Carnegie and Co. Stark Porter - Tasting Notes

My first attempt at a Porter is now three months old and ready to be drunk. I chose an unassuming recipe for my first attempt and am now thinking it might be difficult letting it sit for an extra three months at which point the flavours are meant to peak.

Method: Extract

Specialty grains: Dark Crystal malt, Chocolate malt and black malt.

Hops: Northern Brewer (bittering), Styrian Goldings (flavour and aroma) 

Yeast: Irish Ale (liquid)

ABV: 5.5% (the recipe suggests 5.5%).

Yield: 23 litres

This pours with a cracking cream coloured head as you can see (possibly it's a  little too carbonated, but that doesn't appear to be a problem so far) and when you take a sip, you are presented with a very smooth bodied beer that has slight bitter notes on the back palate. Clear coffee notes are present up front and possible biscuit flavours hide in the back. It laces well, from start to finish, and that is where you find your first problem. It finishes altogether too quickly and you find yourself cursing that you didn't put more in the fridge.

Williams Brothers Scottish Midnight Sun Dark Porter Ale

Recently, the small group of chaps who have join in on my quest to taste as much craft beer as possible have been becoming obsessed by Porters and Stouts. Occasionally Dark Ales feature, but these are often disappointing. So far, on the top of our list has been Murray's Dark Knight Porter, and Holgate's Chocolate Temptress. 

The other day I grabbed a porter from Williams Brothers; the Scottish Midnight Sun. This inky black ale pours with a light brown/cream head that laces nicely throughout the drink. It's robust body slides smoothly down your throat and on the way, you are presented with heavy chocolate syrup flavours that pass all too quickly.

This is an exceptional porter that is definitely moreish, and at $8.50 AUD for a 500ml bottle, it's actually decently priced considering it's import and craft beer status. I would recommend this to anyone who says they don't like beer, and to anyone who says they do - it's an all round appeaser.

5 / 5 Coasters

Incidentally, there really is nothing that distinguishes between a Porter and a Stout apart from those styles that include special ingredients (like an Out Stout or Oyster Stout). They are essentially the same, although traditionally, the Stout had a higher alcohol content.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Ale, Prohibition Speakeasy beer & Anchor Summer beer

A certain fish was kind enough to bring a sample selection of beers when she returned to Oz from her USA holiday so I thought I would quickly review the ones I have tasted so far on this blog. Whilst this is a small sample - it definitely illustrates how craft beer is being dominated by the American microbreweries. All of these are sterling tipples, and whilst I feel that Australia's craft brewing scene is producing some top shelf beers (like Murray's Brewing and Holgate), I think we have a way to go to catch up with the sheer breadth of quality offerings America has.

Little Sumpin' is a very surprising beer. I hadn't heard of this little microbrewery out of Petaluma, California before and so I had no idea what to expect. It's a whopping 7.5% ABV and is 64.2 IBU, something that you usually only find when you stray into the India Pale Ale styles. What makes this even more surprising is that it's a 'Wheat-esque beer' which appears to mean they boost the body and mouth feel with the addition of wheat malt to the standard base Pale malts. As you can see, it pours a wonderful clear golden beer with a stark white frothy head that hangs around for the entire beer. Hop aromas are instantly detectable and the healthy body is just packed to the brim with hop bitterness (though not overpowering) and the passionfruit and summer fruit cocktail flavours I've come to associate with Galaxy hops. This beer finished far too quickly and I found myself craving more. It's a shame it cannot be bought in Australia yet - we really are missing out on something wonderful.

4.5 / 5 coasters

Prohibition speakeasy beer is an American Amber Ale brewed by a San Francisco Brewery that claims links to the original breweries from the Bay area. It's a hefty 6.1% ABV that pours with an off-white head that dissipates fairly quickly. The caramel sweetness of the malts are very prominent in the beer as are the fruit flavours and bitterness from the hops, which strangely make an odd combination. I feel that a lower ABV would allow the hops to take centre stage and prevent this odd dichotomy of sweetness and bitterness in the one glass. It's a nice beer, but I feel that compared with the others, it doesn't quite stack up in the quality stakes. A lingering finish that is light on bitterness rounds off the palate. It's nice, but doesn't have me wishing for more.

3.5 / 5 coasters

Anchor Summer beer is a lightly hopped wheat beer brewed out of the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco.

The Anchor Brewery has been brewing since 1896, and they are famous for their Steam Beer, a lager brewed at higher than normal temperature and characterised by a higher carbonation level.

The Summer beer is 50% wheat malt, fermented with ale yeast, and is filtered to give a clean and crisp beverage that is anything but usual. Missing are those common vanilla, banana or clove notes that one gets with traditional wheat beer. Instead we have light fruit flavours from the Golding and Glacier hops poking through a light-bodied straw-coloured beer that sits under a persistent white frothy head. It has an almost bready/biscuit like palate that finishes quickly and cleanly. It is definitely a quaffer, and could handle being downed by the pint on a hot summers afternoon accompanied by a spicy lamb burger with sweet potato wedges.

4 / 5 coasters

Victory Hop Devil Indian Pale Ale

The Victory Hop Devil IPA is a heavily-hopped American style Indian Pale Ale. It is described as having a dried fruit, roast grains and hoppy nose, with a dry and hoppy palate. It is guaranteed my wife will hate this.

The Boil

Gravity: Original Gravity: 1.065 (target 1.076) Final Gravity: 1.010 (target 1.018) ABV: 7.7% (target 6.3%)

Yield: 11.5 litres
Brew method: All-grain with US batch sparging.

Notes: I only managed to get 12 bottles out of this batch. I understand where I went wrong; foolishly, I assumed my water requirements would be the same as the previous batch without recalculating. The result was I didn't have enough. I also need to factor in more liquid for that lost during dry-hopping. We live and learn!

Fat Angel - Tasting Notes

Method: Extract
Specialty grains: US crystal malt, German dark Munich malt.
Hops: Chinook (bittering), Styrian Goldings (flavour, aroma, and dry hop) 
Yeast: Irish Ale (liquid)

ABV: 5.5% (the recipe suggests 4.8%).
Yield: 23 litres


Tasting notes: As you can see, it pours a lovely amber colour with an off-white frothy head. Basically, until I start all-grain brewing, everything is going to be a lovely amber colour.You get a fresh hit of hops on pouring, with hints of melon. On drinking you can taste the sweet malt with slight hints of caramel. The medium body carries the bitterness of the hops which lingers slightly on the palate. I don't mind this - it's quite nice. I may make this one again with an all-grain brew to see the difference that makes.

Jaggery Pale Ale

It's time to start experimenting! 


My new resolution is to move away from extract brewing, and to start brewing smaller batches of all grain beer. By brewing in smaller batches (11.4 litres which gives me 15 bottles) I can experiment more and have a higher turn over, hopefully developing a better sense for making beer.


This Jaggery Pale Ale is a recipe found in Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing which adds a twist to a classic pale ale recipe with the addition of jaggery and fenugreek.


Turns out, jaggery sugar, adds a maple flavour to the beer while the fenugreek enhances those tones in the final beer. It also has a lot of hops - 65g of East Kent Goldings in the flavouring boil which is approximately three times as much as I add to a brew twice the size. It will be interesting to see what it turns out like - I figure this would be a nice beer to accompany a curry!

Gravity: Original Gravity: 1.064 (target 1.076) Final Gravity: 1.010 ABV: 7.5% (target 6.5 - 7.3%)
Yield: 12 litres
Brew method: All-grain with US batch sparging.

Notes: Once again, my original gravity is off by almost ten points, which makes me think that possible my mash tun efficiency is quite low. The odd thing, is that I always seem to hit the ABV after fermentation. Go figure.

Long Trail Ale

We've got an all day poker match in a couple of months so I wanted a beer that would be easy drinking and in some way, remotely match the theme. I would have preferred a lager, but it's really the wrong time of year for them, and I have no way of lagering so I settled on the recipe for Long Trail Ale. 


It's a northern German alt-bier, and a motivating factor was the California ale yeast it uses. I've been wanting to make a few recipes that utilise that yeast, so I can reclaim some at the end to reuse.


It uses 4 different hops, and a touch of Wheat DME along with British Crystal malt as the specialty grain.

Frothy!

Gravity: Original Gravity: 1.046 (target 1.047-1.048) Final Gravity: 1.016 (target 1.011-1.012) ABV: 4.4% (target 4.6%)

Yield: 23 litres

Brew method: Extract with US batch sparging for the specialty grain.

Notes: It hasn't reached the recommended final gravity which, after reading a few books, I'm thinking might be down to the makeup of the DME that I'm using. A quick taste before bottling reveals a full mouth feel, almost oily, and a quick bitter finish. I think this will be a good session ale for the Poker match.

Shakemantle Ginger Ale

I like the idea of Ginger Beer, but I wouldn't want to brew a whole batch as I find them a bit too sweet after the first glass. This recipe is for a Wheat Beer, lightly hopped and flavoured with fresh grated ginger.

I decided to amend the recipe a little to make it a single hop beer (Fuggles all the way) as I'm entertaining the idea of taking it along to my first BrewShare at the Local Taphouse in May (the theme being single hop).

It's a simple recipe - possibly the simplest I've made so far as there are no specialty grains - just Wheat DME, Fuggles and grated ginger. I'm very interested to see how it turns out.

Fuggles.
I also find an IPA helps the process

Grated ginger

Gravity: ABV target 5.0%

Yield: 23 litres

Brew method: Extract 

Notes: This beer gets dry hopped with more fresh grated ginger, so I'm expecting it to a full fresh ginger aroma and taste.

Carnegie and Co. Stark Porter - Brewing Notes

I have never brewed a porter, or any type of stout before so I thought I would choose something  unambitious for my first one.

D. Carnegie and Co. Stark Porter is a, full-flavoured beer with plenty of roasted malt, toffee, chocolate and coffee flavours with a dry finish (according to the write up). It's brewed in Stockholm, Sweden and as such, should be a great beer for enjoying during the colder months. The simple list of ingredients and means I'm not too concerned if this goes horribly awry - something I wouldn't be happy about if I was brewing an Imperial Stout where the high starting gravity would require a considerably higher expense in grain or dried malt extract.


This baby should be ready for drinking in May, 3 months after pitching the yeast.

The beautifully black, inky, wort; a combination of chocolate, dark and black malts.

Gravity: 1.058 (Target 1.057). FG 1.020 (target 1.014) ABV 5.5% (target 5.5%)

Yield: 23 litres (target 23 litres)

Brew method: Extract with US batch sparging for the specialty grain.

Notes: The dark crystal, chocolate and black malt produce a beautiful black coffee colour which, because of the darkness, means I will get a better approximation of the correct colour for the beer. Most of my beers have the same colour profile because the local homebrew shop only stocks one variety of dried malt extract, so I am unable to get the lighter colours for my pale ales and lagers.


*edit* I haven't managed to hit my final gravity which a little disappointing. I'm not sure as to the cause of this - possibly the yeast was at the end of it's life. The brewing calculator still thinks I've managed to hit my target ABV so there is a plus. I'm wondering whether this will make this porter taste a little sweeter than it should. Who knows - I'll have to wait until mid-may before I'll know.

The Brewer's Assistant, showcasing the German Northern Brewer hops used for bittering

Hottest 100 Beers of 2011

The Local TapHouse have revealed the Hottest 100 Beers of 2011, as voted by the dedicated drinkers.

Stone & Wood came in top place with their Pacific Ale - a wonderful beer that uses the new varietal Galaxy hops, to impart passion fruit and citrus flavours to a beer that encapsulates Australia by the sea during summer.

I was happy to see some of my favourites feature in the list with Hop Hog sitting at number 3, Murray's Icon 2IPA at number 12 and Matilda Bay's Alpha Pale Ale scrapping in at 93. I am disappointed that my favourite of 2011, the Two Metre Tall Forester Ale didn't even get a look in, but I imagine that would be remedied by more aggressive marketing by the company, or even just wider distribution. It's a beer that certainly deserves a bigger audience than it currently gets.

So that is it for 2011. This year, we have the best of American Brewers on Tap to look forward to at the Local Taphouse in February, and the amazing SpecTAPular in May. I can't wait.

Magic Hat: Fat Angel

Magic Hat is a small brewery out of South Burlington in Vermont, U.S.A. While we were living in New York we found that there were very few palatable beers on tap, Magic Hat and Blue Moon being the two staples that we turned to. Many an evening was rescued by the appearance of the 'Magic Hat' above the bar tap and so this a homage to that upstanding brewery that made the bars of New York bearable.

Fat Angel is no longer produced by Magic Hat, however, it was the standard beer on tap so I have a fair idea how it should turn out. It's an American Pale Ale which takes crystal and Munich malts for the colour and flavour, and Styrian Goldings for the flavour and aroma. This beer is also dry-hopped, so I'm expecting a very tasty and citrusy beer by the end of it.

Gravity: 1.054 (Target 1.050). FG 1.016 (target 1.012) ABV 5.5% (target 4.8%)

Yield: 23 litres (target 23 litres)

Brew method: Extract with US batch sparging for the specialty grain.

Notes: I've upped the quantities so that I may get a full 23 litre batch out of the brew. So far, the recipe appears to have scaled well.

McNeill's Firehouse Amber Ale - Tasting Notes

Method: Extract

Specialty grains: US crystal malt.

Hops: East Kent Goldings (bittering, flavour and aroma) and Cascade (dry hop)

Yeast: Irish Ale (liquid)

ABV: 5.3% (the recipe suggests 5.1%).

Yield: 19 litres

Tasting notes: Only 4 weeks in the bottle and it's ready for imbibing, pouring a wonderfully rich amber coloured body with an exaggerated stark white frothy head.

You are instantly hit with the lovely Cascade hop aroma and the cloudy body tastes very smooth as it glides down your throat. For a dry-hopped beer, there is very little lingering bitterness, allowing the full malt flavour and hop fruits to caress your palate. It's a well balanced beer and makes for a refreshing drink with a quick finish. I'm very happy with the outcome of this beer - this is one that is going to get repeated brews!

HobGoblin Extra Strong Ale - Tasting notes

I thought this day would never come! Whilst the rest of the calendar appears to disappear in the blink of an eye, the days before I can taste a new brew seem to drag infernally. So, it was with much excitement that I cracked the lid on a bottle of HobGoblin Extra Strong Ale, 4 weeks after sealing this magnificent beer away.

Method: All-grain

Specialty grains: British crystal malt, British chocolate malt, British black patent malt.

Hops: Fuggles (bittering), Styrian Goldings (flavour and aroma).

Yeast: Irish Ale (liquid)

Comments: As another all-grain brew, I found my initial gravity to be lower than expected, but surprisingly, it fermented out until I had achieved the required ABV.

ABV: 5.7% (the recipe suggests 5.5%).

Yield: 19 litres

Tasting notes: This was ready to drink after 4 weeks and pours with a quickly dissipating white head over a cloudy, dark orange body. The weak head isn't a problem as carbonation appears to be fine and allows the other flavours to take centre stage.

The roasted malts and yeast make up the bouquet; slightly spicy with light citrus notes.  The low bitterness caresses the mouth, giving just enough character to accompany the full mouth feel that finishes with a roast malt spiciness. The word cinnamon keeps springing to mind when I drink this beer, but I know that is incorrect. Possibly those of you have have a better tasting lexicon can help me out here?

What I learnt: Trying to describe beers is a difficult thing - just like wine, there is a range of expressions and description which are apt, but I constantly struggle to get past "it's just a really good beer".

Lucknow IPA - Tasting notes

Method: Extract

Specialty grains: US crystal malt, German dark crystal malt.

Hops: Cascade (bittering), Cascade and Chinook (flavour), Cascade (aroma and dry hop).

Yeast: London Ale (liquid)

Comments: This was my first dry-hopped beer, and I was worried, after discussion with the brewer, that I hadn't taken care to avoid oxygen getting into the brew. Tasting has allayed fears of oxidisation and I am definitely more careful when I dry hop now.

ABV: unknown (the recipe suggests 5.5%).

Yield: 19 litres

Tasting notes: This was ready to drink after 4 weeks and pours with a healthy, frothy head over a  cloudy, dark-straw coloured body.

It initially tastes of fruit, but this is closely followed by the cascade hop flavours that impart a peppery, piney bitterness. It tastes complex and whilst you would assume that it may be 'too hoppy', it appears to be well balanced - challenging but not overtly so. It has a chewy body texture and the typical lingering bitterness, but this is enjoyable and pleasant. 

I'm very happy with how this has turned out and will most likely try another batch of this in the future.

What I learnt: I love dry hopped beers! My goal is to create a beer that is complex enough to enjoy just one of slowly, and this fits the bill nicely.

The Two Metre Tall Company

The Two Metre Tall Company are the sort of people you want to be making beer. They use their own locally grown products from their 600 ha property in the Derwent Valley, supplemented with other locally produced products from around Tasmania. Priding themselves on naturally grown ingredients, they use their own malt, hops, apples and pears in the brewing of 4 ales and 2 ciders. We were fortunate enough to get hold of three of their ales; the Derwent Real Ale, the Forester Real Ale and the Huon Dark Apple Ale.

I haven't tasted such well brewed beers, made from quite obviously fresh ingredients, and with all the love that a homebrewer goes through in production of a beer in quite some time. These are beers worthy to be proud of, and each is bottle conditioned, adding natural variation and a softer carbonation to the enjoyment. If I had my way, this is how all commercial beer should be produced.

The Forester Ale instantly conjures that immortal line from the Simpson's; "there is a party in my mouth and everyone's invited".
I find it difficult to write a review that does this beer justice. It was so good, I was planning to cultivate yeast from the bottle so I could try to replicate it back home (Two Metre Tall Ales being unavailable in Sydney). It's 5.3% and is made as a true British Pale Ale with a dark amber body under an off-white head. The bottle conditioning means softer carbonation which to me makes this more drinkable than your average beer.
They use Australian sourced Pride of Ringwood and Hallertau hops with Vienna,  Pale, and Crystal malts. It's well balanced for a crisp finish chased by a slight smokiness. It's unassuming yet all the while boasting a lovely medium sweet malt body with enough hop flavour to keep a decent bitterness in the mouth. I really, really, loved this beer.

5/5 Coasters

The Huon Dark Apple Ale is definitely an ale, not a cider which may be disappointing those who where thinking they were getting the latter, but it definitely stands on it's own. Whilst I may not be a fan of fruit beers, I did enjoy this ale as a cleansing drink, but found it unremarkable in it's lack of body
It's sweet malt body is accentuated with  apples and that is about all you can taste. I'm not sure if this is the style but my palate kept asking for more; more punch, more apple, and more flavour.

I probably wouldn't bother with this again, but I would recommend it to cider lovers who have a hard time with beer as I think it might be a happy medium for those trying to escape the cloying sweetness of mass produced ciders.

3.5/5 Coasters

The Derwent Ale was as spectacular as the Forester. AS you can see, it's a much lighter bodied beer with a very generous white frothy head over a light golden straw body. A combination of wheat and barley malts makes for an excellent summer beer; light in body, very little bitterness, and a refreshing finish. It has no stand out flavours, but instead of this being disappointing, it manages to deliver a session beer with character and a great mouth feel. Whilst most of the flavours are attributable to the yeast; Stella, Williamette, Fuggles and Tettnanger hops are used to bitter and flavour. Once again, bottle conditioning ensure this a smooth and refreshing drink.

5/5 Coasters

Van Dieman Brewing

Another brewery I tried whilst on holiday was Van Dieman Brewing. They produce a range of 6 beers from their brewery in Evandale, Tasmania. Very craft beer in focus, they have a decent range that includes an Imperial Stout, an Extra Special Bitter, and a Moreish Ale flavoured with sloe, rose hip and hawthron berries.

I managed to lay hands on the Ragged Jack Pale Ale (4.2%) and the Jacob's Ladder Amber Ale (4.2%).

Ragged Jack is a decent Pale Ale, pouring with the customary white frothy head over a clear golden coloured beer. It's a true Pale Ale (rather than the Australian Lagers that masquerade as such) using English Pale Malt and boasting a floral hop aroma with hints of sweet caramel. It has a full bitter mouth feel which lingers after you swallow however, it feels quite conservatively hopped. The head lingers for the full drink which is gone far too quickly. There is no wonder it boasts bronze for two years in a row in the Australian International Beer Awards as it is a well balanced and pleasant ale.
I would probably pair this with a Chicken Caesar or Chicken Mango salad. It deserve something light and fresh to accentuate it's delicate flavours.

3.5/4 Coasters

 This Amber Ale is excellent. It uses English Pale and Crystal Malts to create a dark cloudy coppered-coloured beer that boasts a generous off-white head. English Hop varieties provide the underlying bitterness but it's the malts that steal the show with a sweet malt aroma and yeast driven citrus notes. It's full flavoured and very refreshing. It's hard to describe such a decently crafted beer as it balances all it's flavours remarkably well, creating a refreshing and satisfying drinking experience.

4/5 Coasters

Mac's Brewery - selected tastings

Mac's is a 30 year old Brewery operating out of New Zealand. They produce a range of 6 lagers, two of which I tried whilst on a recent trip to Tasmania.

Now, I'm not really a stout man (apart from the occasional Guinness), but Black Mac (a dark beer) blew me out of the water. It's 4.6% and pours with a dense body under a dark cream head which does not stick around for very long. To be honest, it isn't missed because as soon as you taste it you are hit with a smooth caramel flavour that finishes with a lingering toffee bitterness, all caressed with a hint of smokiness. The low carbonation helps it to slide down and the chocolate malt aroma adds to the experience. There isn't a hint of coffee to be found, which to me seems unusual in a dark beer, but I'm quite happy with that. The bottle touts the Fuggles hops that are used to produce this astounding beer, but to be honest, they take a back seat to the toasted malts. This is a seriously smooth drink, and I daresay could be drunk quite easily in quantity.

4/5 Coasters

Next up was the Hop Rocker, a well-hopped Pilsner that sits at around 4.8%. I'm definitely a fan of hops, particularly in my lighter beers as I often find them devoid of flavour otherwise. The Hop rocker pours a healthy stark white head that sits over a clear pale straw body. In contrast to the dark beer, this head hangs around for the full pint.
Hopped with Nelson Sauvin and NZ Cascade hops, the drinker is presented with a wonderfully floral bouquet which imparts a wonderful freshness to the beer. The light body slips ever so smoothly down your throat but you experience the full hop flavour, that is balanced well to finish quickly without any lingering bitterness, making it a terribly refreshing drink. I was hoping for a bit of variety in my opinion of these beers, but unfortunately it turns out to be another beer that I would happily enjoy again, and again, and again. Even the good Doctor agreed that this was a first rate beer.

4/5 Coasters