Pick a beer, any beer! (Ok, Ok, pick a style!)

[ronjohn55]

Even though there is more snow on the way, spring is slowly approaching, and that means it's almost time to bring the brewery out of hibernation and start making beer again!! The only question is, once I get everything cleaned up, what to make?? Anybody have any favorite beers or styles that they want to suggest?

(See, I suffer from this affliction of liking them ALL, so I have a hard time picking one over the other)

Here's a picture of the brewery (At it's old location)

John

 

[keen kook]

No suggestions for beer types Ronjohn, but you will need to keep your final choice cool.

How about this? (Be sure to read it all; it gets better towards the end!)

http://www.asciimation.co.nz/beer/

 

[ironchef]

A nice cream ale or stout would be good.

 

[DampCharcoal]

I was going to mention stout too. I have a ton of brewing equipment that my grandpa left me but I've never messed with it because I work 7 days a week during spring/summer/fall and I'm always worn out. You're the brewmeister, John, any suggestions for a recipe that's relatively easy? I also have parts for a still but I hear that's illegal and everyone KNOWS that I would never do anything illegal. No way.

 

[GB]

Here is another vote for stout. That is easily one of my favorites. Who am I kidding? I love every type!

 

[jkath]

Here's my suggestion -
don't yell at me - I am a girl, after all...

Why can't there be Vanilla Beer?
I've been putting Torani Vanilla Syrup in beer for years. A little bit really does the trick. Then, after seeing Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Pepsi & Vanilla everything-else, it occured to me that it ought to be made.
I even considered going over to the Miller Plant (which is 5 miles away) & chatting with them about this. I figure it would be the best way to get women to purchase their product for themselves, and not only their husbands.

 

[DampCharcoal]

If I remember correctly, Blue Moon produced a vanilla beer a few years back. Not sure if they still make it, tho. :?

 

[Erik]

Here's my suggestion -
don't yell at me - I am a girl, after all...

Why can't there be Vanilla Beer?
I've been putting Torani Vanilla Syrup in beer for years. A little bit really does the trick. Then, after seeing Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Pepsi & Vanilla everything-else, it occured to me that it ought to be made.
I even considered going over to the Miller Plant (which is 5 miles away) & chatting with them about this. I figure it would be the best way to get women to purchase their product for themselves, and not only their husbands.

I would drink it!!!!!

 

[ronjohn55]

Here's my suggestion -
don't yell at me - I am a girl, after all...

Why can't there be Vanilla Beer?
I've been putting Torani Vanilla Syrup in beer for years. A little bit really does the trick. Then, after seeing Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Pepsi & Vanilla everything-else, it occured to me that it ought to be made.
I even considered going over to the Miller Plant (which is 5 miles away) & chatting with them about this. I figure it would be the best way to get women to purchase their product for themselves, and not only their husbands.

There's a brewpub in Detroit (Stoney Creek / aka Atwater Brewing) that makes a vanilla porter, and there's at least one well known homebrew recipe that does as well - A bourbon vanilla porter.

Vanilla works well in a lot of the darker beers that have roasted falvors for the vanilla to complement. It's not exactly commonplace, but you can find some commercial beers with vanilla pretty easily. So no, not strange at all jkath!

John

 

[ronjohn55]

I was going to mention stout too. I have a ton of brewing equipment that my grandpa left me but I've never messed with it because I work 7 days a week during spring/summer/fall and I'm always worn out. You're the brewmeister, John, any suggestions for a recipe that's relatively easy? I also have parts for a still but I hear that's illegal and everyone KNOWS that I would never do anything illegal. No way.

Stouts are pretty easy (As long as you don't shoot for the really high alchol ones). It's the really light beers that are the hardest to make.

This is going to sound a bit like a backhanded compliment, but I have the highest respect for the people who brew beer at places like Budweiser - it takes tremendous skill to consistantly make something that light and with that little flavor. The reason being, is there's nowhere for mistakes to hide. Any little variation in the process will show up in the final product, and for a big company like A-B, a different tasting Budweiser is a disaster!

With bigger, darker, more flavorful beers, you have a bit more room to fudge things with nobody knowing.

As for what's easy, well, hard to beat a nice pale ale. Are you looking to brew it up from the grains, or are you starting with the malt extracts?

And as for distilling... I agree, it's illegal, and I would NEVER condone doing something like that.

John

 

[jkath]

There's a brewpub in Detroit (Stoney Creek / aka Atwater Brewing) that makes a vanilla porter, and there's at least one well known homebrew recipe that does as well - A bourbon vanilla porter.

Vanilla works well in a lot of the darker beers that have roasted falvors for the vanilla to complement. It's not exactly commonplace, but you can find some commercial beers with vanilla pretty easily. So no, not strange at all jkath!

John

Boubon vanilla porter sounds wonderfully delicious!

as for vanilla around here...I've never seen it! So Cal has lots of things, but vanilla beer isn't one of them

 

[ironchef]

How about brewing a pale ale or IPA?

 

[buckytom]

how about a nice hoppy pilsen style, at about 7 percent alcohol? (why do you think wenceslas is so freakin jolly?)
or a kicked up budweiser style lager? can't make this too easy...

 

[SierraCook]

How about brewing a pale ale or IPA?

That gets my vote. I like stouts, but prefer pale ales or IPA.

 

[ronjohn55]

Hmm, a nice everyday pale ale might be nice. I'll have to take inventory before I decide for sure (Although I'm going to rule out buckytom's UBER-Pils suggestion..... Just too big!).

I know that I have right now at least:
5 gallons of belgian trippel
10 gallons of stout (5 kegged/5 bottled)
~5 gallons of Kolsch
?? of brown ale in a keg
?? gallons of belgian brown ale kegged
1/2 a keg of 1919 IPA (a 19 Plato beer that used 19 ounces of hops) 9%ABV
and who knows what's left in the bottles..

John

 

[DampCharcoal]

WHOO HOO! Party at John's place! I've never really brewed beer (I made meade once but that doesn't count) so I'm not sure where to start. I have a lot of equipment that should probably be sanitized so I figure I should start from the beginning. Gotta crawl before you walk, as they say.

 

[ronjohn55]

WHOO HOO! Party at John's place! I've never really brewed beer (I made meade once but that doesn't count) so I'm not sure where to start. I have a lot of equipment that should probably be sanitized so I figure I should start from the beginning. Gotta crawl before you walk, as they say.

Of course Mead counts!! I've got a bunch of that too, and a bronze medla from a national competition, so I guess I'm decent at it.

To really get started, you'd probably be best off taking an inventory of what you have (To determine how to brew and what you can make), then just crank 'er up. It's really so much simpler than a lot of the books make it out to be.

John

 

[DampCharcoal]

I'll go down to the basement and write up a list of what I have. I'm embarrassed to say it but I don't even know what a few of the things are called! Maybe a book wouldn't be such a bad idea in my case.