Homebrew Tasting

Having gathered a few bottles of homebrew from the good people around Manchester I decided to have an evening dedicated to some of this beer. Wednesday seemed a good day for this, so last night I drank some homebrew and made some notes. Here are the results of that.

Trans-Tasman Pale Ale

53 IBU, 5.8%

@mpdutton

Having brewed a Trans-Tasman beer myself I was eager to try this offering from Matt. It poured nice and clear with no yeast in the bottle, I believe it was bottled from a keg.

First impression I got from the aroma was caramel, then some citrus hop wafted up my nose too.

When drinking I got a fairly thick malt flavour with more caramel coming through, then there was some grapefruit hop flavour joining it. The bitterness of the beer was good for my taste buds and sat on the tongue afterwards, especially at the sides. There was a touch of harshness to it which I have tasted before that could be from Galaxy.

Good beer. Personally I’d up the hop flavour but I do love me the flavour of hops – some say too much. Stories are told in hushed tones around a bonfire late at night…

Yellow Sky Light Citrus Blonde

4.2%

@9SquirrelsBrew

This beer, while bottle conditioned this time, was crystal clear as well. There was a slight head, which did its job nicely!

There was a citrus aroma on this beer too, this time with the added smell of sweets -specifically sherbert. Lovely.

The flavour was very clean.  There was gentle, smooth malt with a crisp, light citrus hop flavour. Chris wasn’t misrepresenting when he named this beer. The finish was good, clean, dry bitterness. It left me refreshed and wanting more. Very drinkable.

I do wonder what makes it a blonde rather than a pale ale!

ABC IPA

(Should be 65 IBU, 6.5% but it depends on the brewer)

@likethemurphys

This was Connor’s contribution to the ABC brewing we did a month or two back. It was interesting to try a proper glass of this as I only got a taster at the homebrew meeting where we tried these.

The colour of this beer was an excellent burnt orange with what can only be described as a craft haze. The head was up to snuff.

The aroma was mainly of pine with some oranges lurking in the shadows. Imagine an evergreen forest where the trees are gently cradling oranges in their boughs. You pick your way through the forest, breathing deeply to savour the fresh pine smell. Occasionally a tree throws an orange at you.

The flavour was thick and malty initially with a slight sweetness but soon the bitter hoppiness took over. The flavour is back to the evergreen, with a touch of dankness and a little marmalady orange supporting it. The hop presence was still pretty big, which is good with me! Yum.

Smashton’s Insult To History BIPA Mk1

64.5 IBU, 6.4%

@hopsinjoor

I opened this bottle to a loud hiss, which worried me. Luckily it only foamed slightly and so I managed to pour without getting the beer everywhere. It did have an impressive head on it though!

The aroma was spicy almost farmhouse, which I imagined would come from the new Experimental 366, with some fruit lurking behind it and a touch of roast.

The flavour was slightly chocolately, slightly malty sweet, quite bitter with an orange fruitiness, a hint of pine and, of course, the spice. The bitterness and spiciness gave it an almost liquorice tinge.

I liked this beer very much and it made me think, which is always dangerous. Firstly, are the chocolate and liquorice elements to the beer coming through more due to the colour? That can have an effect. Secondly, this crop of Experimetal 366 (now called Equinox I believe) could work well in a Saison. The spice from the hop should compliment the yeast – I might have to give this a try as the weather is warmer.

A good selection of beers that I enjoyed. There are some talented brewers around our way!