What's in a name?

I really enjoy seeing the names some of us have come up with for our beers. I'd like to hear about some of the names you're most proud of, and the stories behind them. For instance, my Zombiefoot California Common was so named because I broke my ankle the week we brewed it. I didn't want to go to the hospital because I assumed it was just a bad sprain, and I don't like hospitals. It was all purple and green and swollen, and it looked like something you'd see in a zombie flick. I couldn't walk on it, but I sat in the kitchen and "supervised" while my roommates brewed on. The next day I went to the hospital, and sure enough, broken but good.:rockin:

Only a couple come to mind.

My first brew ever was "Walker's Wonderful Raspberry Pale Ale".

Now, I know that doesn't sound very interesting or funny, but it's how you say it and how the name came to be. Me and my two roommates got into homebrewing together, and I was the one that bought the gear we needed so I got to go first. Brewer's Best American Pale Ale kit, and I added a bottle of raspberry extract to it. We loved it, and the first night it was ready to drink, the three of us plus another buddy killed about half the batch. :cross: On about the 4th beer, Mike turns to me and says "Walker... that's a wonderful wazbewwy paiwl aiwl".

That's hard to get across in text, but you have to say it like Elmer Fudd for the full affect. That instantly became the name of the batch.


The first really BIG beed I made (8.7% ABV) was dubbed "Tile Cleaner" (later re-named to "Formula 409"). I liked both of names those, too.


And the only other one worth mentioning was one my roommate made and his girlfriend loved. We called that one "F*ck Juice".

-walker

I'm only slightly less creative in designing labels for my beers than I am in naming them.

Turns out that the name I'm most proud of (Dog's Bollocks) is actually a commercial beer in the UK. It was my first (and to date, only) English style IPA. I took the name from a quote by Brit expatriate motorcycle builder Russ Mitchell. He made the comment that one of his bikes was, "the dog's bollocks, mate." It was a new one on me at the time.

I had a porter that I amped up a little too much. I called it "Driveway Cleaner". I did a big American brown which the original brewer called "Pirate's Booty Brown". I dubbed mine "Big Booty Brown". Had a great idea for a label for that one, too, but I digress......

I did a wit that I informally called "Big Baby". It was the lowest ABV batch I had done at the time, but damed if it wasn't just as big as the others when it came to lugging the carboy around. So, I always thought of it as "Big Baby".

Most of my beers are named randomly but a few have a slight description of what's in them. When I did my first stout it was really strong, hence Black Death bucause hey, a plague will knock you down too. For a honey brown I did, I was thinking about what kicks ass and has to do with honey? Dodge Super Bees do. I nicked the logo off a mopar sight and slapped it on the bottles.
Scratchy Wombat Teeth, the name of my home brewery, is an anagram of my name...
Oh, and my Maibock is Spock's Brother because Star Trek V was on and I bet Sybock would drink Maibock.

Sam75 said:

Turns out that the name I'm most proud of (Dog's Bollocks) is actually a commercial beer in the UK.

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Next time you could try "The Mutt's Nuts", or "The Canine's Knackers", "The Hound's Happy Sack"....

I thought that "Hirschjager Pils" was a good name considering that I brewed that batch at deercamp. It was lots of fun. Too bad the batch turned out like crap. I've got a real problem brewing pilsners. I keep getting that funkified solvent taste. It's a real pain.

Most of my other beers are called by their number or their style. My favorites among them, #33 Oatmeal Stout II, #34 Pale Ale II, #40 90 Shilling Scotch Ale, and #42 Vanilla Bean Porter.

Catchy, I know. I'm a real "creative type."

Can I use "#34 Pale Ale II" It's hillarious!

Made a Mumbling Monkey Amber last summer. Very strong. I tend to mumble anyway.

I don't name too many, but....

Arm & Hammer Wiezen because I was using a hammer to tilt up my bucket when racking & knocked it into the beer and had to reach in & fish it out.

Monk-y-Shines Belgian (not too imaginative, I know)

I'm not very original so I keep it simple . . .

St Fuad Brewing (style) - example St Fuad brewing Amber Ale.

If I make it someplace other then home it would be St Fuad Brewing (place it was made) (style) - example St Fuad Brewing Firehouse Smoked Pale Ale

I try to make all my beers funny, or at least gross. My "Golden Showers" ale was a big hit.

SWMBO called my last Hi-test Lager "some pretty evil yellow piss" after about three pints, so that stuck.

Cheyco, you better post your Hungry Heffer in the labels section if you didn't already. That really is a classic.

Sasquatch said:

Cheyco, you better post your Hungry Heffer in the labels section if you didn't already. That really is a classic.

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Cheyco can't even spell heifer?

our first beer "dirty floor wheat" was named because while we were cracking the grains for steeping, the bag fell off the counter and the wheat malt went all over the floor. so we did what any good brewer would do. we swept it up, finished cracking it and made beer. it actually didnt taste that bad for our first go. our second beer "a yet unnamed christmas ale" was because we couldn't agree on a name. simple enough.

So far I've come up with:

4x4 American Pale Ale (4 types of hops and 4 types of malts),

Baxkat Wheat (baxkat is my fiance's handle and I brewed it for her),

No Canoe Brew True American Pilsner (for the beer I'm making for my gramps - named after the classic american beer and canoe joke), and

Holy MatrimoniAle (the Belgian Strong Ale I brewed this weekend that is to be bottled with corks in champagne bottles for my wedding in October).

I've also got label ideas for the first three that are pretty good. They've still got work to be done, so they won't be revealed just yet.

Cheyco said:

Can I use "#34 Pale Ale II" It's hillarious!

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Sorry buddy, come up with your own original name. I'm working on having this one trademarked... I just forgot the little circle R.

#34 Pale Ale II®

El Pistolero said:

Cheyco can't even spell heifer?

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Easy now EP, don't forget our beef is better than yours. It's a play on words you see as it's a heffewiesen. I was going to use heifer, but then I thought about how fun it is to coin words for naming purposes.

Sas: I'll post it when I get home, I thought you'd like it.

Cheyco, what's up with the Kritter? What kind of beer is it and why did you name it that? Was it the star of a string of bad eighties horror movies?