BluePants

Recipes 

So my girlfriend tries really hard to appreciate my hobby of homebrewing, but she's not the biggest fan of most of the beers that I like (namely hoppier, stronger, darker) beers. So I recently tried to brew the Centennial Blonde to accommodate her and the feedback was that it was too light?! Im pretty sure I hit the proverbial nail on the head recipe wise, so I think it really is a matter of her taste.

Any suggestions as to what I should try to brew her next? Im thinking she might get into the Saison for Big Brew.

BrewBrain

Recipes 

Sounds like she needs a nice American Amber.

Yooper

Recipes 

What commercial beer does she like? Some people like saisons, some don't, but to me it's an acquired taste. If she likes certain styles of beer, then I'd suggest making one of those.

__________________
Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

llazy_llama

Recipes 

Clearly we're going to need some pictures of said girlfriend before we can make a proper recommendation.

__________________

Ceedubya

Recipes 

Agreed, how are we to make a recommendation without knowing what said future brew babe looks like?

__________________
Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here! - The Dude

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

DeathBrewer

Recipes 

Cream ale with couple pounds of vienna malt. Best of all worlds, great flavor, but light on the palate with a nice hop balance.

__________________
Easy Partial Mash Brewing - Stovetop All-Grain Brewing

"Death is always with us." - Brewpastor

We will remember...

BluePants

Recipes 

So far the beer she likes best commercially is Harp. Ill work on a picture...but I dont know how thats going to help with the taste assessment...

Let me see which one she looks hottest in....

BluePants

Recipes 

Here we go.



Now start with the recommendations

The Centennial Blond has a pound of vienna which is about 6 % of the grain bill. Youre thinking more of that in a more highlighted form? What flavor of the beer is the Vienna contributing too, I can see if I can get her to tell me if that would work for her?

SumnerH

Recipes 

Harp is pretty sweet and slightly more bitter than a standard lager. Work within that--go for malty, with what you as a hop-head would consider "not hoppy" beers but a BMC drinker would call "somewhat hoppy" beers. Say, 15-45 IBUs, skewing toward the lower end unless the malt level is pretty high to balance it out.

Do you have a decent beer store near you that sells singles?

If you do, I'd buy her a 6-pack of assorted stuff at the sweet/malty but not sickening end of the spectrum. Maybe a Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale, a Bell's Oberon, a Paulaner Hefeweizen, an Anchor Steam Ale, a Fuller's London Porter, and a Leffe Blonde.

Something with a lot of variety, but you know she doesn't like hop bombs and she doesn't sound interested in complete lawnmower beers. So work within the very broad slice of beers that might appeal to her to pin down something doable.

I intentionally left lagers out of the choices (even though that's what you gave as an example) because they're tougher to brew, but if you have the right temperature control then throw a couple of them into the mix as well.

__________________
On deck: Little Bo Pils, Bretta Off Dead (Brett pale)
Secondary: Oude Bruin, Red Sky at Morning (Sour brown ale)
On tap: Saison Duphunk (sour), Amarillo Slim (IPA), Earl White (ginger/bergamot wit)
Bottled: Number 8 (Belgian Strong Dark Ale), Eternale (Barleywine), Ancho Villa (Ancho/pasilla/chocolate/cinnamon RIS), Oak smoked porter (1/2 maple bourbon oaked, 1/2 apple brandy oaked)

mmb

Recipes 

Try Orfy's Mild or his Boddington's Clone. Both go over very well and are maltier beers.

__________________
White Dog Aleworks and Drafthouse