Saturday, May 28, 2011

Batch #4, English Porter Tasting

I brewed the Old Horse and Jockey porter about a month and a half ago and am finally getting around to a proper tasting.  Sorry for the bad photo, girlfriend took the camera memory card to Asia with her so I had to use a webcam.

Appearance-  Very dark but quite brown under the light with deep garnet highlights. Pretty much what I was going for on this one, but might be a little more opaque than I had hoped.  A very thin head which fades slowly into a thin film (as seen in the picture, took me a few minutes to get the computer situated).  The lack of head may be due to low carbonation.

Smell- Roasty flavors like cooked meat with some definite coffee and candy sweet aromas as well.

Taste- Light roast with some cocoa and coffee but with the sweetness coming through more upfront. Finish is bitter roast with hints of hops.

Mouthfeel- A bit thin and undercarbonated.  I had expected the body on this to be a little bit higher but had aimed for low carbonation so its around what was expected.  If there is one aspect I would change it is the lack of body, which may be accentuated by the lack of carbonation.

Drinkability- Not the best porter ever by any measure but very drinkable and flavorful.  My favorite beer I've brewed yet and all around seems to hit what I was aiming for, if not blowing away.  The mouthfeel is the worst part of this beer but it isn't enough to hurt it too badly.  My grandmother who is from England and grew up in her grandparent's pub ("The Old Horse and Jockey" which I named the beer after) said "It tastes like beer should taste." I have to agree.

Honey Brown Ale

Currently brewing my brown ale recipe: http://hopville.com/recipe/636396/northern-english-brown-ale-recipes/turn-of-the-century

Should have a little chocolatey bitterness but mainly caramel sweetness and a bit of honey.  In many ways it is the weaker cousin of my porter, using smaller amounts of most of the same ingredients.

Will update further as this one progresses.

5-28-11
Brewing went off without too many problems.
  •  The thermometer appears to be off (boiling began at 220F rather than 212)
  • Some of the honey got stuck in the container and was thrown out (probably less than an ounce of honey, and this had been expected to some extent)
  • I forgot the Irish Moss so this one might not clear up as others have, but otherwise went according to plan.