Aged to Perfection - Moonstone Brown Ale

Moonstone Brown Ale, the brewery's first beer is officially a success! This beer was left for just one more week and the "off taste" has mellowed out, this brew has a high hop bitterness and the after taste reminds me of Guinness. By no means am I claiming that my home brewed brown ale is as good as the legendary Guinness, i'm just saying that this beer finishes near the same, but not quite as strong. The Brown Ale is too dark in color for my liking as the brown pours almost black. When tilted and pointed to the light, a dark brownish - red is visible. One day i will tweak this recipe for another shot. One change that is a definite is the elimination of any dark malt extract, I will use all light and pale malts and rely on the grains for color. This should lighten it up just enough. I will also experiment with decreasing the hop quantity to tone it down a bit on the bitterness. i have set 12 bottles aside to see if it improves any further, however I have already purchased the ingredients for my next batch of beer out of fear that my current supply wont last much longer.

Updates:
Moonstone Chocolate Stout is bottled - This beer looks like its going to turn out great. I had a taste and it is already amazing. It has a beautiful chocolaty aroma and finished wish a faint taste of cocoa (not sweet) It is dark pale brown in color.

Because no one is eager to taste my beer, my next recipe will be something that I am not super excited about, but this one will be for the non beer lovers and the ladies. I have scrapped the Pale Ale and decided on a Blonde Ale as the Pale Ale may still be too hoppy for most of my friends and family.

Blonde Ale - also called golden ales range in color from that of straw to golden blond. They are clear, crisp, and dry, with low-to-medium bitterness and aroma from hops, and some sweetness from malt. Fruitiness from esters may be perceived but do not dominate the flavor or aroma. A lighter body from higher carbonation may be noticed. The lightness in the use of hops and malt can make blonde ales a good introduction to craft industry beers for consumers only familiar with mass-marketed beers.


Because I have no idea what i'm doing with this brewing thing, I think the name I have come up with is both cheesy, and appropriate - "Moonstone Dumb Blonde Ale"


**UPDATE** April 23rd - I am not happy with the name Dumb Blonde Ale, so based on how simple and easy this recipe was, I am switching it to "Easy Blonde Ale"


Brew day post and recipe coming soon!