ideas for something the SWMBO might like.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Todd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Messages
587
Reaction score
2
Location
Mechanicsburg PA
hello all.

My wife tends to not like beer, in fact i don't think I have found one yet that she likes. she does however love reisling style wine.

does anyone know of beer types she might go for?

I'd like to have her try some commercial styles before we brew a batch.

Thanks.
Todd
 
I've found that people I know that generally don't like beer can drink and enjoy a good American Wheat or Hefe, especially during the summer.
 
My girlfriend was a big reisling fan untill I got her hooked on dilerium trems, hoogarden, wheat beers, and framboise.

...and when i feel like getting a dirty look I'll have her take a sip of whatever stout i'm usually drinking :D
 
artfldodger said:
My girlfriend was a big reisling fan untill I got her hooked on dilerium trems, hoogarden, wheat beers, and framboise.

...and when i feel like getting a dirty look I'll have her take a sip of whatever stout i'm usually drinking :D


Thanks guys.
 
I am trying to figure what flavors of a Reisling can be picked up in a simple brew. To me it seems it is sweet, tart, and fruity. Maybe a honey ale, something pretty golden with honey added post boil and a bit in the secondary, maybe a spicy hop done lightly and a ale yeast that gives some nice esters on the fruit end of the taste scale. Wyeast 1098 comes to mind, but I don't know for sure.

How about this:

There Is No Reisling with a Blond Honey
A ProMash Recipe Report
Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 6.50
Anticipated OG: 1.05342 Plato: 13.197
Anticipated SRM: 6.4
Anticipated IBU: 18.8

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
61.5 4.00 lbs. Briess DME- Gold America 1.04600 8
7.7 0.50 lbs. Crystal 20L America 1.03500 20
15.4 1.00 lbs. Clover Honey Generic 1.03500 0
15.4 1.00 lbs. Clover Honey Generic 1.03500 0
Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Crystal Pellet 3.25 7.9 60 min.
0.50 oz. Czech Saaz Whole 3.50 7.7 60 min.
0.25 oz. Crystal Whole 3.25 1.8 30 min.
0.25 oz. Czech Saaz Pellet 3.50 1.4 20 min.

Yeast
-----
WYeast 1098 British Ale


Notes
-----
Boil DME in full volume of water.
Add first # of honey at end of boil.
S
teep crystal malt for 10-15 minutes prior to chilling
Add second # of hone
y in the secondary (dilute in hot water to 1.050 OG)
 
I'm starting to understand more, she doesn't like the after taste you get with beer, I think it is from the hops.

So here is a silly question. What would you get if you skipped or limited the hops? Would it still be beer?
 
Todd said:
So here is a silly question. What would you get if you skipped or limited the hops? Would it still be beer?

You might get a lot of different answers here.

If you limit the hops, it is still beer by anyone's definition. There are many types of beer that have very VERY low hop character. (Hell, budweiser has almost no hop character.... or malt character.... or ANY character.)

If you OMIT the hops.... people are going to have different answers to that one. I personally would call it a "malt beverage" (or malt liquor) instead of "beer". But that's just my personal opinion.

-walker
 
There are a number of beers that have very little hops taste to them. Have her try Newcastle. It has a slightly sweet caramel taste mixed with nuts, and with very little hops bitterness or aroma.

It's a very simple beer, sweet, mild, and not complex at all (much like a mild Riesling).

If this one doesn't work, have her try to describe what flavor she's getting that she doesn't like, and "aftertaste" is not sufficient. Have her try to equate it to other tastes even if they don't seem to make sense; pencil eraser, chalk, and sunscreen are perfectly valid descriptions.

See if you can pick out the same tastes now that you know how she describes it.
You being a more experienced beer drinker can maybe think of other beers you've had that don't have the same characteristics. Have her try those and follow the same process.

Keep a log so you can compare/review.

*** Most importantly, make sure SHE wants to do this. ***

Don't force it on her or you'll fail and she'll get upset every time you say, "hey honey, try this." If she is willing to go through the process, she may just find a beer she can enjoy (huge plus if you like it too). :D

Once (IF) she finds one she likes, have her describe what she likes about it and compare it to some of the others she hasn't liked. Look for other beers that are similar.

If you're stuck for beers to try, check out http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style . Pick a style and start reading reviews of different brands.
 
Todd said:
I'm starting to understand more, she doesn't like the after taste you get with beer, I think it is from the hops.

Have her try a Fat Tire. Almost no hop flavor and no aftertaste.

A little bland, but she might like it.
 
I think the newcastle is a good suggestion.. I can't say I like it a whole lot since it always seems to taste sorta like coca cola to me (not bitter at all and kinda caramelly-syrup like). I have no idea how to clone new castle and would be off base making a suggestion here.

I can also speak from experience since I have a fiancé who doesn't like beer either. If I'm gonna serve beer at the wedding I figure the least I can do is find something she likes. I tried a wheat beer that was a pretty good clone of blue moon (a little more orange and a little less coriander next time though) but it was great.. no dice. Next I tried a cream ale.. it might have been the best beer I've brewed this year.. no dice. This time I tried a cherry wheat.. kept the IBU's under 20 - about 16 or so. I added a big can of oregon cherry puree when it went into the secondary and transferred it into the keg when it stopped fermenting after the cherry addition. I served her some that was warm and flat and she actually said she liked it..really liked it. Maybe I've done it this time, I guess I'll know for sure in a few days.

Anyhow, the moral of the story is this: don't get discouraged and if all else fails try a fruit wheat beer. I *hear* apricot is good and I can personally tell you that blueberry tastes great too.
 
I think y'all might be going in the wrong direction when you suggest a lighter, milder, or fruitier beer. Does she drink coffee? I'd suggest a nice Cream Stout if she likes coffee and chocolate(what woman doesn't?). I would use alot of chocolate malt and to make it a cream stout, I'd use lactose sugar.

My wife like's beer, but she LOVES my stouts!!! (shhh, I said stout"s"):p

:mug:
 
Spyk'd said:
I think y'all might be going in the wrong direction when you suggest a lighter, milder, or fruitier beer. Does she drink coffee? I'd suggest a nice Cream Stout if she likes coffee and chocolate(what woman doesn't?). I would use alot of chocolate malt and to make it a cream stout, I'd use lactose sugar.

My wife like's beer, but she LOVES my stouts!!! (shhh, I said stout"s"):p

:mug:

Thanks, this is sorta what I was thinking also. I have this two hearted IPA right now and it has a very strong flural taste to it and I think what she is refering to is that combined with the bitterness.

She does like Coffee A LOT and chocolate. I think the first beer I brew will be a porter. See if she likes that or not. Porter is probably my favorite style so I'll at least like it.

I asked last night and while she doesn't really have any intense desire to like beer she did say it would be nice to find some she enjoys. I have to admit it is very hard to describe the aftertaste, Flural is there but there are some other things I can't ID. Part of it I think is developing a taste for it. Anything new to you always tastes intense at first. heck the first time I had HOT! chili it almost killed me. Now it doesn't taste like chili without a few hot peppers. It is the same with beer.
 
My wife doesn't like beer either, and that isn't going to change. If she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it. That just means more for you.:mug:
 
My GF is a big wine drinker, and told me she didn't like beer AT ALL when I first met her. She's got a pretty good palate, though, so I went for some beligian golden ales/trippels, saisons etc..., hoping she could get into the complexity of them. The last time I visited, I bought some Delirium Tremens, Achel 8 blond, and a big bottle of Saison Dupont. Needless to say, she changed her tune a bit and keeps asking for more recommendations. :rockin:
 
I guess Im lucky, or maybe cursed. She likes the exact same beers that I like. Which is nice because she always likes what I make, but sucks at teh same time becasue the stuff I like doesnt stay very long.
 
My wife likes darker beers, which is cool, except that she really disliked the Hefe that I bought as it was "too light." I did want to try brewing one this summer, but won't now if it's just going to be me drinking it.
 
the_bird said:
My wife likes darker beers, which is cool, except that she really disliked the Hefe that I bought as it was "too light." I did want to try brewing one this summer, but won't now if it's just going to be me drinking it.

Then you should brew a dark wheat instead and see if you both like it. It could still be a Hefe and be dark at the same time.:ban:
 
Ok we went to a local brew house and tried some stuff.

She had a lancaster brew company - Strawberry wheat, it pretty much sucked all around, she drank it but wasn't thrilled, it really just had no flavor.

next she tried some lambic, not sure of the rest of the name. She really liked this. To me it was basically a wine cooler. Is that something I can brew?

I had a rogue Dead man's ale, it was pretty warm and didn't really stand out at all,

next I had a samueal smith taddy porter, this was excellent. She didn't care for it so much.

Out of 4 beers the only one she really liked was the lambic, now, what is Mead?
 
Mead is a honey wine basically. You can do sweet, dry, or sparkling (carbonated).

If you scroll down past the beer forum there is a mead discussion.

Not difficult to make, but it takes a while to ferment and is best if aged for several months to a year or more.
 
Well, if your wife is not much of a beer drinker (mine isn't either), then it's mostly going to be you drinking the beer. Dang--you'll just have to manage.

Seriously, most people here probably have 5 or more beers (maybe way more) to pick from most of the time. So, in your case, at least 4 of them should be a style you like. Don't sweat it--if your wife is game, she'll try things and may discover some styles she likes. Or she may not. Whatever.

If she's not really a beer drinker, then frankly it's probably not that important to her whether or not you brew according to her tastes.

I'm fermenting a mixed-berry mild right now--it's the first time I've ever targetted something specifically at what I think my wife might like. And if she doesn't, it's no big deal. I know plenty of people who would be happy to receive a sixer.
 
Back
Top