Do you ever get tired of big beers?

[Jayhem]

Most homebrewers tend to make more big beers (1.050+ OG) than session beers. The reason is obvious, if you are going to go through the trouble of homebrewing it makes sense to make the beers that cost the most to buy in the store.

I love my homebrews but lately I've been kinda wishing for a lighter, less alcoholic "session" brew. Perhaps it's the warmer weather? I do tend to drink more beer when it's hot because I'm thirsty and drinking a lot of 7.1%abv IPA is really not fun for me. I enjoy a nice buzz once and awhile but I hate being drunk and dread the hangover that always follows a night of over-drinking.

I'm excited for my next brew which is a 1.042 OG cream ale that should be around 4.4% abv.

Anyone else in the same boat? Feel like putting "big beer" on the shelf and drinking thin, yellow, low ABV homebrew once in awhile?

 

[urbanmyth]

I wouldn't call it drinking "beer-water," but I do find myself brewing more session beers lately. The mild I have in primary right now is just as flavorful, if not more so than many of the bigger beers I have in bottles right now.

 

[Phunhog]

I love session beers and brew more of those than anything. I am getting ready to brew a Table Saison and a Helles..both right around 4.5%. Big beers have their place but for me they are more "special occasion" beers.

 

[Jayhem]

I wouldn't call it drinking "beer-water," but I do find myself brewing more session beers lately. The mild I have in primary right now is just as flavorful, if not more so than many of the bigger beers I have in bottles right now.

A "mild" is one of those session beers I haven't looked into yet. Going to see how I do on cream ale first. If you have a good working recipe and don't mind sharing I'd love to see it.

 

[bcgpete]

Having the 4 beers currently in the kegs at 19%-8%-8%-9%, I'm very happy to say the 2 in fermenting right now will be below 5%. With this beautiful weather I just want to sit on my deck and drink beer all day Saturdays, and it's rough having a good buzz by noon because my lightest beer is an 8% IPA

 

[drkaeppel]

I definitely enjoy stronger beers, but I usually rotate what I'm brewing seasonally. Heavier beers in the Fall and Winter. Lighter beers for the Spring and Summer.

Thinking maybe a Fat Tire clone or another batch of EdWort's Hause PA for my next brew.

 

[Jayhem]

Having the 4 beers currently in the kegs at 19%-8%-8%-9%, I'm very happy to say the 2 in fermenting right now will be below 5%. With this beautiful weather I just want to sit on my deck and drink beer all day Saturdays, and it's rough having a good buzz by noon because my lightest beer is an 8% IPA

What exactly did you brew that came out at 19%? Closer to liquor than beer!

 

[befus]

I tire of both big beers and big hops. I prefer a 1.041-1.050 brown, Irish, or cream ale. I like the others, but I just can't drink them on a pretty much daily basis.

 

[bcgpete]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/dfh-120-minute-clone-259314/

It's just in the keg to carb up. I should be replacing it with something MUCH lighter in the next few days. The "samples" I keep pulling to check the carb level are starting to get more and more pint-size

 

[wailingguitar]

I am looking forward to an Irish-style dry stout that has been in the ferm for a good while. It should be nice and mellow when I get around to kegging it here in the next week. I also have malt for a Pils or Helles (depending on how I hop it) and a traditional ESB waiting in the wings. I am kind of regretting the Doppel Helles Bock that is next to be kegged, it seemed like a good idea at the time and I'm looking forward to it... just not 5 gallons worth.

 

[rifraf]

I prefer, in commercial and homebrew, session beers 9/10 times. Usually because if I want one beer, I finish it and think "I want another"

 

[landshark]

I brew mostly in the 4% to 5.5%. even the APA's I brew seem to be lighter. Lots of wheats getting brewed right now as summer is here.

 

[bcgpete]

i usually finish it and think "i want another"

+1

 

[Andrewtherooster]

I used to love big beers. When I would go to a bar, I would gravitate toward ordering the bigger beers. But within the past year or so, I've just got burnt out on them. While I love a good barleywine or old ale, they better serve a special occasion, rather than anything regular. My next beer to bottle is a dark session ale hopped with Ahtanum that will clock in around 3.5%. While it's nice to brew batches of high alcohol beers to age, generally I just want something fresh and drinkable.

 

[HerbieHowells]

Anyone else in the same boat? Feel like putting "big beer" on the shelf and drinking thin, yellow, low ABV homebrew once in awhile?

I get where you are going with this, but I should point out that a 7% IPA is probably quite a bit thinner and yellower than a 3.6% Mild. (When I was in college, I thought I was a bad @$$ because I could down a pint of Guiness in a few seconds. Little did I know that dry stout is actually the ultimate flip-cup beer- easy to down, and low alcohol.)

I have done mostly session beers. If I had a little bit of cellaring space, I might be tempted to make a few big boys here and there. But with limited space, I need quick turn around, and session beers do the trick. And as stated above, it is nice to be able to have a beer after work and not pass out before the 9:00 news.

 

[Jayhem]

I get where you are going with this, but I should point out that a 7% IPA is probably quite a bit thinner and yellower than a 3.6% Mild. (When I was in college, I thought I was a bad @$$ because I could down a pint of Guiness in a few seconds. Little did I know that dry stout is actually the ultimate flip-cup beer- easy to down, and low alcohol.)

I have done mostly session beers. If I had a little bit of cellaring space, I might be tempted to make a few big boys here and there. But with limited space, I need quick turn around, and session beers do the trick. And as stated above, it is nice to be able to have a beer after work and not pass out before the 9:00 news.

I know color has no bearing on the "heaviness" of a beer but my 7% IPA I made that clocked in at 64 IBU's with 2oz of dry hops (Cascade and Columbus) is anything but easy drinking! It's highly carbonated and if I don't let it sit out for 5 minutes before I start sipping I will be burping and feel tight in the chest for the entire beer! I like the hop bite of IPA's but maybe it's my choice of the harsh tasting Columbus hops in my dry hop but I can't stomach more than 1 IPA at a time. Maybe my next attempt will be a bit less harsh.

 

[hodge]

Most homebrewers tend to make more big beers (1.050+ OG) than session beers. The reason is obvious, if you are going to go through the trouble of homebrewing it makes sense to make the beers that cost the most to buy in the store.

Man, I can't tell you how tired I'm getting of big beers. However, I'd say that its much easier for me to find big beers at the store (micros at least) than good, flavorful, low alcohol beers. I like to drink large quantities of beer but I don't want to get sloppy.

So my last batches have been a 5% west coast amber and a Levitation clone. Next, I'm going to try a Bitter American clone and do a nice historical saison (brewed like it was meant to be... farm work would be tough @ 7%!).

It's not for everybody, but thats the great thing about homebrewing, you brew exactly what you want.

 

[Waynep005]

Now that the temps are heating up allready int he 90's in Sacramento a session beer is nice. The last two I have made are a Cita pale ale that is 4.8 and a wheat that should be about 4.6 when done. Since I work outside all day they just work better for me in the summertime.

 

[Yooper]

I rarely brew big beers, but I do love a good IPA so I might brew a 1.065 IPA every fourth or fifth brew. Most of my beers are 1.040-1.058. I usually make a big lager once a year, a tripel or other big "lighter" beer once a year, and the IPAs that I love and the rest of the time make session beers.

 

[Jukas]

I love a good IPA or IIPA, but I can rarely drink more than one in a night. Lately I've been pulling on my keg of Ed Wort Pale Ale pretty heavily, but at 5.8% it's still a bit heavier than I want. I love a good session beer, and brewed 8gal of BM's Centennial Blonde specifically have to a lighter 4% summer lawnmower type beer.

 

[CidCitrus]

I try to do 2 or 3 session beers in between my bigger beers to save a little money and make the bigger beers a little more special

 

[msa8967]

So it appears that there are many brewers (myself included) that like to brew session style beers in the 4-5% ABV range. Anyone care to share a recipe (link) to a favorite summer style guzzler that might be in the HBT recipe database or another source?

Here are two very popular recipes that many of my friends enjoyed this last weekend as we celebrated my son's second birthday.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/fizzy-yellow-beer-120939/

 

[Airborneguy]

I very rarely brew above 1.055. The ONLY "big beers" I ever drink are my friend Mark's (best homebrewer I've ever encountered) and the very rare occasions that I just have to try something new. I personally avoid getting more than slightly buzzed, and big beers definitely don't help me towards that goal.

 

[stbnj]

My current pattern has been to brew 5% or so beers and to buy big beers. I will brew big beers every now and then but usually when I reach in my fridge I am grabbing one of mine. Usually on the weekends if we just watching a movie I will crack open a big bottle of something strong that I can sip on for a couple hours.

 

[Golddiggie]

I tend to brew in the 5.5%-7% range most often. I brewed my second run of MO SMaSH to be about 5.5%, and it's at 5.7%. I wanted something a little more 'warm weather friendly'... But I also have a 12% wee heavy and ~9% old ale aging at this time. I'm also planning a 8.8-9.2% mocha porter for my next batch.

BTW, I wouldn't draw the line to 'big beer' at just 1.050... For me, a big beer should be in the area of 8.5% or higher. Also, I'm starting the mocha porter soon, so that it's actually ready come fall/winter. I'm planning a 20%+ BIG brew that I'm just itching to start. I just need to make sure my pipeline is ready for that to take a brew day. Most likely, it will be 1-2 years before it's ready for glass.

 

[mikeysab]

I went through a big beer phase. Now I drink less so I'm going to come up with a couple of 4 to 5% abv beers to have in the kegerator. I'll still do an occasional high grav. beer to bottle.

 

[mforsman]

I always have a session beer on tap. I love nice big beers, but mostly it's just session beers.

 

[spearko520]

i'd rather drink 20 beers than 7 or 8 big ones any night. big beers = big hangovers, lots of little beers keep me hydrated. that's why god invented distillation.

 

[Golddiggie]

i'd rather drink 20 beers than 7 or 8 big ones any night. big beers = big hangovers, lots of little beers keep me hydrated. that's why god invented distillation.

I usually only drink a pint or two a night, after work/dinner... For me, one pint of 8%+ brew that has everything I want in it is beyond excellent. Some days I want something lighter in kick, or not as big. In that case, I have other brews to pick from. With three taps, I typically have a wide enough selection to make it a zero issue.

 

[Refly]

Here are two very popular recipes that many of my friends enjoyed this last weekend as we celebrated my son's second birthday.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/fizzy-yellow-beer-120939/

I can attest to fizzy yellow beer being an awesome session beer. That's a great choice. 5 gallons gone in 3 hours type of goodness....