Just a quick update on this beer. The inclusion of amber malt made me a little cautious, and I only really brewed it as it's on the schedule of brews for the North Hants Brewers, of whom I'm one.
The good thing about brewing beers outside of your usual comfort zone, is that you might come across an ingredient, or style, that your really like, but wouldn't have normally tried.
Well, this beer's been in the fermenter for nine days and is down to 1014 from an original gravity of 1065. I'd consider that to be done, although I'll take another reading after another 48 hours just to make sure. I make that about 6.6% alcohol. It's a big beer, but the biggest surprise is that it tastes really good. Even with all that amber.
I'm wondering whether crushing the amber malt myself has made a difference, as previous attemps with amber malt have proved disappointing - beer not to my taste.
I'm guessing here, but with amber unlikley to be one of the most popular malts at the local homebrew shop, the pre-crushed bags may not have seen the ingredient at it's best. On this occasion, I milled the malt the day prior to brewing - my first brew with freshly milled malt - and it's possible this has made all the difference.
It's early days with this beer, but if the flavour remains as it is, once bottled and conditioned, it's going to be a belter. I have various malts left to use up that have been pre-crushed, but I'm looking forward to milling more of my own, if this brew is anything to go by.
Glad you're liking the Simonds Bitter. I haven't had time to brew it myself but I'm looking forward to trying yours.
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