Wednesday 16 January 2013
6 Months :-)
Well it's been 6 months since I made my first Extract beer, which was a non-kit with hops and yeast., I saved a bottle of it to try and learn a bit more about what happens in the aging process.
Heres a Picture:
Its from www.howtobrew.com, john palmers Cinncinnati Pale ale recipe, switched around as at the time the LHBS didn't have Light LME, so i used Amber LME and Light DME, with nugget and cascade hops.
As a first beer it was very nice, and really kicked off my quest you now see here.
Anyways, onto the taste test of a6 month old beer....
Taste=OLD. theres a big difference in taste from when I first tasted it,theres absolutely no Hop aroma, theres a bittering taste, which has mellowed with time, and Its quite hard to detect the late additions (20 & 10 cascade 14g each. I think its fair to say that I won't age my beers like this, unless I think it needs it, or the recipe recommends it.
On a separate note, I tried my Blonde ale again last night as well.
Based on this recipe: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/busty-brunette-blonde-ska-true-blonde-clone-321035/index2.html
which has actually got better with age, I think the fact I used actual grains helps alot. And considering I didn't like it first time up, after 5 months, its one damn tasty beer. Such a shame theres none left.
Oh and last note: I accidentally dropped a few White flag Nelson Saison, and one cap popped, So clearly I had to drink it... what a hard life. taste is good lots of 3711 esters, so I've taken a 6 pack to the motel and put them in the fridge to see what its like cold and carbed etc. Picture to follow.
Seems extract just doesn't hold up to age at all. I had a very similar experience with my extract beers. Sadly, none of my all grains have lasted much past 3 months!!
ReplyDeleteI've been saving a bottle of each beer, and letting them age.... i think I'll stop at 3 months.
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