Tasted: English Bitter 1.0

Alright, so I used the scoring metric.  Let's hope these results make sense.  When trying the first few beers and scoring them appropriately, my methodology was to look, smell, and taste the beers, in that order.  So, here are the results.

Aroma:  8
Appearance:  8
Style:  8
Bitterness:  5
Maltiness:  7
Mouthfeel:  6
Head:  4
Balance:  4

These marks earn the English Bitter a total score of 44 out of 55.  This gives it a rating, in my book, of 80%.

I really think this beer is very close to the style and I think the results show it.  The first experience one has with this beer, besides its stunning golden color, is the distinct aroma of grain.  Its a brewer's beer, as its aromatics are reminiscent of a heap of malted barley, particularly the ever present English favorite, Marris Otter.  I think that scent brings one into the beer and allows the auxiliary flavors to present themselves accordingly.  A short sip and one is embraced by the smooth balance of the simple malts and subtle hints of English alpha acids.  The gentle current of golden liquid moves about one's mouth in a ever so slightly heavier manner than water giving the drinker a sense of refreshment and encouragement to proceed.  Being a simple session beer, the English Bitter suggests "have another" as one realizes the sparse foam rings lining the glass.

My only complaints are possibly the over presence of malt in the flavor profile, the slightly heavier mouthfeel, and the under-achieving head retention.  Future versions of this may see a reduction of grain in the grain bill to counter the over-maltiness and a slightly lower mash temperature to create a thinner mounthfeel to encourage drinkability.

Recipe: Session Bitter