Camba Bavaria - German IPA

German craft beer ? Very much alive and underrated so far, though some breweries have a good recognition like BrauKunstKeller to name one. I came across Camba in my local supermarket one day and have tried a few that were available. At the time I was looking for something different away from hop forward American style and this one stuck, along with one other that I will post on later. The Black Shark 'imperial black IPA' which I have also tried got an immediate thumbs down even though it tasted ok. I refuse to recognise that category...total nonsense as touched on in my last post.

Anyway, on with my thoughts on this one. Afterwards my stab at a clone recipe which I will be brewing up at the weekend.

Mandarin, lemon and citrus zest, sweet malt, wet earth and black pepper wafting up from the pour.

Hazy orange colour and sweet on the intake with dominant mandarin, a light biscuit and earthy light spiced background while finishing semi dry. Smooth medium bitterness for an IPA. A short aftertaste is left with, for the brits reading....you know when sucking on a locket throat lozenge and you bite through to the honey center, well that's it ! A light lemon honey with a slight touch of menthol for those that have not had the pleasure.

This has a light body and mouthfeel with a medium carbonation. Overall, I like it as it makes a pleasent change. While not a mind blower I will give this a 7/10 on the beerometer.

Alc: 6.5%
Where to buy CPH : Superbrugsen
Web : Camba



I am attempting something similar to this at the weekend and their website gives lots of good detail of what they use, so this is what I have come up with for version one. I am unsure if this is dry hopped or there is a whole heap at flame out as the aroma on the bottles I have tried are not in your face with a fresh bottle. Into the deep end, I am going with what I have in stock....

Based on 73% efficiency.
23l
IBU : 49
EBC : 22
Target OG : 1.064
Mash Temp : 66 c

5.35 kg Pale Malt
0.5 kg Munich 1
0.4 kg Crystal 150 ebc
0.2 Biscuit

43g Northern Brewer - 60 min
40g Tradition - !5 min
30g Saphir -10 min
30g Saphir - Flameout
40g Saphir - Dry Hop

Yeast....I dunno yet.

I'll do a comparison when it's ready. Thanks if you made it this far. Peace, I'm outta here.

A Long Long Hiatus

I've been kinda busy, a lot has changed and two years have passed. It was only today that a reader left a comment on a beer which woke me up to the fact that I'd totally forgotten to update this blog while being on my own brewing adventure....

I was always meaning to journal my travels as a complete novice to where I am now, which I would say is competent, as you never stop learning. The idea was perhaps uploading brewing videos to youtube though I never did get around to it.

In a follow up to my last post 2 plus years ago...I did eventually move to all grain brewing. Funnily enough, I'm moving away from a three vessel system and have a brew day planned for tomorrow on a new shiny piece of kit I just bought, The Grainfather, to simplify my brewdays.

With that in mind I will start to blog again as my interest in good beer has not waned. Continuing on the blog will be more about brewing related while chucking in a beer review or two.

I wish I brewed before starting this blog as the nerdy side of me likes to deconstruct a beer I am drinking guessing what malt and hops are used.....without sounding like the bearded* weirdo standing at the bar with the one thousand yard stare contemplating what they are drinking and basically talking out their arse. Them and bloody beer hipsters do my brain in !

*caveat note, not all with beards standing at the bar are weird, some are though so be aware on approaching !

Having a greater understanding of what flavours each malt and hop brings to the beer  has changed my perception greatly, never mind what yeast alone can do.

Two years have flown by and the local beer aisles have changed greatly, including the ever increasing pricing. I now have a tendency to look at a beer and say 'sod that, I make better beer at home'. Others I will pick up and buy, recently i have a thing for German IPA's, a few of which I will post about in the coming weeks. One of which I will also try to clone.

So with this return from the dead why not leave with a small rant. Black IPA, think about it Black India PALE Ale......No, I'll be here for hours keyboard bashing.

I'm outta here.

Amager Bryghus - Julebryg 2013

With the Danish named Hurricane Bodil approaching a winter warmer is in order so….Back to the festive beer again. Amager, once again changes style as the 2012 version I had last year was a very decent brown ale. This year they have brewed an abbey dubbel without any seasonal spices added.

Light nutty aroma with roasted malt, dried fruit and caramel from the pour.

This one pours hazy dark amber brown with a creamy off-white head. Semi sweet slightly roasted malty intake with figs, nuts, chocolate and caramel while the sweet finish is quite dry with a fruity and yeasty sourness. Mild chocolate short aftertaste with figs, raisins and roast, bordering on smoked malt again. Very softy carbonated, full bodied and the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. No alcohol shines through.

Well, this one certainly went up in status as it warmed up, 30 mins out of the fridge and it was so so when pouring while finishing up at room temperature it was extremely enjoyable, maybe because it's all toasty in here while the wind batters the windows, talk about a time and place for a beer. Yet another danish christmas beer without all the spices. It seems to be a trend from the opposite of last year when everything was heavily spiced with orange peel, coriander and star of anise. As you might gather, I enjoyed this one and have no problem buying/drinking another. Summing up, decent craft abbey brew.

This scored 7.5/10 on the 'monks…do it better' Beerometer.

Alc : 7%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V. Also seen in other bottle shops.

Braumanufaktur - Werdersches

An interlude from the seasonal beer, this one a new one to me from the all organic Braumanufaktur range which I have sampled a few of. This one styled a keller bier……..

Very light aroma of malt, some toastyness and butter toffee from the pour.

Werdersches pours cloudy amber brown with a creamy white head. Quite a sweet (medium) malty intake with butterscotch or diacetyl which ever way you want to judge it along with some fruit and yeasty notes while the finish ends slightly sour with no bitterness to speak of. Short aftertaste of malt and more of the yeasty sourness. Very soft carbonation and the mouthfeel is silky smooth and creamy.

I enjoyed this one, easy to drink and not a whole lot going on to make you think too much. You could say boring but I would rather say simplistic. The constant through their range I have tried is that buttery note, or diacetyl which I don't mind most of the time while some people hate it. I would have no problems buying and sinking a few more though there are far better options of this style out there. Summing up, easy drinkable kellerbier, not the best and not the worst. Average.

This scored 4/10 on the 'the smugness on my face with 5 weeks off is unbearable to many' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.8%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V
Web : Braumanufaktur (german only apart from the dining menu)

Greene King - Hardys & Hansons Rocking Rudolph

Back again after another pause from the beer. Not a lot going on apart from I have two days of work left then I'm off for 5 weeks so hopefully a mental posting flurry ensues as I have a crate load of untested brews to get through. Continuing on with the festive beers theme this one was picked up by the wife……

Light aroma of caramel, butter, malted biscuits, spices and nuts from the pour.

Rocking Rudolph pours deep copper with a thin off-white head that quickly vanishes. Fruity intake with roasted malt, toffee and hay while this has a sour hoppy bitter finish. Quite a dry cold tea /metallic aftertaste with some sharp fruit/berries in the background. Watery mouthfeel.

I absolutely hated this, but not because of the taste, which was a bit weird in the end. This beer was that much over carbonated that I struggled to get anything from it and it was extremely harsh in the mouth. I ended up swirling it around the glass and letting it go half flat before it finally tasted, well, half decent. Not one which I would bother with again as there is far better seasonals out there and it was also overpriced. My opinion, avoid.

This scored a very generous 4/10 on the 'if rudolph is in charge of the bottling line, shoot it' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.2%
Where to buy/avoid CPH : Superbrugsen.