Vital Statistics:
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Recipe: 6 lb European Pilsner malt 3 lb European pale ale malt 8 oz Belgian aromatic malt 6 AAU (13g @ 13% AA) Nugget @ 60 3 AAU (24g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 30 2 AAU (16g @ 3.5% AA) Czech Saaz @ 5 2 AAU (19g @ 3% AA) Hallertauer @ 5 Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Notes: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tasting Notes: Tasting notes taken 15 January 2011. Dispensed from keg into a 1 liter Maßkrug. Appearance: medium golden hue with two fingers of frothy white foam. Head doesn't have great retention; I may want to consider some kind of adjunct in the future to assist with this. I also feel like this could have a more compact head and a richer golden hue. Overall it is not bad, but it is not as good as I would like it to be. (3) Smell: nice malt component with a bready quality which I quite like. The hops contribute an earthy, herbal quality which is quite apparent in the aroma; in fact, when I first growlered this, the aroma was extremely pungent, to the point almost of skunkiness. Of the adjectives I would used to describe this beer's smell, "Belgian" would not be among them; still, I think it is relatively appetizing and a relatively successful aroma. (3.5) Taste: good malt flavor with a homey, bready feel. Hops are much more toned down in the flavor than in the aroma, and the bitterness level is good and balanced. While this beer is far from a "winter warmer", its character does lend itself to being a good beer to quaff indoors while poor weather rages outside. On paper, this beer's flavor should not be a great success, but at this point I'm finding myself quite liking it. (4) Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a decent carbonation level. It doesn't burst with creaminess but there is a certain smooth texture here. Once again, I think this beer would benefit from a little bit of adjunct malt to give it a little more body. (3.5) Drinkability: as I said before, there's a certain je ne sais quoi with this beer which makes me enjoy it. While it is far from perfect, there are enough commingling flavors here to keep me interested for at least 2 liters' worth. (4) Overall score 3.65 (B). This beer has challenged how I feel about my homebrew -- I like it despite the fact that it is not particularly a success. I get the feeling that this beer just rubs me the right way, and that others probably wouldn't feel the same way. I brought some of this to a friend's house for a big beer party back in November, and it was received relatively well (despite its odiferous nature). Going forward I might benefit from fresher hops and perhaps some adjunct malts; I might even try this with a basic 2-row ale malt rather than the Euro Pilsner malt I used here. I find this batch to be a good learning experience, and even if it's got its flaws, I rather enjoy it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hops Table
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