Blending beers

[passedpawn]

I never did it before, but I was bored last night at the taps and mixed some German Pils lager in with a new IPA I just tapped and it was GOOD! I guess I ended up with a pale ale? This was just into a glass, straight from the tap.

Anyway, it really got me thinking. I know that ideally, you just make the beer you want from the start. However, 1) sometimes that just doesn't happen, and 2) By blending, I can take 2 beer varieties and quickly make 3.

So, I'm thinking about doing this again, but properly using CO2 and beer line to push some of each into a 3 gallon keg I have.

Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[botigol]

I haven't done this myself, but while visiting Leinenkugel's they blended beers in their bar and have even gone so far as to name the blends. That said, they blended as they went instead of in the keg. In my mind, that would seem to be the better way to go, so that you don't tie up an extra keg.

 

[HomebrewSupply]

Haven't done it with homebrews yet, but I do it with commercial beers from time to time. Founders Rübæus and Breakfast Stout... that was delicious.

 

[matt2778]

I sometimes mix my imperial ipa and my session ipa to enjoy a regular ipa. My keezer has four taps so this technique allows me to cover all my hoppy bases and also have two taps for other styles. Amber ale plus imperial ipa gets me an imperial pale ale.

 

[slym2none]

I've had a Black & Tan made with Guiness & SN Hop Hunter before. It was actually pretty good.

 

[alexacuna]

There's a local brewery that blends a stout with a raspberry pale ale and it's delicious.

 

[steveoatley]

I do it all the time off my 4 taps.... at home
I have had a local Brew Pub do it as well - takes a couple of suggestions.....

I have even taken a brew of mine that was going sour in the keg, but it was too sour..... I mixed it in with a Irish Red i had made that was too sweet

turned out pretty nice..... still sour, just turned up the sweetness.
I was going to dump both, so why not try.....

2 cents
S

 

[LostBoyScout]

Blending allows you to adjust a batch that may not have come out right (ie too acidic, too bitter, too sweet etc), but it also allows you to make beers that are just not feasible to brew as a single beer. You can combine different yeast characters and flavours which may just not happen in a single ferment due to differing process variables etc. It's a world that I want to explore a lot more.

 

[Stillraining]

I have saved a couple so so brews by blending them with better ones and making them more pleasant to drink..I have yet to brew two beers and blend on purpose from the get go.

 

[baulz]

I try it often depending on what's on tap. Be warned, it can be dangerous! Playing around with different ratios of each beer is interesting, but before you know it 3 pints have gone down and you have another full glass in your hands.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Blending almost anything with a little bit of stout right at the tap has always been a favorite of mine. Haven't played much with more than 1 pint at a time though.

 

[DevilNuts]

I routinely mix beer and mead to see the effects.

 

[m00ps]

i use my stomach as a "solera" of sorts. Take periodic samples from rushes of air up through my throat

 

[DemonsRun]

I enjoy homebrew Black and Tans with Espresso Stout and a Pliny clone.

 

[madscientist451]

Got into blending with wines and ciders and just naturally followed that into beer.
When I buy commercial beer, its usually a variety 12 pack so I can try different ones, and there's usually one that I don't like that much and so I go for the blending. Sometimes I wan't something hoppy, but not too hoppy, so I'll mix an IPA and a blonde ale or some cider with a pale ale... I also blend sour beers quite a bit.

 

[joshesmusica]

Only time I've done it was when I screwed up my first black ipa. Bought some very ok ipa from the store (it's from one of the most commercial breweries here, but it's actually one of the better ipas I've tried), and it turned into a really good black ipa after that.

Now you've got me curious, though. Especially the comment about blending two beers with different yeast characteristics that you're unlikely to get from brewing it as one beer. Interesting idea. Seems a bit difficult to do, only because of how many times it make take to get just how you would want it, but I suppose that a problem that ends up with too much beer isn't really a problem at all.

 

[zmanzorro]

From volunteering at breweries, we kind of have free reign of the taps before and after the tours. So far I've mixed a big imperial dry stout with a very big bright IPA, which I guess is an imperial black IPA.

 

[MFWINZLOW]

Have done so for many years across many beers and styles. Usually, for me - it starts with a couple of heavy / big beers by themselves. Then the desire to have more tasty beer - but reduce the bloated feeling - leads to mixing with a lighter beer. Sometimes, even with a Coors Light. During a drunken haze - I thought to myself: "...wonder if there would be a market for a really heavy / big beer designed specifically for mixing with a light commercial beer - we could call it Brew Buddy or Brew Bitch or something...give me another beer". Then I realized that stout had beaten me to the punch.

 

[passedpawn]

Blending at the taps again tonight while roasting coffee. Dang, I have an oatmeal stout on tap, I should try that!

 

[iijakii]

I have a RIS on tap that's too sweet for my tastes. Been blending shots of it here and there with another beer. One of these days when I'm not so lazy I'm going to hit it with some coffee or chocolate to try and balance it out. Or maybe I should just brew a really roasty stout and blend in the keg...

 

[passedpawn]

Shot a bit of a fairly dry Oatmeal Stout into a G. Pils. It's dark red now Tastes great!

 

[ChefRex]

First time I have been blending two taps is presently, I have a milk stout and a coffee brown on tap, they were made for each other

 

[passedpawn]

Anyone remember what a "suicide" was? Maybe it was region-specific.

That's what we called it as kids when you blended every kind of soda that was available. I grew up in NW Ohio. It was common to ask for a suicide. That was early '70s.

 

[zmanzorro]

Anyone remember what a "suicide" was? Maybe it was region-specific.

That's what we called it as kids when you blended every kind of soda that was available. I grew up in NW Ohio. It was common to ask for a suicide. That was early '70s.

Did the same thing and called it the same as a kid in Texas in the 90s.

 

[Magnus314]

My daughter (7 years old) love "suicide" soda. Had it last a few days ago at Burger-Fi. They have that machine with like a zillion sodas you can pick from.

I'm constantly blending a little of this, a little of that from my taps (and a lot overall .

Let's me know what each would be like with a little more of something, or less of something.

Like, right now I have a VERY hoppy late-hopped APA and a traditional Mild mixed in the glass. Makes me think an American-late-hopped British Mild would be a great beer - quaffable and flavorful.

Now I just have to dial it in. More testing required!

 

[Pantherjon]

Anyone remember what a "suicide" was? Maybe it was region-specific.

That's what we called it as kids when you blended every kind of soda that was available. I grew up in NW Ohio. It was common to ask for a suicide. That was early '70s.

We did that when I was a kid in California! We called it 'Stomach Killer' because if you put a spritz of everything then it was sure to give you an upset stomach! I did, it didn't upset my stomach and as I recall it tasted pretty good as well! I would usually do all but the Cream Soda one..

 

[passedpawn]

Thanks you guys! Great memories.

 

[Magnus314]

Heck yeah!

But NO Dr Pepper (A&W) or it ALL tastes like Dr Pepper...

Sad to say, it's a happy memory I can't revisit. I can't even drink regular soda anymore or the HFCS they switched to since we were kids gives me stomach aches.

But a little "Irish Red" plus a little "Pre-Pro Lager" is Goooooooooood!

 

[joshesmusica]

Mid- to late- 80s kids called it a suicide in OK. It was especially the best after a baseball game on those hot summer days.

 

[joshesmusica]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1454184206.009770.jpg

An interesting suicide - Norwegian Public's Favorite event of 2016. Over 1000 people here to vote on over 100 different beers. They're very against getting passed out drunk here, so there was lots of pouring out what you didn't like in the buckets. I didn't taste it.