I’m rushing things a bit to have this ready for this weekend, but I took the first sample of my pale ale this evening. I only sampled one of the buckets, and I made sure to give everything a good spray of sanitizer before cracking the lid and sneaking out around 6 oz to check the gravity and sip on. The gravity is currently sitting at 1.010, which puts this at around 79% attenuation and an ABV of 5.3%.
Tasting Notes:
And now for the most important part of all: how does it taste? In all honestly, young. It has a slight hop aroma and a good hop flavor that’s not too overpowering or bitter, but overall there’s a roasty, yeasty flavor that I’ve noticed with most of my lighter brews when they’re still a little young. Most of it tends to dissipate after a couple of weeks, but the taste doesn’t seem to match up with any of the common off-flavors I’ve seen described in young beers, so I’m not sure what it’s from.
Verdict:
I’m on the fence about serving this one this weekend. It’s definitely young, and although it has another 6 days before the event, I’m not sure that will be enough time to smooth out. I do think, however, that I will end up giving this a dry hop. For a pale ale, its hop flavor and aroma are relatively mild.
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