I had not yet posted a tasting of my banana stout as I had been consistently disappointed by it. Today I came home to bottle the table Belgian I made as a side to the quad several weeks ago. I also decided to check on my other on-going projects and make some decisions on them. I'll start with the updates.
Quad: down to 10.13 this one appears done fermenting. Flavor is great with some caramel, spice and fruit mixing with a little boozy heat. I plan to move this to secondary today for two weeks before bottling.
Small Belgian: this one has a lot more off flavors than the quad and seems to have some serious chunks of protein. Nevertheless I need the Carboy and have no intention of dumping so I will bottle today.
Brett Bitter: still a touch more bitter than I would like but it seems a great base for a fruit beer otherwise. Might add blackberries in 2 weeks.
Sour Brown: awesome! This beer seems to have regained a bit of its toasty biscuity qualities while also continuing to develop acid and berry flavors. Really happy with where this is.
Now on to the tasting.
A- opaque black with a big tan head that fades to a pretty one finger layer.
S- fruity as it pours, though not a huge nose in the glass. A little coffee and fruit (I smell banana but my Dad says apricot) shines through.
T- definite overripe banana with some light spice and a little classic stout roastiness. Finishes with a dry roast bitterness.
M- over carbonated which leaves it a bit spritzy. Could definitely use a chewier body too.
D- this beer has improved over time. Still not good beer quality but an interesting experiment. The lactose doesn't seem noticeable so I would use twice as much in the next milk stout I make.