Beer for a future Brew Babe

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BluePants

Active Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
So my girlfriend tries really hard to appreciate my hobby of homebrewing, but she's not the biggest fan of most of the beers that I like (namely hoppier, stronger, darker) beers. So I recently tried to brew the Centennial Blonde to accommodate her and the feedback was that it was too light?! Im pretty sure I hit the proverbial nail on the head recipe wise, so I think it really is a matter of her taste.

Any suggestions as to what I should try to brew her next? Im thinking she might get into the Saison for Big Brew.
 
So my girlfriend tries really hard to appreciate my hobby of homebrewing, but she's not the biggest fan of most of the beers that I like (namely hoppier, stronger, darker) beers. So I recently tried to brew the Centennial Blonde to accommodate her and the feedback was that it was too light?! Im pretty sure I hit the proverbial nail on the head recipe wise, so I think it really is a matter of her taste.

Any suggestions as to what I should try to brew her next? Im thinking she might get into the Saison for Big Brew.

What commercial beer does she like? Some people like saisons, some don't, but to me it's an acquired taste. If she likes certain styles of beer, then I'd suggest making one of those.
 
So far the beer she likes best commercially is Harp. Ill work on a picture...but I dont know how thats going to help with the taste assessment...

Let me see which one she looks hottest in....
 
Here we go.

DSCN1207.JPG


Now start with the recommendations :)

The Centennial Blond has a pound of vienna which is about 6 % of the grain bill. Youre thinking more of that in a more highlighted form? What flavor of the beer is the Vienna contributing too, I can see if I can get her to tell me if that would work for her?
 
Harp is pretty sweet and slightly more bitter than a standard lager. Work within that--go for malty, with what you as a hop-head would consider "not hoppy" beers but a BMC drinker would call "somewhat hoppy" beers. Say, 15-45 IBUs, skewing toward the lower end unless the malt level is pretty high to balance it out.

Do you have a decent beer store near you that sells singles?

If you do, I'd buy her a 6-pack of assorted stuff at the sweet/malty but not sickening end of the spectrum. Maybe a Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale, a Bell's Oberon, a Paulaner Hefeweizen, an Anchor Steam Ale, a Fuller's London Porter, and a Leffe Blonde.

Something with a lot of variety, but you know she doesn't like hop bombs and she doesn't sound interested in complete lawnmower beers. So work within the very broad slice of beers that might appeal to her to pin down something doable.

I intentionally left lagers out of the choices (even though that's what you gave as an example) because they're tougher to brew, but if you have the right temperature control then throw a couple of them into the mix as well.
 
Also use that awesome dog to your advantage. It's a brown dog, so if you do a brown ale or porter at that end of the spectrum, name it Puppy's Brown Ale, or Puppy's Porter (replace the "Puppy" with the dog's name) to make her predisposed to like it.
 
Also use that awesome dog to your advantage. It's a brown dog, so if you do a brown ale or porter at that end of the spectrum, name it Puppy's Brown Ale, or Puppy's Porter (replace the "Puppy" with the dog's name) to make her predisposed to like it.

So far the beer she likes best commercially is Harp.

"You cut off my..." Nut Brown Ale.

Problem solved.
 
Yeah, Im in Alabama which doesnt do singles, or a very large beer selection. But thats a good idea about trying a lot of different things around that kind of beer. I might be willing to put in the effort for a lager, but Id like to stick to ales so that I can keep it easy in the future. I know that she did like Oberon in the past. Maybe a Hefe is a good idea. I think that I can get a hold of some Paulaner for her to try.

More updates to come.
 
Didn't you guys look at the picture? She's clearly an Irish Red girl.

The Red is low on hop aroma with a little bit more bittering, not overpowering, with a good medium body to it. The pleasant red color will go well with that healthy blush she's got going on there and the alcohol content will bring out her playfulness without making her feel poorly. It's an easy drinking brew that's not overly filling but lingers on the palate.
 
Yopper's right... buy some commercial beers in many different styles. Find what she likes, and brew one to her liking. You will be "brewing in the dark" until you find a style. I had a GF in college that "hated" beer, until she tried a big RIS. She loved it, I loved it, and she dumped me. Wait... hold on... DON'T LET HER TRY BEER!!!



She deserves a nice beer!
 
I agree with Fingers, I could def see her with a Guinness as well. Ask her what was to light about it, light in mouthfeel or light in flavor.

As for Harp, it might be my fav lager but I dont drink much lager so who knows.
 
I just brewed a Orange Honey Hefeweizen from a recipe here, Its got just a hint of honey sweetness with a nice orange twang at the end, its hard not to like it.
 
Yeah, Im in Alabama which doesnt do singles, or a very large beer selection. But thats a good idea about trying a lot of different things around that kind of beer. I might be willing to put in the effort for a lager, but Id like to stick to ales so that I can keep it easy in the future. I know that she did like Oberon in the past. Maybe a Hefe is a good idea. I think that I can get a hold of some Paulaner for her to try.

More updates to come.

Oberon is an American Wheat. I wouldn't go with a Hefe just on the fact that she likes Oberon. She might not dig the banana/clove that the proper Hefe yeast would provide.
 
The Guinness is a little off, but the Irish Red actually piqued her interest. She has moved by the computer since the beginning of the post and is now paying attention. She says that she's tried a red before and she liked it.

So, Im taking her to a pub this weekend trying all the suggestions to see what commercial beer suits her best. I'll probably get wasted on all the beers that she doesnt end up liking, but worse things have happened.
 
Oberon is an American Wheat. I wouldn't go with a Hefe just on the fact that she likes Oberon. She might not dig the banana/clove that the proper Hefe yeast would provide.

+1, hence why I recommended trying a Paulaner and an Oberon.

Incidentally, many American wheats are labelled as hefeweizens even though they're not hefes by taste. Pyramid Hefeweizen and Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen are two good examples of things labelled as hefes that are actuall American wheats.
 
Find a brewpub with a big selection on tap and see if they'll do a sampler for her. Then she gets little glasses of a ton of different beers.
 
The Guinness is a little off, but the Irish Red actually piqued her interest.

Well of course it did. She's a pretty blonde lady and would look very alluring with a pint of Red in her hand. Just make sure you keep an eye out for her. If those Irish lads see that beauty quaffing the nectar they'll all be lining up for a chat.
 
I've done a few beers upon SWMBO's request. I always get her involved in the process. She's bruised some mint, blanched and cut up some peaches, and pureed some blueberries; all for beers she wanted me to make. Next up are a ginger beer and a, heh, strawberry-rhubarb beer. No failures so far. The blueberry beer was the best. She called it blue-balls, cuz' I didn't get any:D
 
try to find a recipe for pantygrease... those panties will slide right off. prolly be like a bacardi silver or some fruity crap like that. i bet a couple of shots of that apfelwein will greeeeeze up them britchez... wh00000 weee
 
The wife of a friend of mine is an occasional beer drinker, drinking mainly to be social and is hard to please taste wise. She sampled some of my Dead Guy Ale Clone and really liked it. Another woman pleaser is maple brown ale.

I wasn't much of a beer drinker until I discovered home brewing through a friend. Getting involved in the process somehow sharpens the taste buds. +1 on getting her involved.

Here is a recipe that I think will become my house pale ale. It contains a lot of Amarillo at the end, is very balanced, and everyone raves about it. I can't take credit for the recipe, but I'll pass it along. I find that people who don't have much of a hop palate, still really enjoy it. Amarillo is the best. It's a really simple recipe, one that she could do herself with your coaching.

Malt: 4 lbs Gold DME
3.3 lbs Pilsen LME
Steeping grains: 12 oz Cara-pils
1.25 lb Honey Malt
Yeast: Safale US-05
Hops: 0.5 oz Warrior (60)
1.5 oz Amarillo (15)
1.5 oz Amarillo (10)
OG: 1.052 FG: 1.012 IBU 30 Boil: 60 min. Batch size: 5 gal
 
FWIW my girlfriend's the one who bought the kit originally and helps me brew almost every brew-day. The more she gets to see the raw ingredients, the more she appreciates how each one contributes to the final taste--and it's awesome to have it be "our" hobby to do on a day off instead of "my" hobby to do alone.
 
MMMmmmm......Amarillo hops are a favorite with the ladies and the guys alike. SWMBO asks for a lot, but she's constantly asking about when the next batch of the WPA in my dropdown will be finished. I thought I'd be able to make it a house beer but it seems that I'm always out!
 
The Centennial Blond has a pound of vienna which is about 6 % of the grain bill. Youre thinking more of that in a more highlighted form? What flavor of the beer is the Vienna contributing too, I can see if I can get her to tell me if that would work for her?

Vienna gives it a nice clean maltiness and a touch of sweetness. You can use it for 100% of the grist if you want a full malty beer. Maybe step up the percentage if that's what she's looking for. If she said it was too "light", that would definitely help.

My cream ale uses 0.5 lbs each of Munich and Vienna, both to add malt character. It gives them a complete flavor, but is still a very drinkable, light beer.
 
ya know a nice fat tire clone might work as well. sweater and heavier mouth feel but still light. i also agree with the irish red.
 
Back
Top