Batch 85, Imbolc

This is the same as St. Brigid's Lake IPA from batch 70. I made a change in the hops -- I don't have any Centennial, so I used Perle instead and am calling this batch Imbolc. Imbolc is the pagan name for St. Brigid's day, which is the Catholic name for Ground Hog's day.

10 gallon batch.

Grain:

21 lbs 2-row
4 oz chocolate malt

Hops:

This is the hard part.
1/4 oz Chinook (whole)
1/4 oz Cascade (whole)
1/4 oz Perle (pellets)
Add all of the above at 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, and 0 minutes. That is 11 additions of 3/4 oz hops.

Wyeast 1272

OG: 1.059 actual: 1.065
FG: 1.015 actual:
ABV: 5.7%
SRM: 11

IBU: 98

I ended up with a little extra in the boil kettle, 13 gallons, so I turned up the heat to get to the right volume at the end. I guess I had it a little too high, since I only ended up with 9 gallons in the fermenter instead of 10. OG came out a little high because of that.

Tasting Score Sheet

Date	Feb 14, 2010
Batch #	85
Beer Name	Imbolc
Style	14B, American IPA
Packaging	Bottle | Draft
APPEARANCE	1 2 3
Head	spare | small | average | large | huge rocky | creamy | frothy | fizzy | white | off-white | light brown | dark lasting | diminishing
Lacing	excellent | good | fair | spare
Body	clear | sparkling | flat | cloudy | hazy | murky | muddy
Particles	None | lightly cloudy | cloudy | heavily particulate | chunky
Color	light | dark | yellow | amber | orange | red | brown | ruby | black | tawny
Comments	Under carbonated, but looks good otherwise. Could be clearer, but that will come with age. Update 2/23/10, carbonation is very good, beer is clearer now but still has a slight haze.
AROMA	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Malt	light | average | heavy | harsh | bread | cookie | molasses | caramel | grain | hay straw | cereal | chocolate | coffee | toffee | toasted | roasted | burnt | nutty | meal
Hops	light | average | heavy | harsh flowers | perfume | herbs | celery | grass pine | spruce | resin citrus | grapefruit | orange | lemon | lime
Yeast/Bacteria	light | average | heavy | harsh dough | sweat | horse blanket | barnyard | leather soap | cheese | meat | broth | earth | musty | leaves
Miscellaneous	alcohol: light | average | heavy banana | bubble gum | clove | grape | raisin | plum | prune | date | apple | pear peach | pineapple | cherry | raspberry | cassis | wine | port | cask wood | toffee butter | butterscotch | smoke | tar | charcoal | soy sauce | licorice | cola | honey brown sugar | maple syrup | vanilla | pepper | allspice | nutmeg | cinnamon coriander | ginger | tobacco | dust | chalk | vegetable | cooked cabbage/corn cardboard paper | medicine | solvent | bandage | skunk | sour milk | vinegar rotten eggs
Comments	Nice hops aroma, pleasant, not overwhelming at all. Need the carbonation to help bring out the flavor. Update 2/23/10, the flavor is now excellent. The carbonation has brought out that nice hops sharpness that make this an IPA.
MOUTHFEEL	1 2 3 4 5
Body	light | medium | full
Texture	thin | oily | creamy | sticky | slick | alcoholic | thick | minerals | gritty| smooth
Carbonation	fizzy | lively | average | soft | flat
Finish	metallic | chalky | astringent | bitter
Comments:	I think the lack of carbonation is negatively affecting the mouthfeel. Update 2/23/10, the carbonation is much better, I've moved the mouthfeel from sticky to smooth.
FLAVOR	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Duration	short | average | long
Sweet	light | moderate | heavy | harsh
acidic	light | moderate | heavy | harsh
bitter	light | moderate | heavy | harsh
other	vinegar | sour milk | salty | minerals
Comments	Good flavor, but could be better with more carbonation
OVERALL	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Comments	This beer is a little young and isn't quite ready. It is still lacking in carbonation, although it's been on the tap for 10 days. I'll rate this again, either later on this keg or on the second keg. Update 2/23/10, same keg, beer is much better the past few days now that the carbonation is up to where it should be. I bumped the overall score from 6 to 8.
TOTAL	38

Update Feb 23, 2010: Bottled 2 bottles for future drinking. Updated the tasting sheet, this is quite a good beer now.