My tasting of this beer began with an unexpected surprise...
As you can see, this batch contained my first bottle bomb! Needless to say, I panicked. Was my whole batch ruined, was it all going to be way over carbonated, was it the bottles I used? These were some of the questions running through my head.
Luckily, I found plenty of websites where other people dealt with the same thing. After my research I decided to lift each cap to let some CO2 out, in order to prevent another bomb going off. So far so good. I also threw (placed very gently) some of the bottles in the fridge for drinking a few days sooner than I had planned, but obviously they were plenty carbed.
That all happened Friday, and after two days in the fridge, I figured it was time to pop a top and take a swig. The bottle was pleasantly carbonated, and with careful pouring, I had no problems with it. Success!
As you can expect, the first flavor I was tasting for was the honey. I had heard it often disappears in the boil, so I adjusted accordingly, adding the honey just before flame out. The first flavor I ended up tasting in this recipe though, was the wheat. With nearly 50% of the fermentables being Wheat DME and White Wheat steeped grain, it is definitely a wheaty beer. I used magnum hops for bittering and cascade (a favorite) for aroma. After the initial wheat flavor, the hops come through, and you can tell it is not a traditional witbier. Finally, the honey. A pleasant sweetness, defined honey character, and a good melding of all the flavors at the finish. The honey and sweetness does stick around afterward and I expect this may be the most controversial point of this beer. Some will like it, other may not. All in all, I think I will be brewing this one again.
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