Well, after a couple of weeks of the beer fridge sitting empty, there are now two full ones waiting for the love and attention only a house full of people can provide. Last night they were tapped, and I had the pleasure than doesn't come often enough: evaluating my time and effort by the pintful. First off, the IPA I made didn't really come off how I had hoped. It seems clear to me that the problem is mostly one of hops, namely not enough. Not enough boiling hops, not enough dry hopping. Easily fixed next time. And then for the amber. This beer is pretty damn good. I used Horizon hops for the bittering hops, and they definitely have a different flavor. I thought they might be overpowering, and when I racked the beer into the secondary they were a bit too much. But now it just works very very well. Yeah for beer, thats what I say. And now to the future: I'm on track for a full scale, purple-clad, scepter wielding Imperial Porter. I think I might give up calling it a Baltic Porter, as originally planned, but that is certainly the inspiration. This one won't be done for a while, as it is going to be a huge huge beer. And as we all know, it takes time for beers to grow. I'm excited. Should be a busy day Sunday, what with brewing and then also bottling two other batches in anticipation for the homebrew party up in Seattle. Luckily, I've got two kegs of beer to help me through.
Posted by hobo_pappe at September 26, 2003 08:51 AM