Another "What Next" Thread

I'm sitting here at work, catching up on "Basic Brewing" videos and I've realized that for the first time in about 3 years I have no idea what to brew next.

About a year ago I compiled a list of about 10 beers to make and the last one, an Oatmeal Stout, is sitting in the secondary waiting to be kegged for St. Patrick's Day.

I have no idea what to brew next, any suggestions?

Well, what was the list, so we know what you haven't done yet and offer suggestions.

if you can lager, this might be the time for a bock.

You could pull off an Irish Red to be ready before St. Patrick's Day.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've never done an Irish Red.

Here's what my list consisted of (these are all partial mash):

Belgian Golden Ale
An ESB
An Oktoberfest
An Oatmeal Stout
A Traditional Weissbier
A Blonde
Two Different IPAs
California Common
Apfelwein

Here; try this

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/cant-decide-what-brew-next-try-tool-88280/

Looks like you have plenty on hand to drink, and some in the pipeline. So, I would go for something that will sit for a while. Either some type of lager, a Barleywine, or an imperial of some sort.

Revvy said:

Here; try this

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/cant-decide-what-brew-next-try-tool-88280/

Click to expand...

Thanks, this is pretty cool, if not completely random.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Looks like you have plenty on hand to drink, and some in the pipeline. So, I would go for something that will sit for a while. Either some type of lager, a Barleywine, or an imperial of some sort.

Click to expand...

Have any suggestions for a good lager? I can certainly find some on my own, just wondering if you have any that you've tried that turned out well.

I always love a good Doppelbock

SkewedAle said:

Have any suggestions for a good lager? I can certainly find some on my own, just wondering if you have any that you've tried that turned out well.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I have just brewed my first German Pilsner and I'm not sure how it will turn out. It's also my first lager...so I got nada for you!

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Unfortunately, I have just brewed my first German Pilsner and I'm not sure how it will turn out. It's also my first lager...so I got nada for you!

Click to expand...

I see, thanks. Maybe I'll give it a try anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions.

SkewedAle said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I've never done an Irish Red.

Here's what my list consisted of (these are all partial mash):

Belgian Golden Ale
An ESB
An Oktoberfest
An Oatmeal Stout
A Traditional Weissbier
A Blonde
Two Different IPAs
California Common
Apfelwein

Click to expand...

A few of my favorites that are not on your list:

Cream Ale
Kölsch
Dunkelweizen
Black Lager
English IPA
Belgian Wit

Take a look through the BJCP guidelines...that always gets me excited to brew something: BJCP Quick Lookup

I think you should do a SMaSH beer My Vienna+Northern Brewer is the shiznit.

DeathBrewer said:

I think you should do a SMaSH beer My Vienna+Northern Brewer is the shiznit.

Click to expand...

+134.3

If you like the taste of beer then you'll love this.

I christened this beer a "regula ass ale". When I had the first one or two after bottling, I was like "meah - good but plain". After another week or 3, this beer became one of the best I've ever made. I use S-04 or a little English flavor, but US-05 or Notty will work great too. I think Kolshing or lagering this beer would be extra fantastic as well.

I'm down to just a few bottles left now and it's bringing a tear to my eye to think that I'll be out soon.

And while I haven't done this yet, I think it will be a great launching pad to experiment with. Like add a pound or so of other malts to see what they add to the mix.

DeathBrewer said:

A few of my favorites that are not on your list:

Cream Ale
Kölsch
Dunkelweizen
Black Lager
English IPA
Belgian Wit

Take a look through the BJCP guidelines...that always gets me excited to brew something: BJCP Quick Lookup

I think you should do a SMaSH beer My Vienna+Northern Brewer is the shiznit.

Click to expand...

Maybe I will try that. I've never done a SMaSH. It could be a good way to get an all grain beer out of my partial mash setup (5 gallon MLT, 5 gallon kettle). It would be great for the early spring.

maibock! maibock! maibock!

perfect time to brew one. and i'm not saying that because i just brewed one

or, a kolsch. but, i'd go with maibock.

SkewedAle said:

Maybe I will try that. I've never done a SMaSH. It could be a good way to get an all grain beer out of my partial mash setup (5 gallon MLT, 5 gallon kettle). It would be great for the early spring.

Click to expand...

It'll work fine with a 5 gallon MLT. 10 lbs of grain at 1.25qt/lb = 12.5 quarts of water and a total volume of 3.93 gallons.

You might get low efficiency however, if you only sparge with a couple of gallons to do a small boil. I'd run off additional wort into a second small pot and boil that up if those were my options.

DeathBrewer said:

It'll work fine with a 5 gallon MLT. 10 lbs of grain at 1.25qt/lb = 12.5 quarts of water and a total volume of 3.93 gallons.

You might get low efficiency however, if you only sparge with a couple of gallons to do a small boil. I'd run off additional wort into a second small pot and boil that up if those were my options.

Click to expand...

Luckily, I have a few friends around that brew as well so using a second pot wouldn't be a bad idea, anyway. I'm thinking I'll brew a SMaSH first and get a maibock on deck for the Spring.

DeathBrewer said:

I think you should do a SMaSH beer My Vienna+Northern Brewer is the shiznit.

Click to expand...

Vienna malt and Northern Brewer hops, you say? What amounts of each did you go with?

3 words
Imperial Smoked Porter
:rockin:

if you want to be challenged, try a lager or pilsner as this is the true test of your process. if you want something awesome that takes a while but is easy, go barleywine or MEAD>

SkewedAle said:

Luckily, I have a few friends around that brew as well so using a second pot wouldn't be a bad idea, anyway. I'm thinking I'll brew a SMaSH first and get a maibock on deck for the Spring.



Vienna malt and Northern Brewer hops, you say? What amounts of each did you go with?

Click to expand...

For 5.5 gallons:

10 lbs Vienna - Mash at 150°F

~1 oz Northern Brewer Whole Hops 8.0% AA @ 60 min (or IBU equivalent)
1 oz Northern Brewer Hops @ 20 min (whole is best, pellets still work well)
1 oz Northern Brewer Hops @ 5 min (whole is best, pellets still work well)

Nottingham Yeast (or your favorite clean yeast. WLP001, US-05 work well, too)

I really like the nottingham, but it will need to age longer. The yeast flavor stays in the beer until you either age it or cold crash. Works great for bottle conditioning, tho.

Let me know how it goes!

DeathBrewer said:

It'll work fine with a 5 gallon MLT. 10 lbs of grain at 1.25qt/lb = 12.5 quarts of water and a total volume of 3.93 gallons.

You might get low efficiency however, if you only sparge with a couple of gallons to do a small boil. I'd run off additional wort into a second small pot and boil that up if those were my options.

Click to expand...

This clears up my confusion from our email conversation earlier. If we use 2 pots, should we divide the hops between them, or just super-hop one pot?

I have just split the hops evenly in the past.

DeathBrewer said:

It'll work fine with a 5 gallon MLT. 10 lbs of grain at 1.25qt/lb = 12.5 quarts of water and a total volume of 3.93 gallons.

Click to expand...

With nearly 4 gallons occupied in the MLT, what would be the best way to sparge? I'm new to the partial mash/AG scene, and sparging still confuses me a little bit. If we use a large grain bag, would we just rinse the grain in a secondary pot of 170 water per your stovetop partial mash instructions?

Thanks!

Have you tried a mead......it something that needs time to age but it is simple.

My solution to the "what do I brew next" is to go the to LHBS and grab a pack or 2 of the freshest Wyeast ale yeast that they have in stock and take it from there. Got ahold of the Thames Valley so an ESB in on tap for the next brew session. Montanaandy

Is that the Thames Valley II? I'm thinking about that on an ESB as well.

I'm going to make a winter warmer with that yeast...splitting 10 gal between that and the pacman yeast Hopefully this weekend.

Berliner Weiss
Barrel Aged Beer
Barleywine
Over the Top 20% abv beer
Lambic
Milds

I mention all of these because they are all somewhat "difficult" to master. Make like 3 gallon batches or soemthing and then you can find out what you like the most out of all of the different recipes in each style.

Try the Belgian Ardennes yeast if you haven't already. Really unique flavor. I like the idea of making the same beer like five times in a row, just using a different yeast every time.

DeathBrewer said:

I have just split the hops evenly in the past.

Click to expand...

Sounds good, JimboGR and I will be trying this in the very near future, can't wait.

Matt Up North said:

Berliner Weiss
Barrel Aged Beer
Barleywine
Over the Top 20% abv beer
Lambic
Milds

I mention all of these because they are all somewhat "difficult" to master. Make like 3 gallon batches or soemthing and then you can find out what you like the most out of all of the different recipes in each style.

Try the Belgian Ardennes yeast if you haven't already. Really unique flavor. I like the idea of making the same beer like five times in a row, just using a different yeast every time.

Click to expand...

I've been brewing for the past 4.5 years and lately I've been trying to think up new ways of experimenting with beer with out going the fruit/random adjunct routes and this is a good example.