BeerBorg

I need to come up with something to brew the weekend after Thanksgiving.

It'll be an LBK batch, and I'd like to keep it simple. I've done small BIAB batches, but extract is quicker. And I'd kind of like to try a style I haven't done a lot of. At first I thought a Kolsch or a Cream Ale, but I don't know if I want to attempt a hybrid at this point, simply because I want a short, simple brew day.

I dunno. I've looked at the BJCP Style Guidesheet, and can't really see anything different. Maybe I'll just buy some DME, steeping grains, and throw together a generic ale.

A Hefe or Wit are simple recipes.

if you want, i got a extract recipe for a cincinnati common. it's a dark beer, a pre-proabition style

Look on Northern Brewer for "Expeditious Kölsch". It is a 20 minute boil extract based Kolsch recipe that would be super easy to scale to 2.5 gallons. It will not be totally authentic, somewhat too hop forward, but if you saw what I just brewed, you see how much I care. Whoever invented that recipe thinks like me. As in make good beer fast.

EDIT:

I can tell you that an extract wheat beer with a 30 minute boil of something like Santium hops or a higher AA german hop makes really tasty beer. As simple as 3# of wheat dme and an 1/2 or 3/4 ounce of hops and a wheat yeast. Maybe a full oz of hops if using a lower AA hop. Add some special B and a bit of caramunich or 60L and you have a nice winter dark wheat beer.

Not crazy about wheat beer, though. I may make one just for the heck of it, but it's not the first thing I choose when thinking about having a beer.

I did have a moment when I woke up this morning, though. I can do the same thing that led me to create FedoraDave's American Ale. That was a result of my experimenting with hops to learn their characteristics. Very simple extract bill (probably just 3# of Light DME and some Carapils or Crystal 10 for body), and then use one type of hops to let the attributes of the hops influence the beer.

There are some hops I'd like to try, and it'll probably lead to more tailored AG recipes, so when I hit the LHBS this Saturday to get what I need for the 2Daves Irish Red I'm making on Sunday, I'll pick up some DME and look over their hop selection. NOW I'm getting excited about this!

I love the book Brewing Classic Styles - by Jamil Zainasheff & John J. Palmer.

When my creative juices fail to flow, I often page through the book and select a proven recipe from the many BJCP styles; the book contains "80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew." It is by far my favorite brewing reference, and I highly recommend it. BTW, instructions for extract, partial mash, and all grain are included for each recipe.

When I'm stumped on what to brew next, the book provides a plethora of ideas.

Do a simple American Pale Ale, single hop?
From BYO magazine: January February 2013.

I'd forgotten about Brewing Classic Styles. I have a copy, too! I should thumb through it and see what strikes my fancy. Quick extract brews are the most appealing options right now, so that would work well, along with my idea of playing around with different hops in identical extract bills. I can rotate through, because I'll probably get a little tired of Light DME beers with different hop additions.

Okay, when I went to my LHBS yesterday to pick up the ingredients for this morning's batch of 2Daves Irish Red, I was looking ahead to next weekend.

LBK batch, and want to keep it simple. I figured I'd pick it up while I was there, rather than take time out of a holiday weekend. So...I figured I've got plenty of hops in my freezer already, I'll just pick something out and use that. And I've got dry ale yeast, so no biggie there. But I still hadn't decided on exactly what I was going to brew.

But my eye fell on a 3# bag of amber DME sitting right next to a 1# bag of wheat DME. And I thought that would make a nice combination. Sort of a dark winter wheat. Or an amber with a hint of wheat.

Whatever. At least I have a plan.