BowThai 2.0 review

It's been a while since we were first graced with the second coming of the BowThai ale, and I just now have gotten down to doing a formal review of it.  There were a few small issues with it off the bat: first off, the spices were just *slightly* harsh at first, when the beer was still "green;" second, the batch was a bit overcarbonated (I overcompensated for the fact that it was undercarbonated last time...stupid).  After relieving the batch of its excessive carbonation, I have now been able to enjoy it much more.  Here is my review:

Appearance: beautiful deep amber/copper color, slight haze, finger and a half of off-white head that slowly dissipates to a nice ring of foam with decent lacing

Aroma: lots of spice...coriander, ginger, licorice (basil) blended with smooth honey and coconut

Flavor: earthy lemongrass, melded together with same spices found in the aroma and medium hop bitterness, sweet honey and coconut balance it out with a bit of alcohol warming, and that oh-so-familiar spice (heat) on the finish

Mouthfeel: smooth and creamy feel that balances out the spice like a wonderful Thai curry, really nice body...and the *new* carbonation level is perfect

Overall: This beer is my baby, and I love it.  I still consider this a work-in-progress, and it will be perfect someday.  Next time I brew it, the one change I would make would be a cooler fermentation temperature (I didn't control the temp for this AT ALL because it wasn't my own house) for a slightly more well-rounded and mellow flavor.  Still, this is a great beer to drink with Asian food, and it's definitely not too "weird." You can still enjoy this beer anytime.

BowThai 2.0 Brew Day 4/2/11

Bottling: BowThai 2 and Cider

Mmm...Cider

Bottled the BowThai and "Not your daddy's dorm room cider" last night.  Both tasted great.  The BowThai is right on track, very close to how I remember it tasting at this stage last time, and I think that some carbonation, cooling, and time will do it perfectly.  Lots of honey tones, a lovely herbal character, great coconut (and oatmeal) smoothness, and that oh-so-beautiful twinge of heat on the finish!  I want the alcohol to mellow out a bit, but I know it will (my efficiency was good so the ABV was just slightly higher than projected).

The cider is great, too.  It's a hair under 6 % ABV so it has a perfect draught cider taste, very much like Strongbow.  It's nice and dry with a little sweetness (I would call it semi-sweet), nice fruity apple character, a little tartness, and a slight hint of tannic vinous flavor.  S-04 was a perfect choice for the yeast, definitely left the apple character that I was looking for.  I am really looking forward to experimenting with cider in the future.  A lot about it is much easier than making beer, and certainly faster, so that leaves a lot of room for experimentation.  I definitely want to try some different juices, since I think that my yeast choice was just about right for this one.

Next few brews--fully planned!

Thought I'd give my current detailed game plan on the next month or so of brewing, since the Weizenbock started its fermentation yesterday and I am already looking ahead:

2/12/11 Rack Der Winterweizen to secondary fermenter, brew Limerick Session Stout, a traditional Irish dry stout with nice roasty cocoa and coffee tones, with a decidedly crisp clean finish and ABV below 4%...delicious stuff that can be enjoyed without going off the deep end ;)

2/19/11 Bottle Der Winterweizen, rack Limerick Session Stout to secondary for clearing, and brew a small 2 gallon batch of Hogsmeade Mild Ale; a toasty-nutty, somewhat sweet, sessionable English-style brown ale also with an ABV below 4%, which means a lot of great beer without breaking the bank.

2/26/11 Bottle Limerick Session Stout and Hogsmeade Mild Ale, brew all-grain adaptation of the fabled BowThai Ale, ferment it with the yeast cake from the Limerick Session Stout and leave to ferment over spring break

3/5/11 Spring break. Start enjoying stout and mild, and see if Der Winterweizen is ready.

After spring break see what the bottle situation is...

St. Patrick's Day drink stout.

RyePA, Stout updates

Hey Friends,

Last night, we dipped into Jeff's homebrew reserves to try the ESB, witbier, and BowThai ales of yore. Also, after sampling a little English mild and putting the remains of the keg into a growler, I proudly tapped the JuniorSenior RyePA, the last Cutts homebrew to be drunk this summer. It is delicious. The hop character is bright and citrusy, and there is a lot of depth to the flavor. If I were to do it again, I would do it without a broken air-conditioner and actually get the fermentation temps down a little lower to mellow out the hoppiness (tehe) a little bit and really bring out the flavor of the malts I used. I used Wyeast American Ale II, which in my opinion didn't do the rye malt enough justice at my forced higher fermentation temps. The beer is still great though, and a perfect close to the summer.

The really exciting thing about my observations on my current brews is that with just one more try, I can turn great beers into revelatory brilliant ones. That, my friends, will be what we see in the coming year as I brew more and more and start to repeat (and slightly tweak to perfection) former recipes. Can't wait.

Stout's going in the keg today to be saved for wintertime. I am really excited to have my first real taste of it today and perhaps even more excited to forget about it for a few months! Haha it should be the perfect welcome home in December.

It's been a great spring and summer of brewing in Massachusetts, and I can't wait to continue my art down in Tennessee.

Prost,
Der Braumeister

First taste of the BowThai

Yes, I added a 'w' to the name of the beer...I decided that it looked better on paper as I was filling out the entry form for the Sam Adams Longshot Competition! Just tasted the BowThai Ale last night, and it is amazing. The initial flavor is that of a primo conventional pale ale accented by delicious citrusy Cascade hops, and that flavor then gives way to an amazing bouquet of the coconut, coriander, ginger, and basil flavors with a finish of just a little heat from the (red) hot chili peppers. This is truly an amazing beer, creative and differently flavored enough for "Category 23," with more than enough classic beer character to it. I would say that even the flavor itself is much better than when I tried it in its flat and warm state. I am SO excited to be drinking this for a while.

The Youzaho Light is in bottles, and I'm hoping to bottle the "Rogue Mead" sometime today. There are even a few bottles of Sunny's Ginger Wit left! Great times.