Halloween Amber

The nose is pleasantly malty-caramel with a smidge of grain! I like it.

The middle is a little thin-there’s a very steady carbonic element to this beer. On the one hand, that makes it a very drinkable beer-it clears out well, it’s good to pair with food.

On the other, it gets going so early that it wrecks the midrange flavors pretty hard. That doesn’t make it a bad beer-but it does keep it from being all it can be, in my opinion.

However, the plus that it goes well with nachos cannot be overshadowed by these minor quibbles.

Brew date: 9/5/22

Steeping grains
4 lb Eureka
1 lb C15
4 lb Pale toasted 2 row

Fermentables: 3 lb ExLME

Hops
@ 60 .5 oz Zamba, 1 oz Motueka
@5 .5 oz Zamba, 1 oz Motueka

Yeast: Imperial Tartan

OG: 1.055

FG: 1.011

ABV: 6%

Amber Ale 2020

Nose has a little bit of honey to it-sweet but also a little floral.

The flavors go along with that. It’s got a very strong malt backbone, which I like. The finishing bitterness isn’t very strong but it is just enough to keep any malt-sugar sourness pop up.

The effervescence isn’t very strong and I’m not sure if that’s a flaw or not. On the downside: the olfactory elements don’t get very far but on the upside, it does just enough work on the finish to make this a quaffable ale, and no more. There isn’t a sparkle on the tongue as with some lagers, for example.

All in all, though I like this beer and I think I did well with it.

Brew date: 5.16.20

Steeping grains
.5 lb 50L Caramalt

.5 lb biscuit
3 lb munich
3 lb 2 row

Fermentables: 3 lb ExLMe

Hops
1.5 oz East Kent Goldings @60
.25 oz Cascade @ 60
.25 oz East Kent, .75 oz Cascade @5

Yeast: Imperial House (2nd use)

OG: 1.064

FG: 1.01

Bottled 5.23.20

ABV: 7.3%

One More For The Red

The nose on this is exactly where it should be. A little sweet, with some roasted quality to help balance it out, a bit like cooked sugar.

The malt quality, though; this is where it’s at. Following through with the scent qualities, there’s this strong malt sweetness that is exactly where I’d hope it be: carmalized sugar. Which means that there’s a tang of roasted quality there which keeps it all in check.

This beer is really good, and a great way to bring this experiment to a close. I will certainly use this recipe again, since it hits the marks well. This ale is drinkable as all get out and light enough for cool summer days, plus anytime in spring or fall.

Brew date: 11/18/18

Steeping grains
4.5 lb Metolius
2 lb C 20
1 lb Chorus
.5 lb Encore (C50)

Fermentables: 5 lb Extra Light Malt Extract

Hops
1 oz Golding, 1 oz Lemondrop @ 60
1 oz Lemondrop @5

Yeast: Imperial Flagship (2nd use)

OG: 1.085

FG: 1.04

Put into secondary 12/13
Bottled 12/16

ABV: 6.1

Disasterpiece

So much went right with this beer. I can tell in the nose, which is sweet, and the toffee flavors that ride right through the beer that I was on the right track. Not as hoppy as I might’ve liked but the hops I’ve been using are starting to get a little old, so it’s understandable.

Then the aftertaste comes in. Like someone who shits on the carpet at the end of your party, so this nasty flavor comes up and ruins an otherwise good beer. Acridly bitter at first then phenolic after that, this aftertaste becomes the beer. Think bandage adhesive and you’ve got the phenolic flavor.

This is the beer I bottled a few weeks ago when my racking cane broke, leading to an unfortunate chain of events where I had to replace it. My best guess is that the beer got oxidized when I attempted to bottle it but it’s also possible that the new equipment just wasn’t sanitized enough and the result infected the beer.

I am going to retry this beer at a future date because 90% of it is right. It’s just the last 10% that kills it and I’m sure I won’t make the same mistake twice.

Made from the oldest ingredients

My friend Ed sent me this story about an amber ale brewed from a yeast that had been suspended in amber. For 45 million years.

Just sayin’ it’s pretty neat and you ought to check it out.

Also, I have stumbled upon the Arkeg. I found this via Kotaku (I do have other hobbies aside from beer) and feel like this is as good a time and place to share it with you.

Finally, there’s a website to petition bars to carry beers you want.  I’m not sure how effective this is; good bars pay attention to their clients and bring in beers those patrons want to drink. Bad bars don’t. But what the heck; maybe it’ll do someone some good.

Someone gave Budweiser Amber a shot

I wanted to give this a try, just because they’ve got to have some smart people working at Budweiser. Lagers are a very difficult style to brew, and to do it so consistently on such a large scale requires some real dedication and skill. Even though I don’t like the beer they brew, I appreciate the effort that it takes to get a lager made. They must’ve put some polish on a different style, right?

Well, maybe not so much. My personal enthusiasm for trying this beer has been curbed. It’s probably for the best.

Happy New Year, everyone.