Stuck making one style.

As an IPA lover and a hophead I can't seem to make myself brew other styles. I have made 25 all grain batches and have created some fantastic hoppy brews. Beersmith has made my recipe building easier and better. I've finally found a base recipe that I vary from in experimentation with different additions.
I've made some Dark IPA's that are also great. I'm thinking that the next step keeping with the hoppy theme may be an RIS. Anyone have this same problem? Any suggestion? A hoppy red ale similar to Southerntier Big Red sounds great but is still only varying slightly. Thanks

I don't have the same problem as you exactly but a similar one that's caused by me only having a 2 tap kegerator.

APA is my favorite style to drink and so I like to have that on tap at all times. This leaves me with only one other keg that I can use for other styles (usually seasonal brews). I'd like to branch out and brew more styles but it's hard when I only have 1 keg available for other brews...

Not sure what your resources are but it seems like both of our "problems" might be helped by adding a keg or two to our systems. This way we can always have our favorites on tap and still have room for different styles of beer

I am just the opposite. I like variety and brew a lot of different beers. I love Belgians and have Pale Ales, Dubbels, Trippels and Dark Strongs in my pipeline. I have a few different Saisons. An IPA, a Rye PA, Amber Ale, a stout. A couple of different Wheat beers....I am sure if I went down to the basement and looked through what I have down there I probably would find something else.

I say make what you like. I happen to really not have a dominate style so I brew all over the map. If you like hops then make hoppy beers. If you like all styles brew different stuff! Put your own hop twist on other styles. It may not be to that particular beer style guidelines but who gives a poo if your not entering any beer contests.

That is a good suggestion kman6234. I have plenty of space for another tap. I guess I need to have another style on tap for tasting and experimenting.

When I go to beerfests and other beer events I try to start at the bottom of the hoppy scale but always ending up with the hoppy IPA's and IIPA's. I guess I've just found my niche.

kman6234 said:

I don't have the same problem as you exactly but a similar one that's caused by me only having a 2 tap kegerator.

APA is my favorite style to drink and so I like to have that on tap at all times. This leaves me with only one other keg that I can use for other styles (usually seasonal brews). I'd like to branch out and brew more styles but it's hard when I only have 1 keg available for other brews...

Not sure what your resources are but it seems like both of our "problems" might be helped by adding a keg or two to our systems. This way we can always have our favorites on tap and still have room for different styles of beer

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I'm the same way. I keep one side for my "house" recipe that I love making, then I have another tap that changes from time to time. One thing that I like to do, is have the second tap filled with either a seasonal or "different" beer. That way I will still enjoy it! For example, if you have a pumpkin or chocolate beer...it's good for the whole Aug-Nov timeframe. For winter, a spiced beer or cider (because usually I let my ciders age a bit after the harvest season). For the early spring to early summer, it can run the gambit from a stout, wheat beer, tripel, etc. I call these "mood beers" because they put you in a good mood for whatever the season is. It's like smelling pine needles and cookies...you can smell this at any time of the year, but during the winter it just seems to lift spirits. I love IPAs as much as the next person, but during Christmas it would be awesome to have a barleywine or something else on tap. Actually, a barleywine might be just up your alley. A lot of the American style barleywines I've had are heavily hopped.

On a side note, sometimes it's cool to have soda on tap as well. Especially if you have kids or non-drinkers around. Just be aware that rootbeer extract will make everything smell like rootbeer haha...

I have just the opposite problem! I find myself brewing beer styles that I am not very familiar with but feel that I have to give the style a shot. I just brewed a standard bitter which is not a bad beer but also not my favorite style.

I find my kegs containing IPA always seem to empty faster than the non-IPA Keg(s). I don't know why, I'm just having a taste every once in a while.

So, I now tend to brew an IPA, then something else, then an IPA, ... and since I have space for 4 kegs in a keezer and another 3 in a converted refrigerator (whose compressor seemed to stop working late last night ), I should always have an IPA available. (But why is it that my last kegged IPA, SN Celebration, seems to be getting light when I pick it up? ). Maybe it should be IPA, IPA, other, IPA, IPA, other?

I really only brew 3 styles, IPA, stout, and Belgian. There is plenty of room to vary all of those 3 styles. I'm trying to force myself to brew an Amber Ale but I always think about all the fantastic IPA hops I haven't used yet and so I brew another IPA instead.

I'm the same as kman. between my personal favorites and the seasonals i like to do, my kegs are always full. I have room for a 3rd tap, I guess I should upgrade.

I guess their are a few other like me out there that just love IPA. I seek it out when I am out of town. I think the second tap is the answer. Keep the house IPA on tap always and rotate different styles for comparison.

I still bottle, but I always try to keep an IPA available since it's my favorite style as well. My brewing is all over the place as well, from stouts to porters, browns, ambers, pales and Belgians. When I go to the beer cellar to load up the next 6-pack carrier, I usually end up with at least 4 different beers. I may span 8 different batches in a week. I guess I just likes variety...