Tasting : Boilerplate Bitter

Having bottled this beer about six weeks ago, I've had the chance to try it 7-8 times. I've been holding off on blogging about my thoughts on the beer, mainly because it's been pretty difficult to put it into words... a problem I find I have with a lot of beer tastings, due to my limited vocabulary and limited experience with many beer styles!

However, I think I can say now, unfortunately, that I'm not a huge fan of this beer. It's definitely a pretty tasty, sessionable beer, but in terms of how good it is as a Standard/Ordinary Bitter, I'd have to say it misses the mark. I blame this mostly on the Amber malt, which I had never used before and therefore probably should have used more sparingly. The 1/2 lb seems to have overpowered the contribution from the Crystal malts. So, the search for a house bitter continues... next time, I'd definitely lower (or even cut out?) the Amber malt quantity.

Appearance: Poured with a very small, white head that quickly fades to a film on top of the beer. Body is dark amber/light copper, with good - but not excellent - clarity.

Aroma: Difficult-to-place aroma... I find it very similar to Berley’s Best Bitter (a previous Special Bitter I brewed last year), but there was no Special Roast used in this recipe. Earthy, slightly spicy, almost with a bit of a chocolate note, likely due to the Amber malt. No noticeable fruity esters from the yeast. Malt aroma is lower than it should be, and the caramel quality is negligable.

Taste: Moderate earthy hop flavor, with moderate-high bitterness in the finish. Again, the malt presence is much lower than it probably should be, and fruitiness is at a bare minimum.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, medium-low carbonation.

Overall: Certainly not a bad beer, just not a very good Standard Bitter. Easy drinking, low alcohol, which is a plus. But the malt complexity is too low, as are the fruity esters from the yeast.