First Pour - Blue Patriot

This is the first brew I was tempted to dump after tasting.  Didn't notice anything out of the ordinary while bottling, but it sure didn't age well.  It is much darker than it should be, and is so hazy, I can't see though it.  It has an unexpected element to the aroma, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is.  The taste is very bitter and has a almost burnt flavor to it.  I'm thinking I scorched the DME during the boil.  I'm also thinking there is a bit of oxidation going on, due to the air that was in the pureed fruit when I added it to the fermentor.  Need to figure out how to get rid of the air from the fruit next time I make a fruit beer.  I'll try another bottle or two before I decide, but this one may be going down the drain.

Update on 2013/12/30: Beer is getting better with age, the bitterness from the scorched DME is fading.  It's now drinkable, certainly not my best, but good enough not to dump down the drain.  Perhaps with more time it will improve further.

Sharing my brew

Took a big step and started shaing my brew with others.  Gave two friends bottles of the red ale the previous weekend, but they both left on trips before being able to sample it.  The inlaws were in town this past weekend, so my father in law tried the Bavarian I had in the fridge.  I wasn't too sure about it as this was the second tasting after letting it sit for an additional month.  Poured off two samples into little glasses and the rest into a regular glass.  He and I both tried the samples, he really liked it, so he got to finish it off.  He commented on how good it was, so I was quite pleased.  There were no sour apple notes in the sample I had, so the extra time conditioning has paid off.  Now I need to put another one in the fridge for me.

Updated: 2013/06/29:
Received feedback from one of the friends I gave a red ale to.  Here's his comments:

James - finally made time to try your Red. Excellent brew - very smooth, nice robust flavor. Looking forward to sampling more of your creations!