Going out on some limbs

[FedoraDave]

I was just reading Beer-lord's thread about his IPL in Advanced Brewing. This is a style he hasn't really done before, and while it's not an over-the-top fantastic beer, he's pleased with it, and is glad he stepped outside his comfort zone in making it.

That's pretty cool.

But it got me thinking; I need to do the same thing with some of my brewing. There are some styles I haven't even approached yet, and that's a shame. I've got two small (3 gallon) carboys, and a 5 gallon system. I brew every weekend, rotating through these vessels on a 3-week schedule. There's no reason for me not to step beyond the familiar at least 1/3 of the time.

I like to use the fiver for my "house beers"; recipes I've got where I want them, and want to keep in the pipeline. I've got quite a few of those, and they're good, basic ales, most of them. The one threefer I can use to make quick, generic extract batches, or small BIAB batches, just to keep a case of regular ol' beer around. Nothing wrong with a SMaSH beer, if it's well-made. Maybe use it to experiment with some hops I haven't used before.

But the other threefer should be my time to try something new stylistically. It's already kind of started, actually. The RCE beer I worked on with Foothiller is a Scotch Strong Ale, which I've never done. Bottling that next weekend. And last weekend I brewed a Cream Ale, just because I've been wanting to try brewing a Cream Ale for a while now. I made it as basic as I could, just to try the style out. Maybe I'll make modifications and keep brewing this until I feel I've really nailed it. Maybe not. But the important thing is to get out of my rut and challenge myself a little.

Brewing needs to be a little more exciting and challenging for me, I think. I want to really get enthused about it again.

[Beer-lord]

I did it for many reasons really but mostly because I've only done one true pilsner and I wanted to see how close I could come without large ring. But, what kind if brewer would I be if I only brewed IPAs? Sure, I do some stouts and pale ales but I need to try a few other things.
I'm not a saison fan but this summer, I'm doing one.

[Kealia]

I agree that this is a good practice. I think it not only helps to shake things up mentally, but it helps with understanding some other ingredients and techniques that we might normally be familiar with.

While I have a couple of go-to's (Levitation, Dead Guy) I do like to change things up and try hefs, wits, etc. I'm going to try the 90 schilling scotch ale sometime this spring myself since I've never tried to brew that style but love O'Dell's version of it.

Oh, and Paul needs to stop brewing Black IPAs.

[Brewbirds]

Dave that's why I like using our five LBKs and the conical. We've gotten to where we can get a case out of each batch and can have something different going in four at a time.
We can always have my favorite rye pa and BB2's favorite amber on hand but also throw new styles into the mix.
We will be doing an Alt soon, have just bottled our first wheat beer and have an Optimator Ale in the wings.
When we got the free wort we decided to mix those up just to try different things as well so we'll end up with four cases of different beers in the end.
We aren't into doing lagers as we are happy the ease with which our ales are produced and they are perfectly satisfying in flavor and variety so the extra time and effort for lagers don't fit into our plans anytime soon.

[Beer-lord]

Oh, and Paul needs to stop brewing Black IPAs.

This ain't gonna happen. I have another one planned in the next month or so plus Dr. Hoptagon is coming out again and I'll have an extra one since you don't like it.

I've thought about a Wee heavy as well as some east coast style IPA's. Yes, it's still an IPA but there are different.

[swenocha]

I totally agree with this "going out on a limb" thought process, but conversely, I am finding that I need to go the other way. Unlike Dave and some of the others, I haven't really developed any "house beers," or at least haven't brewed them in a while. I seem to always want to branch out to the new thing, which is great and all, but I never seem to get back to brewing the same thing again, either because I liked it or because I thought I could improve it. I always mean to, and there are a few that I've brewed two times (Alpha King clone, Dos Perros clone, Amarillo pale/wheat variants, smoked porter), but I never seem to get back to them. I really need to make an effort this spring/summer to brew some things again. I've had some I really liked that I've never revisited...

[Beer-lord]

Same here, I keep trying different IPA's and very often, n ever go back enough and tweak it to get it exactly where I want. I do need to tweak and finalize 3 beers to brew regulary. A West Coast IPA, a Black IPA and a house pale ale. But, I keep pushing my limits using different malts, hops and yeasts before I even better what I already like.
I's gots lots ta dooooo!

[FedoraDave]

So I was at the LHBS getting my grains and hops for tomorrow's batch of Pearly Pils (already got the yeast, and made the starter Thursday evening).

And while I was there, I figured I'd get ingredients for next week's threefer, since I have to work next Saturday, and may not feel like heading out again once I'm done.

So off the top of my pointy li'l head, I asked for 3 pounds of Maris Otter, 1 pound of 2 row, and 1.4 pound of 40L. I figured that would make a nice malt bill for a sorta dark blond ale, and then I decided to use a hops I've never tried before. The good thing about my LHBS is that, rather than the foil packets of hops, they must buy in bulk, and then package them in-house in one-ounce plastic jars with screw top lids. So I was able to open the jars and sniff the hops until I found one I liked. I wanted something more fruity/floral/spicy than the earthy/piney strains, and I decided on Pacific Jade. Got an ounce of that, and I'll see what it brings to the beer. If I feel the need, I may supplement it with some of the leftover hops I have from previous batches - I have quite a bit, actually. I doubt I'll want to, though.

So that's my first sort of experiment of the year. I haven't used a lot of Maris Otter, and I've never used Pacific Jade, so this will be a real adventure.

Edited to add: Well, I ran the numbers through QBrew, and it's not a blonde ale stylistically; more of a Pale Ale, and even then, the IBUs are just a bit high (46, instead of the 45 they state for the high end). No biggie. Relatively low gravity, for a Pale Ale, but within guidelines. At any rate, it'll be beer. Thinking of calling it "Surfer Girl".

[swenocha]

I like PacJade a bit. It will give some peppery notes to the beer along with the citrus. I like it for bittering... that's it's normal use, though I imagine it would work for other applications. It gives a nice, soft bitter.

[ssorck]

The good thing about my LHBS is that, rather than the foil packets of hops, they must buy in bulk, and then package them in-house in one-ounce plastic jars with screw top lids.

I actually realized after I brewed my last batch I ought to save a few of those jars for storing partial ounces...

[FedoraDave]

The good thing about my LHBS is that, rather than the foil packets of hops, they must buy in bulk, and then package them in-house in one-ounce plastic jars with screw top lids.

I actually realized after I brewed my last batch I ought to save a few of those jars for storing partial ounces...

Yeah, if I have any left over from a brew day, I take a Sharpie and write a new weight on the label. I have a lot of partials in my freezer. LOL

[FedoraDave]

I like PacJade a bit. It will give some peppery notes to the beer along with the citrus. I like it for bittering... that's it's normal use, though I imagine it would work for other applications. It gives a nice, soft bitter.

That's good to know. I plan on using it exclusively in this batch, to get a feel for what it does. From the sniff test, I gathered it was citrus, but not overwhelmingly so; more pineapple than anything else, with some soft flowery notes thrown in. Didn't detect any pepper, but I'm not complaining if it comes through.

Should be an interesting Pale Ale, if nothing else. I think the malt bill is going to bring a lot to the table, too; some nuttiness and sweetness to counterbalance the hops.

[duff]

Since I started brewing I have never really focused on any one recipe to get it narrowed down. When I was brewing a bit more than I am now I would always have an IPA in the rotation because that seems to be my go to style and my friends drink IPAs as well. Even then I was always trying something new like a different hop or adding rye or adding a little bit of a darker crystal.

That is why I gravitated to the book Brewing Classic Styles. It gives a baseline recipe plus has a perspective from one of two pretty highly respected brewer's opinion on what defines that style and common mistakes. I would also try other variations of those styles to narrow down what I like best about them. In the last little bit I have finally come around to wanting a couple of house beers. The ones that are on my agenda to narrow down are Rauchbier, Czech Pils, and Sweet Stout. For some reason I still like playing around with various IPAs and just don't want to narrow it down.