"Sweet" Beers?

Hi guys...

I am looking to see if anyone has any ideas for a "sweet" beer. I have a friend who had the request. He said it was for his wife, who doesn't like "beer-beer", but wanted something with a touch of sweetness... I have no clue where to start!

I haven't tried it, but Cheesefood's Caramel Cream Ale (I think that's the "official" name) has gotten rave reviews from folks around here...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=2435&highlight=caramel

Long thread, and I think the recipe has gone through some variations, but that's one direction to go.

A framboise clone would be good.

Leave out the hops.

Good call, I was actually trying to think of a recipe that my wife would like (she's a BMC drinker) and thought of just using ultra light DME and .25 oz bittering and .25 aroma. I don't think I'd leave out hops altogether, but cut it in half at least.

Bobby

There are some cream ale recipes around that might fit what you're looking for. I don't think of BMC as being "sweet" at all, to me a "sweet" beer is malty, with a lot of body - pretty much the antithesis of BMC.

Try a Mild. I posted the AK Mild recipe yesterday.

You're right, comparing a malty beer to BMC was stupid. What I was actually going for is the light side of bitter and hoppy aroma. I think most BMC drinkers just can't make the jump to a bitter but don't mind malty.

Bobby

My wife doesn't like beers that are terribly bitter, either. I'm planning on making a brown ale for her in the not-too-distant future. Something along the lines of a Newcastle clone might be a decent choice if you want something sweet and malty (not bitter at all), and she doesn't mind something that's a little darker. My wife HATES light beers and dislikes hops, which is leading me in that direction. She also likes Oktoberfest-type beers, which are not too bitter and have a lot of malty goodness to them. Not BMC-like, though. My next beer will be something like this, although I won't be able to lager it.

Cut the bittering hops by 25%.

All beer is sweet. You have to add hops to balance it.

The Irish and Scottish beers tend to be more malty then anything else IMHO, may want to try one or 2 of those. Usually when I make mine I tend to stay to the lowest end of the IBU limits which helps as well.