Thursday, April 10, 2014

Swell

First of all. Bought a five gallon bucket today. Look at it.


LOOK AT IT. Five gallons of beer at one time. I can't even handle it. That's 48 12-oz bottles, which coincidentally, I am now accepting donations for. Seriously, if anyone reading this wants some of this beer, please donate your bottle deposit and bottle to me.

In addition, I have all the ingredients I need for the next batch of beer, right down to the irish moss (which just sounds like a load of fun!). I'm not going directly according to the recipe, but I'm close. Here's a link.

Finally, a friend of mine tried some Trapdoor, and took notes on it. You'll know the part that inspired me to get a hydrometer today with the bucket!

Adam's notes: Trapdoor


Alright, so I'm going to write my tasting notes to you as I drink. This way, you'll get every point of view that I have, plus it will help me drink slower and savor it!

The Pour:

Pours nicely, good aroma came off of it, and it looks nice and carbonated. No flatness here! After a good sniff, I'm getting lost of caramely scent, maybe a little toasted marshamallow? Anyway, it smells great and has the same coloring/look of a glass of Coca-Cola. Cheers.

The Sip:

Not a ton of carbonation, but I like my dark beers a little less bubbly, so it's perfect for me. I get a lot of kick from the beer, which is definitely nice. I feel like this would go great with Mom's Sunday dinner. I'm not getting any fruity tastes yet, but enough talking and more drinking!

The Gulp:

Wow, that was really nice. Still no sign of the fruitiness, but I got a lot of caramel on that bit. The aftertaste is a little smoky, sort of like the burnt bits of a steak. It's a really nice matchup with the sweetness. No complaints here so far.

The Gulp, Act II:

Same thoughts as above, although this time I got more of an alcohol kick going down, almost like someone tossed in a little vodka. I might be having a stroke, hard to tell.

The Burp:

Yep, definitely getting more of a vodka-esque taste on the burp. With the sweetness of the caramel flavor, it really is reminding me more of rum and Coke. I'd kill to be drinking this alongside some steak and mashed potatoes. Whoops, another burp. That was more smoky. Not sure what's going on down in digestion-ville.

The Gulp, Act III:

I'm really starting to like the combo of smoky and sweet caramel. It's not overpowering (the beer still tastes like beer), but it definitely is a nice kick in addition to the beeriness.

The Finish:

I think I had an Usain Bolt experience here. Strong most of the way through, but it seemed to celebrate just a little too early, and the finish wasn't as strong as I hoped. At the bottom of the glass, I lost most of the sweet flavor and was left with sort of that smoky, vodka/rum sensation that I noted above. I might have let a little bit of the sediment fall into the glass, so it might just be my bad pouring skills.

The Summary:

A nice beer with a good combo of sweet and smoky, but still holding on to that classic, dark beer twang. I'd drink this with a nice piece of meat slathered in gravy and some potatoes. All in all, a pleasant glass of joy. Nice work! 9/10


All in all, quite encouraging! And let it be known, also, that he was not having a stroke. I'm very glad about that.

So, I'll probably be brewing on Saturday after Magoo's swim class. I will have video, fingers crossed.

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