Naked Cat Brewery - a review

[Inkleg]

Again Ron, Thank you for the kind words.
Glad you were ready this time . I use the carb drops for bottled beer that don't fit in the keg and have never had one myself. I think I'll cut it back to 2 drops.
I went ahead and put 2oz of Amarillo in a sack and into my Levitation today. That way I won't have hops in the yeast cake when I put my Sublimely Self-Righteous on it next weekend.

[Beer-lord]

I've started using some carb drops lately since I don't bottle much and mine say 2 drops for 12 oz but I guess every brand comes in different sizes. So far, so good with these.

[Kealia]

Hoping to get to another one of these tonight. Stay tuned ~

[Kealia]

I went to class tonight and did a lot of this --->

I then got home and decided to do this --->

Tonight's offering, Bela's IPA:

Poured ridiculously clear. Like it was filtered. Way cool.
Not much head but honestly that is not something that I care about - I'm just stating it in case Jeff cares. And if other bottles do have it, I'm blaming the glass. My daughter used it the other day and I can't confirm how clean it was. Pppfffttttt!

Aroma was a little malty sweet and a little hop, balanced. Not over the top like some of the IPAs and IIPAs I've been drinking lately. Smells like either Cascade or Centennial if I had to guess - which I'm not very good at so I could be totally off.

Taste, medium to light body and crisp. Smooth bitterness. I mean really smooth to the point that non-IPA drinkers would like this. It's got more bitterness that an APA, but in a good way. Good hop flavor that hangs around a bit and the finish is actually malty. (NOTE: Burps are hoppy )

Knowing what I know from Jeff's posts I'm guessing that this is North of 6.5% but if it is it sure as hell doesn't taste like it. Now that I write that, I'm starting to feel it a bit so I'm going with over 6.5% for sure. This drinks almost like a session beer, but suddenly it doesn't FEEL like a session beer. This is dangerous boys.

This. Is. A. Damn. Good. Beer. Fellas.

All butt-licking hairless cats should be proud to have their name on this libation.

Rock on Inkleg!

[Beer-lord]

I had a Bella (Bela?) a while back dry hopped in the keg. It was awesome! It definitely drinks like a session beer and I can see why it's a house beer in rotation.

[Kealia]

Hmmm, a dry hop in the keg to kick the aroma up a notch would be nice with this.

[Inkleg]

Y'all keep posting sh*t like this and I'll begin to believe that I can actually brew beer.
Belas is in the 3rd recipe tweak and think this is where I'll leave it. It is posted in the BeerSmith cloud under Inkleg, don't have it on this computer or I'd post it here.

This is the beer I dry hopped in the keg back on 5-2-13. The hop sack is still in there and I'm taking it till the keg kicks or I get off flavors, just to see.
I guess I could refresh it with more hops, there is about 20 beers left in the keg.

Ron you do know your ABV, this is 7.2% by my notes. Really glad you liked it.

[BlackDuck]

Here's my addition to this thread. I just popped open the Pliny the Elder clone from Jeff. Wow. I've had Pliny only once in my life a few months ago. From what I remember, this clone is definitely a clone. It's spot on. The color is awesome. The aroma hits you right in the face and the flavor is a great blend of a lot of hops. Very well done sir!! Now I really can't wait until my clone recipe is done. I just hope mine turns out just as good as Jeff's!!

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[Beer-lord]

Oh boy, can't wait to try this one tomorrow.

[BlackDuck]

Just poured the Naked Cat Brewery Vertical Epic clone. I believe this was the 9/9/9 correct Jeff? If so, then it's a Belgian Porter with Spices according to Stone's website.

This is an interstingly tasty beer. It poured a dark brown with a small tan head ( ). The aroma was chocolatey with a slight coffee maybe, although I'm not sure about that part. I was expecting it to taste chocolate, roast and coffee. But, surprisingly, that's not really what I got. It was slightly chocolatey, but there was a lot more going on. It was well balanced, not too hoppy and not too malty. Well done on the balance. There was some vanilla going on maybe, but very slightly.

I'm having a tough time explaining this one. It is a very good beer. Seems to be very complex with a lot going on. But nothing is overpowering anything else. Anyway...I'm not gonna say much more cause I think I'm starting to not make sense.

But I will leave it at this. It's a very tasty brew. Well done Jeff. Thanks for sending.

[Inkleg]

Thank You for the kind words Chris.
This has been the most complex beer I've brewed. I have it on tap and it seems every glass is a little different. Tonight I get a sweet roast smell with a slight coffee taste and a little vanilla on the back side. In some glasses I'll get a slight oak taste, which I really like. I may have to look into dropping a few tequila soaked oak cubes in a hop sack into this just to see where that goes.
And at 8.2% you can start not making sense real quick.

[Kealia]

This one must be good. I just looked at the bottle tonight and now I'm seeing hairless cats everywhere

[mashani]

I still have not cracked my 09-09-09... maybe in October I will feel like drinking an 8% beer... for now I have a naked cat in my fridge that smiles upon me every time I open it.

[BlackDuck]

The funny thing is....it doesn't seem like an 8% beer. In fact, I had completely forgotten about that until Jeff mentioned it in his post. So that's one more feather in the beers cap. All that good complexity really hides the high ABV!!!

[mashani]

Its chilly tonight, and this was an off day, so I busted out the naked cat. The Vertical 9-9-9 to be specific.

I like this beer a lot, but I have no idea what it is.

Oaked Imperial Chocolate Stout? A Vanilla Baltic Porter with some Special B or 120+L crystal? A Quad that someone forgot to dry out with sugar? All of the above spiked with expresso? It even has hints of citrus on the finish.

It's too sweet and roasty to be an authentic big Belgian, but it's not supposed to be one. It's seems lightly carbed and has no head to speak of. I think a lot of the mouth perception is as much the alcohol/yeast spices as much as the carb. It hides the alcohol pretty well, although it does leave a "lasting impression" when you try to stand up after sipping on it LOL.

I think a bit more carb would cut through some of the sweetness and bring out the other flavors even more. I'd carb it a bit higher if I made it I think, or bitter it a tiny bit more if I was going to keep the carb levels as is, or use more sugar to dry it out more... hard to say. It likely would not be a 9-9-9 clone then of course. I don't know, I've never had the real thing.

It's very complex, as the temperate of it changes different flavors pop to the front.

It's an expertly brewed beer, there are no brewing defects I can detect.

Overall I like it a lot!