Batch #7 is bottled! For the first time in a fortnight, the fermenters are empty and I can see the top of the workbench.

This has got to be the darkest beer I’ve ever brewed. The end of the siphon I use to get the brew out of the big five-gallon bottle it was fermenting in has a bright orange tip. I could barely see it through the beer even when the tip was up against the side of the bottle.

It’s got a rich aroma and a sweet taste with just a hint of a bitter finish that even My Darling B, playing guinea pig taste-tester, gave high marks to, and if she says it’s not too bitter, I might just be onto this trick of balancing sweetness and bitterness. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I got thirty-four bottles out of this batch, hitting the lucky number again.