The Great Homebrew Experiment : Part 2

So today has been one week since “The great beer-brewing experiment”.

The instructions said that the beer should be left in the fermenter for at least a week. I’m planning on leaving it for two as apparently you can leave it in there for up to three weeks and longer fermenting “improves the color and clarity” of the beer.

However, it also said that it can be tasted at one week. The instructions said it would taste ‘yeasty, but ok’.

What can I say, I couldn’t resist.

So, following the instructions, I poured myself a very small amount in the bottom of the glass. The instructions warned me that it would be ‘clearer’ at this point, but still not what anyone would consider ‘clear’. Basically, it’s cloudy until it’s bottled and the secondary fermentation takes place.

This was a bit of an understatement. It looked like dirty pond water.

So, bracing myself and expecting the worst, I took a sip…

…and that shit was delicious!

I mean, normally, homebrew (unless you’ve had lots of experience) doesn’t taste all that great. In fact, most homebrews I’ve tried tasted like freshly boiled ass…but in all honesty, it was amazing.

The only thing I could think was “Hell, and it gets better tasting than this?” Bear in mind, that what I was tasting was room-temperature, flat beer…but I could honestly throw the keg in the fridge for a couple hours and drink it quite easily.

All that’s left to do is the ‘secondary fermentation’ in the bottles (you add sugar and seal it in the bottle so the yeast can carbonate it)…and it’s done.

Honestly, I’m amazed…I was hoping I’d have something that was at least ‘drinkable’, and as long as I don’t mess up and not sterilize the bottles properly, this should be a masterpiece.

…and considering that refills for the kit cost less than 15 bucks to make 2 gallons…I don’t think this will be my last homebrew experiment.

I’m thinking of making a summer lager next time and adding a bit of lime to the recipe. Sounds good, no?