Flavorful Beer for Women?

[Clint Yeastwood]

My wife barely drinks, but she is open to new things. She hasn't really developed a taste for beer.

Out of all my beers, the one she dislikes least is Happy Halfwit, an 8.6% brew made with Sabro and Lallemand Abbaye. It's heavy and somewhat sweet. To me, it has all the things I like about Fin du Monde and Blithering Idiot, without the things I don't like, such as the Fin du Monde headache.

I have the recipe written down as follows, but now I use Sabro:

5.0 lbs. wheat
4.0 lbs. Pilsner
2.0 lbs. 2-row
1.5 lbs. 60L crystal malt
1.0 lb. Munich
1.0 lb. table sugar
0.75 oz. nugget - 75 minutes
0.5 oz. crystal - 45 minutes
1.0 oz. crystal - steep

She complains it's too bitter. Says the bitterness makes her want to throw up, which is weird, because to me, bitterness is what prevents beer from making me want to throw up. For example, when I drink Bud, I gag. Beersmith has it at around 33 IBU.

I would like to make something she will like better. She is not afraid of ABV, and she seems to like a lot of flavor and sweetness. I am not willing to go too low on the bitterness, because I would like to drink it, too. Any suggestions? I don't want to fool around with things like shandy. I am hoping I can produce a real beer she will like.

I'm sure other people here have been in similar situations.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Different women like different types of beer. Some like an IPA some like fruited wheats, others like stout. Some say they don’t like beer. Maybe they haven’t tasted the one they’ll enjoy yet.

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

I commented on another thread about swapping out the Cascades hops in SN's Pale Ale recipe for Centennial. Very nice for people who aren't huge beer lovers.
Also, Founders has Mosaic Promise, Golden Promise malt and Mosaic hops. I got the recipe from their website. Very entry-level beer. I have made it several times

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I like Centennial. I will look the other stuff up. Thanks.

Maybe I can come up with something using a similar grain bill and different hops.

 

[Drewch]

What other flavors does she like? Try to riff on those.

For ex: My wife likes coffee; so she often likes stouts or porters that lean into the coffee notes.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It's hard writing recipes for people who know nothing about beer.

 

[Drewch]

It's hard writing recipes for people who know nothing about beer.

So think about other stuff she does drink.

If she likes Sprite, for example, do a quick-sour wheat beer with Lemondrop hops.

Or ... you mentioned she seems to like sweetness — have you tried a British-style yeast? Esters can give an impression of sweetness even with a lower FG.

 

[Rish]

Happy Halfwit
Split the batch after mashing, do the boil to bitter your half like you want and drop the bittering hops on her half.

 

[Kickass]

My wife likes beer. Just make the beers I make.

 

[MaxStout]

Heavy and somewhat sweet? Not afraid of ABV but doesn't like bitter? How about a Scottish strong ale?

 

[DBhomebrew]

A lot of beverage stores are selling single bottles. Flights at brewpubs. Narrow down the search. Commercial beers are expensive? So are 5gal batches noone enjoys.

Think dials, not switches.

 

[hottpeper13]

Check dark lager, schwartz beer, any scottish ale,mild or bitter fermented with Windsor. So many!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

selling single bottles

Be sure to check the best by / packaged on dates.

I commented on another thread about swapping out the Cascades hops in SN's Pale Ale recipe for Centennial. Very nice for people who aren't huge beer lovers.
Also, Founders has Mosaic Promise, Golden Promise malt and Mosaic hops. I got the recipe from their website. Very entry-level beer. I have made it several times

For the peeps that sample my hop forward ales, there's something about most those hops that they don't like. I'm not convinced that it's just IBUs, "bitterness", "hoppy" - as my occasional big stout (60-ish IBUs via Golding) was OK. Maybe its "noble hops" related.

---

In addition to

Heavy and somewhat sweet? Not afraid of ABV but doesn't like bitter? How about a Scottish strong ale?

and

Check dark lager, schwartz beer, any scottish ale,mild or bitter fermented with Windsor. So many!

wheat wine is a possibility.

But don't overlook the possibility that some people don't like flavors from barley malt.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Be sure to check the best by / packaged on dates.

I mean, that's just good standard operating procedure no matter what you're buying.

 

[bwible]

It would be better to go to the store and buy some different things and let her try them before deciding to brew 5 gallons of something as a guess that she may or may not like. There are a number of places that let you build your own 6 pack now. Put together a couple mixed six packs of different things, try them and go from there.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Lots of good info here. Thanks.

 

[ba-brewer]

Be careful of what you wish for and don't brew anything you would not want to drink yourself.

 

[YeastFeast]

My wife hated beer about 2 years ago. I couldn’t get her to go to a brewery unless they also served liquor or wine. Every time I poured/opened a beer, I poured about an ounce in a sampler glass and had her try it.
Took about 2 years but now she’s a total beer snob, expert and lover of IPAs, bourbon barrel aged stouts & barleywines (everything I like).
You can learn to like just about anything if you try them enough, I have no doubt!

 

[MrClint]

Introduce her to a bunch of different beers. I was surprised to discover that my wife really likes Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA. Go figure.

 

[GoodTruble]

Everyone is different. But I brew a Lemon Radler every summer that my wife likes. It is based off this kit, and I sub lemondrop hops.

https://brewersbestkits.com/assets/1075_lazylemonradler_recipe.pdf

 

[skunkape]

I would suggest a dunkel or hefewiezen or Belgian pale. Beers with a flavor profile driven more by malt and yeast than hops. Light bodied, flavorful, easy to drink.

 

[beren]

I would suggest a dunkel or hefewiezen or Belgian pale. Beers with a flavor profile driven more by malt and yeast than hops. Light bodied, flavorful, easy to drink.

describes what i like... english beers too!

 

[dbsmith]

What others have said. My swmbo hated beer, but given some time, she now loves ipas and pilsners. She still hates stouts and porters. Just keep giving her samples and talk about the flavors with her and see if she comes around or if you find something she enjoys

 

[An Ankoù]

Flavorful Beer for Women?​

A bit sexist, isn't it? Where I come from, the lasses drink pints with the lads and it's a race to see who can drink whom under the table!
But I think I know where you're coming from. The Wise One is French, weened and raised on red wine and with a hearty distrust of anything beery. She now enjoys a pint or two of home brew, but nothing she perceives as bitter, and nothing dark that tastes like "coke and coffee" (which is everything dark). I learnt from her that IBUs and perceived bitterness have little to do with each other. Her favourite style is an ale made with 90% Irish lager malt, 10% Bestmalz light melanoidin, bittered to about 30 IBUs and finished with Nectaron as a late addition and in the whirlpool. Most other "fragrant" Pacific hops work well, too. MJ California Lager to ferment.
So this is what I make for her, but I often invite her to try the beer I'm drinking and I'm surprised when something "light and fluffy" is rejected as too bitter or when something solid, like my interpretation of SN Pale Ale, is described as "delicious".

 

[whoaru99]

Despite the early comment re. no shandy, I'm going to toss out perhaps a seltzer of some sort.

 

[MaxStout]

Someone who says they don't like beer just hasn't found the right beer yet.

 

[willko]

Try a cranberry Gose or a lemon mint Berliner Weiss. Kettle sours give both me and my wife a headache so we do longer aging vs quick turnaround on those and she loves them. There are tons of flavors that goes well with light (close to zero bitterness) beers. Maybe try a Kolsch if wanting something clean and not acidic. Definitely agree going out and trying commercial beers is the best way to find what she likes. You got this!

 

[TLaffey]

My wife is a wine drinker. If it's beer, it has to be Witbier or Hefeweisen--Allagash is a go-to.

 

[bwible]

My first wife liked Bitter, English Pale ale, (Bass Ale) and Octoberfest. My current wife likes stout, RIS, and strong beers like barleywine. Neither of my wives liked hoppy beers, especially anything with American C hops. Irish Red might be one to try. Some of the commercial ones are lagers.

 

[whoaru99]

My GF/SO does prefer wine but she will drink beer.

She does not like real hoppy beer, particularly not IPA. She will drink stout, particularly nitro stout and the dry Irish-type stouts, but not so much like a RIS. She will have fest bier and Helles styles (including a Maibock that's fermenting now), pilsners, brown ales, red ales, and cream ale type beers.

 

[sibelman]

This suggestion isn't gender-specific, but...

The roastiness of a an imperial stout can work to balance some sweetness, with less perceived bitterness. It will surprise (and perhaps please) people who "don't like beer" because it doesn't resemble beers they've tasted and disliked.

 

[bwible]

Well then there’s hefeweizen or wheat beer. Thats the one we say “people who don’t like beer like wheat beer.” Especially when its cherry wheat or raspberry wheat, etc

 

[Brooothru]

My wife hated beer about 2 years ago. I couldn’t get her to go to a brewery unless they also served liquor or wine. Every time I poured/opened a beer, I poured about an ounce in a sampler glass and had her try it.
Took about 2 years but now she’s a total beer snob, expert and lover of IPAs, bourbon barrel aged stouts & barleywines (everything I like).
You can learn to like just about anything if you try them enough, I have no doubt!

Two Years? About 55 years ago, I asked my (future) wife to "go out and mop up some beers". We showed up at one of the local college haunts, and I ordered a pitcher. She poured a glass, purposely spilled some on the bar, and then proceeded to pull a sponge out of her purse and "mop up some beer". It's a good thing I'd known her since elementary school. And an even better thing that the beer was Bud, so no great loss.

Now, after more than five decades of marital bliss, I believe that I chose wisely but won't vouch for her decision making processes. Seems as if she still doesn't care much for beer! But that's O.K. Sometimes she barely tolerates me either.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I keep trying to find sometihing my wife likes in the world of ales... cream ale and wheat beer is the best I have so far.

My next trick will involve lagering, planning on a Maibock in a couple weeks and it'll be hoppy but I hope to get some tasting notes from SWMBO. I am interested if she comments on the hops, I'm not telling her about the style beforehand.

Some people simply arent into "it".

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The Wise One is French, weened and raised on red wine and with a hearty distrust of anything beery. She now enjoys a pint or two of home brew, but nothing she perceives as bitter, and nothing dark that tastes like "coke and coffee" (which is everything dark).

I'm with you exactly until the dark thing (leaving aside the whole thing of whether a Bretonne is French....).

But I think it's a safe bet in general that anyone who "hasn't really developed a taste for beer" is not going to enjoy overt bitterness that much. So NEIPAs work quite well here, but the real favourite are porters like the Fuller one and Titanic Plum Porter, where you have maltiness and in some cases obvious fruitiness, but not the roastiness of stouts. Also some of the weaker "Belgians" (or as I call them, infected homebrew bitter, ahem).

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

These replies are great. Thanks.

She seems to like wheat ale with a little strawberry syrup.

 

[tracer bullet]

Extracts, tinctures, etc. might work - you could think of exactly that, perhaps a wheat ale and then put a little extract in her glass (and not yours, if you don't really care for it).

Some of the English milds might work too? They actually take OK to a little orange flavor added (cointreau for example). Keep a pipette around so you can measure like 1ml or so.

 

[doug293cz]

I brew a honey wheat beer that is popular with my female family members. Recipe is:

OG @ 85% mash efficiency should be ~1.066. FG should be around 1.010 +/-. ABV should come in at around 7 -7.5%.

Brew on

 

[An Ankoù]

These replies are great. Thanks.

She seems to like wheat ale with a little strawberry syrup.

Then this is the beer for her. It's a wit with loads of strawberry Purée. I've got a recipe for it somewhere and it is quite extraordinary. A million miles from adding strawberry flavouring to a beer.
https://www.fruli.be/fruli#tasting-notessection

 

[PashMaddle]

My wife likes cider and has never been too into beer. From time to time she’ll tell me she likes “ the beer I got that one time”. Despite her being an avid coffee drinker, she doesn’t like stouts or at least Guinness, Reve and Old Rasputin… I stopped offering stouts after the coffee stout was a bust. There have been a couple of wildcards thrown in like New Belgium’s imperial IPA which she liked more than I did and several of their “juicy” IPAs that I didn’t like at all.

When I recently started homebrewing again, she drank as many of my dark brown ales (name pending) as I did. But didn’t like my porter… to be fair it was a test beer after carbonation and still very young…I wasn’t fond of it either.

We’re kind of dialing it in right now and I’m contemplating turning my SMaSH into an IPA for her this weekend…

I think the point is: people like different styles of beer, just try different stuff and make notes.