Brew for the old man

[JonSnow]

Hi everyone,

First, thanks for the site. I just found this place and I've already read dozens of threads and learned so much.

So I have a question for you all. Without getting all sappy, I owe my father BIG TIME, for a lot of reasons. And I want to create a special brew for him.

What kind of brew? He's of the old-school, cooler-full-of-light-beer, 10-plus-beers-on-a-weeknight drinking style. He's been a "hard drinker" for decades before I was born, and he won't be changing anytime soon. I know he'd love his own beer-style. It'd have to be light, preferably cheaper, and probably resembling bud light.

Anyone have any hints/ideas for me?

There is a homebrew shop about a mile from my place, so I probably can get anything I need. I'm new at this, so simple is better I think. I was reading some recipes online here and my head was spinning a bit. His birthday is coming up in April, so I was thinking that that might be a good deadline...

Any help will be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[unionrdr]

You could use extra light DME or light LME with German & Czech hops for the flavor. If you can't lager yet,You could try US-05 at 58-60 degrees ferment temp. Or this liquid yeast I'm fermenting now. It's white labs WLP029 German ale/kolsh yeast that ferments best they say in the 65-69F range. Said to give a clean,lager-like flavor.

 

[broadbill]

Realistically speaking, American style lager (aka bud light) is probably one of the most difficult styles to make.

Question: has he ever tried craft beer? For the uninitiated (i.e. bud light drinker), it can be a shock; and not in a good way.

Do you have the ability to make a lager (i.e. temp control)? If not, I would even try....you simply can't "fudge" lagers without the right equipment. The results just aren't good.

Best best would be a cream ale or blond ale if you don't have equipment for a lager.

Personally, I'd stay away from the ambers, IPA, stouts, and all those styles most people homebrew with good results....sounds like your Dad really isn't into those and the effort would be lost on him.

 

[dstranger99]

Just go to midwest supplies, get you a budweiser clone.

 

[Varmintman]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

This is a great beer that all of my light beer friends drink with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes to much enthusiasm

 

[Bryali]

A cream ale is a pretty simple, no-frills beer. It's probably the closest to an American lager but doesn't require the temperature control that lagers do. Plus, who knows, it might open a conversation that may lead him to try something else in the way of craft beers.

 

[JonSnow]

Wow, thank you all so much, I hadn't realized this forum was so active. I just started, and don't have a special fridge for temp-controlled lagering (yet). I'm trying the american light ale from Brewers Best (would I break any forum rules if I posted links? I don't know who is financially supporting this forum). I hope this turns out okay. If it does, I might use that.

 

[Yooper]

Wow, thank you all so much, I hadn't realized this forum was so active. I just started, and don't have a special fridge for temp-controlled lagering (yet). I'm trying the american light ale from Brewers Best (would I break any forum rules if I posted links? I don't know who is financially supporting this forum). I hope this turns out okay. If it does, I might use that.

Brewer's Best kits are ok. Make sure you get one that is fresh, though, as sometimes they can sit on store shelves for a while and the grain is already crushed and the extract is canned, so the quality can vary.

I'd probably go more with this one for what you're describing: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cream-ale-extract-kit.html

I just gave my friend a Genessee Cream Ale to try for the first time, and he called Northern Brewer and ordered THIS kit as a result!

 

[JonSnow]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

This is a great beer that all of my light beer friends drink with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes to much enthusiasm

This looks awesome. I might try this for my first "non-kit" batch. Can I ask a noob question? Can I just half that recipe? right now I only have the capacity for 5 gallons. (one 5 gallon carboy).

 

[Yooper]

This looks awesome. I might try this for my first "non-kit" batch. Can I ask a noob question? Can I just half that recipe? right now I only have the capacity for 5 gallons. (one 5 gallon carboy).

Yes, absolutely!

 

[JonSnow]

Brewer's Best kits are ok. Make sure you get one that is fresh, though, as sometimes they can sit on store shelves for a while and the grain is already crushed and the extract is canned, so the quality can vary.

I'd probably go more with this one for what you're describing: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cream-ale-extract-kit.html

I just gave my friend a Genessee Cream Ale to try for the first time, and he called Northern Brewer and ordered THIS kit as a result!

Thanks that looks great.

 

[JonSnow]

Yes, absolutely!

Thanks man. I think I'll probably run through a few more "kits" first to try to figure out the procedures/techniques, ...perhaps I'll give this a go in March. I have to read more about how to brew directly from grains

 

[SoonerDoc]

Yooper is less man than you think.

 

[JonSnow]

Again thank you all!

I've decided to try a cream ale from the local homebrew shop. I want to support the "home team" and hopefully start to build up a relationship with the guy. With the comments above, I think this will probably be the closest I can get without additional equipment (and I'd like to sink what little money I have into production). I brewed yesterday. Sitting in the fermenter now.

I've got 7 weeks, so I figure one week in the primary, 2 in the carboy, and then 4 in the bottles. I've been reading that longer time in the bottles tends to improve taste... so hopefully the extra 2 weeks will help.

NEXT QUESTION!!!

Making a label: What is the best way to produce a nice, creative label? I was looking around online and their seems to be a lot of different things one can buy for the home computer/printer. Would those be best? Would they be easy to design using normal programs (maybe MS Word)? Is there a "better way" out there? Anyway, just looking for recommendations/suggestions.

 

[unionrdr]

Here's one I tried that's easy & makes good looking labels; http://www.beerlabelizer.com/

 

[ThatGeekGuy]

You may want to consider just leaving it in the primary for three weeks, then bottle and condition. Secondary really isn't necessary, just be careful when you siphon from the primary to the bottling bucket so you don't transfer yeast from the bottom of the fermenter.

 

[ThatGeekGuy]

Also check out www.labeley.com for making bottle labels.

 

[unionrdr]

You have to pay for them at labely. Beer labelizer is free.

 

[darrenbrews]

He's of the old-school, cooler-full-of-light-beer, 10-plus-beers-on-a-weeknight drinking style. He's been a "hard drinker" for decades before I was born

My father is the same way but I think I think I'll let him try my red ale, and if he likes it I'll brew him a batch of his own (I can't do lagers). I brewed my first red ale last month and so far it's been a hit with a few Miller Lite drinkers who have tried it.

 

[JonSnow]

You may want to consider just leaving it in the primary for three weeks, then bottle and condition. Secondary really isn't necessary, just be careful when you siphon from the primary to the bottling bucket so you don't transfer yeast from the bottom of the fermenter.

Thanks! Can I ask the "why" question? I've been trying to read threads here and talk with a few brewers around town and some people thing a secondary is absolutely necessary, others think a primary is just fine. Could you explain your thinking? I ask because I was thinking of just buying another bucket and dedicating it to producing beer for the old man. Buying another bucket AND another carboy + the kits/beer might be a bit too much now...but just a barrel? Sounds do-able. Also, why the three weeks?
Thanks!

 

[unionrdr]

Unless you're oaking or adding fruit,etc secondary isn't needed,as dry hopping & the like can be done at the end of primary. Saves exptra cleaning,chance of infection or oxidation. If not adding anything post fermentation,why bother racking to secondary when clearing/clean up is better accomplished in primary? It takes on average 3 weeks for the beer to hit FG & clean up/settle out clear or slightly misty.

 

[Epimetheus]

So far you are guessing what type of craft beer he might like and you are going to invest some effort on a guess.

You could get a few craft brews from a store and see which type is preferred, then try and make that type. "Hey, I just got this to see what it was like. What do you think?"

Nuthin' wrong with a Gennee cream ale - I'm gonna try to make something similar. You might be surprised and he might like a hoppy or brown or something else.

 

[JonSnow]

My father is the same way but I think I think I'll let him try my red ale, and if he likes it I'll brew him a batch of his own (I can't do lagers). I brewed my first red ale last month and so far it's been a hit with a few Miller Lite drinkers who have tried it.

Good luck, but if he's like my old man I think you're banging your head against the wall. I figure my pops knows what he likes by now. So I'll try to match my brewing to his tastes.

 

[JonSnow]

So far you are guessing what type of craft beer he might like and you are going to invest some effort on a guess.

You could get a few craft brews from a store and see which type is preferred, then try and make that type. "Hey, I just got this to see what it was like. What do you think?"

Nuthin' wrong with a Gennee cream ale - I'm gonna try to make something similar. You might be surprised and he might like a hoppy or brown or something else.

Nah, I'm making an educated guess based on suggestions. I know what he likes: Bud Light.

 

[Jayhem]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

This is a great beer that all of my light beer friends drink with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes to much enthusiasm

This is the beer I brewed 150 bottles of for my brother's wedding. It was all gone within 2 hours at the reception and I got a lot of compliments from the bud lite drinkers as well as the ladies! Super cheap to make too! It's taste is a bit stonger than Bud Lite, but not by much!

 

[Cincyfan78]

Thanks! Can I ask the "why" question? I've been trying to read threads here and talk with a few brewers around town and some people thing a secondary is absolutely necessary, others think a primary is just fine. Could you explain your thinking? I ask because I was thinking of just buying another bucket and dedicating it to producing beer for the old man. Buying another bucket AND another carboy + the kits/beer might be a bit too much now...but just a barrel? Sounds do-able. Also, why the three weeks?
Thanks!

It's really a matter of preference. Most people are coming around to the thought that a secondary isn't needed unless adding late additions, such as hops or chips, and even then a lot of people are just throwing them into the primary. Leaving it in the primary for 3 weeks allows the yeasties to do their thing, even after primary fermentation is complete. They will continue to clean up the beer, eating away at the more complex stuff left behind when the more active fermentation takes place.

Also, you can risk infection or oxidation by splashing/moving the beer around when you don't absolutely "need" to. If you are careful, this shouldn't really be an issue, but any slight mishap can cause an issue with the final product. So, if you don't need to move it, why risk it.

With all that said, you can absolutely move it. It's up to you. If space is an issue and you wanted to start another batch, then you can move it. It's one of the reasons I've done it. Really, the only way to know for sure is for you to test 'em out and find out what works best for you.

I've done a secondary when dry hopping and when not adding anything. I've also left my beers in the primary for the durationg of the 3+ weeks. It's an argument that has no clear right or wrong way. Just a bunch of opinions from guys who each have their own style. Figure yours out and then go with it.

 

[broadbill]

If you have proper temp control, a cream ale should be ready to drink in less than 2 weeks. Bottling throws a monkey wrench into things because you have to wait for bottle conditioning (it really should be called bottle carbonating).

I've made cream and blonde ales where I'm drinking the first pint 10 days after brewing.

The 3 weeks in primary or 1 week primary/2-3weeks secondary are structured to build in alot of aging time to allow nasty fermentation products to be removed. Proper temp control prevents these byproducts from being formed in the first place (at least appreciable amounts).

 

[krackin]

When the folks here tell you it is fine to just use the primary, you can believe them. They aren't talking out of their fermenters.

 

[JonSnow]

When the folks here tell you it is fine to just use the primary, you can believe them. They aren't talking out of their fermenters.

Nicely done sir, nicely done.