In order to Christen my brand new "2nd" Little Brown Keg, it will receive the best Mr Beer experience possible...a premium refill kit from the company that started it all! This one is going to be the American Devil IPA (thank you to the lovely wife for the kit) brewed straight-up without any LBBP modifications (I'm working on crafting my own IPA recipe, so that will come into play in the coming months). From the MB website:
Rich lager malt, ale malt and caramel lay the foundation for this fiendishly hopped American IPA. Fiery gold in color, its brazen hop aroma overwhelms the senses. The intense flavor and notably dry finish will shock and amaze. You're sure to have a wicked good time with a batch of American Devil IPA.
I have read several reviews of this kit, and they are all different in regards to the "hoppy-ness" and flavor profile it creates. However, the underlying note is always the same: it makes a very good beer. So here's hoping for another MB success!
American Devil IPA - Brewed on 2/21/2011
- brewed up totally to the letter of the Mr Beer instructions
- pitched the 2 packets of MB yeast @ 72°
- ferment through 3/7/2011
- carb/condition through 3/28/2011
- first tester 4/4-8/2011
- tasting notes 4/16/11: poured a quite clear copper color with a pillowy white head that dissipated into a thin foam layer that lingered (and actually left some light lacing) throughout the drink. There was a light hop aroma, but nothing really substantial that one expects with an IPA. The hop presence is mostly bitter, and crossed the palate with a slightly harsh finish. I can't place the hops (not that I am any sort of expert on doing so), but herbal/piney is the note that comes through. There is a very subtle sweetness, probably from a light caramel malt, right in the middle of the sip. I certainly have had better IPAs, and of the several MB premium kits that I have brewed up, this is my least favorite. Perhaps this one will get a little better with age (as in the bit of harshness should/could mellow out), but I have discovered that I enjoy the hops' flavor and aroma in an IPA, not the bitterness.