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

[Reviled]

Just had a lagunitas (or however its spelt) IPA at Martins place, a bit past its best but really nice balance and just a touch too much caramel flavour but all in all quite tasty!!

The grand daddy of the night tho was his Anniversary day porter mk II, absolutely delicous and perfect for a robust porter IMO!! This awesome sweet liquid chocolate up front which is balanced out by the perfect amount of roast, evolving into a dry lingering bitterness! absolutely awesome! The drive home had my taste buds reminiscing :o)

[Martin Bridges]

Aww thanks man. I am loving that beer through the handpump, shame there's not a lot left.

Thanks for the sample of your,, er, whatever style it is. Some interesting characters in there!

[Soren]

Weekend drinking:
His Majesty: I had a little taste of this at Beervana and I remember it being an american style IPA with distinct NZ hops, rather dry and very hop focussed. This one however, was much more english, malty, estery and had a slight diacetyl too it, still hoppy too. It was deliscious but quite different from what I remember... I'm thinking maybe I got poured the wrong one at Beervana but who cares... Thumbs up Yeastie boys, love the packaging too, you should have entered it in the packaging award!:)

Arrogant bastard: Good, but not as good as I remember it from the states. A bit musty and travelled. Not nearly as arrogant in today's beer market as it would have been when first released I think. It's funny how beer evolves, in another 10 years time arrogant bastard may become a beer for sissies!

Oyster Stout: awesome as always. hope emerson's are gonna bottle the southern clam at some point so I can do a side by side tasting. from memory I'd say I prefer Oyster, its bigger and bolder.

Emerson's Weizenbock. Yeah baby! nuf said!

[Stu McKinlay]

I doubt you were poured the wrong one as the only other "pale ales" there were Founder's Fair Maiden and Pink Elephant Golden Tusk. Only other pale hoppy beer was Biman? It was probably just fizzier, colder, fresher... I wouldn't really call it estery - it's using the white labs euro ale yeast, which is clean as a (unused)whistle. Perhaps you got poured the wrong one this time ;-)

Thanks for the thumbs for the beer and the packaging Soren - though, as for the award, I don't think we would have stood a chance against "Mike's" - they have their new brand as well as those nifty bar top keg dispensers. Well and truly setting the standard.


As for what I'm drinking (at Hashigo Zake for a meeting yesterday afternoon):
Yeastie Boys Plan K - so much different from the Malthouse, no better or worse just much fruitier. I love how the beers taste different at different places.
Renaissance Elemental - so much chocolate... I'm not sure I've tasted this on tap for a while, it almost tastes like a different beer from what I remember. Less hop, more malt, way more chocolate (is there any black or roast in there?).
Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale - (Baird ABBA? jeepers!) YUM! This is along the lines of what I was originally shooting for with PKB, before I took a wrong turn and got sidetracked. Makes me wanna retrace my steps and check out that avenue. It's far from angry though, Smooth Mutha Brown ale would be more apt.

[Soren]

no, there is no black or roast in elemental. you're not alone though, that was also one of the main comments from the judges at BrewNZ:)

[denimglen]

Did there used to be? I'm sure the first time I had it a couple of years ago I remember it having a big acrid black malt character,

[Stu McKinlay]

Exactly what I thought.
First it was intensely acrid and too dry.
Then it went through this magnificent stage about a year ago where it had pretty overt hop character too. I remeber calling it PKB's fun uncle at the time.
Still a really nice beer, and very well made, but not one I'd drink a lot of relative to the old one (chocolate malt is not my thing, even though everyone else seems to lov it - love The Craftsman though... more to come in that 'different sort of choclate' department).

[Soren]

no, as far as I know it never did. Andy is very particular that anything with black or roast is not a porter, it's a stout, so I don't think he would have used it. if it's acrid I think it's from the brown malt. I don't usually get that though but I drink it fresh out of the conditioning tank... it is real hoppy when young.

[Reviled]

Do they get the colour from a shitload of brown malt then?? Interesting, a porter without roast or black malt.. I thought the black patent was a porter malt tho?

[Stu McKinlay]

Don't forget chocolate malt or the carafas.

I'm not really down with the idea that it is what you put into a beer that makes it what it is - it is what the drinker gets out of the beer.

However the research crew at BJCP have something to say on it:
Brown Porter
May contain several malts, including chocolate and/or other dark roasted malts and caramel-type malts.
Robust Porter
May contain several malts, prominently dark roasted malts and grains, which often include black patent malt (chocolate malt and/or roasted barley may also be used in some versions).

[Reviled]

I thought chocolate was roasted? Is it not? Just kilned heavily?

[Stu McKinlay]

I was assuming Soren meant no black malt or roast barley.