A lesson in patience...

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LittleHoudini

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about 3 months ago i brewed my first batch. simple recipe i found online, 9lbs marris otter, 2lbs crystal 40, 1oz amarillo at 60min, 1oz amarillo at 5min.

very simple brew so i didnt expect much. after a week, fermentation was done so i racked into secondary. after a week in secondary, i bottled. after 5 days i was so excited to finally be able to try my beer, i cracked one open, took a sip and was, of course, incredibly disappointed. i figured id wait another 5 days. tried again. still disappointed.

after about 3 weeks of bottle conditioning, the beer became drinkable but i really didnt enjoy it and i figured id just suck it all down to free up the bottles. since then ive bottled an irish red and a chocolate stout but ive been primarily drinking harpoon and sierra nevada because my disappointing experience with my first brew sort of stripped me of my excitement. tonight, ive finally run out of my craft brews so i reached to the back of the fridge and pulled out one of my amarillo ales pretty much saying "why not, theres only 4 left, might as well drink em down."

bliss. ive never been so surprised by a drink. CITRUS! that citrusy flavor from the amarillo hops finally showed its face. the bitterness had calmed down and the maltiness seemed less grainy than before. all around, a lovely drinking experience.

so, to all my new brewers out there, even though im sure you wont listen the same way i didnt listen, PLEASE BE PATIENT! if you dont, youre going to drink about 40 crappy beers that are going to turn out great if you just leave them the hell alone for a little while...

lesson learned.
 
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