Beer: WillCo -- A Coming of Age Ale

Today we've got another guest poster, my younger brother. He's providing a thorough review of my first homebrew, named WillCo, which just finished aging yesterday. I'll have another post later on with some personal notes about the beer.

Beer: WillCo

Brewed by:

WillCo Homebrewing Company
Indiana, United States

Style / ABV:

American Strong Beer / Plenty (7%?)

Poured from a 12oz bottle (with a duct tape label) into a pint glass. Batch #1.

A: Pours a deep caramel color under two fingers worth of white head which diminished quickly. Minimal lace, no retention (although that may be my fresh-out-of-the-dishwasher glass, which I forgot to rinse).

S: Lots of toasty goodness. Seriously, I smell toast. There’s plenty of sweet coffee aroma as well.

T: The initial taste at the front of the mouth is fairly sweet, but is quickly dominated by a roasted nutty/caramely/coffeey flavor on the sides and back. Quite a bit more carbonation than in previous tastings, which seems to balance the sweetness well. There seems to be a distinct lack of the unmistakable home-brew after taste – big plus!

F: medium-bodied with lots of activity. The ending feel is roasted and bitter, which certainly invites the next sweet-starting sip.

D: I fear the home-brew headache, so I haven’t had more than 1 bottle per sitting.

I like this beer, a lot! Very respectable for your first go around. I look forward to Batch #2 with great anticipation.

Reviewed on 1/24/2008 10:45PM

Here's a picture of my pour from last night, with one of my duct tape labeled bottles!