First Batch Impressions...

Not bad! As you may remember, I did it from a kit. It's an IPA.

1 week in a primary, no secondary, 2 weeks in bottles.

First impressions though...

WOW! GREAT HEAD! Very nice, cascading volcano effect. It certainly looks good! There is a layer of sediment in my bottles though. Is that normal? How can I get rid of that in the future?

Color is fairly dark, though it's hard to say due to the cloudiness. I'd put it on par with maybe a Victory Hop Devil, which is certainly good company to be in.

It has a very sweet, almost wine-like aroma. Not sure I like that. How can I get a more hoppy aroma?

Tastes very light. Tastes nothing like it smells. It's very clean, despite it being a little cloudy. Not overly bitter or hoppy. Just a very safe IPA I'd say.

Overall, I like! I wish I knew the final ABV. Forgot to take my initial gravity. Doh!!!

project_dc1 said:

Not bad! As you may remember, I did it from a kit. It's an IPA.

1 week in a primary, no secondary, 2 weeks in bottles.

First impressions though...

WOW! GREAT HEAD! Very nice, cascading volcano effect. It certainly looks good! There is a layer of sediment in my bottles though. Is that normal? How can I get rid of that in the future?

Color is fairly dark, though it's hard to say due to the cloudiness. I'd put it on par with maybe a Victory Hop Devil, which is certainly good company to be in.

It has a very sweet, almost wine-like aroma. Not sure I like that. How can I get a more hoppy aroma?

Tastes very light. Tastes nothing like it smells. It's very clean, despite it being a little cloudy. Not overly bitter or hoppy. Just a very safe IPA I'd say.

Overall, I like! I wish I knew the final ABV. Forgot to take my initial gravity. Doh!!!

Click to expand...

First, the cascading volcano effect looks cool, but it should diminish with time as the beer ages and truly absorbs that CO2. After all, you don’t want the CO2 to foam out of the beer and leave it flat. The sediment at the bottom of your bottles is normal for bottle conditioned beers. It’s the yeast that is responsible for carbing up your beer and you cannot avoid it as long as you bottle condition.

Dark and sweet (tangy?) is typical of extract brewing. You’ll learn to modify your recipes as you brew more…but there is nothing wrong with this for a homebrew.

Next time you brew, rack to a secondary and two things will help. The beer will be clearer because it has time to bulk condition and it will allow you to dry hop (add hops to the secondary). Dry hopping will add more hops aroma without overpowering the flavor or bitterness.

Congratulations! Welcome to the obsession. I would recommend using all DME to avoid the sweet "extract twang" in the future.

project_dc1 said:

Color is fairly dark, though it's hard to say due to the cloudiness. I'd put it on par with maybe a Victory Hop Devil, which is certainly good company to be in.

Click to expand...

Look up the late extract addition for color and consider more time in the primary to reduce the cloudiness.

project_dc1 said:

It has a very sweet, almost wine-like aroma. Not sure I like that. How can I get a more hoppy aroma?

Click to expand...

Dry hopping and flame out hop additions are the ticket for IPAs

project_dc1 said:

Tastes very light. Tastes nothing like it smells. It's very clean, despite it being a little cloudy. Not overly bitter or hoppy. Just a very safe IPA I'd say.

Overall, I like! I wish I knew the final ABV. Forgot to take my initial gravity. Doh!!!

Click to expand...

Congrats! If you have the recipe, you can back into the initial gravity w/ the gravity points of the fermentables used.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'm enjoying this batch! I'm pretty proud of myself for doing it, and they came out better than I anticipated.

The next batch looms though...