CS4 - Fluglebinder

[Barry]

A dark-ish New Zealand hopped bitter

3.0kg Maris Otter
400gm Munich
200gm Dark Crystal
50gm cara-aroma

30gm NZ Styrians @ 60'
10gm EKG, 5gm Pacifica @15'
10gm EKG, 5gm Pacifica @3'

S04

OG 1.036
FG 1.011

I'll let you all know what the intent of the beer was after I get some feedback (don't want to sway any valuable opinion).

BOTTLED FROM THE KEG! Should be sans sediment.

Enjoy, cheers!

[Mike Neilson]

Was the intent Rasins or Prunes? Man cause thats what im getting, also light fruityness with a ekg floral twang maybee its the pacifica? dont know as I havnt used that hop in some time. raisans rasins and prunes, prunes raisans and rasins following Stus Addition from last cast swap heres my music to it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZe9OtFNt_8

[Mike Neilson]

Shit Just presumed yours was the Blue X bottle?

[Barry]

Yep, that's the one. Blue X.
Prunes you say. Cara-aroma. Blame Reviled :)
The twang is EKG. Ashamedly cheesy EKG by way of Craftbrewer.

[Mike Neilson]

Im not getting to much cheese if any but prunes and cheese go together pretty well!! Man its all Prunes and raisis for me I look left I see Prunes I look right I see Raisins!! Awsome!! I hope someone else gets this like I do.

[Stu McKinlay]

Shit... I thought it was going to be a link to "stuck in the middle with prUnes"

[Dale Cooper]

I had this with a friend, I get the feeling he didn't really expect this sort of beer. I thought it was very moreish the first taste after JP's Pils I thought it a little lacking but every sip I had made after that had me wanting it more and more. It is a moreish .Beer! The opposite of my beer which makes you want less and less.

[Haish]

Tried this beer tonight. Pours a nice bright copper with minimal head. Low carbonation, just how I like my bitters. I also pick up a noticeable prune and raisin toffee aroma, I've never used cara-aroma or that much dark crystal so can't pinpoint where the character is coming from. Restrained EKG hop aroma, no cheese.

Nicely balanced bitterness with a pleasant background fruity hop flavour. Rich malt character, toffee without being cloying. Very drinkable, congratulations!! I could drink a fair bit of this on a hot summers day.

If I had a criticism it would be that it seemed to be lacking a bit of body, but that's being picky.

[Reviled]

I definately got raisins, hints of prunes and an underlying earthy slightly spicyness... Very well balanced beer, nice and drinkable, poured with a 2 finger head with awesome retention, beautifully bright, great lacing on the glass... And S-04?? WTF??? If I got results like this with that yeast I wouldnt bag on it all the time, but it seems you are the S-04 guru Barry :oP

Man, what can I say? other than you NEED a handpump ;o) Theres my advice! haha

Also - no cheese?

[Ally Mcg]

Pours amber golden, or golden amber - couldn't decide. Nice looking tho - nice clarity, with a quickly vanishing large bubbled head. Typical ESB nose, whatever that is, cloves and quince i picked up. Soft bready notes.

Taste is quite different to what I'd expected, given the colour and aroma -quite soft and sweet with some gentle fruity notes, maybe raisins i thought. Very light with a faint tartness in the finish. Very nice all round, soft and easy drinking for a Sunday night. Cheers

[Stu McKinlay]

I drunk this 'cool' while brewing on Saturday. Pretty clear (though there was a still a fair bit of sediment in my bottle, despite the keg fill - I consider it a nice shot of health tonic). Very clean on the nose, with a hint of "German" hop... like an ale fermented with lager yeast... caramel, mildly fruity, the slightest tart note... reminds me of an NZ draught on the nose. Loads of character in the mouth and doesn't feel thin at all for a beer that I see is around 3.3%. Very sessionable, in a kiwi way, though I'd prefer a little more mouthfeel and slightly richer crystal malt character (or a little more fruit in the hop flavour, if it is brewed in this pale style). If I was going to brew this I'd drop the Munich completely and up crystal a shade, switch Pacifica to Motueka. Quaffable, without doubt.

The Good
Very kiwi.

The Bad
The word "Draught" keeps popping into my head.

The Ugly
I've seen so many beers with similar characters to this (from the NZ 'regional' breweries) get slated in beer competitions when entered as NZ Draughts - the comments are always one or more of the following: too estery, too much malt character, too much hop... ha ha!

Character match
Well, considering I'd rather see this kind of drink in crate bottles, it had to be this fella.

[Barry]

Great feedback, cheers Stu.
Just rebrewed, before seeing that post, but I think we're thinking along the same lines. I kept the Pacifica but dropped the EKG and added a touch of Riwaka (no Motueka in my freezer) at the end.

[James P]

After a bitch of a week at work cracked open your bottle tonight Baz.

Nice aroma from the bottle, little to no carbonation and a rich golden colour. Can't say I picked raisins, but maybe a little prune juice which I had to go and smell prunes to make sure! After a hard pour it gives a small head which disappears reasonably quickly. Light to medium mouth. I get a little bready flavour with maybe berries, slightly tart berries and citrus a little like marmalade. This is more prominent as it warms up.

Seems very warming for a 3~% beer, but I could definitely crack another as its an very easy drinker for me! I enjoying it as to me it has a bit of depth to it, a nice subtle flavour and a "take another sip" sultry appeal.

Cheers!