I know it has only been in the bottle for a little over a week, but I had to taste the California Common. I wanted to see how it was shaping up. I have been bottling more 12 ouncers so I could try more when the beer was young and not feel like I was wasting it.
Although it is young, it is still showing some signs of what it will become. There is a slight fruitiness in the middle of the taste before it finishes dry. The hop profile is forward – woody and I guess a little minty from the Northern Brewer hops.
I like the color. I hope the rest fully carbonate soon.
Jack
Ugh. I hate that time when you want the beer to be ready but it’s just not there yet. It feels like it’s never going to be ready!
I’ve come across a couple tips for bottling testers. Some people fill a couple of 12-oz plastic soda bottles with primed beer. Once the bottle becomes hard due to the CO2 pressure, your beer is likely carbonated. Another one that I like is to hold on to those little 8 oz bottles that some Belgians, such as Corsendonk, some in. They make great testers where you waste even less beer if you find it’s not yet ready.
chris
I always taste at 1 week in bottle. I can’t help myself. The beer is always very fractured and the malt and hop flavours have yet to blend. Its generally very disappointing and I should stop doing it. However, at least i find out any faults because they scream out at this stage.
Mike
Nice use of the white background.