American Pale Wheat Take III - Tasting Notes

This is a very hoppy beer that I brewed up in mid November and then kegged on 12/3.  I've been drinking it pretty quickly (started before it fully carb'd) and half expect the keg to kick every time I pull a glass.  

The beer used 5 oz of kettle hops and then 6 oz of dry hop (3 oz of which are in the keg) and is mainly a showcase for Citra and Amarillo hops.  It is a low gravity beer (went from 1.040 to 1.013 for 3.5% ABV) and is very easy to drink in volume. 

It has been interesting watching it develop over the  last couple weeks.  It started out very aggressively hoppy in the first few days after kegging and had some astringency (hop burn) but mellowed out quite a bit after the first week.  It has been drinking very nicely with pungent hop aroma and taste since.  I feel like it may be started to fade slightly here in the third week (although this could be partially due to the beer dropping below the level of the hop bag which was hanging half way down the keg via dental floss).  I tried very hard to limit oxygen in this beer - tough to know if I went far enough.

The beer is slightly hazy even after cold crashing and fining.  This was also the case the first time I brewed the recipe.  Haze is a much discussed topic with the popularity of NEIPA. Could either be the wheat or hop oils causing this I guess.  I don't mind the appearance but I certainly wasn't targeting haze with the batch or intending this to be a NEIPA

It is finally well carb'd so I think now is a good time to do a tasting

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Herbal and fruity (vaguely citrus) hops come through very strongly.  Gives an impression of sweetness to the beer.  Might also add a grassy, piney, and marijuana like notes from the hop.  Not really able to pick up any yeast or malt contributions through the bold hops but they are likely contributing to the background flavors
• Appearance:
• Pours with about 1 finger of foam that leaves lacing.  Light gold in color and slightly hazy
• Flavor:
• Up front I get bold hop flavor (fruity and herbal) which is then followed up with a pretty firm bitterness.  The bitterness lingers into the finish along with the hop flavor.  The is a very light malt flavor and a slight sweetness in the finish.  Balance is strongly towards the hops.
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied and pretty dry.  Bitterness is slightly astringent maybe (has become less and less astringent with time in the keg)
• Overall:
• This has been a really lovely hoppy beer to drink.  The bold hop flavors were exactly what I was hoping kegging (and keg hopping) would provide.  This is a very light beer - very sessionable and easy drinking.  I think the level of bitterness is nice but it could have done with a bit more of a malt presence for balance.  When I brew this again I will maybe add a small amount of caramel malt to the mix. Additionally, I've noticed this beer drinks quite a bit better once it's warmed up from the 44 F I'm keeping the keg at - flavoring hops really come through better.  I'm going to work on increasing my serving temperature on the kegs based on this.