Competition Results - Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Below are the scores for the beer at the WortHog competition December 2015 meeting and placed 3rd.  The 2nd place brew by Jym F was very similar but was an all gain with Pilsen only base malt and no Black malt.  Both bears had aged a year at the time of judging.

The beer judged was Past Brews: #96 Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Judge	Appearance (15%) (0-3 points)	Aroma (20%) (0-4 points)	Taste (50%) (0-10 points)	Overall Impression (15%) (1-3 points)	Total	Notes
W. Sabu	2	2	5	2	11	Good Beer.  Dark brown Dark fruit esters
Mel	3	2	6	2	12
Dave V	2	2.5	6	2	12.5	A bit low in aroma but sublt, nice color & low head.  Fruity up front and a bit of phenolic over powering on the bak end.  hotter fermentation?  a bit oxidized?  Thanks for the entry.
Nogle	3	2	6	2	13	Apricot taste and aroma.  Very nice color
Brad Hood	3	3	5	2	13
Jason Bryant	2.5	2	6.5	2	13	Looks dark and clear Not much aroma Malty Bandaidy phenols a little low on carb, medium body Wish this was a little warmer to taste it better.  I get a little bandaid phenols, but dark fruits and malt is nice.  would like a litttle more carb for the style.  Overall a good beer. Get some lingering bitterness, almost astringent
Brent	2	3	6	2	13	Nice color/light head, nice aroma Flavor: sweet with lingering "odd" flavor.  Not malty enough
Jym F	3	2	6	2	13	ligh curdy bandaid
Calty?	2.5	3	6	2	13.5	a little flat lots of alcohol burn mashs the rich undertones in this beer
David Tuchy?	2	2	8	2	14	Blackish - low head Aroma some ??? bit weak Nice beer missing the belgian >>
Rob B	2	2	9	2	15
Dave Dav	2	3	7	2	16
Erin	2	4	9	2	17	No head Really nice.  Just missing the huge dense mousy persistent head
Rob F	3.5	3	8	3	17.5	head not dense, persistent Solvent aroma
Jason G	3	3.5	9	2.5	18	Very similar to #1
David Hillisohn	3	3	8	3	17
Wendell	3	3	9	3	18	Well done.  Best combo of med-full body+fluffy fermented some dark roast malt bitterness to finish
Jason K Jones	3	4	9	3	19	Big Malty Fruity Taste/sour for style Full mouth feel Wonderful beer A little too much sourness in the aftertaste for style

#137 Belgian Tripel

Belgian Tripel - Image by David Heath

This was an extract kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply. The recipe is available online here. Ben Holland's review this could take a while to mellow out.  For Ben this was good after 6 months.
From

I believe the key to Belgians will be in the fermentation. Most of the recipes appear to be simple with the expectations that the yeast will do all of the work.

Batch Size : 5.50 gal     25.9 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.075 SG     FG: 1.007 SG
Mash: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Boil: 60 minutes

Mash 154 degrees - 60 min
12 lbs	Pilsen Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)
2 lbs	Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM)
60 min
1.50 oz	Styrian Goldings [5.40 %]	24.3 IBUs
5 min
1.00 oz	Orange Peel, Sweet
0.50 oz	Styrian Goldings [5.40 %]	1.6 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550) [35.49 ml]

Fermentation started with the BrewPi setup at 64 degrees.  The goal is to be at 70 degrees 7 days later.

#136 Pizza Port's One Down Brown Ale (done)

Pizza Port Solana Beach

Pizza Port in Solana Beach was the first of three brewpubs to open under the Pizza Port name. Brandon Edwards, who used to be an employee of Morebeer, has been brewing in Solana Beach for a number of months, and with Pizza Port for a few years. Brandon made this recipe to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Toronado beer bar opening in San Diego. This brown ale is pretty malty and hoppy, but we wouldn't expect anything less from Brandon!

Estimated Original Gravity:1.062-66
SRM 30
IBU's: 25-29

Estimated Alcohol Percentage: 6.3%

Steep 149°F for 60 minutes - 2.5 Gallons of water
Amt	Name
8.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
6.0 oz	Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
6.0 oz	Crystal 75, 2-Row, (Great Western) (75.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Pale Chocolate Malt (Crisp) (225.0 SRM)
2.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
75 min Boil
8.0 oz	DME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
9 lbs	LME Golden Light (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
Amt	Name
75 min Hop
0.50 oz	Magnum [12.00 %]
30 min Hop
0.50 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]
15 min
	Irish Moss
	Yeast Nutrient
	Chiller
0 min Hop
1.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]
Yeast
	British Ale (White Labs #WLP005)

Tanked - Pizza Port Ferementer Aquarium

My kids would be disappointed if I didn't mention the Fermenter Aquarium built on Tanked at Pizza Port Bressi Ranch.

#135 Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA

#135 Cascade Mountains West Coast Imperial IPA  Imperial IPA
Batch Size : 5.50 gal     115.4 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.082 SG     FG: 1.013 SG
Mash: Gdizzle Batch
Boil: 60 minutes

This was my first usage of Beer Dust.  I wanted to use this with an all-grain recipe, but realized that my notes were not as expected when I started the brew night.  I wanted to get 3 brews done so we went with this.


"A blend of water conditioning minerals that maximize bitterness and hop flavor in your beer. IPA Beer Dust is the perfect water conditioning blend to produce a hop forward West coast or East coast IPA guaranteed to satisfy the hoppiest of hop heads. Just add IPA Beer Dust to your grain when mashing in for all grain brewing or to the boil when brewing an extract IPA."

The other twist was to use the Heady Topper yeast, RVA 104 HopTopper Ale, which I picked up from Derick at "my Local Homebrew Shop" in Falls Church.  

Water
7 gal	Distilled water
Steep
8.0 oz	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
Extract
3 lbs 2.4 oz	Gold Malt Syrup (NB) (4.8 SRM)
60 min
1.00 oz	Summit [17.00 %]	54.7 IBUs
30 min
0.50 oz	Cascade [7.00 %]	7.9 IBUs
20 min
2.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]	19.5 IBUs
15 min
6 lbs	LME Golden Light (Briess)(4.0 SRM)
5 min
2 lbs	Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)
Flame out
2.00 oz	Cascade [5.50 %]	0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz	Summit [17.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Conditioning
	2-3 weeks in secondary
Dry Hop 7 days before
4.00 oz	Cascade [7.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Yeast - Use either (I chose the RVA)
1.0 pkg	American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) [124.21 ml]
1.0 pkg	RVA 104 HopTopper Ale (RVA #104)

#134 Maple Bacon Brown

More Beer

American Brown Ale
Batch Size : 5.00 gal     23.3 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.054 SG     FG: 1.014 SG
Mash: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Boil: 60 minutes

Mash
7 lbs	Maris Otter UK (4.5 SRM)
8.0 oz	Abbey Malt (25.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Caramel Malt - 60L (Briess) (60.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM)
8.0 oz	Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)
8.0 oz	Cherrywood Smoked (9.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)
60 Min
1.00 oz	Northern Brewer [8.50 %]	29.7 IBUs
15 min
1.00 oz	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %]	8.7 IBUs
1 min
1 lbs	Maple Bacon Syrup (last minute of boil) (1.0 SRM)
1.00 oz	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %]	0.8 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Best of Both Worlds Blend (White Labs #WLP200) [35.49 ml]	-

#133 Tasmanian Devil Australian Pale Ale

American Pale Ale
Batch Size : 5.00 gal     42.1 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.068 SG     FG: 1.019 SG

Boil: 60 minutes

Steep - 20 min
8.0 oz	Light Carastan (30.0 SRM)
Extract
3 lbs 2.4 oz	Maris Otter Malt Syrup UK (4.5 SRM)
60 min
1.00 oz	Pride of Ringwood [9.00 %]	14.0 IBUs
5 min
6 lbs	LME Pilsen Light (Briess)(2.3 SRM)
1.00 oz	Galaxy [14.00 %]	4.3 IBUs
Dry Hop 10.0 Days
1.00 oz	Galaxy [14.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Australian Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP009) [35.49 ml]

#132/154 Bavarian Hefeweizen

#132/154 Bavarian Hefeweizen (Northern Brewer)  Weizen/Weissbier

Batch Size : 5.50 gal     16.1 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.040 SG     FG: 1.010 SG
Mash: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Boil: 90 minutes

Extract
3 lbs	Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)
60 min
1.00 oz	Tettnang (Tettnang Tettnager) [4.00 %]	14.3 IBUs
15 min
1 lbs	Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
3 lbs	Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)
10 min
0.50 tsp	Yeast Nutrient	-
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) [124.21 ml]	-

Competition results - Pumpkin

Below are the scores for the beer at the WortHog competition.  This placed second.  NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale.  The change to this batch was additional spice and vanilla bean added to the keg.

I keep loosing points on my beers to the containers that I am using to bring the beers over.

From the competitions this year.  The big areas for improvement are:

• Sanitation and cleaning of container used to bring beer to competition.  This has cost me points in every competition.
• PBW
• Rinsing starsan before filling containers
•  Phenols.  This is going to be harder to identify
• Over crushing grain
• Excessive Sparging (stop runoff before it gets below .008 SG)
• Avoid collecting alkaline sparge ( ph > 5.8)
• Don't let mast-out or sparge liquor temperature exceed ~168F
• Don't leave beer on yeast cake for 1 month or more
• Chorophneol (Phenols) (band-aid) ** This is killing me ***
• Make sure to properly rinse equipment that used chlorine sanitizers
• Treat water o remove chorine or chloramines (filter through carbon filter)
• Use 1 Campden tablet per 20 gallons of water to remove chloramines; let stand 15 mins or boil

Judge	Appearance (15%) (0-3 points)	Aroma (20%) (0-4 points)	Taste (50%) (0-10 points)	Overall Impression (15%) (1-3 points)	Total	Notes
Matt	3	2	4	1	10	Clean your Dr. Pepper bottle more.  Soak in PBW Band-aidy phenols, platicy Did you make a tarter? I get some spices in the aroma but the phenols really came through.  The body was chewy-nice but the flaws over Yeast starter could have helped here or make sure you are rinsing your sanitizer.  Make sure to use some campden tabs chors phenols can come from chlorine in your water
Jym Ferrier	3	1	5	1	10	Taste + smells like a glass of apple juice.  Under attenuated
Jason Bryant	3	1.5	5	2	11.5	Smells like apple and tastes a bit under attenuated.  Seems like yeast were a little stressed.  Maybe try a higher pitch for beer of this strength
Dan McBrayer	3	3	5	1	12	Wanted a bit more hop feel Looked great Was happy with the sublte smell Aftertaste was harsh
Wendall	3	2	6	2	13	Good head retention Aftertaste: a bit of pepper Very delicate spice aroma if any.  Low malt aroma flavor
Brent	3	3	6	2	14	Clear, nice head, nice color. Mild aroma malty Getting a bit of an off (band aid) flavor
Gale Altman	2.4	3.2	7.3	2.4	15.3	Love the quality of carbonation! Great job
Dave Dav	3	3	7	3	16	Beautiful color, nice carbonation.  A bit under fermented - good balance- mouth feel
G. Hunter	3	3	8	2	16	Good mouth feel. mildy spiced, mild peppery aftertaste.  Overall good
Stuart Macrae	3	3	8	2	16	Nice spice mix with nutmeg prominent
Mark W	3	3	8	2	16	Clear - good bard different balance of pumpkin to spice than last this more spice
David T	3	3	8	3	17	Clear, good head off white Aroma: some pumpkin pie spices but not ??? Taste: Full body, somewhat sweet ?? pumpkin
Erin	3	3	8	3	17	Very good beer.  Looks awesome.
Mel	2.5	3	9	2.5	17	Nicely balanced spice on this one
Ken R	3	4	9	2.5	18.5	Beautiful clarity.  Nice head + color A bi rich like a dessert.  However good spice/beer/pumpkin balance.  I enjoyed it!
Rob B	3	4	9	3	19

Competition Results from Open Choice - 14C Imperial IPA

Below are the scores for the beer at the WortHog competition September meeting.
The beer judged was Past Brews: #131 The Plinian Legacy.

Judge	Appearance (15%) (0-3 points)	Aroma (20%) (0-4 points)	Taste (50%) (0-10 points)	Overall Impression (15%) (1-3 points)	Total	Notes
David H	2	1.5	5	1.5	10	This beer has great potential knowing it needs more time on hops.  Will be a 14-15, but my top score was 12
Brent	3	3	6	2	13	Copper color, nice head, hazy.  Hop aroma Not sure how much I like the hop aroma Odd citus medicini blend Lemony citus flavors Overall a solid beer
Jason G	2.5	3	6	2	13.5	Green Taste Cloudy - dry hopped
Jason B	1.5	2	7	2	13.5	Hazy - a little is ok, but too much Some hops, some plastic Nice hop bitterness Lingering bitterness, but not harsh good carb, decent body For style, needs more dry hop and some more late hop flavor Good attenuation
Adaene??	3	2	8	1	14	Grapefruit aroma, pretty color, bery bitter Strong grapefruit flavor
Erin	3	4	7	2	16	Hate to say it but very nice beer.  I'm not a hop fan
Luke	2	4	8	2	16	Not a IPA fan.  Well done by style
Josh Feltz	2	3	9	2	16	Great balance of malt and hop Best I've had so far Slight melon note at end
Ian N	2	3	10	2	17	Good representation of the style, a little cloudy and not enough head
Jason k Jones	2	4	9	2	17	Cloudy, nice head Big citrus, slight maltiness Needs a little more malt to balance Clean, crips bitterness Could use some more hop aroma, but needs lots more flavor hops
David Tuchey	3	3	8	3	17	Off white head Cloudy Golden color Aroma: Strong citrus aroma Flavor: Strong hop flavor followed by strong hop bitterness.  You hit this style This is a one beer beer
Clint	2	4	9	2	17	Decent off white hed.  Pretty hzy.  Lower head due to higher alcohol.  Nice hop aroma- Citra?  Good carbonation.  Nicely bitter.  I'd like more hop flavor.  Pretty well balanced
Romano	3	4	8	2	17	Color golden.  ostly clear Smell the hops! Can't taste the hops All bitter some malt Really tasty Personally if you can get some hop flavor in the taste this would work on all levels
Matt M	2	4	9.5	2.5	18	Would like a little more bitterness on the finish S: Good aroma, hoppy rassy, somre fruitiness, fresh and some alcohol sweattness A: Good head, slightly cloudy, but ok F: Great hop flavor, nice finish, some good malty sweatness, could use more back end bitterness.  Slightly drying finish, good makes me want another sip
Glen	3	3	9	3	18
Rob F	2.5	4	9	3	18.5	Good head, a bit excessively cloudy Hop bitterness and flavor very different from aroma
Cathy Frye	3	3.5	10	3	19.5	Very to style.  Interesting in that the aroma (sweet-citrus) of hops is different from the taste (bitter).
Average	2.44	3.24	8.09	2.18	15.94	Rated as a good beer.  Definitively room for improvement

#131 The Plinian Legacy

Double IPA
Batch Size : 5.00 gal     130.6 IBUs Estimated.
OG: 1.091 SG     FG: 1.018 SG
Mash: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Boil: 60 minutes

This was brewed for the local Franklin Glen event at the house to give everyone as chance at a good IPA.

The second dry hop was done in the keg, 3 days before the local WortHogs competition.  The reviews from the competition for this beer can be found at Competition Results from Open Choice - 14C Imperial IPA.  The big comments were due to the young hops from 3 days prior and not enough flavor hops.

Steep
10.0 oz	Carapils 6-Row (Briess) (1.3 SRM)
6.0 oz	Carastan (30.0 SRM)
4 lbs	DME Pilsen (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
First Wort 90 mins
1.00 oz	Amarillo [9.20 %]	21.4 IBUs
1.00 oz	HopShot [10.00 %]	21.1 IBUs
45 min
1.00 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %]	25.4 IBUs
20 min
1.00 oz	Simcoe [13.00 %]	15.6 IBUs
15 min
6 lbs	LME Pilsen Light (Briess)(2.3 SRM)	51.1 %
1 min
12.0 oz	Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM)	6.4 %
Flameout
2.50 oz	Simcoe [13.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
1.50 oz	Centennial [10.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Dry Hop 10 Days
1.50 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz	Centennial [10.00 %] s	0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz	Simcoe [13.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Dry Hop 4 Days
0.50 oz	Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz	Simcoe [13.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
0.25 oz	Amarillo [9.20 %]	0.0 IBUs
0.25 oz	Centennial [10.00 %]	0.0 IBUs
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml]

Competition Results - Belgian Cherry

Below are the scores for the beer at the WortHog competition Past Brews: #99 New Glarus Brewing Wisconsin Belgian Red

This beer was entered into the DC Homebrewers Club Cherry Blossom Competition and won 1st in Category 40: Cherry Blossom (7 entries) and was later published in Zymurgy July/August 2015 in "Winner's Circle".

Judge	Appearance (15%) (0-3 points)	Aroma (20%) (0-4 points)	Taste (50%) (0-10 points)	Overall Impression (15%) (1-3 points)	Total	Notes
Rob B	2	2	5	2	11
??	2	3	5	2	12	Cloudy, a little dark Cherry aroma subtle Cherry flavors a little too strong A little too sweet, though I'm not familiar with the beer it is a clone of; don't really taste the base beer
Daug Davis	3	3	6	2	14	A bit too sweet, lacks crispness but well made
David T	2	3	8	2	15	Redish colr Aroma: cherry flavor Flavor: sourness and cherry, body is there, nice beer, interesting, balance between the initial sourness and the sweet finish
Man W	3	3	7	2	15	Redish tone, prety clear, ok good head, Aroma: cherry Flavor: Cherry too mudy-flavor cherr? Sweet! Good sipping
Brent	2	4	7	3	16	Nice cherry aroma Nice color and clarity Lack head Cherry flavor with balanced tart and sweetness
Erin	3	3	8	3	17	Very pretty Smells very nice but a hint of medicine Nice tart sweet balance Medicine aftertaste Very nice beer Georgeous color Nice balance between tart and sweet I'd drink more ofthis
Jason K Jones	2	4	10	2	18	Hop/Malt Balance: Malt Sweetness w/ pie cherry Aftertaste: Slick smooth sweet cherry Mouth feel: Med-? It taste just like a cherry pie Slight tartness mixes with sweetness for balance
Nick Pagano	3	4	9	3	19	Dark ruby color, head retention well with lace.   Sweet cherry aroma, cherry and slight spice (not phenol) balance. Carbonation well and compliments style and beer Cherry tast is almost dark not manichiano A little sweet for some tasts, but overall fantastic.
Luke White	3	4	10	3	20	Nice color Great cheery aroma, effervescence with nice yeast end