Beer for the woman

Hey all,

New home brewer here. I have an Oktoberfest in primary and want to make something the fiance will like. She tends to like cider and beer that is 'fruity'. Any suggestions for someone who is new to this (read: need something easy)?

Thanks in advance.

Hefeweizen!

You could try a basic cider recipe. It won't be ready as quickly as a hefeweizen but if you don't bump your OG up too much it could be ready to drink within a couple months.

I listened to and then shamelessly followed the Jamil Show episode on Standard Cider The Brewing Network.com - The Jamil Show: Standard Cider - The Jamil Show 11-06-06 . The one I made was from pasteurized, but no preservative, super market cider. I used pectic enzyme, Cote Des Blancs Yeast, and I used apple juice concentrate (again no preservatives) to bump up the OG to 1.055. It fermented out and cleared in under a month and it's been carbing for a week now. Should be ready to go by Xmas.

It came out dry at 1.000 but very apple-y and the Strongbow fans who tried it out of the fermenter asked for a second glass.

Double Edit: Don't forget to grab some yeast nutrient. It probably won't make or break your cider but it will move it along a little quicker and prevent the sulfery "Rhino Farts" you'll see mentioned.

If I can do ciders she will be very happy. She has been supportive of this new hobby so I want to make her something nice. Do they make any 'kits' for cider?

WDC, I just moved from Mclean VA to Atlanta GA but I used to work in DC.

I haven't seen any but the only things you would need from the LHBS are yeast and pectic enzyme. That first batch of cider can be even easier than a kit wine. After that the fun is in making it complicated .

If she likes her wines super-dry and light bodied then you should also give Edwort's Apfelwein a shot. It's a bit of a system shock for cider lovers but it wins awards for a reason. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/

All right! One more ex-beltway dweller on the forum! I hope you moved for fun and not because of the upcoming handover. Regardless of how I feel about the exiting POTUS I always hate to see folks leave before they are ready.

EDIT: The cider forum here may not be as busy as the beer forum but it has people like CvilleKevin https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/ who know too much and are willing to share.

do Edwort's Apfelwein. easy and cheap, and chicks dig it. Plus it makes you take your clothes off so that is a bonus for you.

There's no such thing. Believe me, I tried all

Belgian ales can be very fruity.

Pale Ale and Fresh Blueberries.

In the Pacific Northwest I've heard this hella times from women, "I don't like beer...except Ruby by McMenamins"

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/anyone-got-recipe-mcmenamins-ruby-ale-48354/

I made a fruit wheat that is about as easy as it gets. 2 cans of Wheat LME, 1oz low AA hops for 60 mins, US-05 dry yeast, then rack it onto 1 can of peach puree. At bottling/kegging add 1 5oz bottle of peach flavor extract. It turned out great.

an ex-GF of mine liked the raspberry pale ale I had made...

used a windsor ale yeast to get some nice fruity esters, couple pounds of frozen grocery store raspberrys to primary. didn't heavily hop this one, fuggles for bitter and a bit of cascade for flavor. no finishing hops. good amount crystal malt added some sweetness, bit of chocolate malt some additional color. raspberries really came through in aroma, taste and color. (ruby red color)

Just about everyone who tried this one really liked it (except the person who didn't like raspberries)

My wife really liked this Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Ale I bought when I was down in FL on Turkey Day (I never see it here in NC)

She thought it was good. I thought the blueberry flavor was great but it was thin and had no malt backbone. If I had brewed a blueberry wheat beer she probably wouldn't have liked it as much!

So the lesson to be learned is: sometimes you can't follow your own instincts on what will be a good brew. But I do reccomend a fruit beer. Panty dropper for sure.

Awesome Long Peaks Raspberry Wheat recipe in the Beer Captured book.....this is a great beer all around, especially for a lighter beer in the summertime....and especially for the women.

I just had my annual Chili Bowl, and three friends brought their SWMBO's, who don't like beer. They all tried my Raspberry Wheat, that I made from a Beer-Wine Hobby kit, and the ALL loved it. My SWMBO has declared that I MUST keep that in stock, for she loves it, too !

Watermelon Wheat has been a big hit with wives of my friends - and many of the guys like it too.

I know there is a lot of debate on this...but how/when add the fruit? Maybe a better question is when and how should i NOT add the fruit? I was just going to dump a few pounds of rasberries into my primary...is that not going to work? Do they need to be "steeped"?

The SWMBO Slayer from BierMuncher has been a favorite with three different women I know.

Try this:

It's not overly hoppy and I honestly haven't had anybody not like it, even BMC drinkers.

corkybstewart's Happy Wife Ale
5 gallons
10 pounds Maris Otter, toast 1 pound at 350 for 15 minutes
1 pound Carapils
Mash at 152 for an hour in 7 gallons of water
Tettnanger 6.1 AA, 1 oz for 60 min
Hallertau 5.3AA, 0.5 oz for 20 min
Mt. Hood 6.1 AA 0.5 oz for 20 mins
Irish moss 15 mins
Safale S-04 fermented at least 2 weeks at 68F or lower

pzack said:

I know there is a lot of debate on this...but how/when add the fruit? Maybe a better question is when and how should i NOT add the fruit? I was just going to dump a few pounds of rasberries into my primary...is that not going to work? Do they need to be "steeped"?

Click to expand...

Add it to the secondary - just rack right onto it. Some people heat the fruit to kill any potential nasties, but i don't think it's necessary as the beer is fully fermented before the add.

I freeze the fruit, let it thaw and then use it. Depending on the fruit, I'll either crush it, run it through a food processor or just add the juice.

i agree watermelon wheat beers are very refreshing and have a great flavor. here is the recipe i have been using. i have tried it with a few different wheat yeasts and im gonna use a belgian wit yeast next time. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/watermelon-wheat-79449/

Most women don't really like beer in a traditional sense... That's just the way it is.

I'd do Ed's Applewine, or just make a wine kit.

My LHBS sells wine kits that are pretty good from what I hear.

Just Kegged a Blueberry Ale on Saturday. I let my wife smell the Sample I took for the FG Reading. She smelled it, then drank all the sample. yep, still warm and flat. She is now trying to quickly finish the wheat beer left in the keg on her side of the keggorator so that I can put the Blueberry Ale in it.

BTW, it finished at 1.008. Good thing I took the reading before handing it over :cross:

dp