Blackbelt Brewing Review

[Inkleg]

Ok, sorry for the delay. Wanted to post this with a picture.
A few weeks ago Ron sent a care package with 3 beers. His Dead Guy clone, a Hefe and Hack Pale Ale. I posted the Dead Guy review on that other forum, I my see if I can find it and paste it here.
Enter Hack Pale Ale. If I remember the back story on this it was thrown together from some odds and ends ingredients he had left over. If this is what he makes from leftovers, his though out beers should rock(they do by the way).
It poured a dark amber/reddish/brown color with a slight head. Upon bringing the glass to my nose, had I not know this was beer I would have thought wine. It gave off a nice slight sweet/grape aroma that was quite pleasant.
First sip was light on the tongue, slight malt and hops. Both balanced each other out equally, making for a good beer. Carbonation level was good(better that mine I hear )
Nothing really made this beer stand out. It was one of those easy drinking, sitting around with Borg members, enjoying the company and beer kinda beer. Well done Ron.

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[Inkleg]

To give a background why this post is like this. I had a HUGE review written with picture on the MrB site. Hit post and the whole thing went away. After that I'd write a sentence post it and do it again. Thank You again for this site Louie.
Good beer Ron. Hey look that post went through, lets try more.
Think I'll edit this after every sentence.
Had Rons Dead Guy Ale tonight. This beer poured a beautiful orange/amber color with a slight head that disapated quickly. Nice malt nose with a slight hop aroma. Smooth malt taste up front with hops coming in on the back side. Good carbonation level to the bottom of the glass. The color, man-o-man love the color like a nice oily anjeo tequila. What a very well brewed beer, could drink this all day. Thank you Ron.
Now I'm going to try and post a picture, wish me luck.

Look what I found at that other place. Over here I can now attach a picture and know people can see it.

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[Kealia]

Glad you liked them Jeff. Looks like you have a nice spot to enjoy some beers outside, too.

The Hack Pale Ale was about as simple as it gets and can EASILY be made by brewers who are still using MrB/Brew Demon HMEs.
2 cans WCPA (or equivalent)
1 lb munich LME
1/4oz Amarillo + 1/4oz Simcoe for 30 minute hopstand (in the Munich LME + water)
I used PacMan yeast but anything clean will do.

I'll need to try another one now and see what the aroma is like. My tester bottle a few weeks ago was Simcoe on the nose so it will be interesting to see if it already mellowed out and I pick up a sweeter tone like you did.

I have my Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale ready to send now, I'm just waiting on the Levitation to carb up so I can bottle it from the keg and ship it your way.

[Kealia]

Interesting....I had one of these tonight and the hop aroma and flavor from the hopstand is gone. I see what you mean now about not picking up any aroma from it. Weird......

Its a fine session ale, but not the beer it was just a few weeks ago. I'm wondering if the process doesn't keep the aroma and flavor the way a traditional hop addition does. But I thought it was actually supposed to be MORE stable.

Like I said, there's nothing wrong with it, it just lost some zing.

[Inkleg]

Todays review is on Ron's Hefe I popped the cap on yesterday. This is a style of beer I do not drink so I don't know what to expect.

Not much Phfffttttt when I opened it(thought it might be flat)normal for style? Poured with little to no head, but there was carbonation and a nice light yellow color.

Bringing the glass up for a smell....wait, is that?....remove from nose and bring back up, yep bubblegum smell. Ok, now I'm off to the computer and Classic Styles book, I need to read.
Holy crap, guess what I find out. The yeast can bring a bubblegum aspect to the aroma....weird, but in a good way.

Frist sip brings a slight banana flavor with a nice dry crisp wheat edge to it that was there at the finish.

Allowed the wife and son to try, almost didn't get it back from the spousal support unit and she's not a drinker.

I could see enjoying a few of these after cutting the lawn. Heck, who am I kidding, I could see me enjoying quite a few of these while watching my SON MOW the lawn.

Well done Ron, Well done.

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[Kealia]

Todays review is on Ron's Hefe I pop the cap on yesterday. This is a style of beer I do not drink so I don't know what to expect.

Not much Phfffttttt when I opened it(thought it might be flat)normal for style? Poured with little to no head, but there was carbonation and a nice light yellow color.

No, not to style at all. These should actually be carbed at 3.5 - 4.0 volumes so this is WAY off. My wife said the same thing on the last few she had and it wasn't until after I bottled them (by a day or two) that I realized that the temp in my beer fridge was higher than it normally was. not sure how, but my JC got switched (maybe she unplugged it for something and then re-plugged it in) and it wasn't as cold. That would explain why it was undercarbed - sorry.

Interesting that you pick up bubblegum as that is something that I have never been able to pick up in any hef I've had. (Reference this comment to the one in your Pliny thread that I just replied to and you'll see why I don't consider my palate to be very good). When this was young it was a banana bomb and over time it seemed to morph into what I thought was clove - but maybe it's bubblegum and I just don't know it....

I'm going with a friend today to a local brewery (Drake's) and I'll see if I get bubblegum in theirs. I like a nice cold hef on a summer day but that's the only time I brew this style (once per year). It's specialized so it's not an everyday/every season beer for me. And don't judge the style by this one mediocre example if you want to see what they are really like. A good carb makes a difference too, IMO.

If you thought these were decent beers I'm really looking forward to you trying the two I just sent. Although I need to try a taster of the SC Summer Ale before you guys do to warn you if something went horribly wrong!

[Inkleg]

Although I need to try a taster of the SC Summer Ale before you guys do to warn you if something went horribly wrong!

You mean like something slightly over carbed.

[Beer-lord]

I also was lucky enough to get a Hack Pale Ale from Ron and am enjoying it right now. Here's my extremely non-professional review.
I poured a bit too aggressively and you can't tell from the pic but it poured crystal clear. The lacing is slight but the carb is perfect for this beer. It's clean and refreshing and light. The aroma has a slight malt smell, not sweet, with little hop aroma. The color is a gorgeous, burnt orange.

I re-read the above posts by Ron and can see that some of the 'zing' he mentions is gone. I'm not sure the taste needs anything but a bit of aroma would compliment this beer. It's an easy drinking, all day kind of beer. If I were to watch a football game with some buds, I could drink this the whole game and enjoy it. Maybe not award winning, but if it's as simple as was stated to make, more should definitely be made. For a 5.8% ABV, one beer gave me a small buzz which doesn't happen to me normally with one beer.
Ron, thanks for sharing this. Was gelatin used to make this beer come out so clear?

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[Kealia]

Although I need to try a taster of the SC Summer Ale before you guys do to warn you if something went horribly wrong!

You mean like something slightly over carbed.

Now that's funny right there.

[Kealia]

Maybe not award winning, but if it's as simple as was stated to make, more should definitely be made.

THAT is what I should have put on the label! "Not award winning, but easy to make!"

No gelatin, nope. And since this was an HME, DME and hopstand I didn't use whirfloc either. Just a good cold crash before bottling.

And it's too bad that the aroma didn't hold, it did make it that much better. Oh well, for the effort I guess I shouldn't complain, right?

Cheers!

[Beer-lord]

I wasn't sure if this was an AG or not but damn, HME and DME. Even better now. You did very well indeed! Simple AND good! Sounds like a redo to me!