My First Taste!

I’ve been reading a lot about when I can expect my first brew to be ready for drinking.  In my reading I’ve seen a number of people suggest that newbies to the beer brewing hobby (like me) should take samples along the way to get a feel for how a beer ages and matures.

As you know, my beer went into bottles about a week and a half ago.  I let them age for 1 week in a dark, cool closet in the basement.  After that week was up, they were moved into a mini fridge.

Today I finally gave in and took a sample.  Upon opening it, I was greeted with a friendly hiss and bubbles climbing up the neck.  Yay!  Carbonation!

I poured the bottle into a glass to see what my beer looks like.  You could literally float a cap on this head and the color was a gorgeous, cloudy, amber-brown.

 Or is that caramel-copper-brown??

The beer had a pleasant smell.  Not overly hoppy and a bit yeasty or bready and sweet to the nose.

The taste was bitter and earthy, though not much upfront hop flavor.  The finish (that would be a fancy word for aftertaste) was very yeasty.  Probably not a beer I would buy at the liquor store more than once, but again – it’s still very premature.

I think it’s safe to assume that over the next couple weeks my brew will continue to mature.  Some of the yeastiness will give way to other more subtle flavors and I may end up with a really tasty drink!

Edit - It didn’t last long enough to find out.  It was all imbibed within 3 weeks.  Hopefully you have more willpower than I did!

Up Next:

In my next adventure I begin my first 2-stage fermentation and create my own custom recipe for an Irish Mocha Stout!!

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