Yummy Brown Ale

I cracked open a couple of bottles of brown ale today. I also bought a six-pack of a brand called Downtown Brown Ale, from the Lost Coast Brewing Company in Mendocino, California. This was my reference brew.

The Downtown Brown had a nice head and lots of carbonation. The taste was not as full as it could have been, but it was a pleasant drink, smooth and slightly hoppy. The homebrew didn't foam up as much, and had less than half the quantity of bubbles that the Downtown Brown had. The flavor was more substantial, and a little bit sweeter. It had a fuller body by comparison, and a mild syrupy flavor, with no aftertaste. I think I am happy with the recipe, but not so thrilled about the carbonation. The taste was superb, and made the commercial beer taste a little bit weak.

I offered my wife, Shannon, a blind taste test, to see which one she liked. Even though the Downtown was more frothy and fizzy, she liked the taste of the home brew better. That settles it for me as far as the flavor. Carbonation seems to be an issue in this batch. I opened two bottles, and the first was almost flat, the second was the one I used for the test.

If I learned anything from this batch, it is that carbonation needs to be looked at. I suspect the bottling sugar step in the bottling process, but more than that I can't say.

By the way, my very first home-brewed beer, the Amber Ale, is very tasty, has plenty of carbonation, and is about half drank. It turned out very well. The third batch is waiting in the fermenter until next weekend, and I plan to get a Heffeweizen kit as Batch Four. That will be started next weekend as well.