REVIEW: Your Not 21 (English Dark Mild)

It all started with a thought, what if we brewed a beer from a mash someone else made, that would be a real Iron Brewer!  I rallied the club behind it and we assembled 7 groups to brew on a Saturday morning.  We showed up at Claim 52, received wort, and made beer with only the ingredients we had on hand.  I received the last of the wort and had to water it down to get to the right volume.  Turned out to be a great beer.  I haven't done well in the past with making British styles, so I was hoping that this beer would turn out well, and it did.  Despite the 1.021 FG (hence the name), the beer has a decent finish, not too sweet, not dry.

Look:  Pours a super clear (thanks 1968) brown with garnet highlights, beige head is persistent, and fades to

a thick cap.  Leaves good lacing down the glass.

Aroma: Light English hops jump out first, earthy and woody, nutty yeast, biscuits, light fruity esters, pear and cherry, malty.

Flavor: Tastes like fresh baked biscuits, nutty, light coffee, English hops, a chalky yeast bite, mild toffee bar, plum skins.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, semi-sweet finish, bitter pull on the finish clears the palate, mild carbonic bite, slightly astringent.

Overall: Very nice beer, malty, balanced, super flavorful for such a small beer, nice complexity.  Great beer for Autumn.  Doesn't finish sweet for the 1.021 FG.  Really enjoyed this beer.  This review is from the 2L of force carbed beer from bottling day.  The bottled version still tastes quite green although it is fully carbed up.

Claim 52 Mystery Wort BrewHaHa; RECIPE: Mild

The idea came to me while reflecting on our club's Iron Brewer competition: adding a mystery ingredient to a recipe that is already formulated on paper.  I thought, "Adding Cap'n Crunch to an IPA isn't really that challenging, is it?"  Then it came to me... what if we did a brewing event with a huge twist?  No one knows what the grist and wort composition is until just before brewing with it?  I contacted the President and VP of our brew club for a go-ahead on the plan, and then contacted a local brewer to help out.  Trevor, owner and brewer, at Claim 52 here in Eugene, was very active in the local home brew scene before going pro, and still judges in the BJCP comps in our area.  He was very gracious and really liked the idea.  We would give him the number of brewers, and he would make enough wort for each of them to get 5 gallons post boil.  He was the only one with full knowledge of what the wort would be, what specialty grains would be used, what the mash temp would be.  We, as the brewers, would have to show up prepared for anything that came out of that mash tun.