Homebrew Review: Wildfire Red Ale

When I took my first tentative steps into the world of homebrewing, I was convinced I’d screw up so badly that I’d never try again. I was, however, ultimately successful: I turned stuff into beer.

With the first batch now a memory, I thought I’d give it a proper review. Maybe it’s silly to review homebrew, since it’s not like one could go to a store and buy it, but one could certainly brew it. Or something close enough to to it, anyway.

Wildfire Red is aptly named. First, because it’s indeed a red ale, but also because of its toasty malt character. It’s an extract kit with specialty grains included, and these specialty grains are what give the beer its roasted flavor. In my wife’s opinion, it’s too much, but I think it toes the line well.

So, the beer pours a rich amber-red with a nice, creamy, frothy head. It has medium to medium-light body, but it’s quite big on flavor. You get an initial blast of the roasted malt, followed by a nice even layer of the fine British hops. The finish, however, is the roasted malt again, which lingers on your palette. Were it not for this roasted malt aftertaste, this beer would be eminently drinkable, as the malt and hops balance each other out very well. But, in my batch, either because I steeped the grains too long, scorched them, or whatever, it’s a little overwhelming to drink a bunch of this beer. I will say that it does pair extremely well with grilled meats, be it chicken, fish, or steak.

In all, I’d say the recipe is excellent, but that my execution might have been slightly off. A friend who sampled the beer was reminded of oversteeped tea, when commenting on the beer’s finish. I’m inclined to agree with him, though I’m not a tea drinker. Were I to brew this again, I’d only steep the grains for fifteen minutes instead of thirty. I might also look for some way to mellow out the roasted malt character, perhaps with different hops. But in reality, there are so many established homebrew recipes that there’s really no reason to go back to the same one, unless you think it’s the best beer you’ve ever had. So, I’ll grant this one a rating of A-OK! and move on to the next recipe.

Actually, I’ve already brewed and bottled my second batch, but have yet to try it. We’ll see how it ultimately turns out in a couple of weeks, after it’s conditioned and matured.

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~ by John on June 12, 2011.