maltMonkey
Well-Known Member
So I started out with a Mr. Beer kit I got this Christmas. Made a pale ale batch, never tasted it.
A week later I went out and bought a Cooper's English Bitter kit, a kettle, a fermenter and all the other equipment & supplies I needed. Made the kit, never tasted it.
Had the bug, so I moved on to mini mashes....did 2 in 3 days, an English pale ale and a Scottish 90 shilling. Never tasted them, but I did taste the samples I pulled out of the fermenters when checking my FG, and they showed a LOT of promise.
Moved on to all grain, which I did for the first time on Friday.
Now I was starting to wonder if anything I was making and spending lots of $$ on was any good.
Tried the Mr. Beer. It sucked. Tried the Cooper's kit. Sucked worse.
So, tonight I finally & nervously tried my mini-mash English pale ale (I had modified the recipe quite a bit without really knowing what I was doing), and it's pretty stinking good! It's still green (only 2 weeks since bottling), it's cloudy since I didn't do a secondary or cold crash or anything & I underhopped it, but this is something I would actually buy in the liquor store.
It's got a nice large head with good retention, full-bodied mouthfeel, very nice golden brown color, some nice toffee, caramel and fruit flavors.....yum.
Just wanted to share my excitement.
A week later I went out and bought a Cooper's English Bitter kit, a kettle, a fermenter and all the other equipment & supplies I needed. Made the kit, never tasted it.
Had the bug, so I moved on to mini mashes....did 2 in 3 days, an English pale ale and a Scottish 90 shilling. Never tasted them, but I did taste the samples I pulled out of the fermenters when checking my FG, and they showed a LOT of promise.
Moved on to all grain, which I did for the first time on Friday.
Now I was starting to wonder if anything I was making and spending lots of $$ on was any good.
Tried the Mr. Beer. It sucked. Tried the Cooper's kit. Sucked worse.
So, tonight I finally & nervously tried my mini-mash English pale ale (I had modified the recipe quite a bit without really knowing what I was doing), and it's pretty stinking good! It's still green (only 2 weeks since bottling), it's cloudy since I didn't do a secondary or cold crash or anything & I underhopped it, but this is something I would actually buy in the liquor store.
It's got a nice large head with good retention, full-bodied mouthfeel, very nice golden brown color, some nice toffee, caramel and fruit flavors.....yum.
Just wanted to share my excitement.
