- Sep 25, 2020
- 250
- 198
Weird things are happening here.
I tried St. Bernardus Christmas ale, and I was not thrilled because it tasted funky. I let it sit in the fridge for nearly two years, and I tried it again. Much better. The rough edges were gone.
I decided to make my own Christmas ale. I took a heavy wheat ale I had already created (Happy Halfwit), and I jacked up the OG to 1.100. Three pounds of table sugar. Special B. Sabro hops.
I tried it before it was done, and I thought it was too sweet and tasted like a pina colada, so I started over with less Sabro, Magnum added to the boil, and Citra for dry-hopping. In the meantime, I kegged the first beer anyway. Chilled it to 35 and added 3.3 volumes of CO2.
It's wonderful. The bite of the CO2 and the chilling took the edge off the sweetness. It's just a wee bit strong at a Beersmith-estimated 12.8%, but you can barely taste the alcohol. Fantastic head retention.
Now I have to come up with a name for the second ale, which is currently in the fermenting fridge.
I would say it seems impossible to make a bad heavy beer, but my first imperial stout is too sweet for me, so I can't say I've always ended up where i wanted.
I tried St. Bernardus Christmas ale, and I was not thrilled because it tasted funky. I let it sit in the fridge for nearly two years, and I tried it again. Much better. The rough edges were gone.
I decided to make my own Christmas ale. I took a heavy wheat ale I had already created (Happy Halfwit), and I jacked up the OG to 1.100. Three pounds of table sugar. Special B. Sabro hops.
I tried it before it was done, and I thought it was too sweet and tasted like a pina colada, so I started over with less Sabro, Magnum added to the boil, and Citra for dry-hopping. In the meantime, I kegged the first beer anyway. Chilled it to 35 and added 3.3 volumes of CO2.
It's wonderful. The bite of the CO2 and the chilling took the edge off the sweetness. It's just a wee bit strong at a Beersmith-estimated 12.8%, but you can barely taste the alcohol. Fantastic head retention.
Now I have to come up with a name for the second ale, which is currently in the fermenting fridge.
I would say it seems impossible to make a bad heavy beer, but my first imperial stout is too sweet for me, so I can't say I've always ended up where i wanted.