Beers popular with the ladies?

[Egghead]

I'd like to brew something that would be popular with the women I know. My gf doesn't seem to like any sort of alcohol...except the occasional wine cooler. My best female friend likes Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss, but mostly drinks wine. I just joined the local homebrew club, and a female member complimented me on my mead (a lemon-orange melomel).

What sorts of beers are most popular with women? Care to share any winning recipes?

 

[weirdboy]

Strawberry blonde. See my recipe under "recipes". Big hit with the ladies, keeps the wife off my back when I make a porter or IPA for myself.

My wife also likes beers with the word "honey" in the name even though there is no honey flavor whatsoever in that beer.

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

I'd start with a basic hefeweizen and add some lemon zest after fermentation winds down. Just soak the zest in a little vodka and dump her in.

 

[ajwillys]

My wife's favorite is Russian Imperial Stout so I'm probably not a good person to ask, but the hefe's and kolsch's (blonde ale's) I've done are popular with the non-craft crowd.

I'm not sure why, but in my experience, I don't seem to see gender bias in what beers are liked by whom.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Belgian Dark Strongs are very well-liked by many of our front-loaded companions. Chimay Blue in particular has done very well in this household.

 

[Egghead]

Thanks, weirdboy. That strawberry blonde looks mighty interesting.

 

[joey11bball]

I make a hefeweizen and dump a 3 lb can of peach puree in when i rack to secondary. Then let it ferment further for 2-3 weeks. My girlfriend loves it

 

[HSM]

My wife's favorite is Russian Imperial Stout so I'm probably not a good person to ask, but the hefe's and kolsch's (blonde ale's) I've done are popular with the non-craft crowd.

I'm not sure why, but in my experience, I don't seem to see gender bias in what beers are liked by whom.

Thank you for being the only non-knuckle dragger in this thread!!

All others, brew good beer, people *meaning men and women* will enjoy it if it's good.

 

[mud390]

My wife and most of her friends like Red beers. Just a thought.

Kris

 

[mmb]

My wife enjoys stouts and IPAs. Her mother enjoys IPAs and bitters. My sister really gets into dirty, malty 80/ Shillings and Scotch Ale.

My favorites are Mild, milk stout, kolsch and APA.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

My girlfriend likes a handful of styles: Octoberfests, English brown ales, flavored porters and stouts (raspberry and vanilla), hoppy American Ambers and Pale Ales and tongue bruising IPAs. She didn't always like beer as much as she does now so sometimes it just takes time but good luck, there's a beer out there for everyone.

 

[ReverendTap]

Just brew good beer and don't worry about making gender-specific brews. Most of the "women like these beers" stuff is down to marketing telling people what kind of flavors they should want, not what they actually like.

My wife's first love, beer-wise, was Mackeson Triple Stout.

 

[petep1980]

My wife and her pals loved my raspberry wheat.

She has a couple co-workers who have said my baltic is the best beer they have ever had.

 

[peachwein]

Thanks for starting this thread, so i didn't have to. My girl is not a big beer drinker, but tends to go for the fruitiest/ least beer flavored beers... She doesnt know what she's missing.

 

[Beernik]

My lady likes English stouts. The darker and chewier the better.

 

[weirdboy]

Just brew good beer and don't worry about making gender-specific brews. Most of the "women like these beers" stuff is down to marketing telling people what kind of flavors they should want, not what they actually like.

My wife's first love, beer-wise, was Mackeson Triple Stout.

I disagree. Some people just don't like certain styles. I have given my wife tastes of many outstanding stouts and IPAs and she hasn't liked any of them. I mean we're talking some of the top rated beers in the world. I think she said Pliny the Elder was tolerable, but she still wouldn't drink more than a sip. She has not had ANY stout, EVER that she even remotely enjoyed. She just doesn't like the roasty flavor of stouts, and doesn't like the bitterness in IPAs.

And it's not like my wife doesn't like beer, because she does. She's gone to many a beer festival and we go out and get craft brews regularly. Hell, she dragged a bunch of her friends while she was visiting family in Japan to some pub so they could drink craft beers. I am familiar enough with her tastes that I can usually recommend a few things off any tap list that she'd like, but they could have the best stout in the world on tap and she still wouldn't drink it.

You may think that just making good beer is enough, I think if you are making beer for specific people, you need to consider those people's preferences. Then make good beer IN THOSE STYLES.

 

[ajwillys]

weirdboy,
I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with. He's not saying that all women like IPA's and stouts. He's saying it has nothing to do with whether you got boobies or not. I know both women and men that like IPA's and stouts and I know women and men that can't stand 'em.

 

[Corkster]

My wife is also one who prefers her beer to have very little beer flavor. She tends to enjoy bud light red beers quite a bit.... however, I have one recipe (raspberry ale) that I make that she really enjoys that is a simple extract batch....

6.6 lbs breiss pilsen extract with one ounce streisselspalt hops and safale 05 yeast..... boil hops and extract in two gallons of water for one hour... cool... transfer to fermenter.. top off to 5 gallons and pitch yeast and ferment as usual..... add 4 ounces of whatever raspberry extract the LBS has on hand at bottling time... bottle as usual.

That's all the help I can offer.

 

[beowulf]

My wife also likes beers that have a less hardcore beer flavor. So, IPAs, Imperial Stouts and anything too heavy or intense is right out.

There is a belgian beer called Kasteel Rouge that she loves...I rather like it myself, but doesn't seem to be easy to clone. She also likes lambics and creme ales. Actually, I am brewing a Vanilla Creme Ale for her today....out of the 150 clones magazine.

Like many of the others have said, each woman, just like men, will have her own taste preferences. But on the whole, my experience has been that in general, women I know tend to gravitate towards slightly lighter, fruitier beers...

Probably the best thing to do, like I think someone else mentioned, is to find out what the woman who will be drinking the beer likes....unless you're just doing it for a party with lots of women or something, which would be really cool.

 

[ReverendTap]

weirdboy,
I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with. He's not saying that all women like IPA's and stouts. He's saying it has nothing to do with whether you got boobies or not. I know both women and men that like IPA's and stouts and I know women and men that can't stand 'em.

This.

Of course people all have individual tastes, but there's no direct biological connection between the way those tastes trend and how many X chromosomes ya got. There's significant social pressure in our culture for women to drink "girly stuff;" that is, sweet fruity light lo-cal drinks that mask any alcohol flavor, and human beings being social animals, we all tend to cave to that sort of pressure in most situations without even realizing it unless we have a compelling reason not to.

 

[user 22118]

I'd like to brew something that would be popular with the women I know. My gf doesn't seem to like any sort of alcohol...except the occasional wine cooler. My best female friend likes Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss, but mostly drinks wine. I just joined the local homebrew club, and a female member complimented me on my mead (a lemon-orange melomel).

What sorts of beers are most popular with women? Care to share any winning recipes?

Brew ZIMA!

 

[MarsColonist]

Not too funky saisons, citrus-y wheats and fruit beers

 

[PanzerBanana]

Just brew good beer and don't worry about making gender-specific brews. Most of the "women like these beers" stuff is down to marketing telling people what kind of flavors they should want, not what they actually like.

My wife's first love, beer-wise, was Mackeson Triple Stout.

Well said! My girl is a stout(whom also digs the Makeson) and IPA fan, though oddly enough not fond of the pronounced hoppyness of American Pales. But then I love fruit yet don't much like it in beer. She enjoys fruit beers. She likes wheat, I'm not so big on it.

Taste for beer, or anything, is completely subjective. And those that aren't conditioned just might not like beer. Even among real beer drinkers and fans, not everyone regardless of gender will like everything.

 

[pernox]

My wife doesn't like beer of any kind, so far. I've had her sample everything from Arrogant Bastard to Hoegaarden, Guinness to BL Lime (wow - worst. flavor. ever.) and everything in between. She likes none of it. She has recently adopted Mike's Cranberry Lemonade as her cold alcoholic beverage of choice. If she wants a cocktail at a dinner party or such, she takes a White Russian, and if it's been a really bad day, she'll start with a Grey Goose, neat.

Funny lady, my wife. Wouldn't trade her for the world. ...More beer for me.

 

[Rubberband]

My wife does not drink at all, so I have no experience with her. The one beer that just seems to suit most women, if they'll drink beer at all, is Abita Purple Haze. I like it alright but it is always good for the ladies. My sister likes stouts, IPA's and bitters and she will drink purple haze if I have it. Being a married man, I don't really put much thought into this subject but maybe I've helped one poor single drunk somewhere. Then I feel like I've passed on some wisdom.

 

[Tsuyako]

Between my sister (who is learning to make wine) and I we have totally different styles. Sis likes anything with spice like a ginger ale with an insain amount of ginger or a habenero mead; and I like heavy stouts and specialty beers like day-after christmas ales. (my mother likes fluff and buff) Personally I think my brother is the most picky, he wont drink anything heavy only sweet and smooth.

Oh yeah, me and my sis are identical twins...

 

[TheBeerNerd]

This is an entertaining thread

I once dated a girl who would shotgun cans of Guiness Draught... Pretty hot,lol.

My best friend/on and off GF, really loves nut browns, hates IPAs.

Its really a matter of taste...

 

[weirdboy]

Oh yeah, me and my sis are identical twins...

You cannot just drop a bomb like that and then not provide pictures.

 

[soonami]

My lady friend is a converted beer connoisseur thanks to me. She does have rather peculiar tastes though. She likes a Pale Ale, but not an IPA--yet really likes DIPA's but usually only maltier ones. She doesn't like porters, stouts, or RIS but is a big fan of browns and scotch ales (wee heavy's too). Doesn't like tripels, but yes to Belgian strong darks and pales.

She likes balanced beers, even if they are bigger like DIPAs, as long as hops, malt, or god forbid SOUR do not dominant the palate

 

[GregR]

my girlfriend isn't much of a beer fan at all. but she loved Russian River Supplication.

 

[JaimeTheLimey]

Not too funky saisons, citrus-y wheats and fruit beers

What Havoc said. Most beer girls I know (including my own) like the hoppy PA and IPA styles. But girls that are on the fence or just can't be bothered I find usually go for lighter fruit beers, hefe's, and saisons. (i.e. Pyramid Hefe w/ Lemon, Blue Moon w/ Orange, etc.). All very easy to brew.

 

[Doc Robinson]

Bud Light Lime...a crap load of Bud Light Lime.

 

[uechikid]

My wife likes almost any hearty beer, amber, ESB, pale ale, IPA, porter, stout and even barley wine. She's not much of a fan of lighter beers.

 

[Tsuyako]

You cannot just drop a bomb like that and then not provide pictures.

See profile, two on the left.

 

[JakeTheHopDog]

SWMBO doesn't drink, but she likes to drive... Life is good.

 

[weirdboy]

See profile, two on the left.

You look a little less Japanese than I would expect with a name like Tsuyako.

 

[bendavanza]

Most:
Lindemans Frambiose, Kreik and Peche.
Franziskaner, Hoegarden (spelling?)
Some:
Porter, stout.

 

[TheMan]

Why not make a cider? It's sweeter and chicks like that.

I'm fortunate, my gf's fav is also my fav, hopped up IPA!

 

[Simps]

Go for a belgian beer such as a belgian pale if you are looking for a balanced beer with fruity flavor that you won't have to add extracts to. Lets face it, most extracts taste like cheap crap. If you are trying to get them in the sack Belgian Blond's or Belgian Tripel's will have more alcohol and taste great.

All amazing beers both you and the ladies can enjoy. That way you won't be stuck with 5 gallons of fruit you don't want to drink after they go home. Belgians are the beer version of that punch they had at every fraternity party in college, except they are worth making for yourself too.

 

[Tsuyako]

You look a little less Japanese than I would expect with a name like Tsuyako.

It's a long story as to how I got that name.