That’s when I realized that I had a problem. In fact, everyone I know in the craft beer industry has a problem: We’re so addicted to hops that we don’t even notice them anymore.

Source:

First batch of home brewed beer.

So I refrigerated my bottles (my first batch, Czech Pilsner) for 24 hours. Tasted it to be able to compare them after a week’s worth of conditioning.

Aroma:
This was the worst part of the beer. It smelled really yeasty. Got no other fragrances on the nose.

Taste:
Pilsner style beer isn’t my favorite, however, this had a pretty good flavor profile to me. A good balance between malt and hops, sweetness and bitterness. While I wouldn’t buy this HME again, I also won’t mind drinking the whole batch

Visual:
The color was great. A rich gold. The carbonation was a good amount too. Tingled in the mouth nicely. The head minimal, and it only stayed for about a minute after being poured. There was a bit of “sediment” at the bottom the PET bottles, but nothing too bad. The trub bottle, now that is a different story. That guy is a bit hazy and has double to tripple the amount of sediment at the bottom. I will post some pictures when I get a bit more time.

Overall I was an interesting experience. I didn’t do anything special to cool the fermenter. We keep our internal A/C at about 72 deg 24/7. However, after sticking the (FREE!) sticker thermometer on the fermenter I could tell that the temperature never got too hot, but it did vary from day to night. I wonder if a constant temperature produces a different outcome.

I am looking forward to start my Winter Dark Ale.