How you decide what style to brew next?

I've noticed that the types of beers homebrewers list in primary, secondary, condition, etc. are quite varied. In one brewer's list for example it could include a stout, red ale, wheat, and blueberry whatever. I'm a very new brewer myself and each batch has been a different style. I guess I'm trying to see what these different beers taste like when homemade and not commercial.

I guess what I'm wondering is all you seasoned brewers out there - how often do you repeat recipes that you've enjoyed and do you ever brew two batches in a row of the same style beer. I kind of wish I did with my first batch. It was an IPA and I loved it so much that it is now just about gone and it probably could have aged a little more.

I always just used to brew whatever sounded good, or tried something I'd never done before. No real rhyme or reason to it.... except for in the winter. I tended to brew darker, heartier beers for the cold months.

However, I am now focused in a different direction. I have about 5 or 6 recipes that I created, and I am in the process of refining/perfecting those recipes. I plan to keep brewing these same 6 recipes over and over and over until I have them tasting exactly like I want.

As for which one I'll brew next... that depends on which one I am running low on.

-walker

I am by no means a seasoned expert, but I have done 2 pale ales-almost same recipe, a little tweaked each time, 2 reds, different recipes, and 2 stouts, also different. They are my 3 fav types, and I want to try different ways/ingredients. The only one that has been iffy is my first stout. I basically just pick a style- my schedule is never further out than the next brew. I just came up with a simple recipe for an IPA today, that will also be the first partial mash for me. New things and new flavors drive me!

I've settled to five or six styles I like to keep around and I brew whatever is running low. That doesn't stop me from trying a new recipe or two. Last year, I did a Rogue Mocha Porter clone and Poor Richard's Old Ale. I also consider the season and when the ale should be ready to drink. Finally, I tend to do ciders in the Fall when I can get freshly pressed juice.

Next up is probably an IPA or APA.

usually i reuse the yeast twice, i love pale ale the most, so it's usually a batch of pale ale off say an english ale yeast, then a porter or a bitter. or if i use an irish yeast, it's a batch of pale ale, then a batch of stout.

i'm usually two recipes ahead of what i am actually brewing in my brewing notebook... i sit down with a styles guide and put recipes together, tweak them, depending on ingriedents availability and cash flow and then brew them.

i've not really repeated any recipes this year, just brewed similar pale ales, with different hops or a different yeast, and branched out into some new styles like wheat and barley wine.

I only repeat the ones I really really like, or a recipe I'm working on personally. I'm always finding so many new recipes that sound good that I have a hard time staying focused. I cook pretty much the same way...always finding a new recipe I would rather try than cook something I've already done.

How do you decide what to brew next?
Brew things you like to drink Alembic! - You know what you prefer -Double or Triple batch your IPA next time from your last recipe/notes if it was good!
While it's brewing try and get a few bottles of different commercial styles of beers and taste test for what you fancy in future. Commit to 5 Gallon when you find something you really like - it's cheaper to buy the odd bottle and say 'Maybe i'm not that keen on this stout (for example)' than waste pouring 5 gallons of a home brewed stout away and never trying it again. And if you still can't decide just get some more IPA on before it all goes.

i brew kinda according to the season. but i always like to have an APA or IPA around, as well as some dark beer (porter/stout). as long as i'm stocked on those i experiment or do whats fun. i have not yet repeated a recipe. i almost did on my last brew, i waS GOING TO do the same as my last one, started ordering supplies when i said to myself 'this beer is NOT perfected, you have to at least try one thing different' so i went to the malt section and started looking around when next thing I knew my APA became a rye IPA. even thuogh i've brewed beers that were great, i can't help but try to tweak them a bit. also by season i like to drink dark beers and strong ales in the winter, bitters and pales in the spring, wheats, goldens, and lagers in the summer and amber and reds in the fall. of course i really will drink anything anytime, but i gravitate towards those styles durnig those times of year. what it really comes down to is what youre into. i like to celebrate the season (comes from moving from TX to somewhere that seasons actually exist), so i eat and drink somewhat according to them.

I choose my brews from several reasons. Like t1master, I rack onto previous yeast cakes up to 3 times. I have 2 standard favorites that I kep on tap at all times, a Brown and an IPA. I also bottle the really big beers so they can age off in a closet and not use up my precious kegs. So like drengel, I'll brew them in the winter and enjoy them the next year. merc made up a calendar earlier that also helps with deciding what to brew next. Take a look at his handywork. And most of all, just brew what thrills you.

Wild

i just brew whatever i'm in the mood for. i rarely repeat brews. i always have to try something new....

So far I have 4 seasonal brews that I plan to repeat (with hopefully improving them) every year. The other brews I will pick from the styles I like (mostly German) depending on the season that I'm brewing them for. I expect to improve on at least one recipe per style, but rarely want to brew them back to back since I want to taste the outcome of one batch before I try another version of this recipe.

I'm using MS project (I get it for free from work) to schedule my brews as I'm doing many largers and they just take their time and resources. Some time ago I asked around if there was a better suited program available for this, but nobody here knew of one.

Kai

I also like to experiment with new styles of beer. I like to try the ones I'm least familiar with. Now that I have my kegging system close to being done I'm looking to settle on a lager recipe that I will keep on tap at all times and then rotate in other styles on the 2nd tap. I plan to settle on 5 to 6 that I will brew regularly with the odd ball thrown in as I feel like it or the season dictates.

I want to thank you all for your thoughtful responses to my query.

I'm a baker by trade and what I find so fascinating about homebrewing is that, like baking, there is an almost infinite amount of variations you can achieve in your finished product while only using really 4 main ingredients with adjuncts on the side. I make croissant dough just about every day and, like beer, it contains yeast and only a few other ingredients - butter, flour, honey, milk salt . Even after making it hundreds and hundreds of times I still find that I am learning something new about it.

So I guess one of the reasons for posing my original question was to find out if ever any of you homebrewers sometimes think of the sort of zen like quality of making beer. Instead of sometimes trying to make every style of beer under the sun (which I think is very cool by the way and I am looking forward to doing just that!) to sometimes, like Walker posted, really get to know a few batches really well and understand all the nuances from making it so many times. I hope this isn't too hokey but I guess when it's 3 am and I am at the bakery these thoughts are going through my head!!

cheers!

Alembic said:

if ever any of you homebrewers sometimes think of the sort of zen like quality of making beer.

Click to expand...

I'm not a baker myself, but I like baking bread as well. Though I believe that there should only be flour, water, yeast and salt in bread. And since I also believe that there should only be malt, water, hops and yeast in beer, it is very similar to my take on baking.

Another similarity between baking and is, that the quality of the final product depends more on the technique followed than the quality of the ingredients. (kneading and proofing for breads; mashing, boiling and fermentation for beer).

Kai

I am a lot like Walker these days in trying to perfect a recipe. I now and then
try to clone a particuliar beer that I like but my main focus is on one recipe.

Just about the time I think I reached the point of perfection I'll changed
something to see what happens. Lately, I increased the volumes to see what
changed. I have also started using different water profiles from different
parts of the world to see how it effects the recipe.
It's a very interesting goal to me and I suspect I'll get it just
right one of these days.

I have recently found that if this recipe is brewed with a "Burton-on-
Trent" profile I would have to decrease the hops by half. I don't want
to change the ingredients just other factors influencing the taste such as water profiles ,
volumes and mash temps.

What do you like to drink? That's the best way to decide.

Also, you may want to consider the season. Darker, heavier beers for winter and lighter, paler ones for summer. Of course, you don't have to follow any rules if you don't want.

The best thing about homebrewing is you can brew and drink what you like.