Tonight, I took some samples of the batches of beer brewed 2 weeks ago. These will all spend a bit longer in the primaries but the Berliner Weisse which was brewed in September might be ready to drink. Let’s see.
Russian Imperial Stout, 12-13% ABV expected. I’m not sure yet what sort of additions it will see..maple, oak or some sort of liquor like oak soaked in tequila? I’m not certain yet.
- A – Midnight Black. The edges are still a bit amber which I was hoping for a darker batch. More specialty malts?
- S – Very roasty, hints of peanuts and chocolate. Boozy even on the nose.
- T – Wow. So far, so good! Up front, I get this roasted barley, charcoal taste with espresso and bakers chocolate with a touch of dried raisins. The finish is very dry, boozy and like burnt walnuts.
- O – Of course this needs more time but some of the harsher bits will for sure depart and I think this is going to come out great!
Belgian Honey Wit – 4-5% ABV because this was another “undershot my OG”. The last beer that I undershot before realizing that my grains were only mildly crushed so I expected this one to come out very weak.
- A – Looks like urine. Very pale yellow, nice clarity
- S – Light German hops on the nose, wheat and lemon juice.
- T – Weak up front taste, sort of astringent like watered down lemon-lime cough syrup. Middle gets a bit more citrus and bright. Very dry finish with hints of wheat, oatmeal and french bread
- O – This will be a very session able wit just based on the ABV which is a shame but it’s still drinkable.
Chimay Clone – a 7% Chimay Yellow label clone using Chimay yeast
- A – Bright orange, still a ton of yeast floating around in suspension. Hoping that settles out.
- S – Weak nose. Sweet sort of birch / cedar scent with bready yeast. Smells like a very watered down Orval.
- T – Bready and oaky up front, flat and room temp orange juice taste at the middle. Some pistachios and ginger at the finish.
- O – It’s no surprise that anything in the trappist style “needs more time” but it’s coming along okay. Not as great as I had expected though.
Strawberry Rhubarb Berliner Weisse – a 3.5% all-grain weisse with the strawberry and rhubarb added 4 weeks ago (about 3 months after brew day)
- A – Tangerine color. Lots of nasty pellicle floaties which is how it goes when you extract a sample from the top of the beer.
- S – The nose is absolute perfection. Smells like a strawberry juice milkshake. The rhubarb adds an additional earthy sweetness. It’s one of the best smelling beers I’ve ever brewed
- T – Whoa. Sour bomb!!! The heavy wheat profile still comes through at the finish but the start is sweet and tart from the fruit additions and souring wild yeast. Middle is all strawberry with a tough of lemon and dare I saw fresh Kiwis and mango.
- O – Looks like this one is more ready than I thought it was. It is an insanely delicious beer. very drinkable, nicely tart and a joy to drink. Wow.
It’s a shame that I lost the Blueberry Hefeweizen. Fortunately, it was a cheap grain-bill, dry yeast, no fruit additions yet and only 24 hours in the carboy. It could have been worse but these beers are really coming along. The stout and Berliner I’ll be finishing my sample of while uploading photos for this post. Very unique!