well it's been 'bout 5 weeks guys, so c'mon, hows it all going?
i tapped mine a coupla days ago, and am really pleased. and especially a lot of killer reviews from the usual tasting panel too.
forgetting the late hops was probably a good thing in the end as it attenuated slightly more than usual (~80% attenuation compared to usual ~75% - bout 2-3 gravity points) and is about perfectly balanced at around 32 ibus. i've been pushing hops a bit lately as 75% attenuation with chloride favoured water was leaving some beers bordering a little sweet.
interestingly it's still got a big straw/marmalade/strawberry hit from the challenger up front
there is a definite difference in flavour there compared to ales i've made with just pale malt, or even pale and light crystal. in fact i think it's similar to the only other beer i've made with [homemade] invert no3 so i think there's a clear contribution in the final product. probably expected a more obvious hit to be
honest, but it melds together smoothly in the background and does make the ale taste very "traditional". to be fair, a side-by-side with half that amount of invert would probably help to really see what it's adding. not claiming to have the best tasting skills either!
vital statistics you were all waiting for..
pale - invert % 87-13
1,044 - 1,008 @ 67C
wlp007 @ ~17C
next i think i'll go to the other end of the scale with a barleywine (again bout 15% invert) to see how much / what sort of flavour comes though, but otherwise i'll probably just end up using it all in more like this to try get the most out of it. very happy
