04-22-2004, 10:44 AM
Thought I would update on my first Ales. The first(and weaker) batches I made were not bad. I onlyfermented 5 days and that was a mistake. I should havegone 7 or 8 days. It was kind of sweet which is notall that good for a beer. Plus it did not taste allmuch alcohol was present. Second,Even though my maltextract syrup was hopped the beverage had no hopbiiterness at all. My next batches I will add somenice floral hops towards the end of the boil. Saya little Northern Brewer or other mild fresh hops.Had I done a longer ferment and added the hops at theend this Ale would have been a 8 on a 10 scale. Theflavor of the alereminds me on a spicy winter seasonalbrew that many micro breweries make. The first flavorthat comes to mind when I sip it is cloves. My nextbatches will benifit from what I learned from my firstattempts. I still have the extra strong (double the maltsper 2L bottle) batch that has now fermented 7 days. Idon't want to open it to early but I also don't want itto sit in a primary fermenter to long.ORGINAL POSTER: ramjammn