Hombrew #2 - a sneak preview!

So on Monday evening we kegged & dry-hopped the latest homebrew, and initial impressions were pretty favourable.  I couldn't resist pouring a small sample midweek - as you'll see here, the colour looks pretty good but it needs a good bit more time to settle as it's still quite cloudy.  Not that I mind the cloudiness, to be honest, but I know a lot of people prefer a clear beer!

We have hit one snag, though, in that the barrel is losing pressure.  I suspect we've just not tightened it fully, but rather than re-tighten and re-pressurise now I'm going to remove the dry-hops at the weekend then re-seal and re-pressurise.  It'll then be pretty much good to go bar some further settling.

So how does it taste?  Well, I'm quite impressed for a first all-grain effort. It is hugely, intensely bitter - and it's a bitterness which lingers and grows after each sip.  I guess those Target hops with 10%+ alpha acids have done the trick nicely!  On top of that bitterness is a pretty well-rounded flavour; having used Fuggles and Goldings it's got a nice earthy, woody flavour.

We'll see how the dry-hopping has added to the aroma and flavour at the weekend!