The amber ale has been in the bottle eight days, so it is time to test the brew. As you can see from this photo

it poured a wonderful amber color (imagine that!) with about an inch of just-off-white head that lingered for quite some time and left some nice lacing on the sides of the glass. The beer was much clearer in the glass than I expected, which was a nice surprise. The nose was still filled with a citrusy orange hop aroma, but not nearly as much as on bottling day. A week in the bottle has allowed the malt characteristics to come forward a little. On the palate, the beer shows its youth, with the flavors coming through as one dimensional and a little rough. A few more weeks and these flavors should begin to meld together, creating a more complex profile. Despite still being a “green” beer, the ale has more flavor and complexity than your standard macro brew. Overall, I’m very happy with this effort and if it matures the way I think it will, it’s a beer I will be happy to brew again.

I think I’ll have one more today and then pop another cap next Sunday, purely for the sake of comparison of course.