My second lager was a Classic Rauchbier following the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles. I kind of messed up the brewday, ending up with 4 rather than the intended 5 gallons, and as a result the beer is probably a little too high gravity, sweet and overcarbonated. Appearance: Very clear. Carbonation bubbles visibly rising from the center of the glass. Thick off-white head that dissipates a little too fast. Deep amber in color.
Aroma: Surprisingly not as smokey as I anticipated. The smoke is present but does not dominate. Clearly there is some classic lager malt aroma and sweetness. Does not smell like bacon or ham.
Taste: Again smokey but not overwhelmingly so. Not bacony or hammy. Malty and rich, but somehow it's not as sweet as the nose would suggest. Low hop bitterness. Probably too bitter, given the volume screwup, which reduces the sense of sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Moderate to thick body. Carbonation is lower than I expected, given the likely excess sugar. Perhaps there is not enough yeast left in the beer to carbonate quickly.
Overall: Tasty and refreshing. But, probably not quite smokey enough for my taste. For next time, get the volume, gravity, etc... correct.
No comments:
Post a Comment