1st Beer Results

In the interests of science (and with a little lack of patience), I put one of the brew bottles (see the brewing and the bottling) in the fridge the day before the 14-day carbonating period was over. I opened the bottle that night. The cap removal had that nice "fizz" sound and some CO2 wafted out the neck. A little bit of head formed but vanished before I could take a picture. For an Irish Red the color is fairly dark. The flavor is a little more on the sour and the bitter side but it still drinks okay. Considering how long I waited to make the brew and this attempt was a first time, I am satisfied with the Day -1 results.

Before the moment of truth

Not the right shade of red

I put another couple of bottles in the fridge on the proper day. That evening, I tried one with slightly better flavor. Did the day really make a difference or is it just my imagination playing tricks on me? The color is still very dark and the flavor is still fairly sour. Surely something went wrong in the process. I still put the blame on expired ingredients (which is putting the blame on me for waiting so long to try it out). 

I opened the bottle that was only two-thirds full to see how that turned out. It had a lot of fizz when I popped the cap. The beer had at least a slight tinge of red but the flavor was more of the same. It's just not satisfying. 

Even the light barely helps it look red

I tried another bottle on proper day plus four. The flavor is the same awfulness with no change in color. It is time to admit failure and move on! I will pour the rest down the sink and try a new recipe from Maryland Homebrew. They recommend a brown ale for starters, I will give that a try.