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Now, I'm not a beer man and usually put most of my efforts into making my favourite tipples of scrumpy and country wines. But, the boss lady is a real ale drinker as are a number of our friends so repeated threats finally paid off and I decided to have a go.
I, okay, we picked Brupaks Almondsbury Old because the blurb said it was a rich, subtle and distinctive - all the things my wife looks for in beer but fortunately not in men! Anyway, after reading the instructions, I decided to go the whole hog and make the souped-up version, boiling the wort, adding the hops in the secondary fermenter and so on.
It was slightly more complicated to do it this way, but the results were well worth it according to my expert tasters. A pint was drawn off for them after the final racking into a keg, and much sniffing, slurping and lip smacking ensued before all four tasters asked for more.
Being a cruel and heartless cider drinker, I naturally said no while tucking into my second pint of nicely conditioned scrumpy and told my tasting crew they'd have to wait another four weeks before getting even one whole pint each.
Now, I can vouch for the rich, tawny colour of this brew - it's a very dark amber, nicely clear and has a luxuriously thick head, even before the final fermentation in the keg had finished. The smell of hops is strong but not overpowering, while my tasters agreed that the flavour managed to be distinctive, bold and yet with a lot of subtlety.
They agreed that conditioning would certainly see it get even better, but all said it was extremely drinkable even at this relatively early stage.
And now for the most telling comment of all - my butcher wants to be paid in homebrew when he cuts up my next lamb!
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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