I almost bottled PostNatal and Cherry Sparkles on Friday, just a week after brewing them, but I just couldn't do it. Even though both were done fermenting, I felt like it was too early to bottle them, even for me.
But now it's in this any-day-now mode with my wife's pregnancy, and eeking out a few hours to bottle one batch, let alone two, is a politically and practically delicate matter. You just sort of never know when I'll be needed.
But since PostNatal is for use after giving birth, I thought it would be nice if it were ready at that time. I know I'd want to crack a cold one pretty soon after giving birth, but maybe I'm projecting.
Fortunately, my wife is one of the most understanding on earth, and was agreeable to me bottling today. It turned out it was really only reasonable for me to bottle one of the batches today, but that's fine. Cherry Sparkles can wait a little bit more. Maybe tomorrow ;)
PostNatal started at 1.032 and the FG was 1.006. That makes it 3.4% ABV, which is a little higher than I wanted, but still hopefully low enough. The body is pretty thin and watery. I think that will improve with some fizz in there, and perhaps a little with age, but age generally hurts hop-centric beers. I will probably add more crystal malts and increase the mash temperature for next time I make this one. The hop bitterness is good and firm with a nice linger, but the hop flavor and aroma are weak to non-existant. I guess I need a lot more hops at flameout and maybe at other late boil times.
I'll report back when they're fully conditioned.
Showing posts with label aimée. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aimée. Show all posts
2.25.2008
10.14.2007
American Beauty Tasted!
American Beauty, my Belgian Trippel IPA, has been in bottles for 11 days now, and the plastic "barometer" bottle is hard as a rock, indicating that this is ready to go! I put one in the fridge this morning, and cracked it open tonight!
I was impressed by the aroma of the beer, which revealed the corn sugar used in latter fermentation, and also gave a clue as to the classic Belgian hops used for bittering and aroma. The head was not as vigorous as I wanted, so I will probably leave it warm for a few more weeks to let it fully carb (although the basement is getting colder now that it is 40° F overnight here). The flavor was a combination of strong sugar sweetness expected from a trippel, alcohol presence expected from a trippel and an IPA, and hop bite expected from an IPA. It is almost exactly what I wanted.
Halfway through drinking it, I asked Aimée, my wife, who is 4 months pregnant, if she wanted to smell it. Obviously she wouldn't drink it, but she can still enjoy an aroma. She took a whiff, and then immediately said "Why did I do that?" She was so tempted by the smell of it to try it. I felt bad for her, and at the same time happy that I wasn't pregnant.
I will change next time: use American hops, probably for everything. Use very high alpha hops to get 116 IBU bitterness, and perhaps combine Styrian Goldings and Cascade for a Belgian/American fusion aroma.
I was impressed by the aroma of the beer, which revealed the corn sugar used in latter fermentation, and also gave a clue as to the classic Belgian hops used for bittering and aroma. The head was not as vigorous as I wanted, so I will probably leave it warm for a few more weeks to let it fully carb (although the basement is getting colder now that it is 40° F overnight here). The flavor was a combination of strong sugar sweetness expected from a trippel, alcohol presence expected from a trippel and an IPA, and hop bite expected from an IPA. It is almost exactly what I wanted.
Halfway through drinking it, I asked Aimée, my wife, who is 4 months pregnant, if she wanted to smell it. Obviously she wouldn't drink it, but she can still enjoy an aroma. She took a whiff, and then immediately said "Why did I do that?" She was so tempted by the smell of it to try it. I felt bad for her, and at the same time happy that I wasn't pregnant.
I will change next time: use American hops, probably for everything. Use very high alpha hops to get 116 IBU bitterness, and perhaps combine Styrian Goldings and Cascade for a Belgian/American fusion aroma.
6.27.2007
Chimay Red
I also tasted Chimay Red tonight. I have a picture downstairs on the digital camera, which I may upload later. But overall Chimay Red was pretty boring. It was dark, but not too sweet, which was nice. It gave my wife heartburn right away, even with only one sip. She also said it smelled and tasted like apple cider, which I didn't really pick up on. What's that, Diacetyl or something? Anyway, it was OK, but for $4 a bottle, nothing really special. I am really looking forward to the Cinq Cents (Chimay White).
6.24.2007
La Fin Du Monde
I had the pleasure of La Fin Du Monde last night. So much pleasure, I didn't get to blog it last night. This bottle was from Cask'n'Keg here in Mystic, which has lots of great beers available. This bottle was "best before 2/8/10". Funny thing is it was a twist off cap... It was of course bottle conditioned.
La Fin Du Monde ("the end of the world" for the severely language challenged) is made by Unibroue in Canada. But it is oh so Belgian. Triple fermented beauty in a glass.
It pours cloudy deep gold, with lots of big bubbles forming a luscious head. It has a strong Belgian fruity smell that invites you to tip it back and drink up. The flavor is very fruity and spicy, as a Belgian ought to be. I'm not sure - this might be a Trippel? Check http://www.beeradvocate.com/ to see what they say. This beer has what I'd call a meduim body - not too sweet, but not too dry. It produces an alcohol warmth in the stomach. I guess it must have had hops, but I don't have any notes on it. It was probably moderately hopped - I am sure it was well balanced and appropriately hopped for its color, body, and alcohol
I have a special treat today. I got guest smellers and a guest taster. Iris, my three-and-a-half year old smelled it. Normally, beer smells "yuck" to her. But she claimed this one smelled "kind of good, kind of bad, kind of gigantic, kind of medium, kind of enormous". Not sure quite what that means, but it isn't "yuck". I think she was making a joke... Aimée, my wife smelled and tasted it. She gave it a smokey purfume smell. I think that means Belgian. Then she said it tasted like Birch Beer, with a grimace on her face. I don't think she liked it. But then again, she was drinking an Italian Pinot Grigio at the time, so I could see how the two might not mesh that well
I, however, did like La Fin Du Monde. If this is what the end of the world is like, then bring it on! This beer was just what I wanted right when I had it. I love a light color, and not-too-malty-sweet taste. I like strong alcohol feel in the gut. I like a foamy head. And I like that classic Belgian smell and taste. In fact I want a Fin Du Monde right now. But I only bought one. I'll have to make it!
La Fin Du Monde ("the end of the world" for the severely language challenged) is made by Unibroue in Canada. But it is oh so Belgian. Triple fermented beauty in a glass.
It pours cloudy deep gold, with lots of big bubbles forming a luscious head. It has a strong Belgian fruity smell that invites you to tip it back and drink up. The flavor is very fruity and spicy, as a Belgian ought to be. I'm not sure - this might be a Trippel? Check http://www.beeradvocate.com/ to see what they say. This beer has what I'd call a meduim body - not too sweet, but not too dry. It produces an alcohol warmth in the stomach. I guess it must have had hops, but I don't have any notes on it. It was probably moderately hopped - I am sure it was well balanced and appropriately hopped for its color, body, and alcohol
I have a special treat today. I got guest smellers and a guest taster. Iris, my three-and-a-half year old smelled it. Normally, beer smells "yuck" to her. But she claimed this one smelled "kind of good, kind of bad, kind of gigantic, kind of medium, kind of enormous". Not sure quite what that means, but it isn't "yuck". I think she was making a joke... Aimée, my wife smelled and tasted it. She gave it a smokey purfume smell. I think that means Belgian. Then she said it tasted like Birch Beer, with a grimace on her face. I don't think she liked it. But then again, she was drinking an Italian Pinot Grigio at the time, so I could see how the two might not mesh that well
I, however, did like La Fin Du Monde. If this is what the end of the world is like, then bring it on! This beer was just what I wanted right when I had it. I love a light color, and not-too-malty-sweet taste. I like strong alcohol feel in the gut. I like a foamy head. And I like that classic Belgian smell and taste. In fact I want a Fin Du Monde right now. But I only bought one. I'll have to make it!
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