Type: Drank this Beer

The bottle gave a nice hiss when I cracked it open. Pour was a fairly murky, coppery beer (darker than the recipe suggested). Head was less than a finger of off white foam which receded to a cap fairy quickly, though the cap did last through the glass, and some decent lacing was left behind. To me, appearance was the weakest area of this beer - and fortunately, appaearance doesn't decrease my enjoyment of a beer one bit.

Aroma was enjoyable. Hops defintiely ran the show here, with some good citrus character backed up with some enjoyable spicy notes. I got a hint of a toasty presence, but it was very subdued.

Flavor was certainly enjoyable, and followed the nose completely. Hops were again the star, being both the first and last thing perceived on a given sip, though the bitterness was very reserved and perfectly balanced. Spicy notes were here with a light malt backbone, but I felt like the beer missed the target of "rye bread dipped in beer" - I feel like the rye malt should be doubled (if not more) if a stronger rye flavor is desired.

With that being said, please understand - this was a tasty beer. There was plenty going on to make it enjoyable, and a slight lingering bitterness really helped make you want to take another sip.

In the video, I wondered if this would be a beer that had the malt become more evident as the beer warmed. That was true, but not to the point I was expecting; by and large, what you got with the initial pour was what you got through th entire glass.

Mouthfeel was the other weakness of this beer; while the carbonation level was nice (I got some enjoyable prickling of the tongue from the constant stream of little bubbles), the beer just finsihed pretty watery. On the plus side, this made the beer imminently drinkable; even though I don't drink a lot, I've have had no trouble pouring myself a second glass of this beer. However, I just felt like the body was a bit too thin, overall, for the style.

Finish was very smooth with no astringency or slickness to the mouthfeel.

Overall, I found this to be a very enjoyable beer. I mentioned this in the video, but it bears repeating here - I've absolutely had worse commercial craft beers (from respected companies) than the beer I drank in this video, and I would be happy to swap beers with Isaac any time. I think that even though the beer missed the intended mark a bit, it was still a very solid brew, and one that I would be happy to both consume and share with friends.



posted by homebrewdad on 9/3/2014