18 brews, but I don't like beer...What next?

So I've done 12 beers, 3 ciders, and 3 wines, and some spirits, mostly in the last few months. Only problem is I tend to keep my beer drinking to nights of binging with friends so most of my beer is given away. At the bar I'll usually drink a cocktail or a guiness but I enjoy brewing beer as it appeals to my list of generally science hobbies.

Question is, what do I brew next? The only IPA I really liked was brewed with irish ale yeast, the split batch was also done with half as nottingham which was a dead ringer for dogfishhead 90 and I simply can't drink more than one of those. The belgian white, triple, and patiersbiers were also tasty. The irish red, pilsners and oktoberfest were good for what they were but they don't make me crave them. The ciders(made from my own apple and crabapple trees) were tasty, but altogether too much like drinking thin apple pee wine. The dry irish stout was decent and didnt last long while the imperial stout made with nottingham is lacking the flavors i was looking for and is sitting quietly in bottles.

Maybe a milk stout? Any other suggestions?

Are you brewing beer using extract or all grain ingredients?

I think ultimately you are going to have to find another science related hobby. If you don't like beer....why brew? Can you imagine the guitar player who doesn't enjoy music? Probably not going to practice very much and will never get very good. I guess you should just ask your friends what you should brew since they will be drinking most of it.

So you don't like beer period? Or you don't like many beer styles? If there is a style you enjoy pick it and run with it brewing different recipes until you nail one down that you love. If you IPAs or hoppy beers like you kind of alluded to but want to drink more than one try a scaled down 4% ABV hop forward beer. That's my goal right now, trying to craft a American Session Pale Ale. Hopefully want something with hop presence that clocks in around 4%. Anyways, we can't tell you what to brew, but if you give us more info on what you do like, we can probably help you move forward.

Get a new hobby.

Well, try different brews, but in the end, if you don't like beer, then you're an *******

just kidding - if you don't like beer, you don't like beer. Simple as that

How about a Pale Ale?

In my last batch, I experimented with Rice Solids, boosting the ABV while keeping it on the thinner side. And I really liked the results. It has substantial residual maltiness in the flavor and aroma, thanks to using Windsor yeast, but is still uncommonly thin and easy drinking. It would make a fantastic Pale Alt, as a BMC alternative.

I think it came in around 22IBU's, with most of that coming from late additions.

Sounds to me like you like beer. You're just not a heavy beer drinker, and you haven't found that magic recipe that brings a tear to your eye when you pour the last pint. Even if you never find it, I'm sure your friends will enjoy your efforts. As for what to brew next, how bout an oatmeal raisin rasberry porter. Sounds like an interesting science experiment.

What about a sour? Something to brew and stick away in a basement for 6 months to a year. Now THAT would be a science experiment!!!

Pick up a bottle of Oud Bruin, or Rodenbach and tell us what you think...

These replies were all way better than I could have hoped for. Really. LMFAO

First two were extract, next ten were all-grain.

As for asking my friends what to brew, well that's a lost cause since the answer is either going to be miller, bud, or heineken.

I do actually like beer but my idea of easy drinking isn't the same as some people. I find the usual BMC beers all very difficult to drink but a pint of guiness(which I find more sweet than bitter) goes done a treat. So I'm looking for something easily drinkable. I find typical IPA's and IIPAs interesting but not easy to drink (that irish being the exception). In contrast, the 14% belgian triple I made that still isn't ready (hasn't bottle carbed) is a touch sweet and friggin delicious.

Boiled down, I'm looking for a beer to make that would broaden my horizons while potentially fitting my tastes. Something more malty than hoppy but still a little complicated, a little roasty, and a touch sweet.

xmacro: Hero status. Immediately.

BBL_Brewer has it right, and the search for that beer will yield many delicious gallons. Oatmeal raisin raspberry porter- Yes!

Sir Humpsalot: Sounds like I need to take another trip to the bottle shop. Last time round I ended up with 8 beers that while good, didn't speak to me. The sierra nevada bigfoot actually got dumped along with the southern 2xipa. Oud bruin, Rodenbach. Check. I enjoy a tasty lambic from time to time but thats the closest thing I've had to a sour. Recommend a commercial Pale Ale?

Thanks for all the replies. HBT is where its at.

I have plenty of other science/engineering hobbies(engineer by trade). Oddly enough, this is the cheapest and most fun to share with friends.

Try a Mild.

Next time you sample some beer, just pour a couple ounces. If you don't like it, slap a new cap on it and send it me. I'm going to pretend that you didn't just admit to dumping a big foot.

I negotiated my allowable vices with my wife. I told her drinking, smoking and women, just pick two. Perhaps you have not found your calling.

I don't know if you have lagering capabilities but if you do I would highly recommend a Swartzbier. I always tell my friends that it is the German version of a stout.

Surprised nobody has mentioned this. Try 1-2.5 gallon batches. Since you're not a big drinker these would be perfect and if you really don't like a batch you only have 10 beers (1 gal batch).

That's what I'd do, or find a new hobby, or quit complaining about you being so picky on our message board! (Just kidding)

Well, I don't like Guiness, so you and I don't have the same taste. But I'll admit to not really loving beer before I started brewing. Yep, I thought the same thing as most people reading this- why the hell start homebrewing if you don't like beer? But it turns out, I do actually like beer, I just don't like the beers I was getting. I'd just as soon drink water as BMC. I'm not slamming BMC, by the way, they're just not anything I want to drink. Strangely, I kind of like Sapporo but that's another story.
I actually tried my first Wee Heavy when I brewed it. Same with a dubbel and same with a Maibock. I really really like my Maibock. And when I had a party and gave it to people, I saw this beatific smile on a friend's face and he just said "as long as I have one of these, I'm a happy man."

So I'm with you, really. Find what you like, and brew that better than anyone. And once you've made a few, you'll know what flavors you want, and you can start making your own recipes. I don't like bitterness, can't really take it. Maybe I'm a supertaster, who knows? But I made a hop-bursted IPA where I didn't put in any hops at all until 5 minutes from the end of the boil. Most people wouldn't even call it an IPA, but quite a few people call it the best beer they've tasted.

sput said:

Recommend a commercial Pale Ale?

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Sorry. No can do. I don't like most Pale Ales at the bottle shop. The things I like in a Pale Ale just don't hold up well over time. I like lots of flavor and aroma hops, without too much bitterness.

Try Goose Island's IPA. Despite being a touch on the bitter side, it has a lot of flavor and aroma that is fantastic. That's what I aim for with my Pale Ales now... like Goose Island's IPA, but a bit thinner, with less bitterness and a bit more flavor/aroma. Victory Prima Pils is another beer worth trying... obviously, it's not a Pale Ale, but as pilseners go, you get a real fresh hop aroma with that and it's quite pleasing. A lot of people who don't like highly-hopped beers take one whiff of Prima Pils and a lightbulb goes off in their head. In the alternative, any locally-produced pils in a brown bottle would probably be a good bet.

If I had to bet on a good Pale Ale, I'd bet that Southern Tier's is good. They make a damn fine beer, IMO... but if you really didn't like their 2xIPA then maybe theirs isn't the one for you.

But yeah, try the sours!


And you haven't mentioned Hefeweizen... easily one of the most accessible beer styles. Have you tried one? have you brewed one? Franziskaner, Paulaner, Hoegarden....

I think milk stout is a good idea. Try an altbier and also try a scottish ale with a touch of smoked or peated malt. Rauchbier would also be worth a try. So would roggenbier.

I would definitely recommend Troeg's Perpetual IPA or even better Nugget Nectar. Two great IPAs and you can support a PA brewery.

sput said:

These replies were all way better than I could have hoped for. Really. LMFAO

First two were extract, next ten were all-grain.

As for asking my friends what to brew, well that's a lost cause since the answer is either going to be miller, bud, or heineken.

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take it as a challenge and a chance to step up your game.
Brew an american light lager or a classic american pilsner.

Sounds like you like sweeter beers. Try an English Mild, Southern English Brown, Brown Porter, Etc.

sput said:

Boiled down, I'm looking for a beer to make that would broaden my horizons while potentially fitting my tastes. Something more malty than hoppy but still a little complicated, a little roasty, and a touch sweet.

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Have you tried many porters? You mentioned liking Guiness, which actually started life as a porter. Porters definitely have the roasty character you're after, and many of them have that sweetness too. Robust Porters have some of the sweetness, Baltic Porters have more of it. Vanilla Porters are relatively common, and those also tend to feature some added sweetness from the vanilla.

Some English brown ales (a guy in my brew club recently took best in show at a homebrew comp with, I think, a Northern English brown) can also feature a nice roasty note, but less of the sweetness.

sput said:

Boiled down, I'm looking for a beer to make that would broaden my horizons while potentially fitting my tastes. Something more malty than hoppy but still a little complicated, a little roasty, and a touch sweet.

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I've recently become infatuated with Imperial Red Ales. Nosferatu is a good example. It fits your bill perfectly. It's on the malty side, and bitter, but not super-hoppy. Give one a try. I just brewed one, but I'm still in primary.

maybe i've missed something while skimming through here, but has anybody mentioned anything hefeweizen? i just see that the OP isn't thrilled with the heavy hop hitters like IPA's, and stated he likes things a little malty/sweet. all i know is Hefes such as Franziskaner Weissbier go down pretty smooth, if you're exploring

Maybe we're all going about this the wrong way. By all means, try as many beers as you can to find out what you do like, but in the meantime, why not just focus on brewing techniques? Find recipes that call for techniques you've never done before, to interest the science lover in you. Maybe try some SMaSH recipes to understand the flavors of certain ingredients. Then, when it's done, drink it with a critical eye (tongue?) and maybe track the flavors in a tasting journal. Indulge the part of the hobby you seem to love, and before too long, I bet you're drinking and appreciating all kinds of beer, and if not, at least you're not just brewing disappointment after disappointment. Good luck!

In your case I would recomend exploring traditional english styles. All very malt forward slight sweet beers. Especially Fuller's. Sounds like American styles aren't floating your boat.

but I also need a change at times too. What fits this is something heavier than guiness (what isn't) with very little hop charge. 2 on the top of my list would be Lgunitas's WTF, sweet roasty malt and Bells Oberon, yellow, about 40% wheat which in my mind smoooooths out this beer into a mild deliciousness that non-beer drinkers (BMC drinkers) as well as experienced beer drinkers really like.

Fat Tire, the gateway beer, (gateway to craft beer), may be worthy as well.

try a bottle of Old speckled hen or Old crafty hen. Sounds to me like that'd be the kind of beer you'd enjoy.

I'm leaning towards Scottish Ales. Generally more malt forward and flavorful.

There are LOTS of different kinds of beers and you know you don't have to brew just the known categories. Feel free to mash high and hold back on the hops if you like. Add a bit of crystal to a pale ale, or brew up a stout with some lactose.

English Mild is also light on body and alcohol, but loaded with flavor and very malty. And it is ready to drink right away.

Lots of excellent advice and suggestions here.

So a bottle shop shopping list:
(milk stout)
(Oud bruin)
Rodenbach (red)
Goose Island(ipa)
Victory Prima (pils)
Troegs Perpetual/nugget nectar/pale ale (ipa/I amber/ale)
Nosferatu (red ale)
Lagunitas wtf (american strong brown ale)
Bells oberon(ale)
Old speckled/crafty hen (english ale)
(roggenbier)
(maibock)

Recipe list:
(milk stout)
(oatmeal raisin raspberry porter)
(maibock)
(scottish ale)
(English mild/brown)
(hefeweizen)
(english mild)
(some heineken/bmc/clone)

anyone care to fill in the blanks?

I have had a few Hefeweizens and I've enjoyed them all. Before I started homebrewing if the bar had a hefe I'd likely order it.

Is rauchbier anything like smoked tea? While I love my weber smokey bullet, that smoked tea I had was terrible.

The schwarzbier was good for a lager(I prefer ales) and something worth making a few gallons of.

I've been splitting batches lately to try how different yeasts and temps effect flavor profiles on identical mash and ingredients with some surprising and delicious results. The plus side is I get two beers without increasing the brewday, of course it takes an extra fermenter and I only have 13. 6x5gal buckets, 2x2.5gal glass, 1x5gal glass, 2x5gal nalgene, 1xsanky sixtel, 1x2.5gal flexy.

My lagering is currently being done in a cold stairwell while outside temps are cool enough but the converted minifridge (currently a cell culture incubator, send yeast!) will get repurposed when the temps drop further.

Lady friend is coming Thurs and will be making the pitt stop at LHBS (2hrs away) for ingredients so I have till thurs morning to decide on recipes and call it in.

sput said:

So I've done 12 beers, 3 ciders, and 3 wines, and some spirits, mostly in the last few months. Only problem is I tend to keep my beer drinking to nights of binging with friends so most of my beer is given away. At the bar I'll usually drink a cocktail or a guiness but I enjoy brewing beer as it appeals to my list of generally science hobbies.

Question is, what do I brew next? The only IPA I really liked was brewed with irish ale yeast, the split batch was also done with half as nottingham which was a dead ringer for dogfishhead 90 and I simply can't drink more than one of those. The belgian white, triple, and patiersbiers were also tasty. The irish red, pilsners and oktoberfest were good for what they were but they don't make me crave them. The ciders(made from my own apple and crabapple trees) were tasty, but altogether too much like drinking thin apple pee wine. The dry irish stout was decent and didnt last long while the imperial stout made with nottingham is lacking the flavors i was looking for and is sitting quietly in bottles.

Maybe a milk stout? Any other suggestions?

Click to expand...

Have you done any decoctions? That'll add another dimension to your brew skills. I think a nice triple-decocted Dopplebock is in your future.

Sounds to me like a Sweeet Stout or a Scotch ale would be your best bet.

Theres an oktoberfest lagering now that required an enhanced double decoction. In the future I'd like to try doing a split batch one with decoction the other smash to see what changes in the glass.

sput said:

Lots of excellent advice and suggestions here.

So a bottle shop shopping list:
(milk stout)
(Oud bruin)
Rodenbach (red)
Goose Island(ipa)
Victory Prima (pils)
Troegs Perpetual/nugget nectar/pale ale (ipa/I amber/ale)
Nosferatu (red ale)
Lagunitas wtf (american strong brown ale)
Bells oberon(ale)
Old speckled/crafty hen (english ale)
(roggenbier)
(maibock)

Recipe list:
(milk stout)
(oatmeal raisin raspberry porter)
(maibock)
(scottish ale)
(English mild/brown)
(hefeweizen)
(english mild)
(some heineken/bmc/clone)

anyone care to fill in the blanks?

I have had a few Hefeweizens and I've enjoyed them all. Before I started homebrewing if the bar had a hefe I'd likely order it.

Is rauchbier anything like smoked tea? While I love my weber smokey bullet, that smoked tea I had was terrible.

The schwarzbier was good for a lager(I prefer ales) and something worth making a few gallons of.

I've been splitting batches lately to try how different yeasts and temps effect flavor profiles on identical mash and ingredients with some surprising and delicious results. The plus side is I get two beers without increasing the brewday, of course it takes an extra fermenter and I only have 13. 6x5gal buckets, 2x2.5gal glass, 1x5gal glass, 2x5gal nalgene, 1xsanky sixtel, 1x2.5gal flexy.

My lagering is currently being done in a cold stairwell while outside temps are cool enough but the converted minifridge (currently a cell culture incubator, send yeast!) will get repurposed when the temps drop further.

Lady friend is coming Thurs and will be making the pitt stop at LHBS (2hrs away) for ingredients so I have till thurs morning to decide on recipes and call it in.

Click to expand...

How do you feel about doing one or two gallon batches and comparing affects of different yeasts, hops, mash temps, aeration procedures, PH levels... etc. That sounds like loads of stuff to get all kinds of scientific info on. And then you can post it here for all of us to discuss.

This is exactly why I still like to perform "beer research". Find a liquor store that sells build a sixpack so you can maximize the beers you try for your money. I try to buy a sixer like this at least every other week. Opened my eyes to some great micro/nano brews that can then be cloned (or at least attempted).

Troegs' porter hit the shelves a few weeks ago. If you live in Southeastern PA, you can go to Total Wine in Delaware and get a large selection of bombers. The Frontier Saloon in Prospect Park has the best selection of packaged goods in Delaware County. You can also get variety 12-packs from distributors. I know Sam Adams does one seasonally and Yards usually has one.

Seeing that you live in PA, the best bet is to find a place that has a good selection of craft packaged goods or go out of state - unless you live in Philly. Then, you best bet is to go to a ton of bars.

I spent over 20 hours on a camp stove efficiency and thermal transfer study just to answer a question I had and couldn't find a real answer(no one else had ever bothered to ask it), so I'm no stranger to experimenting on useless minutiae. At least someone would actually find beer studies interesting. Problem being that beer is a heck of a lot more subjective than camp stoves and the 2 years of semi-pro espresso/coffee tasting I did doesn't seem to translate well when it comes to verbage.


One corner of chaos. Plenty of meters, peristaltic pumps, analytical balances, vacuum pumps, cell cultures/media, ultrasonics, blah blah. What I'm missing are data loggers to make up for my lousy note taking and a way to run side by side scaled brews. A decoction or smash at 5gallons isnt going to have the same temperature ramps as a 1gallon batch. Hmm, thats worth testing right there!

On a side note, I can probably get some SEM micrographs done on beer yeast if anyone is interested but they aren't very exciting to look at.

If someone suggested this I missed it, but I have really become enamored with stouts lately, specifically imperial stouts. The complexity you can achieve with this style really is amazing. I might also suggest playing around with specialty ingredients. For instance, in the last couple of months I have brewed a saison with key lime zest, a belgian golden with chamomile and muscadine grape juice, a wheat/white ipa with brettanomyces, and an imperial stout with coffee and belgian chocolate. I also agree wholly with everything else that has been suggested. Beer is such a diverse beverage that the sky really is the limit so to speak...cheers wnc

Phunhog said:

I don't know if you have lagering capabilities but if you do I would highly recommend a Swartzbier. I always tell my friends that it is the German version of a stout.

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I second this. If you like malty vs hopy you may find yourself loving schwarzbier. Expecially if you are a lager drinker by trade anyway (although you don't sound like one). AHS's schwarzbier has been the best beer I have made so far easily.

I'd second Hefeweizen, you can start with EdWort's recipe. It's a classic simple Bavarian Hefeweizen that is really made for multiple trips to the fridge/keg.