Is it the end of an era? Nah! I doubt it...MB has treated me too well for this to be goodbye forever. However, this recipe uses the LAST of my original supply of MB extracts. This one should be an interesting quaffer. It will be light (3.8-4.0% ABV), and it uses a few ingredients that were commonly utilized to make beer in colonial times. Yep...delving into the history books for this one!
Revolutionary Amber - Brewed on 5/26/2011 - 1 can MB Englishman's Nut Brown - 1/2-ish pouch of MB Booster - 3/4 cup brown sugar - 3/4 tsp crushed coriander - 1 pack MB yeast Going by the MB book on this one, as I like to do that when using their extracts. So about 4-5 cups were brought to a boil, and while that was happening I mixed in the Booster. I just find it easier to mix while the water is coming up to the boil. Once the boil was reached, off went the flames, and in went everything else!
I decided to go with the ice water in the LBK trick again, and it worked out wonderfully. Except...FUMMMMMMBLE! I was using a smaller pot this time, and I managed to spill a bit of the wort as I was pouring it into the keg. To compensate for this loss, I simply filled the LBK about an inch or so less than the 8.5 qt mark. Disappointing, but I did not want to water this brew down any more than I had to (since it was already going to be a light one). Yeast was pitched at about 68° ferment through 6/9/2011 carb/condition through 7/6/2011 - 2 bottles to the fridge (MLHD will wait a bit longer)
1st tester - 7/12/2011: decided to pop one open while watching the MLB All-Star game (which the National League won 5-1 and will, hopefully, be giving the Phillies home field advantage in the World Series this postseason!) because, quite frankly, I did not want to wait anymore! As you can tell from the pic above, it poured out a really nice amber color and was quite clear actually. That fluffy white head slowly fizzled down into a 1/4 inch tight layer of bubbles that really hung on during the drink. Very cool. The nose was tough to describe...a touch of sweet, a dash of spice, and some orange peel...but it was really quite faint. However, the taste was more pronounced. The coriander flavors were the most prominant, and IMO it was akin to a baker's spice rack plus the same orange peel note from its nose now coming through on the tongue. This was supported by a semi-sweet with a touch of malt backbone. The carbonation level is leaning towards the high side, but it drinks easily and finishes dry. Overall it was a very interesting beer. To recap: Lovely color, light body, easy drinking, strong and unique/interesting flavor profile that finishes dry. I am looking forward to a few more pints of this in the coming weeks, and hopefully I remember to take some notes and outside opinions on the beer to share with everyone here. ~Next Recipe~