Finally A Post That's More About Drinking Than Brewing

After two weeks of primary fermentation and two weeks of secondary fermentation (the last few days of which were in the fridge), the Brasserie Josh (name is a work in progress) Golden Lager should be ready to drink. Before consumption, several things are worth noting. The bottles used for this are soft plastic, so you can give them a squeeze and see how carbonated the beer is. A firm bottle, like an unopened bottle of pop, indicates sufficient fermentation and carbonation. If it's still soft after a while, the yeast is either slow or dead, or you forgot to add the sugar for secondary fermentation. This is bottle-conditioned beer which means it is 1) alive and therefore 2) changing in character throughout the process. The way it tastes and feels today will not necessarily be how it tastes and feels in two weeks (on the off chance that it lasts that long). Here's a reminder picture of what the beer looked like prior to secondary fermentation:



Notice the pale straw color. It's almost creamy looking. There's also no carbonation in there. I must say, it looks fairly unappetizing. The finished beer is much more clear in the bottle. All the gunk that made the beer cloudy has apparently settled in the bottom in a yeasty pool of sludge. Inverting the bottle cloudies the beer, but it settles fairly quickly. It's important to pour out the beer carefully to avoid getting the brew too cloudy. The loosest sediment won't mar the flavor of the beer, but the sludge at the bottom will. Here's the final product:



Notice how much darker the color got. Also the nice little bubbles. I will now review my beer using the Beer Advocate standard reviewing system (qualitatively only).

Appearance: Rich golden color. Tiny bubbles like a Champagne. Effervescent, though producing only slight head. The beer is crystal clear and very alive.

Smell: It doesn't have too strong an aroma. There's a slightly noticeable hop character and some grainy smells. Nothing particularly exciting.

Taste: It tastes like a basic lager. There's no getting around that. It has a typical lagery flavor at the beginning, some herbal and honey notes in the middle, and, interestingly enough, has a sake finish. I'm pretty surprised with how good this beer is compared with, say, MGD. I'd even comfortably put it next to some mid-range commercial golden lagers.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is actually this beer's strongest category. It is surprisingly thick and rich feeling for a beer as weak as this one.

Drinkability: Tastes great. Less filling. Kidding. Although not really. It goes down pretty smoothly. At an ABV (alcohol by volume) of about 4%, it is weak compared to most micro-brews. It's slightly stronger than most light beers, and also a whole lot more flavorful.


Prost!