So as a special treat this week, we have the first bottle of a home brew by a frequent visitor to Boston Geek, Russtopher. While you can’t buy this in stores, I wanted to put something up about it for him. I’ll post a commercially available beer on Friday per usual. Oh and by the way, I am more than happy to sample other peoples homebrews if we could figure out how to mail them to me. So without further delay, here it is:
Brewery: Russtopher’s Kitchen, New Bedford, Massachusetts
Brewery Description: I was told it was a chocolate stout. And that it would cure cancer…or at least kill some brain cells in an random fashion.
Brew Style: Stout, not sure what the final ABV was on this. Tasted in the 4.5-5.5% range.
Recommended Glassware: Typical glassware for a stout is English pint, sometimes a stein.
The Ugly Truth: Is not as ugly as I think Russ thinks its going to be. So this actually wasn’t too bad. I’ve been cold aging the beer, and I have two more bottles that I will drink at later times. It poured a nice dark brown/black color with a substantial tan head on it with a fair amount of carbonation. The aroma wasn’t too strong, but it was clean and inviting. The beer itself had a smooth taste to it leading into a solid sharp ending. I actually found the mouthfeel lighter than I thought it would be. There was a taste to it that I couldn’t quite place properly, it was probably the chocolate but I’m not sure. I have admittedly limited brewing experience, but my recommendation would to be maybe add some more hops to it, and up the barley content to give it some more body. All in all, it was good for a home brew and I’m looking forwards to seeing how it does with some more aging.
Verdict: I’m giving you a 7 out of 10 bottlecaps for this first bottle.
I’ll take 7 out of 10. It’s not that I thought it was going to be *ugly*, I’m just hyper-critical of anything I brew/write/play/create, etc. I’ve been enjoying one nightly for the past 2+ weeks and I’m definitely noticing a smoothing out of the flavor. The head was a bit much for me, as I forgot to compensate for the sugar in the chocolate, I probably should have cut back on the priming sugar a bit. But I’m definitely glad you enjoyed it. I’ll have to figure out a way to ship you the amber ale and belgian white wheat I have planned
Yeah the head was pretty big, but it wasn’t horrible. I’m not sure what it would do, but like I said upping the barley and hops for more body I think would do well, maybe some malt.
I tried the second one the other day Russ. I think it died on me in the fridge. No head and the taste had gotten really bitter.
That sucks dude. Nothing worse than pouring and saying to yourself “this is NOT going to end well”.
I haven’t had any bad bottles myself yet BUT I’m also storing them in my basement, I only fridge ‘em a few hours before I pour.
I’ll have to figure out a way to get you some of the amber ale once it’s ready.
Yeah I think the cold aging killed it. Good for you to know though. If I had left it out down here it would have gotten too warm.