The recipe was interesting in that it was all pale malt with the color mostly coming from Dark Candi sugar. I attempted to do a reduction of the first gal of runnings as well but it didn't reduce quite as much as I would like and didn't really get very dark. The beer seems to have gotten a lot of it's flavor from this sugar which is also pretty interesting - next time I try one of these beers I'm going to seriously consider making my own sugar.
The beer fermented in the low to mid 60s which has left a fairly restrained yeast character. I would try to increase this a bit (maybe to ~70 F) next time to see how much fruitier it would get.
Tasting Notes:
- Aroma:
- It has a malty sweet smell. I get caramel and honey from it. There is also a bit of fruity yeast character. No alcohol smell and nothing I can pick up as hops. It has very nice aroma.
- Appearance:
- Dark brown with a red tint. Clear in the edges when held to the light. Pours with a pretty think tan head which fades down to a thin layer quickly.
- Flavor:
- The beer has a nice backbone of sweet caramel flavor with some restrained fruity yeast character. There is also a hint of alcohol but it doesn't taste like it's an 8.5% beer. The finish is a balance of sweet malt and a bit of hop bitterness.
- Mouthfeel:
- It has a fairly light body. It drinks very smooth and finishes dry. Carbonation is low and the alcohol is very well hidden - this does not drink like the big beer that it is.
- Overall:
- This is pretty tasty beer. It has a nice malt complexity and is a pretty easy drinking beer. I think a bit more fruity ester character would have been nice. It's obviously the product of a Belgian yeast but it's a little more restrained than I would like next time.
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