sticking to one style?

I was just wondering what ya'll thought about someone sticking to one style of beer? cause I like hefeweizens and all i seem to ever want to brew is a hefeweizen. do you guys think it's a good idea to perfect one particular style? or is it good to try different styles? I know this sounds like a stupid question but it's been something i've wondered about for a while. any opinions would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Being a cheapskate, I firmly believe in the wisdom of doing three of one style at a time. This has a couple of advantages.

First, by pitching on the yeast cake, it cuts your yeast costs by a third. Second, you get wicked fast fermentations. Third, you reduce the risk of infection. Fourth, you get a feel for the variety within the style.

I brewed a dunkelweizen, which I didn't like too much, so I dry hopped it. Then I brewed a Honey Hefeweizen which seems like it's going to be superb, and lastly, I will brew maybe something a little more unusual, like a Hopped-up Hefe, or a caramel Hefe (my first brew should be hoppy, the second will be malty, and the tasting of the two will tell me which direction appears more promising for experimentation).

I like this approach to brewing. The other advantage is it helps encourage seasonal brewing. It's hard to start a stout if you don't expect to brew three within the next few summer months, so you stick to the more seasonal varieties.

I saw, brew on!!!

I just really like hefeweizens, and everyone that i gave a bottle of my last brew to thought it was some of the best beer they have ever had. i won't use the same recipe everytime but i think all i wanna brew is hefeweizens. i just kinda wanna perfect one style rather than brewing different styles and only coming out with average results.

If hefe's are the only thing you want, then brew on. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working on a certain style, perfecting it, throwing in variations, etc... Makes it easier too, unlike me with the numerous styles/beers I want to make or clone.

Plus as Toot said, you can re-use yeast, etc or if you want do larger batches.

Brew On!!!

After having 8/10g of hefe go buy in less than a week... I think I will brew another 10g then brew something really bitter. I ha czech pils fermenting now. I tired a edelhell and it was malty but boring. Then drank a Pilsner Urquel.. and.. found it boring. I think the hefe has killed my taste buds so I need to shock them back to normal beer buy breing a bitter IPA!

I think your idea of perfecting one style you love is great! However, I still think you should brew other styles once in awhile. Maybe once every 4 or 5 brews. Brewing is such a fun adventure; hey you never know, you just may stumble upon something you enjoy. Some of the worlds greatest discoveries were often by complete "mistake".

I'm exactly opposite- I brew something totally different and only make a similar beer every few batches. I love IPA, though, so that's the one I brew most often. My last few beers went: Dead Guy clone, Maibock, DFH 60 clone (IPA), Lil Bastard, BPs 777, Fat Tire clone. I'm making Orfy's Hobgoblin clone next. I love a variety of good beers.

I love going to the fridge and having a choice of what type of beer I want. I'm a bit low right now (because of spring vacations), but I have a choice of maibock, the Lil Bastard, the rye IPA, and a few leftover ESB's. I have the Fat Tire clone bottled and conditioning now. I'll brew three batches in a row- but they'll be totally different.

But make what YOU like. If you want to drink hefe's and make the best hefe ever, go for it.

I say brew what you like. If you want to stick to that one style, then stick to that style.

I have not brewed all that many batches, but I rarely do something that I've done before. I'm still getting the hang of brewing, so want to experiment.

One of the great things about brewing is you can do it in any way you like.

fritz_monroe said:

I say brew what you like. If you want to stick to that one style, then stick to that style.
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One of the great things about brewing is you can do it in any way you like.

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I couldn't agree more. I tend to brew more like Yooper in that I brew a lot of variety, but that's just personal preference. There's something to be said for perfecting a single recipe or style, also.

We're all in it to make the beer we want to drink. Do what makes you happy!

I'm sure that after a few batches you'll have it dialed in. I once made 5 or 6 batches of ESB, not in a row, but in a fairly short period of time. I got really good at making it be exactly what I wanted.

I can't imagine just making one style, but why not? I know people who only make IPA's. (They say it's something else, but ... ) More often, people will have one brew they always have on hand and experiment in between.

It's not as if there is only one way to make a hefe and if you want to find the perfect one, have fun.

I need to find out what hefe recipe (ag) you guys are brewing. Mine tastes like a big cup of clove.

I agree with Toot. Batch after batch of similar, but not exact recipes that fit the season and let you reuse your yeast. Wit,,,then a belgian blonde,,,then another wit, and harvest the yeast.

Brew what you love man.

I plan on trying to put my own twist on a number of different styles, and perfecting them as best as I can, mainly becuase after I brew an IPA, its 6 weeks until I can drink it, so I've got to brew a few things in between so I can figure out what I want to do differently between the batches. I certainly can't wait 6 weeks to brew.

Brew what you like.
I am just too interested in variety and experimenting to stick to the same variety for multiple batches. I still have a big list of beers I want to brew before I get back to brewing what I think are my favorites.
I have made a Red Ale, and Irish Stout, and Oatmeal Stout, a dark IPA, a Mild, a Wit, and a Porter.
I want to make a Scottish, an Imperial Stout, a Dubble, a DunkelWeissen and a Wee Heavy. I'll most likely have a few more to add to this list before I get through it all.
My biggest problem is finding the time to do the brewing. The second problem is emptying the bottles.
Craig