Go big or go home? well, I'm a "home"brewer...

Yeah, I tried to be clever with the title and fouled that one off...

Anyway, I was inspired by https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/craft-beer-bars-issue-i-have-them-211363/ and my recent leaning toward more reasonable gravitied brews. For the last several years, I was caught up in the bigger is better hype of the craft beer craze and until last month, had yet to brew anything less than 6%, with the majority clocking in well above that. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good, kick-you-in-the-ass beer, but I felt that I'm ready to work on balancing my beers out more.

So who else out there has come to this realization and has dialed it back a notch or two? What are your thoughts?

in 2010, I only made two beers that were above 1.060 (one was right at 1.060, other was 1.072) and almost 1/2 of my beers were under 1.050.

i just brewed a 1.050 esb on sunday, and I plan on brewing Orfy's Mild (1.037) either later this month or early Jan.

I haven't brewed anything with an OG higher than 1.052 in the year I've been brewing. My line of thought is I can brew the smaller beer that I drink on a regular basis and then when I want something higher gravity I can run to the liquor store and grab a few bottles and get more variety than I would if I brewed my own big beer.

I try to keep my OG ~ 1.050 and up....I have stayed in the 1.050-1.075 all year.

Thought personally I find 1.050 to be great.....~5% beer is fine with me!

I too was caught up in the hype of bigger is better, with beer anyway. Over the last year I have realized it is more about taste and the process. Less about the side effects. There are still some styles that I will crave. Barleywine, RIS, IIPA. But one 12 oz. and done.

I started out big and now most of my beers are ~4.5-5%. There's a lot to be said about a good Mild or Scottish Ale.

I think everyone gets into limit-pushing trends in this hobby. It's only natural. The highest OG I have in my current log book (stretching back 2 years or so) is 1.056. Most of my beers come in around 1.050. Through trial and error, I've found that to be my sweet spot.

This last year of brewing (~22 batches) the lowest gravity beer has been 1058, highest was 1125. My wife says that she wants to make the bigger beers because if she is going to drink the calories, then it might as well be strong (1 7% beer vs the calories of 2 4-5% beers). I want to make smaller beers and have been shooting for OGs of around 1045-1055ish now. I want to make a couple of session bitters or something next year as well. When I tell my friends that I want to make a 4.5% beer they all ask why? Its simple, I like to drink, and I drink the same (for the most part) whether the beer is 4.5% or 8%. So why not drink lower alcohol beer that tastes as good and save the hangover.

But there is always a place for IIPAs, BWs, and 8.5% Old Ales

I never drink or brew very high gravity beers. A normal IPA is as far as I go. Just don't care for them personally. But, to each their own and there's room for all kinds of beer in this hobby.

I started out with big beers, but soon gravitated back to 4.5-6.0% ABV beers. It's just much more pleasant to drink on a regular basis.

Most beers I brew fall right in the mid 5's. I'm more into the taste versus the kick (not that big beers don't taste good). So I'd rather keep my beers low enough to have a couple without staggering around afterward, and then save the big boys for one-offs and seasonals.

Mischief_Brewing said:

Yeah, I tried to be clever with the title and fouled that one off...

Anyway, I was inspired by https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/craft-beer-bars-issue-i-have-them-211363/ and my recent leaning toward more reasonable gravitied brews. For the last several years, I was caught up in the bigger is better hype of the craft beer craze and until last month, had yet to brew anything less than 6%, with the majority clocking in well above that. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good, kick-you-in-the-ass beer, but I felt that I'm ready to work on balancing my beers out more.

So who else out there has come to this realization and has dialed it back a notch or two? What are your thoughts?

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I did read the other tread and all of this one up to this point. I think the answers are pretty easy to grasp...

1. We as home brewers are only allowed X gallons of beer a year. Where X can be easily consumed by 1 moderate drinker. The thought comes into play,"If I only can have X gallons, I better make it the 7% + ABV beers because of the cost in relation to sub 5% brew, that I can buy in a store."

2. Seasonal biorhythms. In the winter months we tend to have a stronger desire to heavy and high ABV beer. Who is not enjoying a Barley wine or a nice heavy stout/porter this time of year? I know I am...on the same token on a hot summer day fishing, I know I will not be sipping my stouts in the sun so I plan lighter beers accordingly.

I believe these are the 2 biggest contributors to the beer we see now and in the forums. Don't be fooled. I just brewed up a LARGE batch of "yellow fizzy" that was about 5% and another large batch of Irish red also 5% so it can age and be ready for the spring...

It almost sounds like you have the beer equivalent of cabin fever...RDWHAHB and plan your beers to align with the biorhythms. It takes a bit of planning but I bet you wont feel I have to brew X nearly as much when you have a stead pipeline of different beers.

I think most people get excited when they first get started brewing. They want to brew everything under the sun. That's the way I was. I just had to brew a big belgian and a RIS. Don't get me wrong, I've got a recipe for a corsendonk clone and another for a strong golden ale that I want to brew, but pretty much everything I've brewed inthe last 2 years has been below 5.5% abv.

coypoo said:

This last year of brewing (~22 batches) the lowest gravity beer has been 1058, highest was 1125. My wife says that she wants to make the bigger beers because if she is going to drink the calories, then it might as well be strong (1 7% beer vs the calories of 2 4-5% beers). I want to make smaller beers and have been shooting for OGs of around 1045-1055ish now. I want to make a couple of session bitters or something next year as well. When I tell my friends that I want to make a 4.5% beer they all ask why? Its simple, I like to drink, and I drink the same (for the most part) whether the beer is 4.5% or 8%. So why not drink lower alcohol beer that tastes as good and save the hangover.

But there is always a place for IIPAs, BWs, and 8.5% Old Ales

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I'm with you man, I love the taste and simply the act of drinking beer, so I will drink the same way whether its 5% or 9%...so I try to keep most of mine around 5-6% so that I don't feel like crap the next day after 5-6 pints.

Zamial said:

I did read the other tread and all of this one up to this point. I think the answers are pretty easy to grasp...

1. We as home brewers are only allowed X gallons of beer a year. Where X can be easily consumed by 1 moderate drinker. The thought comes into play,"If I only can have X gallons, I better make it the 7% + ABV beers because of the cost in relation to sub 5% brew, that I can buy in a store."

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I'm with Zamial on this one. I said the same thing in the other thread, I've only got so much time to brew beer - I'd rather spend that time making something that would cost an arm and a leg to buy retail.

When I want something yellow and fizzy, I grab a bud light. when I want something a little more, I grab a SNPA and when I want something to enjoy slowly, I grab one of mine.

I would have to say that my homebrewing goal is not to exclude commercial beers from my diet, it is to (mostly) exclude paying $8 and up for a 22oz of beer that I can get pretty close to myself, for a fraction of the price.

I usually brew around 1.050 - 1.060. Although I am planning on a RIS pretty soon that will be around 11%. Hopefully soon after will be a barleywine too.

My goals in home brewing are to firstly save money, and secondly have fun..

That being said, my plan is to take the beers I like (mostly IPA's) and find ways to make them taste as good or better than what I would buy at the liquor store, retaining all the hops and body and flavor, but find ways to reduce the alcohol content, so that i can enjoy the drinking part of it all, while prolonging the 'initial' buzz (happiness, relaxation, etc.), without feeling like that if I start at 5pm, I'm going to bed at 8pm.. either that, or depriving myself of continuing to drink that evening.. and saying "I gotta stop now")

I want to design my beers to have all the flavor and body and enjoyment of the IPA's and what not I love, with the stamina to drink that comes from the lower alcohol content of the BmC beers...

I may never achieve that perfect balance, but I bet that over time, I get closer than what I can go down to Liquor Barn and buy off the shelves...

So yeah, I'm with ya.. I want to move the 'other direction' without sacrificing flavor, body, taste, smell, feel, and most of all the 'experience' of the beers I like...

That is the goal.. Not even a little interested in becoming more of a beer snob than I already am... The 'trends' do not impress me, in any area of life.. Just what I like, what I enjoy, what is profitable, what is ethical, and what is practical.... those things make me happy...

I just want to go to bed with a smile on my face and a clear conscience.. preferably after 8pm...

phatuna said:

I would have to say that my homebrewing goal is to exclude commercial beers from my diet. I also want to stop paying $8 and up for a 22oz of beer that I can get pretty close to myself, for a fraction of the price but I know I will still buy one every once in awhile when something special crosses my eye/path.

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There I fixed it...and if not, this IS my thought...lol.

I love to drink beer. I do not like to be drunk. Therefore, most of my beers are under 1050.

I have made several different APA recipes that were right at 1044 and full of flavor. My house ale is 1038. My IPA is 1058.

I have three faucets and try to make sure that two of them are beers at 4.5% or less.

Eric

EricCSU said:

I love to drink beer. I do not like to be drunk.

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You just summed up everything I tried to say in a long post in like ten words....

I would just add a modifier in front of the word "beer".. like good, great, or excellent!

r8rphan said:

You just summed up everything I tried to say in a long post in like ten words....

I would just add a modifier in front of the word "beer".. like good, great, or excellent!

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Thanks!

If you want some recipes for "great" or even "excellent" session beers, I have quite a few.

Take care.

Eric

EricCSU said:

Thanks!

If you want some recipes for "great" or even "excellent" session beers, I have quite a few.

Take care.

Eric

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Right now, I'm just trying to get my home brew operation and education up to speed.. but the time is coming.. and soon.. where I will be prizing 'recipes'..

I guess I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I like high OG beers. I just moved from living in Belgium for 3 years and much prefer a 2 beers and done to drinking constantly.

I like to drink while doing other things and it's nice being able to keep a buzz from just a sip or two every so often and enjoying the way the flavor of the beer changes as it warms up versus slamming back cold beer after cold beer.

Big vs small is really a trend thing. For a long time, it was cool to brew a big-ass raging beer. Now it's more trendy to go for a session beer (the last couple years especially, even in the craft brew arena). That's just how things go over time. Pretty soon, we'll all be talking about how cool it is to go big (again).

Thank goodness we can brew small or big or medium beers any time we want.

I like to mix it up and do hybrids, like a session Belgian (single). It's nice to be able to have several pints of a Belgian and not wake up in the drunk tank.

culturejam said:

Big vs small is really a trend thing. For a long time, it was cool to brew a big-ass raging beer. Now it's more trendy to go for a session beer (the last couple years especially, even in the craft brew arena). That's just how things go over time. Pretty soon, we'll all be talking about how cool it is to go big (again).

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To be fair, the trendy in brewing stems from what you can't find in commercial craft brews. IPAs are no longer trendy because every microbrewery has one. But session beers are becoming very trendy because low ABV craft beers are disappearing. Session beers will have to return to the craft beer scene to change that.

I brew by the seat of my pants lol. Don't aim for big don't aim for small, just see what happens with the amount of stuff I use. hehe

I do have plans for a couple that should end up at a lower ABV than usual. It is nice to have lower ABV when you want a beer purely to have a beer.

hal2814 said:

To be fair, the trendy in brewing stems from what you can't find in commercial craft brews. IPAs are no longer trendy because every microbrewery has one. But session beers are becoming very trendy because low ABV craft beers are disappearing. Session beers will have to return to the craft beer scene to change that.

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I don't see homebrewing trends as necessarily being directly tied to what craft brewers are or are not making. I mean, everybody still brews American IPAs at home, even though there are hundreds of craft examples of the style. It's the longest trend ever in homebrewing, most likely.

I definitely don't base my brewing on what I can't buy at the store (in fact, I'm more likely to be inspired by something I bought). But that's an interesting theory that could be studied a bit more.

My comment about sessions beers and craft brewing was because when I go to the local beer store, there are a TON of <6% beers from craft brews. But I suppose that depends on how you define a session beer. If it's more like 4.5%, then yeah, nobody is making those but the macro guys.

culturejam said:

I don't see homebrewing trends as necessarily being directly tied to what craft brewers are or are not making. I mean, everybody still brews American IPAs at home, even though there are hundreds of craft examples of the style. It's the longest trend ever in homebrewing, most likely.

I definitely don't base my brewing on what I can't buy at the store (in fact, I'm more likely to be inspired by something I bought). But that's an interesting theory that could be studied a bit more.

My comment about sessions beers and craft brewing was because when I go to the local beer store, there are a TON of <6% beers from craft brews. But I suppose that depends on how you define a session beer. If it's more like 4.5%, then yeah, nobody is making those but the macro guys.

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I doubt many of us brew based on what we can or can't find in the store, but what we can or can't find in the store dictates what is unique in our brewing. Though we still make a lot of them, we don't really ooh and aaah over IPAs anymore. 10 years ago we did. IPAs weren't as common then and a homebrew example was more likely to pique our interests. Things that pique our interests in this hobby are what get explored. So no we're not out there trying to get what we can't get commercially but what we can't get commercially has a sort of allure to it that beers we find every day do not. How many of us have had a good commercial example of a session beer other than the typical BMC offerings? I'll bet not many. And those who haven't are probably thinking, "Ooh, I wonder what that's like." The brewer may not end up preferring the style, but it gets exposure it otherwise would not.

And FWIW, I would consider 6% and incredible high bar for a session beer. I'd consider a session beer anything with an ABV in line with an English mild but mainly because that tends to be the popular session beer around here.

I've never made anything over 5.5% in my 2 year brewing career.

as soon as I got my kegging gear I found big A.B.V. beers were a bad ideal. so its 4%-6%. but mostly 4%. cant be laying on the floor drunk with the kids around.

I think we need to start working towards the other end of the extreme- super low alcohol beers- that *Still Taste Good*- that'll be the hard part.

I think it would be incredibly hard to go below 1.035 OG and still get good full flavor, and not be watery.

Another argument in favour of smaller beers is that for the people who don't have an elaborate setup (BIAB, 7.5 gallon pot, etc.) they're just plain easier to brew froma logistic standpoint. When I'm brewing sub 1.040 beers, I can mash in a 3.5 gallon pot that I put in the oven at the "hold" temp" setting. Way easier to have stable temperature this way than in a cooler or a pot with towels and coats thrown over it.

How about bittering balance? Too often "too big" can refer to hoppiness, like the IPA. I too am striving to brew lower ABV beers, and working the IBU's (international bittering units) down to balance the sugars.

I just brewed a well balanced IPA where all the hops were added at 30 min, 10 min and at knock out. I rested the grains at 148 for 1.50 hours to make it as dry as possible. That along with non-fermentable crystal malts made it dry with some sweetness to counter the IBUs.

I have been aiming at an IBU of 12-15 for very light beers, 25 for ales and 35+ for IPA. So far, it seems like a good map to go by for my brewing.

I really enjoy the flavor and aroma of hops, but without the big bite of the bitterness. That along with the lower alcohol makes for a great beer that you can drink two and not worry about being drunk in front of the kids, a big no-no here at my household.

Cheers

All mine are typically under 1.060. I like to a few at a time. And the high gravity stuff is too heavy and get's me drunk too quickly.

I do enjoy tasting some of the higher gravity stuff occasionally, but If I am in the mood for one I will just go out and buy some. I don't need a keg of 10% beer.