Brew for the masses - what style ???

I have been commissioned for brewing beer for two events next year - each about 15 gallons.

My question is - what style should I make that will please the most people - I can't go with an IPA - a Brown Ale perhaps?? an Amber might be a safe choice, maybe a maltier one? MOST people drink macro swill with 12 IBU so I can't make it too bitter.

Opinions???

If you're shooting to please a Micro Crowd...you've got options galore. When I brew for parties....It's BierMunchers Cream of 3 crops...or noting at all. BMC is an upgrade for the people I know...mostly Michalobe Ultra! Just mix vodka and water....call it good.

It seems that alot of people who don't know about craft brewing prefer lagers. I'm doing a batch of Hobgoblin for my in-laws Christmas party. If they don't like it I'm sure I will!!!

I'd do an amber on the low IBU side, a little drier than usual and a blonde ale or Belgian wit.

Got my first taste tonight of an Oktoberfest based on EdWort's recipe, brewed with Kolsch ale yeast instead of lager. I think it's going to be a real crowd pleaser. Not too hoppy, but plenty of flavor.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/bee-cave-brewery-koelsch-33548/

Yeah do a Belgian Wit, maybe a Blue Moon Clone ? People will like that.

4# Pils, 3# White Wheat, 2# flaked wheat - mash at 149F for 90 Minutes

Boil .5 oz Perle 6%AA at 60 minutes, and .5 oz corriander seed + .5 oz Orange Zest at flame out.

Make a starter of WLP400.

It makes a fantastic beer.

Haus' Pale Ale is a Hell Of A Crowd pleaser

I think an Ordinary Bitter is a nice changeup for macro swillers that isn't going to scare anyone off.

Ditto on the ordinary bitter or blonde ale.

Another vote for a Blonde. If you think that some of the crowd may be open to trying somehting new then you may want to think about an APA or an Amber.

EWHPA is kick ass. BM's Centennial Blonde is a perennial pleaser.

If you do make a Bitter, Ordinary or otherwise, call it something other than Bitter. Believe me. The unwashed insist on confusing the style name with a flavor descriptor, blast them. Call it Light Ale or give it a clever name like Difford & Tilbrook's Pulling Mussels or something.

I'd do a Blonde Ale. The color won't put off BMC drinkers; before they know what they're doing, they'll have sucked down half a pint and discovered they like it.

Do an American Amber Ale as well. That's one with which you can satisfy "real beer" drinkers and still keep it balanced and accessible enough for people who want to give "real beer" a try. If the BMC drinker likes your Blonde Ale, walk him to the AAA keg and give him a taste. Then make him come the Dark Side.

Bob

BigKahuna said:

If you're shooting to please a Micro Crowd...you've got options galore. When I brew for parties....It's BierMunchers Cream of 3 crops...or noting at all. BMC is an upgrade for the people I know...mostly Michalobe Ultra! Just mix vodka and water....call it good.

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I'm with BK. Do Biermunchers Cream of 3 Crop!!!! Its a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Its a cream ale with flavor and turns out spectacularly clear.

Not to mention its a cheap beer to give away, it ferments quickly too.

All-Grain - Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale) - Home Brew Forums

my experience with BMC crowd pleasing beers is...
in first place hefeweizen, I was a little surprised by this but the fruity banana-ish flavors and low bitterness seemed to go over really well. the best batch had a maybe 1/2lb of crystal 20 in it, the added sweetness seemed to appeal to BMC people.
second the cream of three crops, im brewing another batch of this in a few weeks everyone who likes beer seems to like this.
and finally a kolsch, BMC people liked it but complained about the flavor/aroma hops. to please people like this it seems you cant use anything but bittering hops and even then not too many.

Cream Ale
Blonde Ale
Irish Red Ale
Hefe

Plenty of good choices but those would be mine.

I would stay away from hefe's made with wyeast 3068. Even though it makes an authentic hefe. The BMC crowd doesn't seem to like the banana-clove ester.

I have heard comments like,"It tastes like dirty socks!" from BMC drinkers but my HB Club loved the beer. BMC drinkers don't understand or appreciate the style.

If you make a hefe use wyeast 1010 its a neutral wheat yeast.

Coastarine said:

Cream Ale
Blonde Ale
Irish Red Ale
Hefe

Plenty of good choices but those would be mine.

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Definitely in that order....

1. Cream Ale
2. Blonde Ale
3. Irish Red Ale
4. Hefe

Ive had good luck with hefes using wlp380 (white labs hefe IV) its still a hefeweizen yeast but it doesnt produce so many bubble gum esters its more like a mix between a mild banana and apricot flavor, if you ferment it warm (70f or so) you dont get many clove phenolics and the BMC people like it.

I did 3068 @ 62F this March. It wasn't too estery in in my opinion. It was only two people who said this and they were hard-core Bud Heavy drinkers.

You'd be surprised (I was!), but my Belgian Pale Ale has been a hit with everyone, even my mother in law who normally won't drink anything other than light pale lager beer!

9# Belgian Pils
.75# Caramunich
.25# Biscuit
Wyeast 3522 Ardennes @68*F allowed to warm slowly to 80*F over a week

I'm even thinking of dropping the gravity down to the low .40s next time I brew and using some flaked corn this to make a nice light session beer. My first batch was 1.060 and ended up around 6.2% ABV.

Other than that. Cream of Three Crops or DeathWeed's Texas Summer Ale are good swill beer. My personal favorite swill beer is BierMuncher's Helles Belles. I can't get enough of that stuff.

Schlenkerla said:

If you make a hefe use wyeast 1010 its a neutral wheat yeast.

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WLP320 is the Widmer yeast, or you could use Alt or Kolsch yeast for a hefe too.