Cherry is Popped: First Sip!

Without sounding like a total panzy:

I was pretty excited, nervous, and unsure about opening my first bottle of Octane IPA. After all, we've invested a decent amount of money, time, and effort into our new little hobby. I first want to thank John and the maple porter (great new pics by the way) for initiating our new found pastime of crafting premium basement brew. It also seems a little weird, because we have already brewed multiple batches and I personally hadn't tasted the fruits of my creations yet. Also weird that even with a sample un-sipped, the process (of extract brewing mind you) seems pretty ingrained already. Un-sipped as of tonight I should say. It's been a month and four days since my hands squeezed their first grain sac. The Octane waited patiently this past month for this very day and I shall share my thoughts.

First, I think we learned a lot from the maple porter. This first sample of Octane had a better chance from the get go, just by following a few simple steps: One, be patient. Two, don't crash cool. Three, keep the yeast at the bottom of the bottle.

Ok, the results. I was happy with the taste of our beer, as I really was just hoping not to vomit quite honestly. The beer was pretty darn good. I am my own worst critic however, so there are definitely things to comment upon. I really wish I had one of the "brother's brew" over to sample with me, because I had to choose the only two people who happened to be around that night: My wife and my mother :/

Don't get me wrong, Patti Bye can throw the brewskie's back, but I guess I had envisioned a slightly more manly first encounter with the Octane. On top of that, Cathy pretty much hates all beer with a passion, especially anything resembling my usual drink of choice: Summit Pale Ale. But God bless her for being a good sport about it. I can only work with what I got, you know? Here are general comments/notes from the three samples:

Color: Caramel (with a little red)
Clarity: Surprisingly clear (but definitely had a slight cloudiness)
Smell: You can sure smell the hops! Hoppy Hoppy! Maybe too strong of scent :)
Taste: Sharp and Crisp. Afterbite. Almost no taste of yeast! A hint of sweet (maybe from bourbon woodchips?). Could be considered a little heavy.
Misc: Decent head retention. Dries your mouth out (cathy). High alcohol content (good buzz from a small glass). I would argue each glass had a different flavor/taste, although minimal (not sure that this is common or unheard of?).

I am eager to witness and document the changes our Octane makes over the next month of bottle conditioning. All in all, I was very pleased with the first sample.

Taste test 2 set for next Wednesday. Who's with me?