Commercial beers that are good for educating my taste buds

thefost · Oct 30, 2013

I'm interested in trying commercial beers that can give me a really good idea of what single ingredients taste like without having to make a whole batch.

For example - Arrogant bastard is a good example of an all Chinook beer

Any other good ones you can think of? Also any beers that are essentially the same recipe but with one ingredient different would be really useful as well.
:mug:

roastquake · Oct 30, 2013

Fat Tire - Victory Malt

beergolf · Oct 30, 2013

Bell's Two Hearted Ale uses all Centennial hops.

wingedcoyote · Oct 30, 2013

Awesome thread! I've been looking for a discussion like this for a while, here's hoping it goes long and turns into a great resource.

Good old Sierra Nevada Pale Ale isn't made with all Cascade, but everything after the bittering charge is Cascade so it should be a good example of the flavor and aroma.

ICWiener · Oct 30, 2013

Mikkeller does a single hop IPA series, and quite a few of them so far. They don't change the malt bill or the yeast, just the hops. That's a pretty good way to get your head around the various contributions of individual hops.

http://mikkeller.dk/single-hop-ipas/

http://beerstreetjournal.com/mikkeller-brings-you-19-different-hop-choices/

MikePote · Oct 30, 2013

Great idea for a thread. Im very interested in this as I also am a newb trying to figure out what effects flavor how. Hopefully this takes off.

k_mcarthur · Oct 30, 2013

Sweetwater 420 made me fall in love with cascade hops, buy it by the pound now. Also Founder's Breakfast Stout has opened my eyes to a whole new style, and how roasted malts give a coffee flavor.

UtahNate · Oct 31, 2013

Anchor Steam - Northern Brewer hops

roastquake · Oct 31, 2013

Warsteiner and Wurnesguener (Aldi) will give you a good idea of German pilsner malt

On the same note, Pilsner Urquell is a good example of Saaz hops

progmac · Oct 31, 2013

Fresh Budweiser - Restrained Acetaldehyde

Homercidal · Oct 31, 2013

Have you thought about doing 1 gallon BIAB batches? They are pretty quick and don't use much ingredients.

thefost · Oct 31, 2013

Thanks for all the ideas, keep 'em coming

Homercidal said:
Have you thought about doing 1 gallon BIAB batches? They are pretty quick and don't use much ingredients.

Yep, I even have some 1 gallon glass jugs ready to go to ferment in. Just need to find the time (and some extract as I've been doing all grain).

Did some searching and here are two more good ones:

Sam Adams New Albion Ale - All cascade hops and pale malt

Real Ale Fireman's #4 Blonde - All crystal hops and pale malt

mcbaumannerb · Oct 31, 2013

Dark Horse Brewery does single-hop IPAs - I know they've bottled them with citra, falconer flight and cascade last winter (in a mixed 12 pack) and have done others (amarillo for sure) but I don't know if they bottled those.

progmac · Nov 5, 2013

old speckled hen - diacetyl (love this beer btw)

k_mcarthur · Nov 5, 2013

Terrapin Moo-hoo. The only chocolate milk stout commercially brewed that I know of, and one of my favorite styles.

dannysk · Nov 5, 2013

progmac said:
Fresh Budweiser - Restrained Acetaldehyde

Budweiser has an ester profile that has been described as "apple esters" but it certainly does not normally have acetaldehyde. Coors yeast (and therefore Coors beer), on the other hand is well know for its high level of AA

Queequeg · Nov 6, 2013

Crouchvale brewers gold. An excellent example of a cask conditioned ale and a single hop beer. If your in the states you might have trouble getting it.

Queequeg · Nov 6, 2013

progmac said:
old speckled hen - diacetyl (love this beer btw)

Ever tried Golden hen? its by green king too, just slightly more refined version of OSH. I think thats a single addition galaxy, but I could be wrong

progmac · Nov 6, 2013

Queequeg said:
Ever tried Golden hen? its by green king too, just slightly more refined version of OSH. I think thats a single addition galaxy, but I could be wrong

No, I'll have to look out for it. I think OSH is awesome. I hadn't heard of Golden Hen, I'll have to look out for it.

Queequeg · Nov 6, 2013

I full name is old golden hen, the bottle looks pretty much like OSH

dobie99 · Jan 12, 2014

Sixpoint does their "Spice of Life" series - a Single Hop IPA that comes out every month with different hops (otherwise all is the same recipe from grain bill, through fermentation schedule).
And excellent way to really see how a specific hop contributes to a beer.

Here's the current Spice of Life "calendar" so you know what hops are coming:
http://sixpoint.com/menus/SOL_Calendar.jpg

Mikkeler also does a single hop IPA I enjoy.

Commercial beers that are good for educating my taste buds

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