N.E.S.B. - Northern Extra Special Bitter

So here it is, my first beer I ever brewed.  I call it the Northern E.S.B. or N.E.S.B. for short.  As this was my first, I it brewed from a kit I bought form local brew suppliers The Beer Nut and tried my hardest to follow the directions.  I veared off here and there as I got excited and rush through a step or two.  I also took some advice from some brewing blog videos I watched while brewing.  Most importantly however, was that it turned out great for brewing without a thermometer.

When poured from the bottle into the glass its clear to see its a lighter beer, almost like an unfiltered pale ale, which is good, because that's close to what it is.  After the first sip, it's clear the beer didn't quite come out as an ESB as it came too sweet and not as bittery as a beer lover might like.  However, due to this it found many fine compliments from my friends who aren't as into beer as I am.  They appreciated the sweetness and lack of overwhelming bitterness.

Over time however, as it has been close to three weeks since I opened the first bottle, the beer has aged a little more.  Though everywhere I have read, ESBs are typically best right after bottle conditioning, I think this one has gotten better.  Some of the sweetness has been lost and therefore the beer flavor has come through a little more.  Though still not quite an ESB.

Some opinions vary nonetheless.  My partner in crime, Hillary Galvin, has often said the beers are tasting worse the longer they sit in the bottles.  Yet, she is still unable to quite pin point the reason to words yet.  The closest we have got has been it tastes like a beer that has lost carbonation.  Either way, we are both happy with our result and continue to drink them to this day!

Overall, there are many, many reasons as to why this beer came out the way it did, from lack of proper sanitization, use of SLC tap-water, to over sugaring the yeast (honestly this is my best guess for off flavors).  Either way, I know own a thermometer and have one brewed beer under my belt.

Next up is my Jalapeno Pale Ale which was bottled just this past Sunday and I am about to start a Cherry Irish Stout tonight.

Stay thirsty my friends, and make sure to grab a delicious beer for your next "movie date" with that cute girl from class.