Dec 27 2005
Beer Tasting, 2005 Scotch Ale
Well, I’ve spent the last 6 days drinking my homebrew and having others taste it. I’ve been formulating my own opinions and talking with others whose taste in beer I trust, and I will post my aggregate notes here. :)
2005 Scotch Ale
Appearance
Upon pouring this beer, the first thing noticeable is the amber color. While gorgeous, it’s not as dark as I would have hoped. This could have been due to the fact that it’s my first beer. Maybe I could have steeped the grains a little longer, maybe I could have used less water. I think it’s possibly a combination of the two. The beer is also a little cloudy. The major sediment sits on the bottom of the bottle, so a careful pouring is necessary, but the beer is unfiltered, which I personally prefer. Likely, this is because of the amount of trub that made it into the fermenter. We’ll avoid this in future batches. Also, I was unable to cool the wort as quickly as I wanted before pitching the yeast, so I don’t think a proper cold break was reached. If you want to know what that is, please comment. :)
The head of this beer is interesting, really. Given the number of boil-overs I had while brewing, I would have expected the surface tension to hold a head for a long time. However, for the most part, the heads do not have much in the way of staying power. Generally, a thin layer of foam will stay for a little while, leaving almost no lacing on the glass. Something else I noticed is the difference of the initial head between bottles. I know I mixed the priming liquid into the bottling bucket well, so the difference in carbonation must be the amount of yeast in suspension in the beer in each bottle. Depending upon when in the bottling process I poured each particular bottle must mean a different amount of yeast in each bottle. The head is what helps to bring out the aroma of the beer, so each pour is slightly different in aroma, but aside from that, every bottle is pretty equal.
Aroma
The aroma of this beer is, for the most part, everything you hope a Scotch Ale will be. Heavy maltiness is apparent from the first sniff, and promises a sweet, heavy brew. Not much detectable hop aroma in the nose at all, really, which is good, since I only used an ounce of mild hops for the entire 6 gallon boil. No fruity or floral notes, which is also good, as it means the yeast was happy with the temperature of the fermentation.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel of this beer is the first indication that it’s not as heavy as some Scotch Ales out there. Not as thin as some lagers, but not nearly as chewy as some of the heavier Scotch Ales. This is indicative of the low starting gravity I got immediately after the boil. I think this is due mostly to using too much water in the boil, and not losing enough of it during the boil. (Mostly due to the fact that my stove wouldn’t boil all of the wort with the lid off. Lid on…less loss due to evaporation. I won’t have this problem with my new camp stove…Merry Christmas to me.) :) Light carbonation is a nice zing, typical of the Scotch Ale style.
Taste
This Ale is interesting in flavor. There’s a nice maltiness to the ale, though not as much as other Scotch Ales that I’ve tried. (Indicative of the problems I mentioned before.) No bitterness to speak of, though I’m sure there would have been a difference if I had not used the little hops I did. What is really interesting is that there is almost a tanginess to this beer…almost like a Hefeweizen. (Wheat beer.) It’s pleasant, though I wouldn’t have predicted it. This could be due to the aforementioned problems, but it’s pleasant, nonetheless.
Overall
As an Ale, this is a very pleasant beer. Not as strong as I might have hoped, but a pleasant taste. As a Scotch Ale, it’s not the best example of the style, but that’s ok. I’m going to enjoy the rest of this ale, I think. :)
on
I’d like to know what a proper cold break is…
Since you asked, I’ll take the time to post it. :) Who knows, someone else might find it interesting.
First off, there are two major breaks when brewing beer. Now, I don’t know all of the science behind these…doubtless Daniel could tell you more, but this is the way brewing goes. :)
First off, when you’re boiling the beer, you have the hot break. Beer has a HIGH surface tension…this is because of the large amount of protein in beer. The hot break is when you’re boiling, and all of a sudden, your beer has all kinds of…”floaties” in it. This is certain proteins in the boiling wort coming out of suspension. When the boil settles down, these proteins will settle to the bottom and become what is called the “trub”. The trub is (supposed to be) left behind when we pour the beer into the fermenter. This makes for a much clearer beer later, with less off-flavors.
The cold break is very similar, actually. But it requires a little more work. First off, time is of the essence when cooling hot wort. The longer it takes, the greater the chance for infection. As soon as the boiled wort drops below 160 degrees, bacteria can survive.
Secondly, when wort is cooled quickly (From 170+ degrees to 80 degrees in a half hour or less), certain proteins drop our of suspension again, and settle to the bottom of the pot. This is difficult to do without cooling equipment which I do not have.
As a result, I know the hot break was reached, but I don’t think the cold break was. When the beer is refrigerated for consumption, the proteins slowly become apparent, but do not settle, giving the beer a cloudy look.
To my palate, the beer doesn’t taste funky or anything, so I’m not overly concerned. I’ve drunk enough unfiltered beer in my life to not be grossed out by some cloudiness. :)