Where are we, homebrewers vs. latest trends

[p_p]

I feel I live in homebrewing past. Listening to podcasts recorded God knows when, brewing recipes or variations of recipes that do not scream "new". I am still in the era of citrus and tropical fruits IPAs, have not reached yet the period of low gravity hoppy beers, sours, and let alone "juicy" New England IPAs...

It is me, right? ... not having found the right info to move forward or not having enough time to just go for it and experiment, risking having to dump an ill conceived batch.

Where are you at?

 

[jekeane]

stovetop small batch biab is your friend.

You can try just about anything you want with minimal risk when you lose a batch to a bad idea.

With 1.5 and 2.5 gallon kegs becoming more affordable I'm doing small batches 2-3 times a month.

 

[madscientist451]

Haven't done a juicy IPA yet, not because there isn't any information, I just like other beer better. I make "session" IPAs in a rotation with other brews and my sour "program" has been on and off for a few years now. Just got into wood aged beers after trying some barleywine from a barrel on a brewery tour. I also keep busy with wine, cider, and a bunch of other hobbies that have nothing to do with drinking alcohol.
If you want to keep up with the newest trends, what's stopping you?
Newer isn't always better anyway. There are still lots of traditional styles that I'd like to try to make.
I agree with the above post that smaller batches more often give you more variety. I usually have 10-15 different kinds of homebrew available and rarely drink two of the same beer in a row. Instead of making a starter with a new yeast I've never used, I'll make a 2 gallon batch and if I like it, use the slurry in a 5 gallon batch sometime later.

 

[ChelisHubby]

Keeping up with the Jones is a endless road. Brew what you like and be happy.

 

[Homercidal]

I think the question you need to ask yourself, is: Do I feel as though I'm living in the past, and do I really want to try new things?

If you enjoy what you are doing, then you by all means, don't feel bad about continuing what you are doing.

If, on the other hand, you feel left behind and you think you would enjoy trying new methods, or new styles, then you know all you got to do is ask around and make that change. For instance I got to try an actual NE style IPA couple of weeks ago. Even my wife said it was good (And she doesn't like much beer, especially an IPA.) so now I feel as though I want to try making one, which means reading up on the parameters of the style and some tips on how to produce one.

I think you would be wise to consider jekeane's advice on smaller batches. There may be a small investment to get the things you need to make smaller batches, but it's worth it in the end when you can try new things and not risk as much time or money if they don't end up the way you hoped.

Everyone has their own experience level, and there are many styles and methods out there and there are more every day. It would be very hard to be new to the hobby and feel "up to speed" as it were. Even very experienced brewers like yourself might not be up on everything. But again, it's up to you to decide where you want to be and make that first step toward getting there.

Now go out there and make a nice, Juicy NE IPA!!

 

[Denny]

I feel I live in homebrewing past. Listening to podcasts recorded God knows when, brewing recipes or variations of recipes that do not scream "new". I am still in the era of citrus and tropical fruits IPAs, have not reached yet the period of low gravity hoppy beers, sours, and let alone "juicy" New England IPAs...

It is me, right? ... not having found the right info to move forward or not having enough time to just go for it and experiment, risking having to dump an ill conceived batch.

Where are you at?

For one thing, you should check out the Experimental Brewing podcast...definitely current!

I guess I have to ask "do you have a problem with what you're brewing?". I've been through al of those phases you mention and on batch 513 I'm back to more traditional ingredients and processes. I hate NEIPA. I've burned out on whirlpool hop additions and gone back to a traditional hop schedule and dry hopping. Just becasue something is new or trendy does not mean it's something that works for everybody.

But this is HOMEbrewing and we all get to decide for ourselves what we like. So I guess my question would be "what's keeping you from trying the stuff you mention?"

And always remember "it's only beer"....I've made many batches I didn't care for and dumped them. No big deal.

 

[Sparge]

I like my beer to taste like beer. I'm no fan of fruit or coffee or other additions to beer. Good old fashioned regular beer is just fine with me. In fact, I'm not a big fan of IPAs either. The hops seem to overpower the other elements, which I like to taste.

Don't worry about new flavors or something different. Brew what you like and keep doing it. Taste different beers until you find something you want to invest a little time in learning how to make. Brewing is all about what YOU want, not what the new trend is.

 

[brewcat]

My brewing is what I'm interested in at the time. Lately it is Scottish brewing and clones of beers I have fond memories of but can't get. I tend to stick to traditional styles because that's what I like drinking.

 

[passedpawn]

My brewing is what I'm interested in at the time. Lately it is Scottish brewing and clones of beers I have fond memories of but can't get. I tend to stick to traditional styles because that's what I like drinking.

Oh yea. McEwan's was so good. I think somebody started brewing it again and I haven't tried that.

Best beer I ever made was a strong scotch ale I made many years ago. I wonder why I haven't made it again? Thanks brewcat, Imma gonna.

 

[PatrickLS83]

This is a rant, just a heads up if you want to skip this reply.

I can't stand the "NE style IPA" and how the concept has been bastardized into an undrinkable mess. Originally, the hazy nature came from two things, hop haze (from aggressive dry-hopping) and pectin from fruit additions. For some unknown reason, this has sparked a trend with brewers to make super hazy beer by not dropping out the yeast (because yeast will make your beer hazy for sure) and in some cases even go as far as adding flour to the beer to keep it milky. It's off-putting, the flavors are all over the place and if I were from NE I wouldn't want that style of beer to be associated to my home. The original NE style IPA (something like Heady Topper) is unfiltered (as are many craft beers) and aggressively dry-hopped (as are many craft beers), but done very well and definitely not a milky mess. Whew.... I feel better.

 

[bobeer]

Brew what you like and have it be just that. I'm about to get into German style lagers. Why? Because its what my pallet is craving for whatever reason. Don't worry about what others are doing. If you want to experiment then just go for it. It's just beer after all. Start with a simple experiment and go from there. Hobbies are about having fun so you're only doing it wrong if it stops being fun.

 

[jcav]

The main thing is are you still having fun brewing. Just get in there and brew something fun man. I have been going through all the styles of beer that I like and I am trying to brew a beer that really is a good representation of that style. It's fun for me to brew a style that I like and then compare it to commercial beers and see how it stacks up. When I nail it and it tastes spot on that recipe is a keeper for the next time I want to brew that style. Right now I have a Munich Dunkel (lager) in the fermentor. I got a really good recipe and I wanted to brew more lagers this year so I went for it. I am hoping for a really clean tasting malt bomb out of this one, but if I miss the mark Denny's right, it's only beer and I can tweak it and brew it again another time. So I would say brew what you like and try something new, and have fun and go for it!

John

 

[brick_haus]

Nothing wrong with living in homebrewing past. A lot of great things were brewed then!

 

[mongoose33]

I feel I live in homebrewing past. Listening to podcasts recorded God knows when, brewing recipes or variations of recipes that do not scream "new". I am still in the era of citrus and tropical fruits IPAs, have not reached yet the period of low gravity hoppy beers, sours, and let alone "juicy" New England IPAs...

It is me, right? ... not having found the right info to move forward or not having enough time to just go for it and experiment, risking having to dump an ill conceived batch.

Where are you at?

Why do you have to brew all that stuff--or any of it? I don't care for sours, I don't care how many people are brewing them, I'm not.

I'm just trying to brew something that when I pull the tap handle I'm looking forward to drinking it. I'm not a big IPA fan either, so people can do all sorts of juicy, hoppy, NEIPA, low-gravity hopster beers and I couldn't care less.

Brings to mind something my mother used to say: if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?

No.

*************

I've been trying some different things, did my first lager, making changes to existing recipes, poking around. I'm enjoying it.

I also have come to realize that people like what they like, and there's neither any harm nor any shame in liking what we like.

 

[Sailingeric]

I brew my own beer. I like to experiment and see what happens. I have on tap now a pilsner Chinook SMASH that is about 50 IBU on tap now. It is yummy tasting, very grapefruity, but goes against all that is lager/ pilsner style. I do have to say since I started brewing I have come to learn to love the IPA but that does not mean every beer I make is an IPA.

 

[JohnSand]

You're not brewing in the past, I am. I have never listened to any kind of podcast, I read actual books on brewing, and hand mill using a Corona. I make notes on paper, and have never "bluetoothed" anyone. My watch isn't even digital. 90% of my brewing is repeat recipes or minor variations. I think sours are just spoiled beer.
But I like my beer, and so do my friends. Brew on!

 

[oceanic_brew]

You're not brewing in the past, I am. I have never listened to any kind of podcast, I read actual books on brewing, and hand mill using a Corona. I make notes on paper, and have never "bluetoothed" anyone. My watch isn't even digital. 90% of my brewing is repeat recipes or minor variations. I think sours are just spoiled beer.
But I like my beer, and so do my friends. Brew on!

Sour beers were the past!

 

[catdaddy66]

I am fine with living in the past, even the recent past. I have never been a person to follow the Jones's regarding anything, much less beer.

I brew to style 98% of the time with very little freelancing. Not that a juicy IPA or sour beer isn't a good beer, but as a guy that loves history I just want to know what had been done before me and do that rather than reinvent the beverage all by myself.

To each his own...

 

[okiedog]

I am fine with living in the past, even the recent past. I have never been a person to follow the Jones's regarding anything, much less beer.

I brew to style 98% of the time with very little freelancing. Not that a juicy IPA or sour beer isn't a good beer, but as a guy that loves history I just want to know what had been done before me and do that rather than reinvent the beverage all by myself.

To each his own...

I hear you, catdaddy. Come to think of it, I brew to style most of the time too. There's a lot you can do to tweak a beer to your liking, while still staying within or close to style guidelines. However, there are some good beers out there that are not even listed in the guidelines. Sometimes my interest is peaked for something "outside the box". I am planning a Mexican stout/mole stout. I love the blended flavors of a good mole pablano. After reading about a similar beer by a New Mexico craft brewery, I decided to try brewing one for my wife's birthday, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th). To each his own. Just keep brewing fun!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

The past... Classic styles of beer. Sounds better now? ��
Processes evolve, however it shouldn't negate the "older way" unless you go so far back that the beer was generally unpalatable or laden with unwanted microbes.

Like others have said brew what you like even if it's a Bud clone, it's what you like, but if you're feeling like your in a rut, change it and adventure outside your comfort zone. You could reignite some passion, or confirm that you like where you are just fine. It's a win win.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Where am I? I'm on my couch enjoying a pint laughing at all the people out there trying to stay ahead of trends with the newest and best.

BTW, it's a great pint!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Ha, I've thought about this a bunch. I have a friend who spends so much time and energy keeping up with all the latest trends and doing things exactly to style and yadda yadda yadda.

I couldn't care less. Lately I've just been throwing together recipe's and hopping with whatever I have in the freezer.

Speaking of: How out of the loop am I with current beer styles? I had NEVER heard of a NE IPA until I read your post! Haha. Turns out, pretty much every IPA I throw together is a NE IPA...

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

I feel a need to comment about waxing up my cane and shaking it at young people.

 

[yourlastchance89]

This is a rant, just a heads up if you want to skip this reply.

I can't stand the "NE style IPA" and how the concept has been bastardized into an undrinkable mess. Originally, the hazy nature came from two things, hop haze (from aggressive dry-hopping) and pectin from fruit additions. For some unknown reason, this has sparked a trend with brewers to make super hazy beer by not dropping out the yeast (because yeast will make your beer hazy for sure) and in some cases even go as far as adding flour to the beer to keep it milky. It's off-putting, the flavors are all over the place and if I were from NE I wouldn't want that style of beer to be associated to my home. The original NE style IPA (something like Heady Topper) is unfiltered (as are many craft beers) and aggressively dry-hopped (as are many craft beers), but done very well and definitely not a milky mess. Whew.... I feel better.

I agree with this, I think IPAs in general have been beaten to death within the microbrew and homebrew scene, but I don't feel there's anything special NEIPAs especially

 

[mongoose33]

I am fine with living in the past, even the recent past. I have never been a person to follow the Jones's regarding anything, much less beer.

I brew to style 98% of the time with very little freelancing. Not that a juicy IPA or sour beer isn't a good beer, but as a guy that loves history I just want to know what had been done before me and do that rather than reinvent the beverage all by myself.

To each his own...

To each his own? What are you, some guy who likes freedom?

When I started brewing, I vowed I'd listen to the older and wiser heads, read up on best practices, and follow what others said to do. I think it greatly accelerated my development as a brewer. I tend to learn better from doing things myself, but this time I watched and learned. And then did.

So I tend to brew established recipes maybe with a little jiggle here, a tweak there. The time lag between trying something new and seeing what resulted is awfully long, at least for me. I wish the feedback was faster, but it is what it is.

*************

Passed on some of my beers to a friend who's been brewing for 22+ years. He wanted to know the style before he tasted them, as if he were judging them. All I wanted to know was whether they were any good....<sigh>

 

[bbohanon]

The latest "commercial" trend I see is to make "barrel aged" imperial raspberry, coffee, mocha choca, bull**** stouts and sell them for an exorbitant amount of money to beer snobs that will buy it blindly based on it just being cool and expensive with a high ABV.

Personally on the homebrewing stage, I see the trend to strive to continue to make better beer, but simpler brews and primarily focusing (personally) on the handling of the beer as it moves through its various stages from grain to glass, the cleanliness of the brewery and equipment, and finally the freshness of the ingredients that get used to make the beer. It matters and if you care anything about your beer, you should care about all of this.

The best beer in the world is the beer that is brewed with simple recipes, handled gently and properly from grain to glass (I am speaking of oxygen exposure), and brewed with fresh ingredients using proper sanitary practices.

If you do this, thats guaranteed to be a trend that will continue to be a home run for both myself and the other consumers of my beer.

F-ck the commercial trend. Its a pocket emptying exercise that serves up nothing of late but a glass or more of regrets.

 

[brewcat]

There's a lot you can do to tweak a beer to your liking, while still staying within or close to style guidelines.

Even minor tweaks can turn into multiple brews. Recently with one of my recipes I decided to barely increase roasted barley and decrease a specialty grain a bit. It is good, but I'm thinking it still needs one more tweak. If that doesn't work it goes back to what I thought was the finished product before the current variation. I should get it back in the brew lineup before it is buried until next year...

By the way, a brew schedule is a great way to visualize where you might want to go. Something different I did this year was planning a rough schedule of new & old recipes, two per month. It gets changed based on new inspirations. Sometimes seeing a new style is motivation to learn and brew it. If not, bump it for something else.

 

[okiedog]

Easy, mongoose, by "to each his own" I mean my tastes and preferences may be different than yours, but who am I to judge. No judgement or disrespect intended. And yes, I do like freedom! Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Home brewing is supposed to be fun, and if you like the beer you brew, that's your reward. In brewing, I'm about 90% traditionalist and 10% adventurist. I usually find enough adventure in brewing one of the many styles and sub-styles out there that I have yet to brew. May every beer you brew put a smile on your face when you drink it. Cheers, and happy brewing!

 

[mongoose33]

To each his own? What are you, some guy who likes freedom?

Easy, mongoose, by "to each his own" I mean my tastes and preferences may be different than yours, but who am I to judge. No judgement or disrespect intended. And yes, I do like freedom! Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Home brewing is supposed to be fun, and if you like the beer you brew, that's your reward. In brewing, I'm about 90% traditionalist and 10% adventurist. I usually find enough adventure in brewing one of the many styles and sub-styles out there that I have yet to brew. May every beer you brew put a smile on your face when you drink it. Cheers, and happy brewing!

Did you miss the smiley? Means: humorous, joking.

Besides, that response was to CatDaddy66, not you.

He knows what I'm joking about--He sent me a recipe for a California Common, I brewed it, it now is part of my rotation. Delicious!

 

[okiedog]

Okay mongoose, got it. Sorry to rant like that; guess I felt the need to explain myself further. Speaking of freedom, I really do enjoy the freedom to home brew, and brew whatever I want, which is usually different every time except for my core favorites. I cannot imagine brewing the same beer exactly the same every time, over and over like the macros. But then again, it would probably be good practice for consistency.

 

[mongoose33]

Okay mongoose, got it. Sorry to rant like that; guess I felt the need to explain myself further. Speaking of freedom, I really do enjoy the freedom to home brew, and brew whatever I want, which is usually different every time except for my core favorites. I cannot imagine brewing the same beer exactly the same every time, over and over like the macros. But then again, it would probably be good practice for consistency.

Do what you want; I'm not judging you.

You don't have to explain yourself to anyone.

(unless you're married)

 

[JohnSand]

This is a good thread, fun and interesting.
While I generally brew classic styles, I like to experiment by changing hops, subbing grain, and especially splitting batches between different yeasts. I'm thinking of an Amber Lager and a Belgian Pale from one wort next.

 

[ChelisHubby]

This is a good thread, fun and interesting.
While I generally brew classic styles, I like to experiment by changing hops, subbing grain, and especially splitting batches between different yeasts. I'm thinking of an Amber Lager and a Belgian Pale from one wort next.

That could be a challenge !

 

[JohnSand]

Not too much, I hope. The styles nearly match in color, abv, and bitterness. Noble hops are good for both. The yeast and temperature are what sets them wide apart. So I will brew one wort, split and ferment it separately, with the lager part in the ferm fridge.
Voila! (I hope)
I think my biggest success in splitting wort was a Belgian Pale Ale/Dubbel from one wort. I added dark candi syrup to half after fermentation started, increasing color, flavor and abv. Both halves were very good.

 

[eric19312]

I think the current hazy IPAs are fun for the homebrewer because freshness makes such a big difference in these beers. Many of the commercial beers, even highly rated IPAs will only be meh when tasted if they are more than a few weeks old. Had a can of Todd the Axeman this week that was extremely disappointing. Just bland amber beer with some hops and a lot of sediment. Every other time I've had the beer on draft (kegs of this never last more than a couple days) it has been fantastic.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I've never really understood the emphasis of hazy vs. clear beer. All the time on HBT I see people posting, "help: my beer is hazy". So what? Does it taste good? Are you creating a miller lite clone that you should be able to look through? Or are you upset that you think your Amber ale is hazy?

If hazy beers are a thing, good for those people who chase those things. I guess it's the little joys in life, the constant search.

 

[roadkizzle]

I've never really understood the emphasis of hazy vs. clear beer. All the time on HBT I see people posting, "help: my beer is hazy". So what? Does it taste good? Are you creating a miller lite clone that you should be able to look through? Or are you upset that you think your Amber ale is hazy?

If hazy beers are a thing, good for those people who chase those things. I guess it's the little joys in life, the constant search.

There are only really two times that I know of that I really care about the clarity of my beer.

When making something like a pilsner I find that when it's hazy the flavors taste a lot more muddled together. It doesn't have the crispness and I find it less enjoyable.

With a hefeweizen I love the yeasty flavors. So I really dislike a kristallweizen but love the hazy hefeweizens.

For IPA's I couldn't care less, for dark beers I normally couldn't care less (although I would prefer my schwarzbier to be clear because I want it to be crisp like a pilsner). Likewise for other english style beers.

 

[Denny]

NEIPA is a fad that will soon go the way of the Black IPA.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

NEIPA is a fad that will soon go the way of the Black IPA.

In that the bad ones will go away but the good ones will stay? As far as I can tell Black IPAs are an obscure, randomly seen beer due to lack of interest. NE IPAs, on the other hand, have a passionate following- despite the fact that less than half of beers that claim to follow the style are any good.

 

[Denny]

In that the bad ones will go away but the good ones will stay? As far as I can tell Black IPAs are an obscure, randomly seen beer due to lack of interest. NE IPAs, on the other hand, have a passionate following- despite the fact that less than half of beers that claim to follow the style are any good.

Black IPA had just as passionate a following at first, then people burned out on it. NEIPA hasn't been around as long, but I think it will go the same way.