This is a very hoppy pale ale which I made using 5 oz of kettle hop and then 8 oz of El Dorado for dry hop. This was kegged just about three weeks ago. I started drinking it a few days after kegging. I love a hoppy beer and this is going quick.
It was brewed to be a low ABV beer and ended up at 3.9% so it's very easy to decide to go for another. I was envisioning it to have a fairly firm bitterness but to mostly have a very profound hop character. I've never used El Dorado hop before but I've been pleased with what they brought to the table. The beer used 4 oz in fermenter and was amazing at transfer to keg - had wonderful citrus flavor. I used an additional 4 oz of hops in the keg.
In the first week and half the beer was slightly hazy and had that same wonderful hop character I got from the fermenter. I keep my kegs between 45 F and 50 F. After the second week the beer dropped clear and I noticed the hop character had dropped a bit and the bitter finish became a more prominent characteristic. I started to suspect oxidation but noticed that if the beer sat in the glass a bit longer and warmed the hop character came through a lot better. After that I raised the fermenter to 50 F - 55 F which has improved the hop character close to what it had been initially (interestingly, this also resulted in the beer becoming slightly hazy again)
This is a good discovery although I don't understand why it happened. Beers don't carbonate quite as well at higher temperature (which is why I'd set it as I had initially) but I do find the 50s - cellar temperature - to be a preferable temperature for beer in general. I drink most of my bottled beer at basement temps (high 50s) and am perfectly happy with that
The beer's difference from fermenter to the flavor when cold did get me questioning my keg hopping routine a bit. The assumption that beer being in contact with hops in the keg for weeks would maintain great hop flavor rather than introduce less pleasant flavors may have been a bad one. Also, the process to add hops to a keg is one where you purge the keg of oxygen (by filling with starsan and then displacing it with CO2), then open the keg to add the hops which partially undoes the purge, and then a half hearted attempt to drive out any oxygen that got in. This could also undo any good effect the keg hops are having. I think my next hoppy beer will try all hops in the fermenter.
Anyhow, this beer went from disappointing to redeemed which makes me pretty happy. Good to have this on tap.
Tasting Note:
- Aroma:
- Strong citrus character - very orange-like. It kind of reminds me of tang. Also get some herbal and pine-like notes in the mix. Can't really pick out anything I'd credit to malt or yeast
- Appearance:
- Golden with a slight hazy. Pours with maybe a 1 finger head which fades pretty quickly. Leaves some lacing on the glass
- Flavor:
- Bold hop flavor out front - citrus and also a sort of peach-like character. The fruit flavors linger into the finish. The beer has a medium level bitterness. There is a slight malty sweetness in the finish as well. One interesting notes is a sort of cream-like flavor along with the fruit kind of reminiscent of lactose - no idea where that came from but very pleasant
- Mouthfeel:
- Medium-light bodied with a slight sweetness. Pretty smooth beer - the bitterness lingers on the palate and makes me want another sip
- Overall:
- I really enjoy the flavors in this beer - nice bold and pleasing fruit character. Has a good level of complexity as well. The balance is all toward the hop but the hop flavor and bitterness sort of provide a balance in and of themselves. It is amazing to me how much a difference it makes serving this beer in the low to mid 50s. With this beer on tap it is hard to get myself to drink anything else
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