First it Boils, Then It Ages

Here's a flimsy secret that needed to be busted open - my first batch of beer has aged to drinkability.

The Bad Town Brewery's Bavarian Beginner is filling the bottom level of my pantry, while its savory summer wheat flavor fill my gut on these hot evenings.

Due to shortages of the necessary Hallertau hops for the true Bavarian hefeweizen you know, the one with the banana-orange-clove flavor - a better name might be Bastard Bavarian Beginner, since it tastes substantially different.

The flavor veers northward to Belgium, coming closer to a lighter red ale than I expected. The wheat malt is strongly present, and the Cascade hops shove it further away from the expected style.

But it passed the biggest test - I didn't have to pour it out. Fitting a style bears less importance than its drinkability, and it goes down smoothly.

Now I have begun plotting the next batch, likely to boil within two weeks. I have a glass carboy to accompany my primary fermentation bucket, so I can go for a trickier recipe that involves a secondary fermentation.

I already nabbed my first ingredient - several pounds of blueberries.