Homebrew for your non Homebrew friends

Williams 728
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.
Blackdirt_cowboy

Blackdirt_cowboy

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Aug 14, 2017
Messages
376
Reaction score
160
Location
Waco
What do y'all brew for your friends who won't drink homebrew? I have a three tap kegerator and would like to brew something to keep on tap for my FIL that he would enjoy. He is a bud light drinker. I don't necessarily want to clone bud light, I'm thinking maybe a german pilsner. I just know that he won't drink it if it's dark, roasty, or malty.

I came across a recipe the other day that was about 85% pilsner and 15% rice or corn adjusted to whatever gravity you want to shoot for. I figured bittering with noble hops to 20-25 IBUs. The guy said this would mimic a commercial beer. Would this work? The only problem is I would like to enjoy it too, and after making a few homebrews, I can't stand commercial beer anymore.
 
Sounds more like you want to convert him than brew something for him. If he likes Bud Light, serve him Bud Light and brew beers you would enjoy. I like to share my passion with all my friends and family too but it's not a religion, I'm not out to convert anyone. If he's genuinely interested in trying something a Kolsch usually goes over well with BMC drinkers. Make sure it's clear and cold.
 
Thanks for all the ideas. I don't want to "convert" him, but he's the kind of guy who will support my hobbies no matter what. So I'd like to have something on tap when he tries it that he at least has a reasonable chance of enjoying. I'll probably try the kölsch.
 
Blackdirt_cowboy said:
Thanks for all the ideas. I don't want to "convert" him, but he's the kind of guy who will support my hobbies no matter what. So I'd like to have something on tap when he tries it that he at least has a reasonable chance of enjoying. I'll probably try the kölsch.
Click to expand...

Kölsch is Ok, but If you really wanna go for it, try a German helles. Everybody likes helles!
 
I brew what I like and I have only served a couple of very heavy beers that my friends didn't care for. But you could do just an ordinary American Pale ale. I bet he would taste one and like it even more than his Bud Light.

Your Pilsner - rice recipe sound like it is for a lager. Do you have the capability to do a lager? Cooling down to just above freezing for up to a couple of months? If not I would go for one of the light ales already mentioned.

I did this Ultra Pale ale that was very good.
5 gallon batch
9 lbs 2 row
1 lb cara-pils
.75 lb carahell
.1 lb c-60
.75 oz Columbus 60 min
.5 oz Willamette 1 min
.25 oz Centennial 1 min
Wyeast 1056
 
My BIL had come for a visit, and is a natural light/bud light drinker. When things settled down I offered my guest a homebrew tasting Abby Ale, and Belgian Wit. Guess who asked for another. Actually to be a good host I bought a 12 of bud light, still had most of it when he left.
 
Yooper's Dad's Cream Ale, or a simple Blue Moon clone, adding 4oz vodka 1-week steeped with zest of 2 oranges to amp the orange.
 
My dad always called my beer "that homebrewed ****" so I didn't really try to convert him.

But once he and my brother came for a visit and after a 14 hour car ride in 90 degrees, I greeted him at the door with a large glass of cream ale. He said, "That ain't none of your homebrewed ****, is it?" and I just said "Drink your beer old man". :)

He drank it, and another. And another. He and my brother killed that keg that evening.

The next day, they went to the store and bought Budweiser because they wouldn't even try what was on the other taps.

So, I would recommend a cream ale. Something like that is very much like Genessee Cream Ale, which is pretty light and flavorless to me but it was my dad's favorite beer.
 
Biermunchers centennial blonde ale FTW.

Your FIL sounds like my mother who ONLY drinks bud light. But she came for a visit last year and I told her I had a beer she might like and she ended up drinking 5 of them and requested more the next day. That blonde ale is cheap to make, quick to get from grain to glass and tastes great to every beer drinker. No brainer.
 
Miraculix said:
Kölsch is Ok, but If you really wanna go for it, try a German helles. Everybody likes helles!
Click to expand...

The Munich-style Helles is the next thing I'll be trying. Using 34/70 dry yeast for it. Yesterday's Belgian brew day got saved with Abbaye dry yeast because the White Labs WLP 500 liquid yeast was DEAD! The overnight starter didn't activate at all, so abbey ale it is.

Freshly-made all grain light beers done right will knock the socks off BMC canned beer any day. I'd bet on it. I made a mildly hoppy version of the Centennial blonde with Cascade, step-mashed to the low side with some wheat, Whirlflocced, and had a nice, effervescent beer that got better as it aged out a bit. Gave some away and it didn't last long at all.
 
Yooper said:
My dad always called my beer "that homebrewed ****" so I didn't really try to convert him.

But once he and my brother came for a visit and after a 14 hour car ride in 90 degrees, I greeted him at the door with a large glass of cream ale. He said, "That ain't none of your homebrewed ****, is it?" and I just said "Drink your beer old man". :)

He drank it, and another. And another. He and my brother killed that keg that evening.

The next day, they went to the store and bought Budweiser because they wouldn't even try what was on the other taps.

So, I would recommend a cream ale. Something like that is very much like Genessee Cream Ale, which is pretty light and flavorless to me but it was my dad's favorite beer.
Click to expand...

And how were they feeling the next day? Lol.
 
Luckily my friends also homebrew, so no problem there. But, my fiance is a bit skeptical of homebrew. As in all things, I will turn her to the dark side eventually. I'm making some headway with stout.
 
Ive never came across someone that didnt enjoy either a mild pale ale or a sweeter stout/porter, personally. Ive never came across someone too stubborn to try a dark beer though, I just tell them it's not super roasty or sweet and don't worry.

Also for some reason every BMC-only drinker Ive known loves Hefeweizens. I dont get that.
 
I'd say process is going to be more important than style, but definitely brew a pale single malt pilsner.

If you have a controllable rims or herms setup I'd advise doing a protease rest starting at 122 deg F, and gradually work up to high 140s over the course of 30 minutes. Then I'd mash from 149 to 152 for 45 minutes, then 155 to 158 for an additional 45 minutes. You'll want to shoot for 8-9 plato or 1.030ish OG. I'd only use cascades and shoot for 10-20Ibus, you can dry hop with more cascades later on so you'll feel like less of a dick. Also definitely lager and use as neutral a yeast as possible.
 
When it comes to my non-homebrew friends, I don't want something that is "just like a BMC" - rather, I look for something that might make a good "bridge" that will be somewhat familiar, but also pique their interest in branching out..

My dad was a committed BMC drinker who wouldn't consider anything else - but I got him to tr an ale from Brooklyn Brew Shop called "Bruxelles Blonde." This cracked the ice a bit, and from there I went to a couple of wheats and - shockingly, for him - a Northern English nut brown ale. For a year or two, he wouldn't consider enjoying anything "darker" or "heavier" than that; however, I just recently came a cross both a porter and stout that he found pretty good. In other words, his mind has really opened up where beers are concerned; and while he still enjoys his Bud Light, he can definitely see the value in some other things, and will even order some of those when he is out.

Now, if I could just get him to understand the difference between an ale and a lager....
 
iijakii said:
Also for some reason every BMC-only drinker Ive known loves Hefeweizens. I dont get that.
Click to expand...

I was going to mention this, too. Although, I can only speak from one recent instance. My dad (devout Bud man) and I were at a pizza place that brews their own beer. He started to order a Bud Light and I ribbed him for it in a place with a brewery, so he got their Hefeweizen. I commented that it surprised me and his response was "you know what you're getting with a Hefeweizen so it's a 'safe' choice". I added that to my list of upcoming brews for when he visits.
 
See? That just highlights the whole "to each their own". Because a true to style hefe has two things that define it, clove and banana, neither of which I particularly like in beer.
 
So true, balrog!

That night I ordered their Brown Ale and, to my amazement, when my dad ordered a 2nd beer he got the Brown Ale. :)

I don't care for the banana and clove of Hefeweizen but I can understand his point that you know what to expect from that style of beer.
 
Fruit beers! All the BMC people love Fruit Beers. No joke! They really do like something light (4% or less) which tastes refreshing with fruit in it. My BMC friends plow through it. They hate my blonde ale but add some blueberries instant hit. They hate my American Hefe add some watermelon instant hit. They hate my Vienna lager add some lime instant hit.
 
Zimm9 said:
So true, balrog!

That night I ordered their Brown Ale and, to my amazement, when my dad ordered a 2nd beer he got the Brown Ale. :)

I don't care for the banana and clove of Hefeweizen but I can understand his point that you know what to expect from that style of beer.
Click to expand...

Most American Wheats (Americas interpretation of a hefe) is light or non exestent in the banana/clove department. Take em to Germany and they'll probably think differently. I too don't care for the banana/clove if it's too strong.
 
I agree with the centennial blonde. My sister is more of a cider/light beer drinker. I bring home brew for holidays and usually only my brother (craft brew drinker) drinks it. But when I brought the centennial blonde my sister finished most of the growler. But my brother liked it too. It’s a good beer that craft beer and non-craft drinker alike enjoy.
 
I won’t brew something I don’t like (on purpose anyway) so through the year I’ll brew a rice lager, amber ale, APA and some sort of fruit beer. And all of them are what I give my lite beer drinkers and they always work.
 
For Christmas gifts (and sporadically through the year for friends), I do a pale saison and a heffy. Too many non-beer people that see more than 10 SRM and they freak out.

The saison is really generic. I let the yeast (3711) do the talking. No brett, no sour, no weird fruit or spices.

For the heffy, basic 55/45 with MO. i'll add a half pound of carapils per 5 gallons to give it more head and a little more creaminess. Saaz/citra at about 17 IBU as to not shock anyone, but try to balance it out a little. I suggest they try it straight, but an orange wedge if they desire. Call me crazy, but I've found that 3068 fermented quite warm (like 78 or 79) gives a bit of banana, which very few non-beer people identify as banana but they like it. LOL shh!

Not sure if i'll change up this year. Guess its time to start thinking about it.
 
I don’t think anyone mentioned it so I will... Cream of three crops. Like others noted it is a cream ale. Mashed at 148 it comes out very dry, and is perfectly light in body for the YPFW crowd. I would recommend it over the centennial blonde which I found to have a bigger bite in both body and hop profile.
 
BrunDog said:
I don’t think anyone mentioned it so I will... Cream of three crops. Like others noted it is a cream ale. Mashed at 148 it comes out very dry, and is perfectly light in body for the YPFW crowd. I would recommend it over the centennial blonde which I found to have a bigger bite in both body and hop profile.
Click to expand...

While I agree with @BrunDog on the bite of CBlonde, it might be one of them confounding personal taste things. The cream ale idea is good, but I've also had situations where folks tried my cream ale (even the one by @Yooper that has late hop flavor) and said "yeah, nice, thanks, but there's nothing to this is there?" and then picked up their Miller Light. For them, then, the CBlonde with a bit of bite would be better. I kinda gave up evangelizing after that. Or was it proselytizing? I did not give up sharing. Because that's cruel.
 
My girl only drinks Mick Ultra. I like IPA and HOPS.

She has tried beer I have out and usually gives a sour face.

She DID like the blueberry wheat from Ellicottville.

I am now trying to replicate it with no guidance. I will be making 1/2 wheat, 1/2 barley light beer with Blueberry essence added to her liking when I bottle it. The other half of the 10 gallon batch will be a blue moon clone.

She likes it that I am brewing for her.

She asked me to brew the Ultra, I said "I can't"

Others have told her the same thing, its a tough beer to copy.

David
 
It is not as hard as you might think. You won’t get it exact. The key is to use adjuncts like rice, maybe corn sugar too, to lighten and dry it. Mash at hella low temp like 146-148, maybe even for a long while like 90 mins. Judicious hopping of course.
 

Similar threads

J
Non-alcoholic homebrew - buzzed feeling?
Replies
7
Views
698
mashdar
mashdar
?
Advice on how to enjoy homebrewing over the years without becoming an alcoholic.
2 3
Replies
89
Views
4K
corkybstewart
corkybstewart
Clint Yeastwood
WLP840: Good Yeast Used for Bad Beer?
Replies
1
Views
607
mac_1103
mac_1103
spotted_dog
Kegerator, Keezer, or Other?
Replies
31
Views
2K
day_trippr
day_trippr
T
Fellowship of the Drink XXX: Pour one for our friends
5 6 7
Replies
264
Views
10K
Thorrak
T

Latest posts

Back
Top