Naked Cat Brewery - a review

[Kealia]

I traded beers with Jeff and I thought that I would review the beers here, for all to see.

(Chris, sorry I didn't do this for yours. But I can say that BlackDuck makes outstanding beers y'all!)

Tonight's beer was Inkleg's Simcoe (almost) IIPA. Jeff, correct me if I got the name wrong.
I received this package on Friday and immediately put them in the fridge. I was anxious to try them and I don't think the CO2 fully re-absorbed because I got a bit of a beer-shake on this one:


Once it settled, I smelled it. Wow. This thing reeks (in a good way) of tropical fruit. The predominant smell to me was pineapple, with some mango and assorted citrus back up. My wife smelled passion fruit. Beautiful golden color that I'm guessing is 2-row + some crystal 60 and/or a hint of Munich?

I can't say that it's the typical malty up front and hops on the back end because the hops come through right at the beginning. Great flavor up front and it has the malt chops to balance it out, unlike a few recent beers I've had from local establishments that were so heavy on the hops that they were almost resin-y in the mouth.

There is a just a little bitterness in the finish which is perfect for my taste. It's not a bitter-just-to-bitter beer at all. I'm guessing that it's in the 6.5% range but doesn't drink like a heavy beer at all.

In closing, this is a solid beer that I bet any of you would be happy to drink or pay for at a store/brewery.



There will be 3 more to review and I'll update this thread as I get to them.

[Beer-lord]

I love reading about this stuff.
Maybe Louie can set up a section for shared beer reviews so that anyone who's been lucky enough to get a homebrew from someone in the borg can discuss and review it.
Or, is this a bad idea?

I've had great brews from a number of borg members and they do the craft proud.

[Kealia]

Yeah, well you're one of the next on my list to reach out to

[Beer-lord]

Would love to do a beer-swap with you. I keep hoping the beers I've sent out to others isn't affected by the hot summer and am looking forward to cooler weather and better tasting brews.

[mashani]

I'm glad to see that naked cats are in the house. I still haven't opened the 09-09-09 he sent me, and wanted to be able to tell him what I think when I get to it. I think I'm going to like it, but it's a pretty big beer, and I'm in small beer mode still due to the weather.

[mashani]

This also reminds me that I need to get some glass and caps so I can send some of you all beers. The downside of bottling most of my beers in 740ML Coopers PETs.

[Kealia]

Hey, bigger beers are OK

I've actually had a few really good beers in the past that I wanted to send out that I only bottled in swing tops. Me thinks that would be a disaster.
Looking forward to trying another Naked Cat tonight.

(That last sentence is not something that you say everyday....)

[philm00x]

The one Naked Cat beer I've had is the 09-09-09 Vertical Epic clone, and that was delicious. Good beer from the hairless ones! Oh, and Jeff, too

[Inkleg]

Thanks for the great write up Ron. It gives one a good feeling to know their beers are enjoyed by their peers. I am really glad you enjoyed it and sorry about the excitement upon opening. You are correct with the name and the ABV, notes say 7%. It's half 2 row and Marris with a few ounces of 90 and 120 thrown in and Simcoe start to finish. Notes say I pitched it on half of my Levitation yeast cake.
I'll post it in Advanced Recipes when I get a chance. Still try to find my way around here and can't log on at work anymore.

[Inkleg]

I love reading about this stuff.
Maybe Louie can set up a section for shared beer reviews so that anyone who's been lucky enough to get a homebrew from someone in the borg can discuss and review it.
Or, is this a bad idea?

I've had great brews from a number of borg members and they do the craft proud.

A Home Brew Review section might be nice. It seems we sure are sending a lot around.

[Kealia]

Cool new spot. I'll be cracking open another Naked Cat this weekend.
Read into that however you like.

[Inkleg]

You and I both Ron.
Yep, read into that however you'd like.

I'll be posting on your Hack Pale Ale soon.

[BeerRust]

Cool thread! Should others post their reveiws here too?

[Beer-lord]

Cool thread! Should others post their reveiws here too?

Most definitely post your reviews here.

[Kealia]

Tonight's offering: Levitation, bottled (or brewed) back in March.

Having just been to Stone I think I can provide a fair comparison against the original.

Opened the bottle and pppfffttttt, here comes the beer! It foamed over a bit and I captured about 8 ounces in the glass. I'm teasing Jeff a bit because we traded emails on this and he realized that he overcarbed a bit using Brewers Best carb drops on this batch.

First impression - great head
Next, the color was spot on. Gorgeous ruby red and c'mon, who doesn't love a red head?

Aroma: A bit subdued on the hop front and almost a little sweet. I'm guessing that this had a bit more hop aroma a few months ago.

Taste, smooth and a bit sweet on the finish. Not as bitter as the original not does it have as much hop flavor. Mind you, neither of these are complaints, just observations compared to having the original on tap 48 hours ago.

Drinkable? Hell yeah!
Comparisons to the original aside, this beer was brewed well. That's something that you can always tell whether you like a style or not. And whether you've tried something that is being cloned or not. This beer was loved throughout the process and that didn't stop with my drinking it.

I can honestly say that I hope my current batch that is fermenting comes out this well, too.