Tasting the IPA

Testing Time

Time to try the IPA I brewed on March 2nd. First impressions are it's not too hoppy and it doesn't taste too strong despite being 6% abv. In fact it's a little bit too easy to drink. There's a bit of sweetness (maybe from the maize?) and I think I could have made it more bitter. Overall it's quite pleasant and very drinkable, perhaps more like a strong bitter rather than an IPA.

It's also cleared up a lot in the last couple of weeks. When I tried it two weeks ago and it was still a bit too hazy. This was the first time I've used Nottingham yeast and I am really impressed with it, the beer is clean tasting with no overwhelming estery flavours and it's perfect for bottle conditioning with the sediment sticking hard to the bottom of the bottle.

Strong Bitter Tasting

Extra Strong, Extra Special

It's a glorious hot summer's day in sunny Manchester so the perfect opportunity to drink a chilled glass of Extra Strong/Special Bitter (ESB).

Hazy!

This is the beer I brewed on 9th June (recipe here) and took to Manchester Beer Week Homebrew Expo after only two weeks conditioning. Ideally I should have left it for a few more weeks so after more than four weeks in bottles I think it's time for another taste.

Disappointingly it's still a bit hazy but that aside I am very pleased with this. At 5.1% abv it has a bit of a boozy kick but is still very drinkable, which is a slight worry as it's not exactly a session ale. It's not hoppy, but neither is it too bitter at 35 IBU's. The malt flavours are more prevalent but it's not too sweet, overall a very pleasant, traditional style ESB.

Clear!

Quick update, after another four weeks the beer is now crystal clear! Once again standard homebrewing rules apply; if it's not right at first just leave it for a while, it won't get any worse and might just improve.