Thursday, October 20, 2005

Brewing Beer: Keg the Black Altbier

After two weeks in the secondary it was ready to be kegged. How do I know? Um...I wanted to taste it? ;-) Since I'm not bottling it I don't really have to worry about exploding bottles so i didn't worry about it too much. A good way to determine if it is ready would be to measure the specific gravity daily. When it is the same two days in a row then it is ready. To prepare the keg I just emptied the iodophor solution I store them with and wipe it down with one step on the top near the openings.. Early tasting notes are as follows: Appearance I would have to say....black. Seems to have good head retention. We will be able to tell later when it is fully carbonated. The Altbier is the one on the right. The left is a Saranac Octoberfest. Nose Malt...chocolate...malt...malt... Taste Malty upfront and a strong bitterness throughout. This is a clean tasting beer. Drinkability I think it will be drinkable for anybody who likes porters and stouts. Overall I would say it tastes like a bitter porter. Next...racking the Kolsch to the secondary fermenter.

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