Old Tasting Notes #4

Old tastings notes from January 9, 2010 - look, I just made it to 2010!!

Rêve de Wallonia

• clear light copper with huge 3” eggy white head
• musky, floral nose with fruit, lemons and a yeasty bite to it
• drinks smooth with a raw earthy, lemony tone to it
• creamy mouthfeel with nice, dry spice in the finish
• lots of yeasty texture this time and husky flavors and very dry finish
• raw lemons and sugary
• much drier than I remember and more fruity too
  

Heavy Things

• clear light brown with thin white head
• plenty of carbonation
• caramel, apples dry malts and brown sugar
• seems like slight oxidation to me even though quite young
• green apples too that seem a little off to me (old malt?)
• dates and nuts with a very slight fruity twang
• texture is thin with raw malts, sugar and caramel
• will have to revisit soon as it seems slightly off
• brewed with old malts that sat in my apartment for 4+ months
  

Old Tasting Notes #3

Old tasting notes from November 30, 2009:

Saison de Deux Médecine

• slightly over-carbonated with slow gush if not poured quickly
• muddy yellow with fizzt white head
• mainly yarrow with some sweetness of honey, dry malt and a touch of ginger/orange peel; really nice nose overall
• not overly earthy, but plenty of yarrow
• more sweetness could help here I think against the yarrow
• not much spice, but get some ginger
• yeast flavors are not present, which is a disappointment
• maybe a less “neutral” Belgian yeast next time?
• maybe the yarrow trumps the yeast?
• not exactly what I was going for, but far from the disaster I had feared at times
  

The Curtain Wit

• clear, light orange with bubbly white head to the edges
• ginger, coriander, oranges and a husky sweetness
• thin texture and fruity mouthfeel
• very balanced and drinkable
• a little bready too with lemons and grass
• nice, sticky fruity texture
  

Rêve de Wallonia

• light orange with slight haze; pale gold against the light; white head to the edges
• husky nose with lemons and faint spice
• drinks quite dry and a little flavorless at first
• mild yeasty texture with dry spice, some sweet malt and sugar
• lots of body and sweetness
• certainly not the typical saison that I was going for (Dupont)
• yeast notes are mild and finish is not as dry
• husky is an overall characteristic that I think is from the fermentation struggles and some of the specialty malts
• I want more grassy notes
• Two Medicine is a much more cohesive and rounded beer to me
  

Heavy Things

• nicely carbonated with thin tan head and ruby red color
• nutty caramel, fruity sweet aromas
• not as rich or meaty or sweet as I’d like
• thin body with sweet, dry malt; some candy flavors with dried fruit and brown sugar
• need more body for sure (as with all my beers)
• maybe too fruity and would like some slight smoke
• has a “cheap” candy sweetness to it

Bottle Time - Heavy Things & Wallonia

Heavy Things - bottled on October 24, 2009

• 1.028 ~ 7.6% ABV with 67.5% attenuation
• clear, light brown
• candy rich, malty with a sticky woody note to it
• sweet caramel with dark fruits and quite nice overall
  

Rêve de Wallonia - bottled on October 25, 2009

• 1.010 ~ 8.4% ABV with 86.5% attenuation
• in the end the attenuation is quite good, but had hoped for lower (and drier)
• dense dark orange
• fruity and quite sweet
• thicker texture and mouthfeel than anticipated
• nose has a husky zing to it with tropical fruits and lots of dry spice

Old Tasting Notes #2

Old tasting notes from September 27, 2009

Saison de Deux Médecine

• slight gusher upon opening…doh!! First time I’ve had that problem
• hopefully an over-carbonation issue and not an infection of some kind
• this was different in terms of bottling b/c I estimated sugar based on 5 gallons and then adjusted to 2.5 gallons, but the finished product here was just over 2 gallons, so too much sugar seems like an issue here
• but wonder if dried wildflowers have strange impact on carbonation?
• anyway, back to the beer!
• dark gold, mostly clear with trace white head once in a glass
• floral, kind of dirty with ginger, obvious yarrow aromas
• lots of roots, yarrow stems, earthy
• very smooth and almost silky mouthfeel; vegetal finish and aftertaste
• not much Belgian yeast flavor or influence is one of my first impressions
• lots of yarrow and comes off a little “dirty” or dusty to me
  

The Curtain Wit

• clear light orange with trace white head
• aromas of honey, mild orange peel, ginger and coriander
• coriander comes out most on first sip
• light texture, smooth drinking with minor ginger zing
• not cloudy as I expected and maybe a tad darker as well
• dry, fruity finish yet not quite as flavorful as I had hoped
• some orange and light ginger; soft mouthfeel
• clean, tasty and super drinkable

Wallonia Update / Brettanomyces

Updates on the Wallonia saison and finally time for Brettanomyces......

September 17, 2009

Pulled a sample of Wallonia....

• gravity down to 1.012
• getting clearer w/ fruity lemons and orange on the nose
• sample has a sharpness to it with dry, husky, sweet malt and dried fruit
• very dry on the finish but overall still on the sweet side
• at this point it has been in the primary for over 50 days!!!
  

September 27, 2009

Finally transferred the Wallonia today. All in all in spent 64 days in the primary!! To me that is crazy and scary on many levels, but this sucker just would not ferment. The sample at transfer is just a hair over 1.010. I had hoped it would be more like 1.006, but I still got over 86% attenuation.

And now that it is finally transferred into the secondary, it is finally time to break out the big, bad brett!! I'm splitting the package of brettanomyces claussenii, so the 2.5 gallons of Two Medicine has been patiently waiting for this day.

I split open the package and split the yeast evenly ~ 100 ml each. Wow, brett smelled amazing with sour pineapples and thick fruity nose; color is muddy dark yellow.

Now the waiting game begins for the brett to do its thing and I’ll bottle in maybe 5 months?

Old Tasting Notes #1

Old Tasting Notes from August 16, 2009

Russian Lullaby

• 1” foamy white head
• clear, light orange against the light; kind of dark to me
• apples, yeast, sweet grassy lemons
• definitely seems a little sweet to me and quite dry in the finish
• medium body and texture, which is better than most of my brews
• maybe not as sharp or yeasty as I’d like
• has a fruity, granny smith apple thing going on
  
• dry, stale fruit as it warms, sticky sweet mouthfeel; bone dry finish
• carbonation is thick and creamy
• one of my best beers yet and one I need to brew again for sure
  

Liquid Karma

• clear cola brown with thin off-white head
• cookies and sweet coffee with creamy chocolate, nuts
• very little roast character to me even though this recipe was ramped up a bit
• not really what I was expecting or hoping for compared to what I viewed as a very successful first attempt
• needs more body, roast, dark chocolate and coffee – basically more of everything
• will have to revisit this style sometime and try to improve

Heineken?

A few words of wisdom from Dennis Hopper (RIP)




I've got lots of updates on the way this week - a boatload of tasting notes from various beers plus I just finished a spurt of spring brewing with 4 new beers fermenting away.