dregs?), #28 ‘Ryssänpelko’ Imperial Stout and #42 Blonde Ale (brewed with yeast harvested from a bottle of Lente Blond). I’ll be starting with the latest, #42 Blonde Ale, moving on to #24 Dubbel, and finishing off with #28 Imperial Stout. This should be interesting!
- Brewery: Juhani’s homebrewery
- Country: Finland
- Style: Belgian Ale
- ABV: 4.7%
- Size: 330 ml
- Bought from: Gift
- Not on Beer Advocate
- Not on RateBeer
This should be a Belgian-style blonde ale, and it has been brewed with a tin of Coopers Lager extract (1,7 kg), 700 g Brewferm light DME and 300 g sucrose (20 l batch, OG 1,044, FG 1,008, ABV 4.7%). It has been hopped with Styrian Goldings, and the yeast (as I already mentioned) has been harvested from a bottle of Lente Blond. Let’s see what it tastes like!
[easyreview title=”Juhani’s #42 Blonde Ale” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a brilliantly clear golden color, and a large fluffy white head, that collapses quite slowly. Nice appearance! The second pour was hazier, as I poured in some yeast as well.” cat1rating=”4.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is spicy, phenolic, yeasty and has slight fruit notes as well. The aroma reminded me quite a bit of the Tripel I brewed last December. No off-aromas, and it would be hard to tell this is a homebrew from the aroma alone. Typical Belgian-like aroma, difficult to give any tips for improvement. As the beer warms up you can pick up some alcohol notes as well despite the low ABV.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a slightly honey-like, almost sweet, maltiness, and also features many of the tones present in the aroma. There are spicy and phenolic yeast tones (reminding me of coriander), together with a slightly citrusy and grassy hoppiness. The finish is quite dry and has a subtle bitterness. The flavors are quite well balanced, but the spicy yeastiness is definitely in the center. With the second pour they become even more evident.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium-light body with a medium-high carbonation level. Quite refreshing and definitely a nice beer for the summer!” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”Overall a really nice Belgian-style blonde ale, that is both refreshing and tasty. Can’t find many faults in this, just some slight alcohol notes in the aroma, which are acceptable for the style. This is gonna be a good beer for the summer! Good job!”]
- Brewery: Juhani’s homebrewery
- Country: Finland
- Style: Abbey Dubbel
- ABV: ?
- Size: 330 ml
- Bought from: Gift
- Not on Beer Advocate
- Not on RateBeer
Next up is the Dubbel. I unfortunately have no information about this brew, but if I remember correctly Juhani added some Orval dregs to this batch, so it should contain some Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Should be interesting, since I haven’t had many Brett beers before!
[easyreview title=”Juhani’s #24 Dubbel” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a slightly hazy dark amber color, and a cream-colored head that quickly collapses.” cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is a lot subtler than the last beer, with much less phenolic yeast, and more tones of dark fruits and red berries. There is a strange off-aroma as well that I have noticed in some of Juhani’s beers before, reminding me a bit of plastic.” cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a sweet maltiness, drawing to tones of dark fruits, red berries and raisins, but it is quickly taken over by a plastic-like (maybe even burnt) flavor that could be detected in the aroma as well. Not sure what the origin of this off-flavor is, but have tasted it in some of his earlier beers before, but beers from his latest batches have been free from it.” cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”A medium body and carbonation level, with a slightly acidic/astringent bite.” summary=”Unfortunately it seems as if there was something wrong with this beer, as the plastic-like aroma and flavor made it impossible for me to finish the bottle. If it is from an infection via contaminated gear, Juhani has hopefully been able to get rid of it, as I haven’t tasted it in his recent batches.”]
- Brewery: Juhani’s homebrewery
- Country: Finland
- Style: Imperial Stout
- ABV: 9.5%
- Size: 330 ml
- Bought from: Gift
- Not on Beer Advocate
- Not on RateBeer
The last beer of the night is the Imperial Stout. I have limited information on this brew as well, but it has been fermented with Westmalle yeast (harvested from a bottle?), aroma-hopped with Amarillo, and it should have an IBU around 90 and an EBC of around 115. I think it contains malt extracts, but am not fully certain.
[easyreview title=”Juhani’s #28 Ryssänpelko Imperial Stout” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours pitch-black with a compact tan-colored head that collapses quite slowly.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is dominated by tones of roasted malt, coffee, vanilla, coffee, and caramel. I couldn’t really detect anything from the Belgian yeast in the aroma. There is some alcohol in the aroma as well.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with roasted flavors drawing from roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate and ash. The flavors are then coupled with some caramel and vanilla. The finish is sweet and quite bitter. The bitterness is smooth and I wish it was a bit more pronounced, even though it apparently should be around 90. The flavors are quite balanced, but the roastiness is definitely in the center. Really nice! Only complaints are that the roastiness is just slightly astringent, and it seems just slightly one-dimensional.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a full body and medium carbonation level. This is definitely a slow-sipper. The astringency draws away some points.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”Overall a really nice Imperial Stout, and the flavors are definitely down my alley with the roasty coffee-like tones. Liked this a lot more than the last Imperial Stout I tasted from Juhani, and this was my favorite of the trio. The beer was missing some complexity, and was a little astringent, but otherwise not much I would change. Maybe raise the bitterness just a bit? Otherwise, a great beer!”]
Thanks Juhani for the beer!