Feedback on brewing rotation

[auhoppymatt]

Looking for feedback on a brewing rotation. I have a 4 tap keezer. I've been working on brewing somewhat aimlessly and would like to set a schedule and plan for my tap rotation. I'm thinking to have one house IPA always on tap, one seasonal tap, one tap for expiramentation, and one tap for standards for less enthusiastic guests - maybe a lager rotation.

For the seasonal calendar, I'm thinking:

Jan - Imperial Stout
Feb - Porter
Mar - Irish Ale
Apr - ?
May - APA
June - Saison
July - Imperial/double IPA
August - Pilsner or Kolsch
September - Oktoberfest
October - Pumpkin Beer
Nov - ?
Dec - Christmas Ale

Would like to hear suggestions for the 4 tap rotation, the beer by month for the seasonals, and suggestions on a rotation for guest beers - thinking of lighter beers that are still craft, but appeal to wider masses - cream ales, pilsners, etc.?

Thanks to all in advance

 

[oceanic_brew]

I always thought that would be so boring, and would hate to be restricted and not just brew what I want.

Looking at that seasonal schedule and the fact that I'll also have four taps makes me realize how interesting that would be. On top of that you can improve on each batch every year and plan well in advance for what you're gonna do.

I like my randomized approach where I get stuck on a style and brew until I get it right but I've been stuck many a times with no beer, 6 beers ready and not enough space, or a 1/4 of a keg of old IPA that I forgot to drink.

No input beside that!

 

[kh54s10]

Not nearly so regimented. I brew more on a whim and will have a dark heavy beer in mid summer and a light APA mid winter.

I assume the schedule is for tapping the beers. I would move the Octoberfest to October and the Pumpkin Beer to November. April? Wit? September which I freed up, how about a Rye IPA?

Up next is probably an IPA with Nelson Sauvin and El Dorado hops. These I have not used before....

 

[Redcardbrews]

Judging by the recent commercial beer trends the pumpkin beer should be out in end of July so your sick of them by oct!
I usually brew a mango habanero cream ale for the summer months...spicy but not over the top very drinkable,
For November time frame I brew a cranberry wheat ale that mimics the fall pumpkin spice cranberry sauce flavors
And I'm adding a chocolate mint milk stout that is perfect desert holiday time flavor of a thin mint cookie

 

[bobeer]

April is good for a hoppy red or a rye pale ale
November I brew an amber or a brown.

Your tap by style sounds fine to me. It's your setup. Brew what you want!

 

[catdaddy66]

April is a great month to brew a lawnmower beer like a cream ale.

 

[dmtaylor]

April is a great month to brew a lawnmower beer like a cream ale.

I agree with this. Or how about a Belgian witbier or German hefeweizen. And don't forget, doppelbock is traditional around Easter time as well, but if you brew it earlier like in November or so and bottle it, then you can enjoy it all winter long. And then there's the maibock thing in May.

For November, maybe a strong Scotch ale / wee heavy is a good alternative to all the other dark brews. This is also an ideal season for IPA honestly, as the new hop crops should be out around then, but I see you already have IPA all the time anyways. Harvest time fresh hop IPA maybe?

Your schedule is generally lacking in Belgian styles, which are pretty popular with many people. A dubbel or tripel is delicious at any time of year. English bitter or mild maybe too, as a perfect fill-in for times you can't decide what else to brew.

There are so many different ways to figure out what's best to brew and for when. I have a rough brewing calendar of my own to help me out, though I'll admit that I very often ignore it and just brew whatever I feel like. It's all good. Do what makes you happy. Cheers.

 

[brewcat]

Maibock for April.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Maibock for April.

+1

In addition, here's an interesting article that I came across on this subject:

Create Your Own Seasonal Beer Brewing Calendar

Posted on September 26, 2016 by David Ackley

At certain times of the year, some styles of beers just taste better than others. An imperial stout in summer and a hefeweizen in winter seems equally out of place. But you can’t well wait 'til December to brew your imperial stout and hope that it will be ready by Christmas. Enter: a seasonal beer brewing calendar.

Due to the nature of brewing, it’s important to do some planning and scheduling if you want to drink your beer during a certain time period. Plan on at least a month or two of “production” time before your homebrew is ready to drink. With high gravity beers and lagers, you may need even longer. That means if you want to drink your Oktoberfest in October, you should start brewing by mid-August at the latest. A seasonal beer brewing calendar will help you to plan this out.

The information below isn’t meant to be an end all resource – you’re welcome to brew and enjoy any style of beer any time of year! There will be a lot of overlapping of beer styles depending on your tastes and time constraints. But for the occasion when you want to pull off – for example – a summer ale for the summer, a seasonal beer brewing calendar can be very helpful to keep you beer styles on schedule.

Year Round Beers!

These beers seem to work well any time of year and are good options for year-round “house” beers. Consider them for any month on your beer brewing calendar.

Pale Ale
IPA
Amber ale
Pale lagers
Pilsner

Brew in the Winter (for Spring drinking)

In anticipation of those long, final months of cold, brew a bock or an Irish stout. Irish stout (as well as Irish Red) will also come in handy on St. Patrick’s Day. Imperial stout and barleywine are often aged for 9-12 months, so this is a good time to get a start on next year’s vintage. Consider putting these beer styles on your beer brewing calendar for fall brewing. Get started on a spring ale or Maibock so they’ll be ready when the weather starts to warm.

Irish Red
Irish Stout
Bock
Barleywine (for next winter)
Imperial Stout (for next winter)
Spring Ale
Maibock

Brew in the Spring (for Summer drinking)

The summer season is high time for lighter colored ales and lagers, from pale ale and Kölsch to pilsner and witbier. Unlike the previous group, these beers do not need much, if any, aging at all, so they can be put on the beer brewing calendar closer to the time of anticipated consumption. The warmer weather also lends itself to brewing some Belgian ales that can tolerate higher fermentation temperatures, like saison and bière de mars.

Cream Ale
Pale Ale
IPA
Summer Ale
Kölsch
Hefeweizen
Witbier
Light Lager
Pilsner
Saison
Belgian Pale Ales
Bière de Mars
Gose

Brew in the Summer (for Fall/Winter drinking)

Darker beers, such as brown ale, start to hit the spot in the fall. Pumpkin beers are popular around Halloween and Thanksgiving. To make sure it’s ready for Oktoberfest, plan on starting your Oktoberfestbier by mid-summer to allow for a long, cool lagering period. You can start an imperial stout or barleywine in the summer and still have several months of conditioning to make sure it’s ready for winter.

Brown ale
Pumpkin beer
Oktoberfestbier/Marzen
Vienna lager
Imperial stout
Barley wine

Fall (for winter drinking)

By fall, you should be enjoying your Oktoberfestbier and pumpkin ale. Get a jump on some darker beers to get you through the winter, such as stout, bock, and strong Scotch ale. Start some holiday spiced ales so they’ll be ready in time to give away as gifts. If started in the fall, you should be able to pull off a batch of imperial stout or barleywine by winter, though the longer they can age the better.

Strong porter
Stout
Bock
Dopplebock
Dunkelweizen Shop Brew Kettles
Strong Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
Imperial stout (last chance)
Barleywine (last chance)
Holiday spiced beers

http://www.eckraus.com/blog/seasonal-beer-brewing-calendar