The very first batch of Thomas Cooper’s Heritage Selection Lager - or ’beer’, for short - is now almost two months old.
Bottled on November 30, and tasted at two minutes past November 30, you will remember that the ‘green beer’ had a slight, though not really unpleasant, bite at the end. After a month and a half we can report that the product is now noticeably better - smoother drinking, finer bubbled, sweet in the front and bitter in the back. It really is heart-warming to see your little ones grow up so well so quickly.
The Pale Ale, or Cascade Imperial Voyage Pale Ale, for long, is maturing at a similar rate, although there is something, here and there, that makes me wonder if we slipped up somewhere in the process. Still can’t quite put a name to it, it’s just a slightly “misplaced” flavour note in the middle of the taste that just seems a bit dud. It does, however, appear to be dissipating with time so we might just store it away for bit and let it get over its’ malaise.
The second batch of Lager will be bottle conditioned by January 24 and we will have a quick taste for note-taking purposes and then put it away for a few months. You may recall that this is the one in which we used liquid malt extract and sugar rather than the dried malt extract. It was also the one which was subjected to higher fermenting temps and we wait to see how this affects the finished product.
Production is now geared up towards building a stockpile and as each batch is bottled we prepare for the next. At the moment this involves buying a bit of the shop stuff for the empties but we’re getting there. It’s tough. We also now have a few mates on board who are keeping us supplied with empties. We have also begun the next phase of the adventure and Dr Lager is beginning to source kegging equipment for the eventual tapping of the Beer Bloke Beer. Watch for the brand appearing in a half-arsed converted fridge near you soon.
Cheers
Prof Pilsner & Dr Lager
