All 3 of my fermentors are full, and I haven't had time to bottle in what seems like ages. But I just checked my gravities tonight, and thought I'd post an update on these three batches (Maple-Wild Rice-Pecan-Corn Amber, Oatmeal Stout II, and "IPA Bochet" with Galaxy hops).
First, the IPA Bochet Mead: awful. Wrong choice of honey, should have gone with something light, instead I went with a dark wildflower honey and burnt a pound of it and the flavor (now a few months in) is just AWFUL. Like the worst cough syrup you ever had, except with a nice fruity hop aroma. I may dump it if I end up needing the fermentor, though I'd prefer to wait and see how it ages over the next six months. I brewed it to be low in gravity (for a mead) and was worried it'd get too dry--nope, it's been stuck at 1.022 for over a month, despite re-pitching some wine yeast and adding a ton of nutrient. It would be much better if it DID dry out.
Second, the Oatmeal Stout II: a re-brew of my No-Nonsense stout, with some minor tweaks: did about 50/50 rice and sorghum (instead of all sorghum), upped the oatmeal by another pound, and used Windsor instead of S-04. It's good, but I think the oatmeal actually dominates a little too much. I should have mashed it instead of steeping it, because it left a lot of unfermentables in the beer (gravity's stuck around 1.020). Might turn out just fine after bottling, though; I just added 3 oz of cherry concentrate to it, so I'll probably bottle it in a week or so after that stuff ferments out. I don't think it's going to be better than the original, unfortunately.
Third: Indigenous Amber, brewed with molasses, maple syrup, corn, wild rice, and pecans (no extract syrups). Okay, I'm never using molasses again. I used it in a mild I brewed a few months ago, and both the mild and this one have a strong minerally metallic flavor that I do not like at all. I didn't use much in either of them, but it really came through. There doesn't seem to be a lot of distinct flavor from the exotic ingredients, sadly, but we'll see how it does after it's been in bottle for a month. So far, it's pretty light for a 7.5% beer, and would be extremely tasty if not for the minerally flavor.
Lots of good lessons learned here. But my passion for brewing is in a slump right now, unfortunately. I'm just not stoked on the beers I've been making lately, and it's really dampening my enthusiasm.
First, the IPA Bochet Mead: awful. Wrong choice of honey, should have gone with something light, instead I went with a dark wildflower honey and burnt a pound of it and the flavor (now a few months in) is just AWFUL. Like the worst cough syrup you ever had, except with a nice fruity hop aroma. I may dump it if I end up needing the fermentor, though I'd prefer to wait and see how it ages over the next six months. I brewed it to be low in gravity (for a mead) and was worried it'd get too dry--nope, it's been stuck at 1.022 for over a month, despite re-pitching some wine yeast and adding a ton of nutrient. It would be much better if it DID dry out.
Second, the Oatmeal Stout II: a re-brew of my No-Nonsense stout, with some minor tweaks: did about 50/50 rice and sorghum (instead of all sorghum), upped the oatmeal by another pound, and used Windsor instead of S-04. It's good, but I think the oatmeal actually dominates a little too much. I should have mashed it instead of steeping it, because it left a lot of unfermentables in the beer (gravity's stuck around 1.020). Might turn out just fine after bottling, though; I just added 3 oz of cherry concentrate to it, so I'll probably bottle it in a week or so after that stuff ferments out. I don't think it's going to be better than the original, unfortunately.
Third: Indigenous Amber, brewed with molasses, maple syrup, corn, wild rice, and pecans (no extract syrups). Okay, I'm never using molasses again. I used it in a mild I brewed a few months ago, and both the mild and this one have a strong minerally metallic flavor that I do not like at all. I didn't use much in either of them, but it really came through. There doesn't seem to be a lot of distinct flavor from the exotic ingredients, sadly, but we'll see how it does after it's been in bottle for a month. So far, it's pretty light for a 7.5% beer, and would be extremely tasty if not for the minerally flavor.
Lots of good lessons learned here. But my passion for brewing is in a slump right now, unfortunately. I'm just not stoked on the beers I've been making lately, and it's really dampening my enthusiasm.