| If you are fairly new to home brewing beer I am | | | | batch. |
| sure that one of your biggest challenges is waiting | | | | The first taste: Take in just enough to cover your |
| long enough for the fermentation process to | | | | tongue. Different recipes will feel heavier or lighter |
| complete before you take that first taste of the | | | | depending on the ingredients you used. Hold the beer |
| new batch. Believe me, we have all had the same | | | | in your mouth for a bit before swallowing to allow |
| challenge! | | | | your taste buds to experience the full flavor of all |
| But what I want to talk about here is not the | | | | the ingredients you add to the brew. |
| agonizing wait for the batch to be ready but, instead, | | | | So there it is. You have experienced your first taste |
| the way you taste the beer when it is ready. These | | | | from the batch. Hopefully it has the color, body, |
| tips are what me and my friends have come up with | | | | aroma and taste that you imagined. If you have kept |
| over time and they work for us. But feel free to | | | | careful records during your brewing process you will |
| modify them to suit your particular needs. | | | | be able to recreate these results anytime you wish. |
| Don't eat right before you taste: The goal here is to | | | | If something didn't come out quite the way you |
| taste the beer you just made and not dinner! | | | | wanted, or if you have an idea on how to improve |
| If you smoke, put it out: Smoking will interfere with | | | | your batch next time, these same records will give |
| the way you taste your new beer. Even having | | | | you the information you need to "tweak" the recipe |
| smoke in the air will change how you taste the batch. | | | | the next time around. Taking that first taste of a |
| Pour the beer into a clear glass: This does a few | | | | new batch is, for me, one of the best parts about |
| things; One, it allows the beer to form a head. Two, | | | | home brewing beer as a hobby. I'm quite sure it will |
| it lets you see the color and clarity, and three, it will | | | | be yours as well. |
| help you fully appreciate the aroma of the new | | | | |
