I made a strong pumpkin ale. It turned out way stronger than I has anticipated. I hit a super 90%+ efficiency with my mash and I didn't follow any recipe with the results. I added way more spices than I should have. Heck, I was so disappointed with every commercial pumpkin beer I tried that I was determined to "knock it up a notch, or two, or three, or more". So I added plenty of spice. Heck, I added a lot of spice.
The results: Now before I get to harsh on myself, as most homebrewers do. I need to note that I'm planning on keeping most of this batch in the closet until next year. It is my hope that a year of aging will tame the monster that I have created. With that noted, the following review is from a bottle aged a whole two weeks. Yeah, it needs more. But at this point, this is what I say about it.
The Review:
I open a bottle and pour it carefully into a glass. Little apparent carbonation. WTH? It fermented like it wanted to go nuclear, wth is this?
Color is good. A nice dark amber orange. The color looks very appealing.
Oh look, now I see some bubbles. It is carbonated after all, just not a lot.
I take a little sip. Wow, that is spicy. I think my taste buds just went a little numb from that. I taste.....nevermind. My tongue is just a dangling appendage now. Dear lord that is spicy. I decide to gulp some down with gusto just for the sake of doing it.
My tummy feels warm now. And a little fluttery too. A big dumb smile settles on my face. I do it again and finish the rest of the bottle. Now I sit down to think about this beer. But instead, I just sit there and think about this beer.
I'm tired now. I wanna go to bed. Goodnight everyone. Next time I'll do a review of the strong pumpkin ale I made. I think it'll be really spicy and strong.
The results: Now before I get to harsh on myself, as most homebrewers do. I need to note that I'm planning on keeping most of this batch in the closet until next year. It is my hope that a year of aging will tame the monster that I have created. With that noted, the following review is from a bottle aged a whole two weeks. Yeah, it needs more. But at this point, this is what I say about it.
The Review:
I open a bottle and pour it carefully into a glass. Little apparent carbonation. WTH? It fermented like it wanted to go nuclear, wth is this?
Color is good. A nice dark amber orange. The color looks very appealing.
Oh look, now I see some bubbles. It is carbonated after all, just not a lot.
I take a little sip. Wow, that is spicy. I think my taste buds just went a little numb from that. I taste.....nevermind. My tongue is just a dangling appendage now. Dear lord that is spicy. I decide to gulp some down with gusto just for the sake of doing it.
My tummy feels warm now. And a little fluttery too. A big dumb smile settles on my face. I do it again and finish the rest of the bottle. Now I sit down to think about this beer. But instead, I just sit there and think about this beer.
I'm tired now. I wanna go to bed. Goodnight everyone. Next time I'll do a review of the strong pumpkin ale I made. I think it'll be really spicy and strong.
