Cracked open our 1st bottle last night!

[DutchMafia]

Well last night I just could not take it anymore and I caved in and cracked a bottle a few days before it had a full week in the fridge and I must say it was a damn good beer! We made an American Amber Ale, I was very surprised at the complexity of the taste and it literally danced on you tongue. The beer had a beautiful color and aroma and I really do not have any negatives to say about it. I think it will even mellow down a little bit with some more time in the fridge but honestly I dont think it will make it that long. Also to kind of compare it to another amber ale we drink quite often i poured a bottle of Belles Amber Ale and put them up against a taste test with my wife and neighbor, the wife picked the belles, but the neighbor picked my home brew as being the better, and they did not know which was which either so that made me feel good. But in all fairness to my wife she is not much of a craft beer drinker. Cant wait for the next batch coming down the pipeline!! :rockin:

 

[NervousDad]

Congrats, was it the Northern Brewer Amber?

 

[RM-MN]

The length of time in the refrigerator is not as critical to the flavor or maturity of the beer as the time in the fermenter and the time in warm storage. Both add to the complexity and smoothness of the beer. Give your next test sample another 2 weeks in warm storage (70's or 60's if you can) and then chill it for 24 hours. Then compare it with the Belle's.

 

[DutchMafia]

I did give the beer a full week of warm storage in my cellar at about 70 degrees and then almost a week in the fridge, but the wait was killing me and I just could not help it.

 

[unionrdr]

At only a week in the bottle at room temp & not quite 1 in the fridge,I'm surprised it had much carbonation,let alone maturity to be great.The usual time for me is 3-4 weeks+,& 1-2 weeks in the fridge. 2 weeks in the fridge gives thicker head & longer lasting carbonation. How was the head & carbonation at that point?

 

[DutchMafia]

it did have a nice little head on it, and the carbonation seemed to be great also, it had a nice hiss when the bottle was opened and had a steady flow of bubbles coming up from the bottom. I was planning on letting it carb longer in the cellar, but since it was my first batch I just had to give it a shot, I have another batch that is bottle conditioning as we speak and I am planning on 2 weeks on the shelf in the cellar before it sees the fridge.

 

[tnvol]

Congrats!!

 

[unionrdr]

Some will carb faster than others,but don't count on 2 weeks being the norm. I think I had one beer that went that quick.