What are you drinking ?

[jt]

Ok, so What Are You Brewing was a hotty, as topics go.

Now I'm 15 pints into a keg I only filled on Tuesday and wondering if anyone else has a favourite at the moment ?

It's my second brown with US-Oh05 and it's better than the forst, maybe Ikept the temps down a bit during the scorcher we had in januray

[Martin Bridges]

OK, only homebrew, but it's good homebrew. Barry came round to further deplete my yeast stocks (to the wife's delight) so we had to sample the contents of the kegerator. Biere de Garde is nice and juicy, but still dry. Shakespeare Stout clone is starting to get nice and creamy to complement the roast and the bitterness. IIPA is now tending towards the ravaging bitterness end of the spectrum. Barry said nice things, he can come again.

And he also brought nice beer, which I'm drinking now - a perfect example of an American Brown. Hoppity hops all over the place. The sort of firm bitterness I like as well as excellent flavour and aroma. Excellently brewed sir.

[jt]

only homebrew, but it's good homebrew

That's what I've been drinking and a damned fine bunch of beers too, thanks to the North Welly tasting on Sunday

[Matthew]

Had Chris' stout the other night. Delightful.

[jt]

Yes, that was very smooth - the oat malt I presume

Been into the late hopped brown 1040 version, the keg that won't die - it's five pints past the expected end - looking forward to putting the hoppy mild on tap

Found a galbraiths munich lager in pak & sav petone this week, good beer I'm sure but not one I'd buy again (not that I buy much beer) rather brew a lager with a few more hops at the end - interested in any other opinions on galbraiths munich lager though, just to calibrate my opinion

cheers, jt

[Barry]

The lads going to Martins birthday drinks are in for a treat, his fridge is a delightful place right now. All the beers are in bloody marvellous nick, you're all just lucky they're not at my place because there wouldn't be any left.

[Reviled]

Had my first taste of my Amber IPA last night, been in the keg for a massive 2 days, all simcoe and columbus in the boil and it finished horrendously dry at 1008!!! Needless to say the hops zing and pop with a savage piny bitterness, not much malt character yet but a 2 finger head that lasts to the end of the glass which is good for the perceived mouthfeel.. Definately happy with it, couldve used some gypsum and the colour isnt as dark as I hoped but meh, its still a good beer...

[Stu McKinlay]

gypsum!? Not savage enough at 1.008?

[Reviled]

Define 'enough' Stu? lol, I just think that the hops would pop a little better, or be slightly crisper with a bit of gypsum.. Ask Haish, he had a glass last night

[Stu McKinlay]

Stanley Green on handpump at Bar Edward... stunning. Up there with the best Townshend beers I've tried on handpump this year.


Bar Edward are hosting a bit of an Invercargill 10-year Anniversary over the next few weeks. $6 pints of one of the beers from 5-8pm each night and they have pretty much every Invercargill beer in there, including Smokin' Bishop on tap. Last night they had Pitch Black and Stanley Green on pump. About 3 or 4 others on tap and a few different bottles too.

[Bambule]

Just enjoyed a pre-wedding snifter of Deschutes Black Butte XXI with the very generous Stu Mckinlay to the harmonious sounds of the children de/reconstructing the train set.

This is a very Phat beer. Thick and syrupy with coffee, chocolate beans with some subtle bourbon barrel character which is just as I like it. Will take some drinking but it's a task I think I will succeed at with no small success.

Couldn't think of a better way to cap off a great day in the Wairarapa sunshine. Cheers Stu!

[Reviled]

I forgot to post this the other day, but Haish came round last week and we tasted a few different beers, but what was IMO the most interesting was comparing our two cream ales, both fermented with WLP-080 Cream Ale Blend.

Mine had been in the keg for a solid 4 months, so alot of the sulpher from the yeast had disappeared, very big hop aroma even tho there were very small additions, the yeast really makes the hop character stick out alot more than say US-05

Now Haish's had been bottle conditioned, and what the yeast had managed to do in the bottle was amazing, it managed to turn itself from an ale, into a lager, (sort of) it had a good balance of sulpher and hop on the nose and had actually become extremely crisp like a lager as well! I was really surprised at the difference between the two beers!

Such an awesome yeast, I thouroughly reccomend it for some quick turn around summer brews :o)

[Stu McKinlay]

It's been a good week, even if a pretty quiet one by my standards.

PKB batches 1, 2 and 3. That first batch is stunning now... The styrians are shining. Second one superbly balanced. The third is dry and a hoppy bugger.

Invercargill Saison on tap @ Bar Edward (and a 330ml bottle at home). Fantastic. I love JP but I love this one more. It's beersonifies the idea of "craft". The only beers I've tried this good in the last year have been homebrews.

Rogue American Amber Ale - man I love that beer... If you love beer, and you love tea, you will really really love this. @ Hashigo now.

And I'm looking forward to the Thornbridge beers @ The Malthouse. It's nice living in the best beer city in NZ.



Oh yeh, and my FeijoAmber Ale... FAA out. Pulpy as, but a bit of fun. Got yourself a Best Bitter with a yeast that has done nothing for malt or hops? Add Feijoa pulp and hop that it settles low down below the dip tube.