Homebrew Batch 3

Well, I think I've finally brewed something approaching success! This time I used distilled water that I bought at the grocery store to make absolutely sure that there was no impurities in the water. Still seemed to have a very minor problem getting the machine to seal properly, but the leak seemed to be smaller this time than during the last batch, and didn't really seem to affect the beer too much. It seemed to be able to hold 10 PSI of pressure, but no more... while it's supposed to ferment at 15 PSI, and my first batch hit 16 PSI. Like I said though, it didn't seem to affect the beer too much this time.

TYPE: Beer Machine Golden Lager

APPEARANCE: Appropriately golden in colour, just as an American lager should be. Relatively clear. Not a lot of bubbles due to the ongoing problems with the machine seals, but there are some bubbles. This one just managed to get a very light carbonation. Nice creamy-looking head, but it dissipates quickly.

AROMA: Really not a whole lot to smell with this one. Very faint smell of an American-style lager, mixed with a very faint smell of an apple cider.

TASTE: After 4 days of conditioning in the fridge, this one tasted strangely like weak apple cider. Given a few extra days to condition though, the cider taste is almost entirely subdued, but not quite. Replacing it is a flavour of what I'd almost call a slightly weak, faintly sweet lager.

OVERALL: This is the closest thing to success I've gotten out of my beer machine in three attempts so far. I do think that the distilled water made a big difference, as the sour taste that reared its ugly head in my last two batches was pleasantly absent this time. I believe that the faintly sweet taste in this beer was likely a small amount of the malt that didn't get totally fermented. After I had sealed the machine to start the fermentation, I noticed a tiny amount of the brewer's yeast that had clumped up and remained in the packet. Not much, but enough perhaps to prevent 100% conversion of the malt to CO2 and alcohol, which would definitely explain the faint sweetness. But I think if I try to get the machine to actually seal properly again for the next batch, and use distilled water again, I should have a winner.

Review: Upper Canada Dark Ale

Well, I've been really busy over the last while so I haven't had time to try brewing another batch of beer yet. I ended up using a good amount of the Irish Stout from the last batch as a cooking beer, a role in which it performed fairly well. The last half of the batch I finally dumped out, and hopefully I'll soon have another batch on the go.

But now, for something a little different: my first beer review on this blog!

BEER: Upper Canada Dark Ale (Upper Canada Brewing Company, Guelph, Ontario, Canada)

ABV: 5%

TYPE: dark ale

SERVED: 341 mL brown longneck bottle (12-pack bought at the Beer Store), poured into a pint glass.

APPEARANCE: Dark amber in colour. Slight creamy head on top which lasts surprisingly long before eventually dissipating.

AROMA: Delicious malty smell, with a hint of hops. Faint smell of the alcohol in the background.

TASTE: I can definitely taste the malt in this one, and it's very tasty. Also the slight hoppy bitterness, with the accompanying slightly oily mouthfeel characteristic of hops. Very pleasant aftertaste which lingers from sip to sip.

OVERALL: Very tasty and drinkable dark ale, which would go especially well with hamburgers or any other red meat. This was my first time trying this beer, and I'd definitely buy it again. I'd give it a solid 7/10.