Blending homebrew

Vent, Rant, Chat or just talk about whatever is on your mind! Keep it civil though!

Moderators: BlackDuck, Beer-lord, LouieMacGoo, philm00x, gwcr

User avatar
Kealia
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 5588
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:52 pm

Blending homebrew

Post by Kealia »

The other night I accidentally blended two of my beers and the result was great. I don't know why I've never thought about doing it before.

To make a long story short, I swapped kegs and beer lines and ended up having my beer line for my Levitation clone now hooked up to the keg pouring my Nelson Sauvin Pale Ale. When I opened the tap I got about 3 ounces of liquid amber goodness and then the pour went really light as I realized what was going on.

The end result was delicious! The NS Pale Ale is basically a wheat beer base so that added to the Levitation made for one heck of a beer. Now that I have the lines straightened out I think I'm going to do it again, but on purpose this time. It sort of reminded me of the old Reeses Peanut Butter Cup commercials, "Hey, your peanut butter is on my chocolate! Hey, your chocolate is in my peanut butter. Yum."

Do any of you blend your beers?
User avatar
RickBeer
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 3099
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:21 pm
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan (Go Blue!)

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by RickBeer »

I don't, but remember others saying they mixed a crappy beer with a good beer to avoid tossing it.
I have over 9,000 posts on "another forum", which means absolutely nothing. Mr. Beer January 2014 Brewer of the Month with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with it...

Certificate in Brewing and Distillation Technology

Sites to find beer making supplies: Adventures in Homebrewing - Mr. Beer - MoreBeer
My Beer - click to reveal
Currently using 6 LBKs.

Beers I regularly brew:
Bell's Best Brown clone
Irish Hills Red - I call this "Ann Arbor Red"
Mackinac Island Red - I call this "Michigan Red"
Oatmeal Stout - I call this Not Fat, Stout - Oatmeal Stout

Bottled 5 gallons of Ann Arbor Red on 4/18/17. Bottled 5 gallons of Michigan Red on 5/8/17.

Brewed in 2017 - 22.13 gallons (19.91 in 2012, 48.06 in 2013, 61.39 in 2014, 84.26 in 2015,46.39 in 2016)
Brewed in lifetime - 282.14 gallons
Drinkable beer on hand -  13.58 cases, with 6.11 cases ready in May and early June.
Average cost per 12 pack through all beer brewed - $6.27(ingredients only)
User avatar
swenocha
Uber Brewer
Uber Brewer
Posts: 1990
Joined: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:35 am

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by swenocha »

As I bottle carbonate, I have been known to do this when I (rarely) have a batch that isn't well carbed. Blending sours and such commercially is something we do all the time at tastings as well. I have also blended with homebrew if I get a commercial bottle that's lost its carb.
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
User avatar
Beer-lord
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9634
Joined: Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:48 pm
Location: Burbs of the Big Easy

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by Beer-lord »

I've semi done this but not with much luck. The only decent one was a mosaic beer with a bland smash but it wasn't worth talking about.
I think I'll try more if I can remember too.
PABs Brewing
Planning
Brew good beer and live a hoppy life
Fermenting

Drinking
Disfucted
Smelly Hops
(split batch) A Many Stringed Bow
Up Next
Men In Black
User avatar
Brewbirds
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 2814
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 7:32 am
Location: A Tree Somewhere

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by Brewbirds »

BB2 had me doing that at one point back when we were still brewing ( :( ).

I know we blended our Irish Imperial Stout with our ESB when he became briefly obsessed with Black and Tans but I never could get the pour technique down and he finally left me alone. :p

It tasted great though, of course Kealia would beg to differ. :lol:

We've done a Shandy when our SMaSH period ran amok and we were buried in Blondes. Not a horrible problem to have, especially when it is 115 in the shade.

We even used some Busch once to try and save our gaggingly disgusting Mr. B version of the White House Oval Office honey amber nothing could have saved that particular disaster.

Blending offers the homebrewer a way to possibly salvage an uninfected but otherwise imperfect (i.e. too much specialty grain, mis-measured bittering hop, too sweet) batch.

All in all its pretty cool when it works.

:cheers:
Sibling Brewers
User avatar
mashani
mashani
mashani
Posts: 6739
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:57 pm

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by mashani »

Thread Necromancy. :evil:

So, I had about 1/4th a bottle of the Ginger Saison left which is a good beer that I'm happy to drink but not great beer (After some age I think there is a bit too much ginger for what I'd consider great, I think I would use maybe 2/3 or 1/2 as much Thai Ginger candi syrup next time) - and I had about 1/2 a bottle of the Plum Saison left which I love and is quite excellent as long as you like *juicy*.

I had thought about adding some Ginger to the Plum Saison but did not.

So I blended the two to see what would happen.

And that was super. I might experiment a bit more with the two and try to find the perfect amount of ginger.

So I think when I do the Plum Saison again, which I certainly will, I will use about 1/4th or 1/3rd or whatever it turns out to be amount of Ginger candi syrup that I used in the Ginger saison.

Anyways, blending can be cool.
User avatar
MrBandGuy
Fully Fermented
Fully Fermented
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Southern Indiana

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by MrBandGuy »

I've blended a few times when I had complementary styles on tap. Stout plus Bitter, for example. Love2brew even sells lots for this purpose.
User avatar
mashani
mashani
mashani
Posts: 6739
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:57 pm

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by mashani »

Thread Necromancy again. Because more people should try this, and too many people dump homebrew for silly reasons.

So I got a bottle of the Mt. Hood patersbier I bottled a few weeks back. The bottle had a cap failure, so it was flat. Some people would be silly and dump it.

Not I. I took some of the very aggressively carbed BPA I made last fall and blended the two, to end up with a moderately carbed higher end (abv) Belgian Single like beer.

And the results are absolutely delicious, actually better then either beer on their own I think.
User avatar
Tabasco
Fully Fermented
Fully Fermented
Posts: 433
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:45 am
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by Tabasco »

No time to blend ... when I tap a keg, I lie with my head under it and have the full contents of the keg shoot right down into my gut.
:jumpy: :lol:
User avatar
mashani
mashani
mashani
Posts: 6739
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:57 pm

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by mashani »

Tabasco wrote:No time to blend ... when I tap a keg, I lie with my head under it and have the full contents of the keg shoot right down into my gut.
:jumpy: :lol:
I'm sure it blends with something in there...
User avatar
John Sand
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 4310
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:01 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by John Sand »

Great thread, and some very funny stuff.
Only once, I had a Belgian Pale and an AIPA on tap, I decided to blend them to give me an idea what a Belgian IPA would be like. It was good, but I left it there.
Right now I have a less than successful Rye Pale on tap. When my next IPA is ready, I may blend. The hops in the Rye are harsh, maybe other hops will subdue them. If not, time and more time.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
User avatar
FedoraDave
FedoraDave
FedoraDave
Posts: 4205
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:52 pm
Location: North and west of the city
Contact:

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by FedoraDave »

I've never done this, although when I've had a batch that wasn't quite up to snuff, instead of consigning it to the tubes, I've used it for cooking. Braising beef, or using it in a stew or a sauce is a great way to salvage a less-than-stellar beer.
Obey The Hat!

http://www.homebrew-with-the-hat.com

Some regard me as a Sensei of Brewing
Fedora Brauhaus
Up Next:
FedoraDave's American Ale
Fermenting/Conditioning
Ottertoberfest
Drinking:
Ladybug Lager -- Fedorus Magnus Kölsch -- Moon Shot Double IPA -- 2Daves Irish Red Ale
User avatar
John Sand
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 4310
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:01 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by John Sand »

The IPA is on tap, very good, and mixes well with the Rye.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
User avatar
Tabasco
Fully Fermented
Fully Fermented
Posts: 433
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:45 am
Location: Long Island, NY

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by Tabasco »

FedoraDave wrote:I've never done this, although when I've had a batch that wasn't quite up to snuff, instead of consigning it to the tubes, I've used it for cooking. Braising beef, or using it in a stew or a sauce is a great way to salvage a less-than-stellar beer.
Good Idea. Could boil some ribs in it, and then let 'em simmer on the grill with rub or sauce.
User avatar
John Sand
Brew Guru
Brew Guru
Posts: 4310
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 9:01 pm
Location: Long Island NY

Re: Blending homebrew

Post by John Sand »

Rise, thread, and go forth!
I have two beers on tap right now: An acceptable Belgian IPA that I feel needs something, and a Christmas Dubbel that has too much dark sugar, making it roast-y. I think they blend well. Lst night I brought the mix to a party and received unanimous approval. When the kegs are low enough I intend to combine them and free space for an ESB.
Making beer and stew for the Zombie Apocalypse.
Never mind, there it is.
Post Reply