Batch No. 3: Drones Club Honey Witbier

Formula: Witty Monk Witbier Premium Refill, 1/2 cup honey added pre-boil
Brew Date: November 30, 2010
ferment time: 19 days
Bottle Date: December 19, 2010
conditioning time: 6 weeks
Open Date: January 30, 2011
Rating: 6.5
This is my first non-English ale recipe. "Witbier" is not, as I had thought, German for "wheat beer", but rather Belgian for "white beer". It is a light wheat beer, and while this is more of a summertime flavor, I wanted to try my hand at a lighter color and flavor profile. This should replicate a Belgian white beer.

The severe flavors (two cans of hopped extract) and honey will take some time to condition/mellow, so I'm going to let it sit in the bottles for at least six weeks prior to drinking, meaning they'll be ready to go at the end of January.

Update: 31 January
Tried a Drones Honey over the weekend. There is a definite honey presence, which surprised me. Adding the honey to the boil is supposed to leave a drier finish, but not supposed to be noticable in the final flavor. It's a good beer, I think. It's not my favorite style, so I didn't love it, but I think it's tasty.
Perhaps it will be better with more aging and in the appropriate setting: a warm summer's day, with a slice of orange in it.
Not bad.

Batch No. 2: Anglers' Rest Special Bitter

Formula: English Nut Brown Ale HME, Mellow Amber UME, 1 pack Fuggle Hops
Brew Date: November 17, 2010
ferment time: 18 days
Bottle Date: December 5, 2010
conditioning time: 4 weeks
Open Date: January 2, 2011
Rating: 7.5 Stars

My second batch is another attempt to re-create the quintessential English pub ale. The Mellow Amber unhopped extract adds a creaminess that the straight English Brown Ale was lacking.

After a full 4 weeks conditioning, this became a mellow and smooth ale. Tasty, but not quite creamy enough yet.

Batch No. 1: Empress of Blandings Best Bitter

Formula: Straight English Nut Brown Ale Standard Refill, no adjuncts
Brew Date: October 10, 2010
ferment time: 14 days
Bottle Date: October 24, 2010
conditioning time: 31 days
Open Date: November 25
Rating: 2 stars

For my debut brew, I decided to go simple, and get one of the very basic Mr Beer recipes. My favorite commercial beer is Newcastle Brown Ale, but my favorite beer I've ever had was at a little pub outside of London. It didn't have a name, it was just the house brew. It was golden brown, with little carbonation, and was delicious. So one of my goals for brewing my own beer is to re-create that ale.

I bottled this too soon, and opened it too soon. (The curse of the novice homebrewer!)

This brew never really mellowed: always had an edge, sharp cidery flavor and crisp, biting carbonation.