Tasting the first beer: India Black Ale!

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Suminorudder

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Jan 27, 2012
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Very excited to finally have my first beer finished, an India black ale.

The recipe was a brewers best kit, with zythos hops. This is a very hoppy beer, with 4 and 3/4 ounces of hops. The majority was added during the boil, with 2 ounces left for the dry hopping.

The beer is almost as dark as a stout, with just a little bit of reddish hue around the edge of the glass when you hold it to the light. The head pours a nice espresso color, and is very retentive and persistent, with good lacing.

Aromatically, it reminds me of the orange groves in Florida, there is definitely a strong citrus aroma, mingled with piney resinous aromas. I feel like I rushed the dry hop additions though, because the aroma doesn't really burst from the glass like I think it should. I assume a lot of the aroma got blown off through the airlock.

The mouthfeel is smooth, silky and creamy. Carbonation seems slightly higher than a typical IPA usually is, but not to a flaw I don't believe.

The malt flavors are very roasty, with caramel and toffee hints. The Zythos hops give it a nice grapefruit like bitterness on the back of the tongue, with pine notes throughout.

All in all, I am really impressed by how good my beer is! I know it was from a kit and all, but I learned a lot from my first batch and I've already refined my process for my second batch!

Cheers!
 
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