A bad batch, a good batch and a change of plan

My Amarillo Ale is not tasting good so far, it has a harsh astringent taste, not really drinkable, at least at the moment. I did get a bit of this type of taste from the Hope Ale that I brewed previously, but with a bit of time that taste disappeared and beer became quite good (actually managed to get a bronze award in a local homebrew competition). In this case though it is much more severe, but still I’m not dumping it yet, I’ll give it a chance to see if time will heal it. I had one of the more experienced local homebrewers who is also a beer judge try a sample and she thinks it may be an infection. She also detected something in the Hope Ale so we came to the conclusion that my harvested yeast may have been to blame. The yeast I pitched in the Amarillo Ale was harvested from the Hope Ale. So, for the moment, I’m giving up on the yeast harvesting and sticking with new packets of yeast for each batch.

On a more positive note, I have high hopes for the batch that I bottled last night, a dark IPA that I call Shot In the Dark. It tasted quite amazing at bottling time, roasty, malty and hoppy all at the same time. The dark malts hide the hops a bit because there was a hell of a lot of hops in it but it didn’t taste super hoppy to me, just hoppy. I’m looking forward to trying it again in 3 weeks time.

I’ve been busier than usual with the beer production. After bottling last night, tonight I brewed up another batch. I had a porter planned, recipe and ingredients all ready to go. But at the last minute I decided I had a more urgent need to knock out another Skinny Blonde. Summer is upon us and this is just such a great thirst quenching summer beer, the porter can wait.