IYO, What is the hardest style of beer to brew?

[FreeM80s]

So i'm looking for ideas for my next brew. I want a challenge. NOT LIKE: DFH120 or Utopia. I am asking this: What is the most challenging type of beer to brew and why To be more specific, What beers require the most technique when brewing and will show ANY flaws in your brewing process

 

[Yooper]

Hmmmm. I guess the hardest would be a light lager. From an American standard to a Bohemian pilsner, I'd say that those would be the beer styles with the highest difficulty.

 

[FreeM80s]

what about an ale?

 

[Scooby_Brew]

Try a Czech Pilsner, such as Pilsner Urquell or the REAL (Czech) Budweiser - Budvar. It's a pain in the a$s to brew; multi-rest decoction mash, lager temps, but the end effect is worth every drop of sweat you shed and every tear you cry

 

[ArcaneXor]

Any of the light lagers are difficult to brew at home. As for ales, I would assume Gueuze would be very difficult to pull off considering the myriads of organisms and time involved.
As far as non-sour beers, Koelsch is very difficult to reproduce if you want an authentic-tasting version. The results pretty much always taste good, but getting the balance between body, esters, malt and hop flavors just right is not easy.

 

[jonp9576]

i seem to have the most trouble with IPAs. i am not sure if there is something missing in my process, but i just cant seem to get a good one done without tons of off flavors.

 

[ArcaneXor]

i seem to have the most trouble with IPAs. i am not sure if there is something missing in my process, but i just cant seem to get a good one done without tons of off flavors.

IPAs shouldn't be that hard to brew. What off-flavors are you getting, and what recipe do you usually brew?

 

[jonp9576]

its hard to explain. one friend described it as a nail polish remover "taste and or odor" i cant tell whats wrong. that was my first try. my second one was edworts bee cave ipa. it tasted ok, but it still tasted and smelled a little off. i entered it in a local contest and they didnt mention any off flavors. they said it was a good representation of the style. i dont get it. it tastes like there is something extra in there from any commercial IPA i've tried.

 

[Yooper]

what about an ale?

I can't think of any particularly difficult ales. Most are forgiving of fermentation temperatures, and even mash temperatures. Most don't need a decoction mash, and most have enough malt flavor to cover up any mistakes.

Perhaps a cream ale might need more attention to detail, but they are just as easy as a stout.

 

[ArcaneXor]

its hard to explain. one friend described it as a nail polish remover "taste and or odor" i cant tell whats wrong. that was my first try. my second one was edworts bee cave ipa. it tasted ok, but it still tasted and smelled a little off. i entered it in a local contest and they didnt mention any off flavors. they said it was a good representation of the style. i dont get it. it tastes like there is something extra in there from any commercial IPA i've tried.

What water do you use? Sounds like a case of chlorine/chloramines to me. That, or yeast underpitching in combination with high temps.

 

[FreeM80s]

OK, well I think I will try a kolsch while looking for a freezer chest. I have been wanting to try a lager for a while now and this is the perfect excuse

 

[jonp9576]

What water do you use? Sounds like a case of chlorine/chloramines to me. That, or yeast underpitching in combination with high temps.

i use my tap water. the website for our water treatment plant has the cholrine listed as .93 ppm. is that high?

 

[ArcaneXor]

i use my tap water. the website for our water treatment plant has the cholrine listed as .93 ppm. is that high?

Even small amounts of chlorine-compounds can create medicinal off-flavors. The quality of my beers has increased by quite a bit since I switched to reverse osmosis water, which I then custom-build with salt additions. I pay 30 cents a gallon for RO water at one of those self-serve fill stations at my grocery store - so it's less than three bucks per batch.

Alternatively, you can invest in a home filtration system or use metabisulfite tablets to get rid of the chlorine compounds.

 

[elkdog]

i use my tap water. the website for our water treatment plant has the cholrine listed as .93 ppm. is that high?

You live close enough to me that it might be the hardness of your water. Disregard this if you don't have hard water, but my tap water here, even after I de-chlorinate it, sucks for brewing lighter-colored beers. The cheapest way to test the theory is to brew an IPA with store-bought spring water (not distilled). Alternatively, my lousy water makes a good stout or porter, so I only buy water for my lighter-colored brews.

 

[lackey2000]

+1 on the light lager/ale

I don't know if its a fair metric but a lot of times I find myself forming my opinion of a microbrewery on their lightest beer.

I think it best illustrates their true brewing practices. And unfortunately, I find it to be the style that many give their least effort and attention.

Plus, if I'm served something truly awful (you've had the type: watery with nothing but off flavors), then that tells me what said microbrewery is willing to pass of as beer to their clientèle.

Anybody can throw a ton of malt/hops/oak together and call it beer. I believe it takes a really good brewery to make a great light lager.

 

[jonp9576]

You live close enough to me that it might be the hardness of your water. Disregard this if you don't have hard water, but my tap water here, even after I de-chlorinate it, sucks for brewing lighter-colored beers. The cheapest way to test the theory is to brew an IPA with store-bought spring water (not distilled). Alternatively, my lousy water makes a good stout or porter, so I only buy water for my lighter-colored brews.

thats a very good point. everything dark i have made has been great. i will try my next IPA with spring water and give it a shot. this will at least let me know if its my water or my process

 

[TRainH2o]

I too am looking to stepping up to a more challenging brew. I think that I am going to try a Munich Helles.

 

[elkdog]

As for the original question, I think any pilsener malt-based lager has to be the toughest technical undertaking. Besides that, a good barleywine is tough to do, just based on the work it takes to keep the yeast happy long enough to attenuate out, and the aging required will accentuate any sanitation flaws or oxidation encountered. Emptying an MLT that just had 20 lbs of grain mashed in it is no easy trick either.

 

[Greydog]

For me, brewing beer that stays in the bottle is the most difficult.

 

[david_42]

Simple low-ABV beers are the toughest. You can't hide flaws in a 4% 20 IBU beer.

 

[elkdog]

Simple low-ABV beers are the toughest. You can't hide flaws in a 4% 20 IBU beer.

No you can't. My disappointing lower gravity malty beers have made me a better brewer.

 

[SumnerH]

Flanders Reds are tough. Even the commercial guys who've been at it for decades wind up blending batches to keep things good and drinkable; managing all those bugs is tricky.

I'd guess wild lambics are likewise tough to get a handle on.