What We Brew Is Secret #1: British "Pub Ale"

Today your Broggers set to bottling a batch of beer we brewed on February 28.  This was a second attempt at the beer of January 17: originally meant as a Boddington's-inpsired "cream ale," it ended up stronger and hoppier than its Mancunian forebear.  On February 28, we tried to re-do the recipe to tone down the alcohol and get a little closer to the "Cream of Manchester."  

The January 17 beer is on the left; February 28 on the right.

Did we succeed?  Perhaps -- this version seems lighter in color, body, bitterness and hop flavor.  It comes in around 4.9% ABV, about 0.9% less than our first batch.  (By comparison, Boddington's is 3.5% ABV in its canned version.)  

While we didn't nail the ABV, we did get close to its flavor profile: malty and somewhat fruity at first, with a hop finish and a very distinctive roasted-malt aftertaste.  The January 17 attempt also had these characteristics, but with more malt and hops and less residual sweetness.  With the added alcohol, that beer was closer to an India Pale Ale than we intended.  We'll taste our second version again in a couple of weeks, once the bottles are conditioned.

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