2nd Case Swap: Cherry Brown

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by denimglen on April 12, 2009 at 7:04pm

First case swap beer, stuck my hand in the box and pulled this one out at random. Excited to try this after tasting the original medal winner. Decanted into a jug and then poured into 330mL glass.

Pours a nice, clear, solid brown colour, two finger, foamy, light brown head that drops down and sits nicely for the rest of the glass.

Refreshing, slightly sweet, chocolate and caramel in malt aroma with some light citrus and and even lighter spice coming through. Very inviting.

Nice sweet-bitter balance, caramel, toffee, chocolate, some hints of bread, finishes with a little lemon flesh like citrus and some pleasent fruity esters hanging around on the back of the tongue.

Medium body, medium tingly carb, crisp finish.

Overall, very nice drop, good work mate. Personally I'd drop the carbonation a little, bump up the crystal a tiny bit, and I'd go for a little more hop but there's definitely nothing wrong with this. I was sceptical of the SO4 (I absolutely hate that yeast now haha) but it works really well in this beer.

Permalink Reply by Alasdair on April 19, 2009 at 8:22pm

Chocolate and banana aroma, with a hint of pineapple. Nice head retention and clarity.

Chocolate flavours, with lemon and banana notes. Very easy drinking, and an intriguing combination of flavours. I'd aim for a touch more compexity in the malt flavour - maybe some darker crystal? - a little less carbonation, and a bit more body.

Cheers.

Permalink Reply by James P on April 21, 2009 at 8:13pm

Thought is was time to pop my cherry on a Cherry Brown..... okay bad attempt at humour.....

The pour reminds me of cola, very deep brown, very good clarity no haze. Big head to start which subsides reasonably fast.

I think I'm still a little blocked up, however initially a marmite, caramel, and herbal aroma. I get an intense bitter kick followed by a slight sickly sweetness from caramel and faint chocolate. Slight sourness in the after taste.

I found the carbonation higher than I was expecting for a "fuller" beer, however burps provide additional chocolate!

Great sipper Mr C, I just found the aroma a little harder on the nose than I would want, but this is coming from the pansy lager brewer!

Permalink Reply by Ged on April 23, 2009 at 7:53pm

Yum...Thats all I got to say..Was a tad bubbly but i'm not critical on that. A couple of burps and we were off :) Fabulous caramel nose and chocolatey finish..Then something wierd but enjoyable..This ongoing development of sharpness at the back of my throat before the next sip. Really enjoyed this beer and so did the wife ( who doesn't do beer !! ) so thanks for helping me start the conversion process. Plan on having a crack at making this one as well.

Ta

Ged

Permalink Reply by MrC on April 23, 2009 at 8:49pm

Thanks for the feedback guys.

There seems to be a theme here about the carbonation being too high. I don't remember it being over carbonated but the FG was 1.014 so I'm wondering whether there has been some additional bottle fermentation going on. I've saved one bottle which I will drink when all of the feedback is in so I guess I'll find out then.

Permalink Reply by Reviled on April 24, 2009 at 8:36am

Pours a dark brown with a nice fluffy head and brown hue - also reminde me of cola! Aroma of chocolate, malt, toast and the slightest hint of bananas, with sweet caramel notes. A bit spritzy taking away from the mouthfeel a bit. Taste of chocolate and roast with a sort of bittersweet finish. Nice malt character!

Cheers ;o)

Permalink Reply by Barry on April 24, 2009 at 9:55pm

3rd swap beer tonight, #6 or #7 I think overall?

Dark ruddy brown with gorgeous red highlights. Thick bubble tan head that dispates quickly. Big coke-like bubbles.
Sweet malt and milk chocolate, with some spicyness and grassy/citrus
Bursts onto the palette with choc-caramel, some roasty notes and good balanced hop bitterness. Some fruityness - classic S04 profile, also a teeny bit of oxidation but actually this enhances the beer for me tonight.
I'm burping as I type though, this would be a fantastic beer if not so hard on the carbonation. A smoothly carbonated warm pint of this would be bliss.
Good beer, easy to see it's a quality drop but unfortunately the effervescence lets it down.

Cheers Mr Cherry!

Permalink Reply by MrC on April 25, 2009 at 2:06pm

Thanks Barry. Can you describe the oxidation part?
This beer uses a kit as a base. Do you think it's an old, oxidised kit or is it more likely to be my technique?

Permalink Reply by Barry on April 25, 2009 at 2:11pm

It was very very minor, and melded with the yeast esters - to the point that it was actually very pleasant. Probably just a matter of age in the bottle, bottling maybe? It wasn't an "off flavour" as such, just a natural occurance in beer.
Definitely wasn't tired or cardboardy. I wouldn't change a thing :)

Permalink Reply by Stu McKinlay on April 26, 2009 at 5:32pm

I knw what you mean Barry.. I'd guess it is a 'kit' character.

Permalink Reply by Stu McKinlay on April 26, 2009 at 5:31pm

Pours a dark reddish-brown with an airy light tan head. Milk chocolate, Monteiths-like banana, slightly greener, and a little grassy hop and other 'green' yeast fruit notes. Definitely too carbonated for me on the first taste, which mutes all of the flavour and character of the beer. I do pick up a little woody character then. Later, once it has warmed and vented a fair bit, it is much fuller in the mouth and richer on the palate. Cola-like caramel. A nice sweetness in the middle with a little late hop and quite a dry toasted finish. Showcases the 'green' esters of S04 a bit.

Nice beer. Solid Monteith's Black sort of a drop that would please a lot of my friends and family.

I'd like to see a little less carbonation and a little more malt weight and depth (more specialty caramel malt of some type) to carry the esters. Everything else was very nicely done.

Permalink Reply by Ally Mcg on May 2, 2009 at 6:18pm

Shared a bottle with Crabbeys this afternoon installing temperature control

Poured dark brown. Bit blocked up still but on the nose we got hints of plum and dark berries.
Taste, choc and black cherry - finish was a little astringent.

Cheers mr c