Badger Dark Ale - One Week Since Bottling

Well, it's been nearly a week since I bottled so I decided to crack one open and try it out.

As I pried off the bottle cap I was greeted with a healthy *hiss*--a sign that bottling had probably gone well. I gently poured it into the glass, maybe too gently as no head formed. The beer seems to have cleared somewhat in the bottle. It's still a dark beer though so it's rather opaque, but you can tell that it isn't cloudy.

It tastes pretty good; it's much better now that it's carbonated. It's more malty than anything though and I can't really detect any hoppiness at all so it's not very bitter. I was expecting a bit more character, but I still think it's pretty good for my first beer. We'll see if things change as it ages. The body is medium; it's not as thin as a Guinness, but not nearly as thick as a proper stout. It also has this kind of sweet aroma when you bring the glass up to drink it, but it doesn't taste too sweet.

I will probably brew my imperial stout tomorrow, so there will probably be a post about that.

I've plotted it out a little and I think I can have 5 different homebrews on hand by the time graduation rolls around, maybe 6. The real limiting factor is space, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. In addition to the dark ale and the imperial stout I want to try a brown (or maybe a scottish) ale, a bitter/esb, and a "lite" beer for those who prefer that sort of thing that will be around during graduation. A straight up stout or porter would be nice though, so I might do that instead of the brown ale. We'll see.