how did my first brew taste? well...

[johnbrain]

So a few weeks ago I brew my first 5 gallons with a friend. An ipa off the homebrewmart.com website. They're the Ballast Point brewery fyi.

Anyhow it called for a lot of chinook with cascade for aroma. Well...NFL championship weekend on TV, paired with the necessary drinking to brew, and I switched the hops.

I only noticed at flame out, so we added 5 minutes but I knew it would not be enough bittering.

Finally tried what I'm calling Hopswitch IPA. VERY malty up front but finishes pretty crisp and spicy. Interestingly, our wives liked it because it wasn't a big bold IPA.

I still intend to drink it. Gets better daily. Bottle fermentation is getting better too.a little weak at 2 weeks but very good a couple days later.

Anyhow, lesson learned and brewing bug bitten. Read Papazian and How to Brew. Designed a oatmeal stout recipe . Bought a cooler for partial mashing.

hopefully my Friday brew day turns out better than my first. If the Oatmeal Stout recipe doesn't suck I'll post it.

 

[two_one_seven]

No biggie. I like chinook hops a lot and use them for aroma in IPA's. Think arrogant bastard from Stone.........that is a chinook brew.

Cheers have fun with the addiction.

 

[Atonk]

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Sometimes there are complaints that a spouse doesn't like the hobby or final product.

 

[johnbrain]

Thanks gang. It's just a little sweeter than I'd normally go for, but far from being a loss.

 

[MrSpiffy]

I'd say that as long as you had a good time during your first brew, it's a success! In your case, switching the hops gave you something a bit different and unique. Sure, it's not what you intended. But it's tasty, and the ladies liked it. All-in-all, a good brew. In fact, the only one that needs to know about it is you! I'd test it out on friends and see what they say, then tell them about the hops. It's like an experiment!