Any styles you've regretted brewing?

It was time to check whether my premium American lager was going to need a D-rest, which meant it was my first post-pitch taste. It does have some signs of diacetyl, and a strong yeast flavor that should dissipate with lagering. That's all great, it's why I took the sample, and it's reassuring that I hit the style profile. It's slightly malty, slightly sweet, with subtle bitterness and little to no hop flavor or aroma. It has the characteristic lager aftertaste.

Good news, right? I'm gratified that it seems my technique is good enough to produce this rather delicate style. But after tasting, it hit me: I just spent how many hours brewing a batch of MGD??

So I'm having a bit of "brewer's remorse." It got me wondering whether anyone else has gotten to the end of a brew, been technically happy with the results, but then started wondering why you thought making gallons and gallons of this stuff was a good idea?

If so, what style was it, how well do you think you hit the style, and why did you brew it in the first place?

I did a "clone" recipe I snagged from the LHBS for Magic Hat #9 that was a huge swing and a miss. First, the recipe was a touch off (too much apricot). That aside, I brewed it because I knew it was the lady's favorite beer.

When we bottled, we gave it a shot and she was super excited about it. It was at that moment that I discovered... I don't actually like Magic Hat #9. Womp womp. Should have maybe figured that out before brewing 5 gallons of it!

Wheat beers as a whole are not something I like, but I have to brew them for work....at home I will not brew them at all.

I did a saison. Turns out I don't like saison.

I brewed Brandon O's Graff (malty apple beer). Turns out I dont like Graff. Have not run across any other styles that I dont like!

Belgians and sours. I just dont like them. When i started out i went to my local Whole foods store and bought diffrent styles to try them out and went from there.

Porters and Stouts. I just don't like them and I can't finish more than a pint let alone 5 gallons. My brown porter scored a 34 in a local competition a few weeks back so I know it's good. Just not something that I like.

mainly lighter in flavor styles that I brew for our guests...that I end up having to finish.

Anything with wheat, fruit, veggies....

Never any style that I have regretted brewing. Particular beers yes. I did try combining my BIPA with some hard cider I had brewed and have decided not to attempt a Graff. Glad I only have to force myself through 16 oz of that and not 5 gallons.

Wow. I'm the only one that doesn't hate a particular beer?! There are some I like better than others. but none that I really loath entirely...

I brewed 11 gallons of dry Irish stout for St. Paddy's Day. I still have 80 bottles left and I can only drink one every week or so....wish I had only brewed 5 gallons! It's not bad and to style but I just really don't like the dry roasty-ness

Jayhem said:

I brewed 11 gallons of dry Irish stout for St. Paddy's Day. I still have 80 bottles left and I can only drink one every week or so....wish I had only brewed 5 gallons! It's not bad and to style but I just really don't like the dry roasty-ness

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You should try and trade someone for something else?

There are some styles that I have not tried, for instance sours. Of all that I have tried, some were better than others but none did I not like. That said: I am unlikely to do any fruit beers.

Denny said:

Anything with wheat, fruit, veggies....

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Yet mushrooms are near the top of your list!

First brew was a blonde ale cause it came with my kit and I figured if I hated it was no big loss. It actually came out pretty good and my fizzy
yellow drinkers in my family loved it including my Dad (even at almost 36, his approval is most important), my FIL, BIL.

I know it turned out right, but it buged me that I couldn't find something to compare it to at BevMo.

Me either. Fruity beers can be good,but not terribly sessionable. I'm a bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to beer.

Tried to brew a fizzy yellow lager once that was similar to a large beer brewed in Belgium. It did not turn out well. Of course the beer sat around for 6 days with inactive yeast before I came home and realized anything was wrong.

Took quite awhile to kick that keg, but we did it. Can't get myself to dump a brew, though that one deserved it.

unionrdr said:

Me either. Fruity beers can be good,but not terribly sessionable. I'm a bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to beer.

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I've definitely heard this sentiment repeated by numerous people. The key to a great fruit beer is to brew a great base recipe. Far too often brewers try to add fruit to sub-par recipes and the results are a mediocre fruit beer.

Even the commercial ones just aren't that great to me. I like leini's lemon berry shandy,but not as a session beer. Blueberry,forget it.

I second saisons

unionrdr said:

Wow. I'm the only one that doesn't hate a particular beer?! There are some I like better than others. but none that I really loath entirely...

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No you're not alone! I'd push it a little bit further saying I haven't find yet an alcohol that I don't like. My parent travel a lot and I always request them to bring back some local stuff and I tasted pretty weirdo stuff .

The only beer I cannot really drink are the "light" stuff. Coors Light, Bud Light...
Glad I aint gonna try to brew any of these. Even the non-light version arent good By the way I love real Pilsner

Kolsch. Never tried one, don't generally drink lagers, hated mine, later found I din't care for the style.

I only brew styles I like. Even if they taste awful, I never regret it because I got lots of notes for the next brew.

Found that my palate dislikes rye. I brewed up an amber rye ale and wasn't real impressed. Funny thing is I love rye bread; just not rye beer.

Any style that my neighbors find rather tasty and then proceed to drain the kegs of it forcing me to brewing it again... (just so that I can get some of it to enjoy!)
ha ha ha ha ha
Redbeard5289

myrakkel said:

Found that my palate dislikes rye. I brewed up an amber rye ale and wasn't real impressed. Funny thing is I love rye bread; just not rye beer.

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I'll bet what you like in the rye bread is the caraway seeds.

nutty_gnome said:

I did a saison. Turns out I don't like saison.

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I don't know if it was the tone I read into this or what, but this struck me as incredibly funny.

In response to the poll I answered "No, there are no styles I categorically dislike." Having said that I've yet to try any saison, geuze, sours (although I have a sneaking suspicion one of my beers turned into an, unintentional, sour and I became relatively acclimated to it during the time spent drinking that 5 gallon batch. As for fruit beers, I think I've tried Framboise and kriek and, although not overly fond of them, they weren't too bad, wouldn't brew them for myself though. Have always enjoyed a bit of Rose's lime cordial in a lager in the really hot months, but don't think that really comes into the same bracket as a fruit beer.

Jayhem said:

I brewed 11 gallons of dry Irish stout for St. Paddy's Day. I still have 80 bottles left and I can only drink one every week or so....wish I had only brewed 5 gallons! It's not bad and to style but I just really don't like the dry roasty-ness

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Do you like Cider at all?
I used to make a poor man's black velvet from Guinness and Merrydown silver-top (dry) cider back when I was still living in Blighty, in my early 20s. Used to quite easily get through 2 litres of that on a Friday evening, and quite a good buzz.

Mixing the two might help overcome the perception of roasty-ness you dislike.

Kriek. And I love cherries too, one of my favorite flavors in everything else but just... too... much.

Chimay Grand Reserve Clone. I'm sure I messed up somehow, but MAAAAN has it been a ***** to get this thing to carb. It's very.....O.K. at best. I'll stick to my Bitters, Ambers and light Summer Ales.

I made a Belgian Strong Dark out of protest for the GA homebrew 6% ABV limit. That was about 9 months and three bottles ago. Waiting for that one to mellow. I'll be waiting for a while.

unionrdr said:

Even the commercial ones just aren't that great to me. I like leini's lemon berry shandy,but not as a session beer. Blueberry,forget it.

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I pretty much feel the same way. Though today I tried Abitas Strawberry Harvest for the first time today and I'd say I could definitely enjoy it as a summer session beer. The fruit was very faint, but had just enough there to compliment the beer.

Thanks for the interesting replies, everyone. At this point, looks like about half the voters have brewed a couple styles that they shouldn't have. Fortunately no one is doing it regularly (or else they're just not admitting it). The other half of folks are split between liking (or at least not disliking) something in every style and wisely sticking to styles they know they like.

People who've brewed saisons, sours, graffes, etc, have a pretty good excuse for doing this, I think. In a lot of places, that's the only way you're going to get a taste of the style. It's getting easier now, though, at least around here.

mb82 said:

Never any style that I have regretted brewing. Particular beers yes.

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Oh yeah, I think that's a lot more common. I had one---an ESB---that just didn't turn out very well. Nothing against the style, but mine just didn't do it for me.

Darwin18 said:

I've definitely heard this sentiment repeated by numerous people. The key to a great fruit beer is to brew a great base recipe. Far too often brewers try to add fruit to sub-par recipes and the results are a mediocre fruit beer.

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I had a really good outcome with a strawberry blonde ale. Especially by the end of the batch, I think anyone who likes a hefeweizen would have liked it. (I actually don't like hefes too well, but this was different enough.) The strawberry was present, even after a few months in bottles, but was quite subdued. It had a bit of fruity aroma/flavor, but I don't think you'd know what it was unless you were told.

That one was a bit of a gamble for me. Other than some lambics, I really haven't found any fruit beers that I like. (I'd consider the lambics to be their own special case.) Too many of them come out tasting like you mixed soda syrup until a beer. Definitely not my thing.