Batten Down Brown

Beer Name: Batten Down Brown
Brewery: Homebrewed by me (with Kate)
ABV: It's supposed to be around 4.8%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Brewed on 8/27/11, bottled 9/10/11

My second attempt at brewing beer myself went much more smoothly than the first. This is partly due to having an actual recipe this time, but mostly because I knew everything that I had done wrong the first time and could avoid doing it again.

Batten Down Brown is, as the name suggests, a brown ale. It pours a deep brown color with only a thin head that fades quickly without leaving any lacing pattern. The aroma is pretty much all malt, with a noticeable aroma from the chocolate malt we used. There's also just a tiny hint of the finishing hops.

Somewhat surprisingly (since I was partly responsible for its production), this beer is actually pretty good. It tastes the way you'd expect a brown ale to taste, with most of the flavors being malty in nature. There is a noticeable chocolately or coffee flavor to it as well, which I like. The carbonation is very light, which, when combined with the smooth mouthfeel, make this beer drink very easily.

Final thought - While much better than the first batch of beer, I still think this could be improved. There is just a little bit of a sharpness to it that I don't think should be there. Other than that, I think this beer lived up to my expectations, and will be listed as a success in my brewer's diary.

-Jon

My First IPA

Beer Name: My First IPA
Brewery: Homebrewed by me (with Bill), brewery name still pending
ABV: No idea, but higher than it was supposed to be.
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Brewed 8/11/11, bottled 8/24/11

I'm not sure if I should be reviewing my own beer here, but since I'm the one in charge, I'm going to let it slide. Considering the amount of mistakes I made during the brewing process, I'm shocked that this even came out as beer at all.

My First IPA is a very dark beer, making the "P" part of IPA a bit of a lie. It poured with about an inch of head that quickly evaporated. As the beer level falls, it leaves a light lacing temporarily, but nothing long lasting. The aroma is lightly hoppy, but not as hoppy as an IPA should be. There's also a sweet maltiness to it, presumably a direct result of me adding the priming sugar to the boil where it absolutely did not belong. It's actually not a bad aroma, but it's not appropriate for an IPA.

The beer is very average. It doesn't really taste like an IPA though, which is disappointing. I am not really sure how to describe the flavor. It's mostly malty and sweet, with only a little bit of bitterness in the background. It finishes fairly cleanly, leaving a slight aftertaste. Light carbonation here, meaning I probably bottled it correctly. Score one for me.

Final thought - Even for a first beer, this is still not that great. Other people have had a slightly more positive opinion, but I suspect they're just being nice. They also didn't try it after being in the bottle a week, where it tasted like someone had bitten my tongue. Yeah, that's a taste now. However, it's still beer that I made, so I'm going to either drink or spite-drink all of them. And maybe give a couple away, if anyone wants them.

-Jon