Small Victories

After several weeks of talking about the idea between him and myself, I finally sat down with The Brewer so he could give me tasting notes and feedback on my beer. Without disclosing too much, let's just say that The Brewer makes tens of thousands of gallons a year here in Honolulu, and knows his stuff.

I have to confess to a bit of nervousness. It's one thing if friends like my beer, but to be honest, some of them wouldn't notice if I swapped it for apple juice. It's something else to offer it an expert then invite criticism. He was gentle though, complimenting the recipe on its smoothness and good ginger nose. The main suggestion was to add the finishing hops five minutes prior to the end of the boil so that more of them "go aromatic."

We talked story and recipes for a while before he summed up, "This is a good beer." That was enough to make my day. Hey, I was just thankful he didn't spit it back out!