Finished Product: First Homebrew

I cracked the top of my first homebrew.  The Verdict: good, not great.  I’m not a technical beer reviewer, but it was fairly smooth and malty.  The taste is distinct, different from commercial beers. I can’t quite place it, but it’s not infected.  Apparently when it is, you don’t really have to ask…you know.  Even though it was a stout kit, it was definitely more of a brown ale by color and taste.  I’ve given some bottles to relatives and a homebrewing friend from work, and they all gave it passing grades. (I’m going to assume they are not just being nice; plus, no one spit the first sip up sitcom style).  I’ve read in the reviews that sometimes bottled homebrews taste better as they age.  We’ll see if that holds true.

I feel like I’ve benefited from the boom of the homebrew market.  With several homebrew

companies, I imagine competition and on-line reviews has led to quality, easy to use kits.  Seems like most people could get one of these kits and brew a drinkable beer better than the mass-produced beers.  Already, I’m thinking of my next homebrew and trying to modify a recipe by adding more hops.  Since my first brew session I’ve become a hops junkie; the more the better.  But I’m still a novice with a lot to learn about those two simple ingredients: malt and hops.  So I’m going to stick with the kits a few more times.  I’ve already picked out my next beer: a massively hopped IPA.  I’ve ordered it from one of the large on-line stores.  After reading homebrew blogs, it seems most homebrewers use one of the big two.  So I’m going to try them both myself to see which I like best.

-Brewer Brendan