Battle of the IPA's - North vs. South

A few weeks ago, Travis (CNYBrew.com) sent me a few bottles of his home brewed ales and lagers. At that time, I was very busy, and didn’t have any time to sit, drink, and give them the attention they deserved. Recently, I got an email from him asking if I had drunk the Lagunitas IPA clone. I didn’t. And that was a good thing, because he informed me that Jonathan over at (MNB - mondaynightbrewery.com) was sending me their Swashchuckler IPA. They both wanted me to be a judge to determine who made the better India Pale Ale. I’m not really all that much of a beer critic, but I was quite flattered to say the least.

So, I finally got to sat down with both beers with my good friend Erik. We were both eager to taste what the east coast home brewers had made. It was fun and tasty, and below are the tasting notes for each beer. I also would like to thank my wife Sarah for taking such great photos.

India Pale Ales are generally viewed as the most bitter and hoppy of ales. They are generally pale in color, assertively hopped, and have a malt backbone that supports its aggressive hop profile. There are definite differences among English and American styles. In this tasting, I feel like each beer sort-of represented each country.

Swashchuckler IPA by Monday Night Brewery

Appearance: Pours a deep golden color with amber hues and an even/light cloudiness. A ¾ inch white head fades quickly down to a ring of bubbles around the edge with slight lacing.

Aroma: Upfront there are sweet aromatics. Apricot, vanilla sweetness and fresh malts dominate. Then a mild hop after-presence comes through with some citrus notes and mostly reminiscent of English varietals.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Fairly balanced flavors favoring sweet/darker malts. Bitterness is present and soft verses sharp and cutting. Hop flavors come through much like in aroma and again suggest English in styling. Medium bodied with lower carbonation gives this ale a good mouthfeel.

Aftertaste: Pleasant malt finish without lasting bitterness on tongue. There does seem to be a lingering, yet clean, mineral taste perhaps from Georgian waters.

Overall Impression & Drinkability: An overall impression takes me to England. This version is darker and takes on a much sweeter flavor profile from what I guess is residual sugars from darker crystal malts. I also wonder if the yeast count was sufficient for this batch. Hopping levels are smooth and understated. The hop bitterness and bouquet is just short of assertive or clean & accurate enough for my taste. A pretty drinkable beer, and it's softer carbonation makes it feel more session-like.

Lagunitas IPA Clone by Travis

Appearance: Pours a nice pale golden color much like the real Lagunitas, with lots of carbonation creating a dense thick and frothy white head with strong staying power, and good lacing. There is a clarity to it, but has a more particulate cloudiness.

Aroma: Clean, strong citrus and subtle soft fruit hop scents, hint of sweetness.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Sharp citrus hop taste upfront lending to a nice simple malt secondary flavor. The bitterness is strong and dominates the overall experience. There is a clean and attenuated sweetness coupled with higher carbonation that makes this beer finish on the dry side. The mouthfeel is medium in body.

Aftertaste: Mostly bitter and quite assertive/almost harsh. I get a hint of sour quality coming from the citrus/lemon-like hop flavor, and combined with higher carbonation is reminiscent of a German Wiess (Hacker-Pschorr).

Drinkability & Overall Experience: Overall I think it is like a fusion of American pale ale and German Wiess. It is a bright and refreshing IPA, but fuller carbonation makes it a little difficult to put down, and may accentuate some of the sharp edges. An unrefined & edgy bitterness commands the palate, but does allow just a little malt to slide through.

Conclusion:

The Lagunitas IPA clone has a more unrefined “home-brewed” quality, it’s brighter and more bold in hopping, but is also a bit edgy. The Swashchuckler IPA is quite sweet, and has a mysterious finishing quality that tastes more balanced or “micro-brewed.” It was a little challenging to compare two beers that tasted so different, and I had to base my decision on the overall taste. Even though both could use definite adjustments in balance and refinement, and don’t come close to my Hop Blend IPA from 2007 (but that is a different story all together...ha ha ha!), I definitely favor the Lagunitas IPA clone by Travis.

Munich Dunkel's Fine Farewell

This past weekend I said farewell to a very good beer that hung around for a very long time. A Munich Dunkel made using an all-grain, double decoction mash schedule. Three 1-liter swing-top bottles cellared for 1 year. My original intention was to drink them in a 1 liter mass krug with an old friend, but somehow, time kept slipping by and we never did. Each one changed in it's own way. One tasted stale, but not overwhelmingly so, and held much of the original flavors. Another one was a mild gusher, but also tasted fine.

Below is a copy of the notes from a tasting in June'06. Then I follow up with how it has changed over the long haul. Also, on this past brewday, Sarah managed to take this beautiful photo of it, poured into .5-liter mugs, and held up to indirect afternoon sunlight.

Munich Dunkel
4% - brewed 12/3/06
Appearance: Reddish brown & clear as day...sunset perhaps, light/white head lingers
Aroma: Clean, light yet rich aroma, malty, nutty, biscuit, hint of cherry, grains, wine perhaps?
Taste/Mouthfeel: Super mellow & smooth maltiness, clean, nutty, cocoa powder, grainy, grape, and hint of smoke, velvety mouthfeel
Aftertaste: Clean & light, earthy, more "cocoa" dryness towards back of tongue, slight charred wood and hint of smoke
Overall/Drinkability: Very easy to drink, smooth & mellow, great lager, nice solid Dunkel

One Year Old
Appearance: Reddish brown & clear as day...sunset perhaps, light/white head lingers
Aroma: Very clean, light malt
Taste/Mouthfeel: Super mellow & smooth maltiness, sweetness maybe from bitter hops mellowing, clean, cocoa powder & distinctive grainy taste vanished, lighter mouthfeel
Aftertaste: Clean & simple, not as dry
Overall/Drinkability: Very easy to drink, smooth & mellow, great lager, definitely not a young beer, but not lacking anything, and without any undesirable characteristics

Northern Brewer Hops

The Official NBA was an attempt to get to know the Northern Brewer hop. I used it aggressively in this one gallon batch/yeast starter. Two bottles were even jammed with hop cones. There are some pros and cons.

Pros...

1. Northern Brewer hops are much more delicate in flavor than I assumed.
2. The bittering qualities are solid and quite acceptable.
3. The flavoring qualities are fruity and grassy/straw-like with hints of "orange" citrus and spice.
4. Aromas lean towards a mild or very soft citrus and fruity quality.
5. Bottle hopping rounded out the flavor and aroma with more orange citrus & apricot fruity notes.
6. Definitely a candidate for hop blending to attain subtleties in flavor and aroma.

Cons...

1. Severe oxidized aroma and flavor caused by whole cone dry hops.
2. Bottle hopping (I did use a LOT!) cause gushing, but a better overall beer and less oxidized flavor...kind-of strange but true. The oxidized flavor seemed to diminish greatly as the glass was swirled and warmed...20+ minutes.
3. High bittering rate caused a slightly harsh lingering bitterness in the aftertaste.
4. Lacks complexity/interest as a stand alone aroma hop.

I would be very interested in hearing about anyone's experiences using Northern Brewer hops. I've only really seen them being used as bittering hops. I think they have a lot of unseen flavor and aroma potential. Just gotta unlock some secrets. Perhaps a unique malt profile, hop blending, yeast choice and very mild dried fruit additions.

Dark Triad

Three dark beers have been sitting together in the basement since the holidays. They were together for a reason. I wanted to taste two of mine along with a commercial beer. Finally the opportunity presented itself. One evening (July 13th), David and I had nothing better to do than sit around and sample beer.

Within the triad, the only thing in common was their color...jet black. Some of the basic flavors found in very dark beers were in all three, but their personalities presented the flavors in very different ways.

Thanks David for a fun tasting, and your notes. Here's the details for each beer. If anyone would like to see the recipes for the first two, please let me know. You're on your own for the third. I have one bottle left of the Dry Stout, and a small handful of Schwartzbier hanging around.

Classic Dry Stout
OG 1.043

ABV 3.75%

Look: Black, medium tan fine head builds and slowly diminishes to a steady ring around the collar
Nose: Chocolate
Taste: Pleasant bitterness with chocolate upfront, then the carbonation effect rushes over bringing somewhat complexity of roast flavors, and ends dry
Aftertaste: Long lasting taste, finishes dry and clean
Overall: Using a classic/standard recipe and a fairly low OG (1.043), it came out pretty good. A little assertive with roast flavors. Its a smaller beer acting like a big one, so one is enough.

Schwartzbier
OG 1.052

ABV 5%

Look: Black, fine lighter tan head with staying power
Nose: Smokey, dry roast and toast aromas, and roasted cacao
Taste: Sweetness coming from Munich and dark malts, then moves into a smooth bitterness and finishes with moderate roast flavors and a touch of smoke. The smoke character was very prominent after 2 weeks in the bottle and has been mellowing over time.
Aftertaste: Sweeter roast flavors
Overall: Good beer. A little high on carbonation. Can drink a couple...slowly.

Bison - Organic Chocolate Stout
OG 1.058

ABV 6.1%

Look: Black, fine tan head very much like the Classic Dry Stout
Nose: Chocolate
Taste: Smooth and silky chocolate then in & out layers of roast. Following is a definite chocolaty flavor and there's a mild malty sweetness throughout.
Aftertaste: Smooth & silky
Overall: Easy to drink & very enjoyable, and with such a high alcohol percentage it's very impressive. Perhaps the low IBU's (17) have something to do with the smoothness too.

Melding Belgian Beer & Mexican Food

There's absolutely no rules when it comes to pairing food with good home brewed beer. I'm not exactly sure why I served Mexican food with my summertime Belgian beer, but I think I was just craving them both. They actually paired pretty well.

The Belgian Pale Ale is smooth and simple. It has a malty sweetness and candy-like taste coming from the Indian Jaggery cane sugar. The bitterness level is low and the carbonation is soft. All this combined makes it a very drinkable beer. Everyone came back around for a second glass, and had their fill.

Thank you to my wife Sarah, David and my Mom for helping out with making the delicious dishes. Thank you also to those who brought other tasty foods. We had a nice spread of salsas and dips...a black bean & jack cheese dip, classic chunky salsa, Sarah's famous guacamole, roasted tomatilla salsa, and a spicy/creamy dip.

Thank you to everyone who came out last night. You all helped me to do something I'd never done before...to brew a batch for mass consumption. With a goal of downing 5 gallons, 17 of us did manage to drink a total of 2.45 gallons. I'm impressed.

It was so much fun. I will definitely do this again.

One last thank you to Sarah for taking some photos.

First Homebrew Tasting

Last night I hosted my first home brew tasting. It turned out to be a lot of fun and all the beers were fantastic. I want to first say thanks to everyone (Brian & Nicole, David, Andrew and Bartek) for coming out on a Monday night. It was one of the only days everyone had free. Thanks to Andrew for bringing by 3 of your tasty home brews. Thank you also to my wife Sarah for taking great photos, and my baby Cadence for being a sweetheart.

Only one apology goes out to Bartek...that it wasn't at all the casual drinking night you had imagined. I hope you now know...I don't joke around. No games...all serious-like. Ha Ha! I really do appreciate all of your good notes. I really had a great time having you all over. I just think its amazing that "we" made these beers from our own hands and from scratch. And in their finality, they all turned out GREAT! Brewing beer is totally worth the time and effort, and sure beats paying crazy high prices in the stores.

We got off to a late start, but the night went on remarkably focused and smooth. Everyone had their own tasting note cards with lots of great responses. We tasted 7 out of 10 beers, and started with what we thought would be easier drinking beers. We finished with Andrew's Coffee Stout and high octane Belgian Tripel and Barleywine. Below I will go through each beer in order and highlight the tasting notes for each one.

1. Belgian Pale Ale - 5.5% bottled from primary 6/1/07
Appearance - Deep golden color with amber & brown hue, hazy, low carbonation/not fully conditioned
Nose - Soft scents of floral & citrus bouquet, some candy sugar sweetness and mild yeast
Taste/Mouthfeel - A sweetness of soft fruits and jaggery, floral & citrus, yeasty, mild tart/tangy bitterness, with a light mouthfeel
Aftertaste - The tang remains with tart bite on the tongue, some bittering, and earthy & dryness
Overall/Drinkability - Smooth and balanced, crisp, good, delicious, drinkable, a nice young Belgian...Andrew says he can't wait till its fully conditioned (full batch still in secondary)

2. Munich Dunkel - 4% brewed 12/3/06
Appearance - Reddish brown & clear as day...sunset perhaps, light/white head lingers
Nose - Clean light yet rich aroma, malty, nutty, biscuit, hint of cherry, grains, wine perhaps?
Taste/Mouthfeel - Super mellow & smooth maltiness, clean, nutty, cocoa powder, grainy, grape, and hint of smoke, velvety mouthfeel
Aftertaste - Clean & light, earthy, more "cocoa" dryness towards back of tongue, slight charred wood and hint of smoke
Overall/Drinkability - Very easy to drink, smooth & mellow, great lager, nice solid Dunkel

3. Czech Pilsner - 5.5% brewed 2/18/07
Appearance - Pale yellow and slight haze, with white head that lingers
Nose - Bold & soft citrus hop scent, floral, sweet "grapes", faint apricot
Taste/Mouthfeel - Smooth but also aggressive, super crisp, bold hoppy flavor, slight caramel, light and tingly, attenuated
Aftertaste - Refreshing, fizzy and clean, not bitter, slight barley, acidity noticed
Overall/Drinkability - Very drinkable..."all day long", great smooth/soft carbonation, interesting, flavorful, refreshing.

4. Citrus Lager - 5% brewed 1/30/07
Appearance - Light amber, golden orange, clear, white head
Nose - Mandarin/tangerine, sweet orange aroma, citrusy & fresh, lemon
Taste/Mouthfeel - Clean, bitter, super orange flavor upfront, lemon and subtle grapefruit, taste mellows with more sips, fuller body
Aftertaste - Bitter, maybe gingery, grapefruit adds quite a bit, lemon, wheat beer-like aftertaste
Overall/Drinkability - Unique, different, aggressive, a bit too much orange, best in small volume, paired well with fruit/citrus desserts and maybe chocolate

5. Belgian Tripel - 9% bottled approx. 1 yr ago
Appearance - Loads of foam with solid staying power, golden with slight amber, hazy
Nose - All around soft aromas, orange, fruits (peach/apricot), mild floral scents, caramel, pepper,
Taste/Mouthfeel - Full flavor and complex, sweet, orange, caramel, subtle coriander and pepper/cumin, full body, good carbonation, a bit high on alcoholic heat that mimics whiskey (like it was aged in whiskey barrels...kinda nice and unique)
Aftertaste - A little sweet citrus, tangy tartness (Weiss-like), whisky-like warming with dryness
Overall/Drinkability - Powerful, complex, tough, seems to have lost some fruity notes over one year, nice warming beer served well in a smaller snifter perhaps at a higher temp to allow all the subtleties to come out.

6. Coffee Stout - 5.5%
Appearance - Transparent dark with ruby hue, clear, no head & low carbonation
Nose - Coffee!, clean, iced-toddy, chocolate
Taste/Mouthfeel - Coffee, rich and original, chocolate notes, mild roast flavor, light body, low watery carbonation
Aftertaste - Smooth, slightly tart/sour, mild roast again
Overall/Drinkability - Good, porter-like, best served with chocolate or desserts or perhaps as an aperitif

7. "Warewolf Flanders" Barleywine - 13% 9/2006 & can age 5 yrs easy
Appearance - Beautiful deep mahogany color, clear, thin head dissipates quickly
Nose - Light complex aroma with vanilla, sweet malt, cherry, cocoa
Taste/Mouthfeel - Big taste with deep complexity, soft, dark fruits (raspberry), oak, piney hops, vanilla, chocolate, sweentess with some fusel alcohols , full mouthfeel with lower carbonation
Aftertaste - Alcohol warms, dark fruits again (currants), mild sourness, mild grain, subtle smoke, alcohol
Overall/Drinkability - Heavier taste, warming, complex sweet & strange, not a typical barleywine, needs more time to mellow (I think I'll hold onto my bottle for another 4 years)

Homebrew Tasting - 6/11/07

I'm planning a home brew tasting. It would be a lot of fun to bring local home brewers together to share stories, knowledge and most importantly our beers.

Over the past year I've met a number of brewers, and I'm going to see if I can get in touch with them. I've got a bunch of lagers ready, and I'd like to know what others think of them. I'd love to see/taste what others have brewed as well. And now I have some "young" Belgian Pale Ale bottled on June 1, during primary racking.

I'm hosting it at my place in Rogers Park. It will be held on Monday June, 6th. If you're a home brewer, live nearby and are interested, please email me. Feel free to comment here as well. It will be a very casual thing lasting a couple of hours with some taste-bud cleansing snacks on the side.

Thank you

redted8 at yahoo.com

Czech Pilsner - Final Results

This beer was lot of fun to make. Tons of Saaz hops. All German malts. Czech yeast. Steady fermentation temperatures. Good long lagering in the ice box.

I had expectations, but only based on commercial examples and the descriptions from various recipes and books. I've never used any of the ingredients before. So I guess I was venturing into the unknown. In the end, I'm very pleased I did it. I love the flavor of Saaz hops. The Wyeast 2278 Czech Pilsner yeast strain, though very sulfuric during fermentation, performed very well with great attenuation and malt flavor. I think the German malts helped give it the right kind of flavors.

First signs of fermentation appeared at around 20 hours after pitching the yeast. Pitching temp was around 52*F, the temp dropped to around 48-50 over night, then the temp rose to around 53-54 withing 24 hours. Fermentation went smoothly over a 2 week period. I was very surprised by the intense odor of sulfur during primary fermentation. It was more intense than the Munich strain and filled the whole porch with its rotten egg stench.

-Photo- coming soon

Finished Results

OG = 1.056
FG = 1.013
SRM = 4
ABV = 5.5%
IBU = 45

Appearance: Beautiful pale yellow/straw color. Very clear considering that it was unusually hazy all the way through fermentation, lagering and bottling, and no Irish moss. Slight haze especially at colder temps. 1 inch white foam head forms, and slowly diminishes to a small rind of bubbles around the glass edge.

Aroma: Hoppy, sweet maltiness, floral.

Taste: Bold and bright hop presence from both solid bittering and flavor/aroma additions. The hops carry a full flavor with mild citrus and spiciness. Malts do balance the hop assertiveness, and has a smooth & clean sweet taste. There is defintiely a "crisp" character to this beer. Attenuation was very good, and the residual sweetness is not too low nor high. There is also a nice dryness in the aftertaste. I'm quite pleased to sense a slight presence diacetyl (buttery taste) because I think it adds more character/complexity to this light colored beer with bold flavors. Diacetyl is also acceptable and noticeable in many commercial examples.

After-taste: A definite mild 2%AA Saaz hop bitterness lingers long on the tongue. There also seems to be a small alcoholic presence.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, soft, attenuated, very good carbonation (on the lower side).

Drinkability: Even though it has a bold taste, the smoothness in the malts and lighter carbonation make this lager very drinkable. After one pint, I found myself wanting another one right away.

Overall Impression: An all-around attractive beer. It has great color, aroma, taste and mouthfeel. It is a little over the top with hop presence, but that's what my intentions were. I get a sense of pride drinking this beer and rank it as one of my finest.

This beer tasting guide has been helpful...www.alabev.com/taste.htm

Notes for future brewing: It was very difficult getting the wort to boil after adding even half the hops. The total weight of hops was 13 ounces in 6 gallons of post boiled wort. I think Brian would agree that it was an armful stirring and chilling both pots. I question the hop utilization, and perhaps using higher Alpha hop pellets for bittering would help. Also, I would like to try bringing the OG to about 1.050 and scaling down the IBU's to about 38. I'd like to improve upon this beers already smooth flavor and make it a very balanced, more refined, and delicate.

Click here for earlier Czech Pilsner posts - Conception and Recipe & Brewday Stats

Blueberry Ale & Sour Corn Ale

The idea of making a sweet corn flavored ale stewed around in my mind for about a year, until the opportunity to try it, presented itself. After acquiring two 4000L conical flasks from a friend, I easily got into an experimental ale phase.

After visiting Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine in 2004, I came away tasting some very good blueberry ales. Since that trip I wanted to make a blueberry ale of my own.

I decided to brew both of these at the same time. The grains for both recipes were steeped/mashed together to form that part of the recipe. After that, each recipe becomes quite different with the choices for malt extract, hops and bitterness, and fruit.

Sour Corn Ale (Corn Cob Ale)
1.125 gallon

Grain & Extract (OG 1.048)
1 lb. Pale DME
.25 lbs. Vienna
2 oz. Crystal 10
2 oz. Carapils
1 oz. Crystal 120
1.5 lbs. Organic Corn, frozen (2nd Fermentor)

Hops & Spice (29 IBU)
.25 oz. Perle, 6.1%, whole, FWH
.125 oz. Hallertau, 5.8%, whole, 45min
.5 tsp. Ground Pepper, 10min
.125 oz. Hallertau, 5.8%, 5min

Yeast: Collected Thames Valley Ale

Outcome
It was quite a surprise how this ale turned out. The corn did not contribute any sweetness at all. In fact, it developed a very pleasant sour taste. My only presumption is that the corn could have had some sort of wild yeast/bacteria that reactivated and consumed residual sugars. The combination of medium spicy notes from the hops and ground pepper, and the overall rich golden malt sweetness, it was quite refreshing. Though there was plenty of carbonation, a head didn’t develop as intended, nor did it stick around. It pairs very well with a burger and fries.

1 year later...
This beer tasted AMAZING. It smoothed out so much and became "simply" complex. Almost too simple to describe. The sourness and any sweetness vanished. The carbonation was full and smooth. There was an oxidation in the aroma, but not really in the taste. Overall, it took on a quality much like an aged Belgian Tripel but in a unique sort of way. I'll definitely play around with whole corn again, both in fermentation and in secondary.

Blueberry Ale
1.125 gallon

Grain & Extract (OG 1.048)
1 lbs. Muntons Super Light DME
.25 lb. 2-Row
2 oz. Crystal 10L
2 oz. Carapils
1 oz. Crystal 120
1 lb. Organic Blueberries, frozen (2nd Fermenter)

Hops
.125 oz. Willamette, 4.2%, pellets, 60min
.125 oz. Willamette, 4.2%, pellets, 30min
.125 oz.Tettnanger, 4.1%, whole, 10min
.125 oz. Tettnanger, 4.1%, whole, KO

Yeast: Collected Thames Valley Ale

Outcome
It has a nice purple hue to its otherwise pale gold color. There is a faint blueberry scent. All of its flavors are bright and sort of sharp. The hop bitterness may have been a little high. The blueberry flavor is light but definitely present. There is a slight alcohol/metallic taste to it. Overall, its a drinkable beer. I think some wheat or flaked barley could give it a more smooth flavor and mouth-feel. Perhaps the hop flavor and aroma was a little aggressive, and shifting the hop schedule to bittering hops with less aroma would help the blueberry taste and aroma come through more.

1 year later...
An amazing beer. It's carbonation was full and very soft. Similar to the Corn Ale, the overall aroma and flavor was smoothed out but was also much more flavorful. Its sort-of hard to describe. It had a faint aroma of blueberries, and the flavor was super smooth. Absolutely great. I will be aging my current Blueberry 2 for at least 1 year!

Swamp Rat Super IPA

Last year I wanted to brew another IPA for a late summer thirst quencher. The Swamp Rat Super IPA was originally inspired by Dogfish Head's 60 minute IPA. But then it changed drastically into a super charged English/American style. I was trying some new hopping ideas like first wort hops (FWH), and in the end it came out very unexpected...almost strange and out of place.

I really don't get into naming my beers, but entered it into a competition and had to give it one. I was having a hard time with it so I asked my brother what he thought. Right away he suggested a phrase he used for a long time..."swamp rat super...." This meant that what he was describing totally rocked! It was perfect. In fact I think the name suits the beer quite well...not that it rocks, but that it's kind of like a swampy beer.

Swamp Rat Super IPA
6 gallons

Grains (1.066)
4 lbs. Pilsner
4 lbs. 2-Row
3 lbs. Vienna
1.5 lbs. Munich
1.5 lbs. Crystal 10
.5 lb. Flaked Rye

Hops (68 IBU)
2 oz. Cascade, 6%, whole, FWH
1 oz. Galena, 12%, pellets, 60min
1 oz. Goldings, 5%, whole, 30min
1 oz. Goldings, 5%, whole, 5min
1 oz. Goldings, 5%, whole, Dry

Yeast
Wyeast 1275 - Thames Valley Ale

3 judges at the Schooner Competition gave a very fair and accurate critique on this beer. I think the malt complexity and messy addition of hops contributed to its overall harsh bitterness and blunted edges. Here's what they had to say...

Aroma: Grainy, slight indistinct fruity nose, malt sweetness, faint hops.

Appearance: Copper gold color, cloudiness, persistent thin head.

Flavor: Malt sweetness, then hop bitterness, and harsh finish. Grainy maltiness with balance to the bitter side.
Flavor is rustic, not citrusy with fruitiness restrained.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, mild/medium carbonation, high alcohol presence, with no astringency.

Overall Impression: Good beer, almost no hops in aroma, bittering hops are harsh, no citrus notes, not one I'd drink more than one.

This beer was definitely more experimental. I would keep the grain bill simple choosing a pale or pilsner base. Skip Vienna. Bump up the Crystal to 40 or 60 Lovibond. Either bold rye presence (10%) or none at all. If using FWH, treat it as both the bittering and flavor hop additions, and then add KO and Dry hops. Maybe Goldings was not such a good choice for aggressive IPA hopping. Perhaps a 3C blend or Amarillo might be very nice. I will definitely try a better FWH schedule in the future.