Beer: My First HomeBrew March 13, 2007 01:03:03 PM
My beer is done! And it's actually pretty good! I was all paranoid and genuinely frightened that my whole batch was infected since I took so long with each step during the whole cooking process. I mean, I even had to pitch a second batch of yeast because of Stuck-fermentation only 48hours of being in the primary fermenter.
Last Wednesday marked the 2 week point of carbonating in the bottles. When I had some, It was pretty lemony, like slightly sour, nothing bad, just, unexpected. I was making a Pale Ale, but it had a reminiscence of hefe-weizen. I was once told that most hoppy homebrews (such as IPAs and mine) could still change in flavor over a third week of carbonating. So I decided to let them go for another week, in hopes that it would get better. My biggest fear was that the sourness was from infection. I could only hope that the sourness was from the yeast and that the taste would take a turn for the better and not the worse over one more week.
Yesterday I busted a chilled one open, and hot dang, I guess that little fact was true! My beer tastes pretty good for a n00b. To describe it, it's color is a light amber, like a yeungling only a little darker, and it's slightly foggy when chilled like a wheat beer. The taste still has that lemony accent, but it hasn't increased since last sampled, so thats good. The hoppy flavor and aromas have increased their body quite substantially which actually delicately compliments the sour attributes. It has wonderful head. When pouring, there is just the right amount of carbonation, and the head-retention is very nice too, like if you let it sit for a bit, it doesn't loose its carbonation.
Like I said, I'm pretty pleased with this batch, but now I'm not really sure how to classify it. It was suppose to be a Pale Ale, but considering that it tastes like a combination of a hefe-weizen and an india pale ale, I think I will create my own catagory and place it in there; India Hefe Ale (IHA). I must also name it, so paying homage to my fav place on earth, I shall call it, the Heff-Hog.
User:
Anonymous
COMMENT: your favorite place on earth is a hog?