A year in Brewing Review

I figured I should consider doing a review post of what I have brewed this year, and hopefully how things tasted.  Some of them were started at the end of 2013, and were bottled or racked to secondary this year.  So without any further ado, and in chronological order:

Note: This article may be occasionally updated after I drink one of them (and get a new picture).

Dwarven mushroom stout, 1 gallon (1-26 to 2-23):  Just a one gallon test batch, my mashing was horrible (do to attempting to use an electric roaster to keep the temps), and it finished extremely sweet.  That being said, I think it was a fairly good example of what a stout should be--malty bitterness, big body, and enough sweetness to balance the bitter.  I do think it is worth brewing again, someday.

Dwarven Mushroom Stout

A split batch of cider: 4 gallons of basic cider with an OG of 1.060.  Safale US-05 yeast used.
After a month in primary, I racked and pulled 1 gallon off, which received 1/2 oz of Saaz pellets.  A few months later, I bottled (filtering the hops out) this one.  It was delicious, and a perfect "Bardic Brew"...dry so it doesn't coat your throat, but smooth and high enough abv to loosen your vocal cords.  Definitely worth making again.
A couple of weeks later (2-8), I added a pound of ginger, 1 cup of honey, and one ounce of Bordeaux blend oak beans.  I racked it a few times in the next five months.  It came out very dry (0.998) with a lovely lemony ginger flavour.