"This beer doesn't fit a style"- crazy beers

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

SkinnyShamrock

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
361
Reaction score
3
Location
Camp Hill, PA
Maybe it's just how I am as a person, but I get a little bored doing things how everyone else has done them for years and years.

Have you ever just thrown the recipe guidelines out the window and made something totally ridiculous? Was it good or bad?
 
While I haven't yet tried it myself, I see nothing wrong, in fact, everything right, with a little experimentation.

I'm sticking with traditional styles for now to dial in my technique still, but after that, the skies the limit!
 
Peanut Butter Brown Ale
Strawberry Banana Wheat

A couple I have brewed and more crazyness to come this summer.
 
Hoppy Belgian Sour! It's fermenting now. I hate both hoppy and sour beers, but my husband loves both... and he says he's never seen a beer that combined them. So we'll see if he likes them together! Maybe it'll be a HWMNBO-Slayer. ;)
 
Banana Cinnamon porter = good.
Corn stalk molasses "beer" = bad.
Yucca fruit draught = mediocre.
 
My Law of Fives was pretty damn good for just tossing stuff in a pot. Not spectacular, but good to drink down. 3 grains (Golden Promise, biscuit, wheat), 2 hops (millenium and EKG) over 5 additions, boiled for 55 minutes, primary for 2 weeks, secondary for 3. Her Apple Corps is strong.
 
Thinking about doing a peach weizen since they're local and in season now. Thoughts?
 
Peach weizen would be great. Long ago (20 years?) I made an apricot weiss that was scary good. I don't remember if I had any real issues with the sweetness that Capt. noted. I think it was just 1 lb./gal. in the secondary for two weeks. Let us know how it turns out and post your recipe.

As for the weird experiment beers, I am planning a test to see what fruits go best with a simple pale ale. I'm collecting 1 gallon bottles and going to parse a five gallon batch from the primary and add different fruits to each bottle. So far, the fruits are blueberry, blackberry, pineapple, lemon/lime/orange zest, and, if I can find some ripe ones, mango. I think I'll add peach and see what else looks good in the supermarket.

I'll start a thread when I get this going and keep y'all posted.
 
Stiffy probably qualifies, "The bastard offspring of a Wee Heavy and Left Coast IPA." I admit it was formulated by my former brewing buddy.
 
The american wheat I brewed from my 312 discussion thread turned out like nothing I have ever had before. It was an awesome beer that was neither an Am. wheat nor a German, nor a wit. It was great though with a huge bready wheat backbone and a crisp finish and a punch of citrus US hops.
 
beerkrump said:
Peach weizen would be great. Long ago (20 years?) I made an apricot weiss that was scary good. I don't remember if I had any real issues with the sweetness that Capt. noted. I think it was just 1 lb./gal. in the secondary for two weeks. Let us know how it turns out and post your recipe.

As for the weird experiment beers, I am planning a test to see what fruits go best with a simple pale ale. I'm collecting 1 gallon bottles and going to parse a five gallon batch from the primary and add different fruits to each bottle. So far, the fruits are blueberry, blackberry, pineapple, lemon/lime/orange zest, and, if I can find some ripe ones, mango. I think I'll add peach and see what else looks good in the supermarket.

I'll start a thread when I get this going and keep y'all posted.
Click to expand...

Will do. Might be a while though since I have my Alaskan Amber on deck for the next brew day. Sadly, I only have the one fermenter and a SWMBO that can be a little restrictive of excessive non-family activities. Which is understandable. But I did have a ripe peach for breakfast this morning and it wasn't super sweet. Not all that concerned about the excessive sugars, I have a feeling that most of them will ferment out and I'll be left with a great peachy "nose". Which is exactly what I'm aiming for. I may backsweeten it with a little splenda just for experimental sake.
 
As far as the peach beer goes, let us know how it turns out! I read that peaches tend to not flavor as well as apricots in beer (i.e., flavor doesn't last long and not as strong)...think it was in "designing great beers". I have some peach trees and was really hoping to make a peach beer or two this fall but didn't want to use them for beer if the flavor will go diminish quickly.
 
With the pepper beer festival and some co workers egging me on I decided to embark on a pepper wheat recipe I've been fidleing with called a "Prarie Fire" Wheat. Here is the recipe for a 5gal batch:

4Lbs Pale 2 row
2lbs white wheat malt
2lbs flaked wheat

1 oz Cascade (60 min boil)

2lbs Blue Agave Nectar (20 min boil)
5 oz Crushed chili pepper (secondary)
Pitch with Wyeast 1010 American Wheat
 
I'm working on the recipe for a chocolate wheat using cocoa nibs in the mash.

Other than that, I've had a commercial black IPA that I really liked, even though the name irks me. But I guess there is no India Dark Ale style yet.
 
One of my earliest brews started as a Stone Ruination clone recipe. I used Trappist yeast and threw oak in the secondary. It may not be all that odd, but my ever so helpful and supportive LHBS guy rolled his eyes, and sighed disapprovingly, "Whatever."

It was fan-friggin-tastic. After 20-something more batches under my belt, it's still one of my favorites.
 
This is sort of boring, but I use lager yeast a lot when brewing ales in the winter here in Northern New York. I let them ferment in a room closed off from the rest of the cabin that stays at 45F-50F. I've brewed some tasty "Steam" IPAs and APSs this way. A good friend of mine brewed a Stout with lager yeast. Anyone else do this?
 
KayaBrew said:
This is sort of boring, but I use lager yeast a lot when brewing ales in the winter here in Northern New York. I let them ferment in a room closed off from the rest of the cabin that stays at 45F-50F. I've brewed some tasty "Steam" IPAs and APSs this way. A good friend of mine brewed a Stout with lager yeast. Anyone else do this?
Click to expand...

Great Idea, thanks for giving me something else to try.
 
I have not yet really merged styled, but BYO had a good article on beer fusions that can be read online. The Bruery did a Tripel with rice (instead of sugar) and basil which was great. Not really beer fusion but certainly something that was different that worked really well.
 
SkinnyShamrock said:
Have you ever just thrown the recipe guidelines out the window and made something totally ridiculous? Was it good or bad?
Click to expand...

All the time. That's how I brew, for the most part. Rarely do I brew anything that would score higher than the low thirties in a competition because it just doesn't fit the style in some way or another. Brewing in the space around the guidelines satisfies my creative urges and keeps me excited about brewing. If I felt some requirement to brew only to style, I would have given it up years and years ago.


TL
 

Similar threads

refect
Has Sabro ruined my beer?
Replies
28
Views
2K
Brooothru
Brooothru
beersk
Domestic Ingredients
2
Replies
54
Views
2K
beersk
beersk
D
Root Beer Stout
Replies
1
Views
519
JohnSand
JohnSand
Brooothru
How Should I Submit This Beer Under BJCP Style Guidelines?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Brooothru
Brooothru
G
Frosted Flakes Wort Late Edition?
Replies
7
Views
696
GoodTruble
G

Latest posts

Back
Top