Batch #2: American Devil IPA
For my second batch I opted for another Mr. Beer kit. This time I did the American Devil IPA. Reviews of the brew were good. Many I read modified the recipe with extra DME to up the ABV (it's a sub 5% beer), or extra hop in the boil. I chose to only use my last 1/2 oz of Chinook hops for a 5 minute boil. Although, in hindsight that may have been a mistake because I did not store the hops in the fridge for the couple weeks since I opened them for my first batch. So i'm afraid that they oxidized and spoiled. They smelled OK. So right now i'm just hoping they don't leave a nasty taste in the beer. I guess the simplest mistakes are the ones i'll make first.
So the American Devil is brewed and fermenting. I don't think I can do another Mr. Beer straight recipe. If I use Mr. Beer again i'm going to have to either completely devise my own recipe using their selection of extracts, maybe with a grain steep, or use another brewer's custom recipe. I want to begin the creative process of brewing very badly; creating my own grain bill, choosing my hops yeast. I've got a 5 gallon brew set-up just screaming my name. I'll give the beer away to strangers if I have to. It might make me extremely popular.
So many variables go into making a beer what it is that I do find it daunting to experiment without a fully learned palate of what grain imparts what flavor, and what each hop leaves behind. So, in the words of Charlie Papazian, "relax, it's only beer".