Darkseid Tasting Day 001

Eleven days have passed since I've bottled Darkseid Black Ale.  I ran out of already-made beer, and since I'm impatient and didn't want to drink a lot of liquor, I decided to try a bottle.

Darkseid -
ready to open with the Dark...
er, side.. of the Force!

I expected minimum carbonation, and undeveloped flavor - and I was disappointed.  While certainly not completely mature yet, this beer is fully carbonated, and quite drinkable!

So I pulled one out of my fermentation rig, cooled it in the fridge for a couple hours, and popped the cap.  Immediately, I heard a nice, loud, crisp "pffft!"  That was unexpected.  But be still my beating heart!  I poured the brew into a pint glass just a little more quickly than I should've, and got a TON of head.  Carbonation: completed!

Wasn't expecting that...

The aroma from the bottle is a little piney, a little citrusy, just a hint of malt in the background.  The head pours thick and brown.  The beer appears almost solid black, turning a deep brown when placed against a bright light -- there's absolutely none shining through, except around the very edges of the glass!  Dark, indeed.

Deep, dark brown when exposed to te light.
Almost black otherwise.  This is some serious shit!

When tasted, there's a strong buttered biscuit flavor that should be in the background but totally isn't, with some spiciness (from the Saaz), and something else there I can't quite figure it out yet.  There's a buttery, creamy mouthfeel that's actually kind of pleasant.  The aftertaste is fresh, a little spicy, just a bit citrusy maybe.  Those hops are definitely in there, but not overwhelming.  Oddly, there's zero chocolate flavor; hopefully that will develop later.

That head calmed down after a few minutes, but a short, thick, creamy head remained through to the end, very satisfying.

What's better than head?  Head that lasts forever!

That buttered biscuit (almost butterscotch) flavor is partly from the darker malts (the biscuity part for sure), but bulk of it - that in-your-face part - is from a compound called diacetyl, an off-flavor produced during fermentation.  According to the internet, a "diacetyl rest" involving several days at a higher temperature should cause the yeast to mop up that flavor, so I've raised the temp in my fermentation chamber from about 67 to about 72, which should allow the yeast to do its thing a little more effectively.

Well I deserved that.  I hadn't intended on testing this beer for at least another week, so that's the consequence I must live with.  It's still a decent beer.  Won't win me any competitions, but I'm positive that a couple more weeks of bottle conditioning will significantly improve this beer.  If my previous batches were any indication, in about 2-4 weeks, I should expect to taste some chocolate, the diacetyl flavor should die out, and the Sorachi Ace might bust in there a bit, giving maybe a slightly spicy lemon-chocolate touch.  Or at least I can hope.

Until next time...