Wet Hop Cascadian Dark Ale - Tasting Notes

A few weeks ago I wrote about my back yard hop harvest and my Wet Hop Cascadian Dark Ale, I think it's time for tasting notes.

Appearance - I know the photo make it look like this beer actually turned out black but it didn't. It's more of a muddy brown verging on black which is a disappointment. I changed the recipe to use carafa II rather than roasted barley and now I regret it, it was really good the first time around. The head pours large and creamy, too much for the style.

Aroma - The citra dry hopping comes through big time in this beer as it should because I used 3.5 ounces. There's also a chocolate/coffee aroma in the background.

Mouthfeel - There is way more body in this beer than expected for a 1.010 FG. It's very creamy feeling in your mouth and gives the impression of a root beer float. Not exactly what I was looking for. Likely due to 16% rye malt.

Taste - There is a slight chocolate flavor and some coffee notes that aren't especially roasty just give the impression of dark grains. There's also a beautiful layering of citrus that doesn't clash as much as you might think it would. Very very little bittering, no surprise since this was 100% whirlpool hopped. The taste has changed significantly since I kegged it. The flavors have mingle together well and I'm really starting to enjoy this beer regardless of its faults.

Future Changes - Try midnight wheat for coloring next time and bump up the target SRM from 31 to 37. I'll need much less midnight wheat to make the beer black and this might help with some of the short comings. Reduce the rye malt by half to take some of the body and head creaminess away. Dry hop with centennial and cascade rather than citra, it's just too much.