Do you experiment?

This year I am trying to do as many single hop beers as possible. I have done Nelson, Amarillo, Columbus, and Ron Mexico so far. Azacca and Chinook are next (then a pilsner with only saaz).

I also split the Nelson IPA between WLP001 and WY3711. Once I get the lager x from white labs, I'm going to do a split batch with WLP860 to see the difference.

I also started using Belgian sugars for the first time, added tamarind to 2 beers (didn't add enough to the dubbel, still waiting on the sour rye), and added apricot puree to a saison.

Generally I want to gain a good understanding of what each thing adds and how to use them.

I brew 11gal batches with a friend and split the wort into two 8gal buckets. We typically do something different with one half of the brew. Sometimes with use two different yeasts, sometimes we add oak/whiskey, sometimes fruit in one bucket, different dry hops. Always looking to experiment and learn what different things do to our beer.

I haven't experimented yet. I'm still brewing extract, and of my 3 brews, 2 were kits. I ordered another kit and it was the cheap chocolate stout kit from AHS. I am planning on experimenting with it and adding some chocolate, oatmeal, and lactose. I don't know if it's too much. I might just add the one or two and not all, but of which I'll add, I don't know. Btw I know I'll have to do a partial mash for the oatmeal, and I'm fine with that

Try adding one thing at a time, like the lactose this time. That should make it more like a milk stout. Then maybe keep that & add oatmeal to a small partial mash. One step at a time to see what making one change brings.

I am going to try something kind of Kombucha like this weekend. Going to use some blueberry herbal tea, about a pound and a half sugar and some saison yeast and see how that comes out. I think it could be yummy but wont know for sure until I try. Going to start small first, 1 gallon and then bottle carb.

Sailingeric said:

I am going to try something kind of Kombucha like this weekend. Going to use some blueberry herbal tea, about a pound and a half sugar and some saison yeast and see how that comes out. I think it could be yummy but wont know for sure until I try. Going to start small first, 1 gallon and then bottle carb.

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My wife makes kombucha. I was just saying about an hour ago how next time I should make a few liters extra on my next batch (plan something not super hoppy, like a blonde or something), and then try fermenting it with the scoby. I know it won't be beer per se, but it could be interesting.

my wife does the Kombucha as well. I wanted to try something just a little different than kombucha. I will post how it turns out.. Hard Blue Berry Saison Tea. Your plan with wort and a SCOBY sounds like it might be yummy as well

Sailingeric said:

my wife does the Kombucha as well. I wanted to try something just a little different than kombucha. I will post how it turns out.. Hard Blue Berry Saison Tea. Your plan with wort and a SCOBY sounds like it might be yummy as well

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You may want to think about putting some lactose in there. The yeast will eat up all those simple sugars, leaving it very dry and possibly "cidery."

joshesmusica said:

You may want to think about putting some lactose in there. The yeast will eat up all those simple sugars, leaving it very dry and possibly "cidery."

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Good thinking. How about some extra light DME?? Thought in using sugar I was trying avoid beer flavor.

Sailingeric said:

Good thinking. How about some extra light DME?? Thought in using sugar I was trying avoid beer flavor.

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Yeah I'm sure that would work. Though it won't necessarily be the flavor you're going for unless you do tea as well. The nice thing about wort is it already has non-fermentable sugars in it (at least for beer yeast).

For a Christmas party, I made a hard Christmas soda for the non-beer drinkers. It was only table sugar and different berries for the sugars, so I added some lactose. It came out quite nice actually. The lactose isn't as sweet as table sugar, so even though it was 1.011 for the FG, combining with about 2.8-3.0 volumes of co2 for carbonation, it came out dry and crisp and refreshing.

joshesmusica said:

Yeah I'm sure that would work. Though it won't necessarily be the flavor you're going for unless you do tea as well. The nice thing about wort is it already has non-fermentable sugars in it (at least for beer yeast).

For a Christmas party, I made a hard Christmas soda for the non-beer drinkers. It was only table sugar and different berries for the sugars, so I added some lactose. It came out quite nice actually. The lactose isn't as sweet as table sugar, so even though it was 1.011 for the FG, combining with about 2.8-3.0 volumes of co2 for carbonation, it came out dry and crisp and refreshing.

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Thanks, I will go the lactose route.