If you like Troegs Nugget Nectar, try the Firestone Union Jack IPA. It's almost as good, which means it's very, very good.

I traded with Coff here recently, he sent a pumpkin ale my way, along with his blond, in exchange for tasting my Pride and Joy Clone. Before I post my review of his pumpkin, which I'm enjoying right now, I'll say that I think I missed the mark, only slightly, with the P&J clone. I think it's hopped well, but I think not being able to hold temp like I hoped has shown up in the end product. It's still a good, very drinkable beer, but I didn't get quite what I wanted out of it.

At any rate, here's my impression of Coff's pumpkin ale. I don't have the bottle in front of me but it's 9.3 ABV (correct me if I'm wrong).

Aroma--after pouring, pumpkin is very pleasant on the nose, not overwhelming. Lacks a spice content (maybe intentionally) in the nose. 9/12

Appearance--long lasting cream colored and creamy textured head, settles down after pour to about 1/3 finger and is present throughout the glass. Cloudy brown in color, mostly from the bottom of the bottle yeast content, top of the bottle nearly orange. Nice lace on side of glass. 2/3

Flavor--Alcohol present at the beginning but does not override the pumpkin, pumpkin and spice present at start, giving way to slightly dry and effervescent finish. Hops do not dominate pumpkin, that's well done. There's a bit of a burn to it that I didn't expect--the burn being combination of alcohol and carbonation, possibly. The burn is not like a burn you get with a Belgian where you can tell it's alcohol based. Not overly tart nor overly sweet, well done in that regard! Could possibly use a little cinnamon or clove character and the pumpkin to be a little more pronounced? Maybe I'm looking for something like pumpkin pie and I shouldn't be? 15/20

Mouthfeel--definitely can feel the yeast on the tongue, almost like a hefeweizen. Thick in the mouth, nice and filling. Carbonation bites nicely on the toungue and accents what spiciness is present. 3.5/5

Overall impression--very good beer overall, could use some "kick" with more pumpkin or other spices. I enjoyed this beer, hard to believe it's a 9% beer. Did well balancing hops with malt/pumpkin so hops didn't come to forefront. Maybe look for a malt to mix in to give more of an orange appearance and less of a brown, or clarify in another way? 7.5/10

37/50

I think he did pretty well with it, myself....he was looking for major flaws but I'm not sure I find any. Probably the cloudy appearance was the weakest point IMO?

ill have to give nugget nectar a try again, i cant remember too much about it but i know it didnt inspire me to buy more of it.

union jack on the other hand is probably one of my favorite ipas. i had a bomber of double jack last night, i think it might have been a little past its prime which is disappointing after paying $8 for it.

does anyone know if firestone make 6 packs of double jack? ive never seen them if they do.

if anyone is in mass. and wants to put some $$ together to get some cases of heady topper in vermont id be open to listening. im planning on taking a ride up to vermont sometime in the next month and unless my stupid friends dont want some i feel it would be a waste to drive up there for just myself.

This is an excerpt from my PM response to the Cardsman.


First of all, thanks for the thorough review and giving me your honest opinion. After all this is all about learning about what we are doing right/wrong.

I agree completely with your review, most of it matches my notes to a T so Im glad that my palate is on par with other peoples, lol.

I think the Aroma is the star of the beer overall, as you more or less said with the 9/12. The biggest problem I have with this beer is the carbonation level, I had a really hard time getting it where I wanted and you touch on that in your review. I do think if it had less of a sharp carb bite to it it could be even more drinkable.

The haze is something I had a hard time with as well, which I think more has to do with the pumpkin I used in the mash and the fact that its bottle conditioned.


Thanks again Cards, Im excited to try your beer.

Nugget Nectar is one of my favorites even though I've only had it a few times since they don't distribute to FL.

chester - I believe they do make 6 packs of Double Jack. I'll be in SD over the holidays and will check there. If you have any extra Heady Topper, I'll gladly trade you some FL brews to get a chance to try some. Send me a PM if interested.

RunDownHouse what size kettle/mash tun are those? I asked for these for the holidays from my mom and in-laws.

http://www.amazon.com/Igloo-100-Quar.../dp/B000F6UJ6E

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new

They should be big enough to do 15gal batches according to BS. Sister is getting me a certificate to my LHBS too so I am a happy camper!

The brown I brewed is done fermenting and I will probably bottle later tonight/tomorrow some time and I am looking forward to it.

A weird problem I've been experiencing over a few batches is that I am getting a large off flavor. I tried a beer with the same fault that my teacher described as DMS and said occurs when the yeast are too stressed. I've been temperature fermenting so I don't know how this would occur, and I recently opened up a bottle of harvested yeast from a good batch that smelled strongly of the fault. (I describe it as smelling like the taste of hose water when you initially turn it on during a hot summer day.) I opened up a second bottle harvested from the same batch and it smelled fine so I pitched that. Both of these bottles were stored under the same conditions and harvested at the same time from the same batch so I have no idea what could cause it. I guess it could be from a sanitation issue but I am pretty sure I am sanitizing correctly all the time. Pretty frustrating as I've dumped two batches this year.

Ditto, they're 100qt mash tun and 20g kettle. I got so sick of hovering over a full boil kettle when I had a 15g that I just went straight to 20g and gave away the kegs I was going to turn into keggles.

As for your fault, under-oxygenation and under-pitching can stress yeast, too. And your description of the fault leads me right to the first place I'd look: you aren't getting your water out of a garden hose, are you?

I'm not using hose water. As far as oxygenation goes I simply just pour from kettle through funnel to the carboy. I don't make starters, making a stir plate is on my to-do list though. I also thought it might be that I am using bleach to sanitize my carboy/bottles/kegs but I rinse it pretty thoroughly and use the same technique batch after batch.

Wraths, check out your LHBS and invest in a bottle of phosphoric acid. Phosphoric is a natural part of beer anyway, so what little solution remains on the bottle/keg after sanitation is absorbed into the beer without incident. Here's a link to what we use. We use a full oz per 5 gallons of water.

http://www.greatfermentations.com/St...uctinfo/6022A/

Don't be intimidated by the fact that it's phosphoric, I wear my wedding ring and watch, nothing dissolves, burns my skin, etc.

Also, I'd invest in a small oxygen bottle if you can? The one we use fits in our hand easily. It's about the size of a portable (lantern sized) propane bottle but much narrower. There's a hose attached, we sanitize that, then send O2 into the pail of wort for 60 seconds, then pitch yeast and close lid.

Good luck.

Will do so cardsman. Thanks for the advice!

Beer review!

Terrapin Wake-n-Bake stout tonight! One of the best if not the best coffee beer that I have ever had, and this years edition is no exception!



A – Jet black body with a very think coffee colored head. Head lasts a minute being very thick and settles to about a quarter inch where it remains.

S – Strong coffee notes up front. Roasted barley, toffee, and caramel play with each other towards the end. Slight Kahlua smell as well.

T – Sweet vanilla and coffee tastes up front and towards the end. In between those tastes a more mellowed earthy coffee taste is present. Pretty strong alcohol towards the end as well.

M – Heavy bodied thick beer. Slight alcohol burn.

O – One of my favorites to look forward to each year. This years batch is another winner. Great coffee presence without complete overkill. Worth trying at anytime you can find it.

4.25/5

mmmmmm rotel...

If you're getting bottle-to-bottle variations, I'd definitely suspect the bleach. When I bottle, I use the dishwasher method and then usually put some StarSan in them as well (about 1/3 of a bottle), although that's almost definitely overkill.

I recently bought an 80qt aluminum pot on Ebay and got it all fitted, I moved up from a Keggle for the same reasons you expressed. The Aluminum pot with a strainer was only $60 on ebay...with a lid. I am thinking of moving up to a 100qt mash tun soon to, my 10G round cooler works great but Ive hit the max on numerous occasions as Im doing almost exclusively 10G batches.

What does boiling with lid on vs off achieve?

Nvm just read that boiling with lid on is more likely to lead to DMS. I boil with the lid off.

Boiling with the lid on also reduces evaporation during the boil so you may miss your SG and volume by the end of the boil.

Anybody have some special beers they're opening for Xmas and/or New Year Eve? I might get into a CBS and Fifty Fifty Eclipse in Four Roses Barrel.

I have 2 bottles of Duvel Triple Hop that I got when I went to Belgium comes to Cooperstown at Ommegang that I will probably open up, I also have a 2 Gnomegang from that weekend as well.

Im thinking of opening a Batch 5 Consecration or a Batch 6 Supplication. Every weekend It takes all my will power not to go into my cellar and pull one out.

Im trying my first real funky beer this weekend, take a look at the thread I posted at HBT.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/fir...gfarm5-288800/

I've got some apfelwein I've been sitting on for 6months now that I'm excited to give a go. Friends are also bringing over some blueberry mead, and my brown ale should be done carbing up by then. I've also got 6 bottles left from my very first homebrew batch ever that are exactly a year old on the day after xmas. It was a kiwi wheat that came out pretty meh, but it will be fun to try it a year later.

My nephews and I were busy today building a stir plate!

http://theaustinmunro.com/BeerBlog/?p=105

Last night I enjoyed Cardsman's Pride and Joy Clone, and I stress enjoyed. A very well made beer.

Pride and joy

Aroma:it smells a citrusy, like cascade or some other citrusy hop. I
can't get much more though the thick head besides citrus.

9/12

Appearance: 2 finger off white head, burnt orange on color, good
clarity although there are a decent amount of floaties. Consistent
carbonation that is viewable through the glass. Head lasts throughout
with good lacing.

2/3

Flavor: clean and crisp up front with nice carbonation and mouthfeel
that finishes with a touch of bitterness. The bitterness lingers a bit
but is not undesirable, the hops seem to impart a bit of spiciness to
me, almost peppery. I get a slight bit of Carmel notes in the middle .
Medium mouthfeel that is more noticeable as it warms, actually overall
I prefer this beer slightly warmer.

16/20

Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, with a smooth medium mouthfeel. The
carbonation lends nicely to a crisp refreshing mouthfeel that finishes
with pleasant bitterness.

3.5/5

Overall: unfortunately I've never had a Pride and Joy so I can't say
if it's cloned or not. But what I can say is that I really enjoyed
this, I could sit talk with friends and drink 5-6 of these with ease.
As I was reviewing it I realized I was over half way done! So I
stopped and sat back and finished the beer. The only things I could
complain about is I thought there might be a bit more of a malt
character to balance the bitterness on the end. Overall though I don't
have any complaints, no real off flavors so seems like it was a
clean ferment etc. well done

8.5/10

39/50

***I honestly think I served this too cold, I think had I cracked it open a little warmer (as you should a Mild I beleive) the review might have been different, probably better.

First off, I highly recommend trading beers and reviewing each other's beers. Not only does it help you refine your tastes and gives you a window into what a judge looks for when they judge our beers in competition, it is a valuable way to learn from other brewers, much like trading hand histories with a partner helps our poker game.

Coff had much the same impression that I had of my beer. He hit on the malt character, which should be heavier than it is, caused by our inability to hold 156-158 degrees. That in turn lets the hops linger longer than I feel that they do in Three Floyd's version. I'm also not getting the head retention in my keg that was in that bottle for Coff. I tapped at 10 days, probably should have let go for another few days? It still carbonated well though, so I'm leaning toward some Carapils malt next time.

At any rate, thanks, Coff, for the well thought out review. I have the bottle of his blond ale, still, and will review within the next week.

Merry Christmas fellow beer fans!

We should attempt to coordinate a brew swap where we all brew the same recipe. That'll be a great learning experience.

I think Cardsman and I got alot out of our trade and plan to do it again in the future.

This sounds like an awesome idea. We should try and give people a month or so to get the ingredients together and then brew it asap before we forget about it again. Today is December 24, 2011...Want to collaborate on a recipe and decide by Jan 1, 2012, get ingredients and brew by no later than Jan 29, 2012 which is the last Sunday of Jan?

I'll assume lagers are off the table since everyone may not have the fermentation capabilities, and I'm not a fan of sours, so other than those two I'm down for whatever. I would prefer to do an English Pale Ale, Scott/Irish Ale, American Ale, English Brown Ale, Porter, or Stout myself. Maybe anyone interested list what they'd prefer and we can try to eliminate based on styles that people are interested in?

Assuming Coff is in that makes two. Add your name to the list if you want in!

1. Coff
2. Wraths Unanimous

Sours take too long anyway and I agree with you not everyone is set up to lager so an ale is best.

Your timetable works for me, once we get a few folks in then we can narrow down the style. IMO a session ale is best for now, maybe we could do something bigger like a RIS if things work out.

I'll be in. My buddy has to brew quite a bit to get back on track with his 23 styles. I'll get with him to see what he has in mind and see if any of the suggestions above fit the timeline.

I also know that in the spring, he and I will be brewing our Sam Smith's Taddy Porter clone again for competition (I've got a keg now and it's fantastic). I've posted the recipe in this thread as well. If not the first go round, I suggest we all try that this spring?

He also makes an ESB that's pretty good if anyone's interested in that.