Last night I had a bit of a brewing epiphany, and I think I am going to start changing how I decide what to brew. Until now I have very rarely brewed the same thing twice. There are just so many styles of beer, so many recipes that sound good, new techniques to try, etc, but last night I was drinking a pint of my Winter Brown Ale and I looked back at all that I have brewed. Of course I liked what I saw, but I started to realize that while I enjoy almost every keg, many of them start to grow old by the end of the keg, and I find that the excitement of tapping the next batch starts to outweigh the enjoyment of the dwindling keg, and I start to get impatient for the keg to kick, but this is not true of a handful of recipes which I wished would never end, and I realized that they are worth inviting back. It has started to feel more like gambling with new recipes than trying out new recipes, so I've decided to devote 5 of my 6 taps to "house beers." So far this is what I've got
#1: Cider OR Fruit beer (SWMBO pleaser, SO4 cider was good, I'd serve that again, and I've got a weihestephan cider on the way, so we'll see)
#2: Witbier (I've brewed one that I loved but I'm still willing to tinker a bit till I get it just right, gonna try out the one from BCS next)
#3: BMC crowd pleaser (planning to try out BM's 3crops, Willy-mo smash was also good)
#4: Irish Red Ale OR American Amber (house recipes)
#5: Stout (so far the O'flanny is the pick but I might get a rotation with an oatmeal, choc, etc)
#6: Something new and interesting/experimental
Once I expand with two more taps (maybe next month?) I'll make my Winter Brown a permanent resident. I like this because I'll have reliably good beers on all but one faucet, but at the same time it won't always be the same lineup.
#1: Cider OR Fruit beer (SWMBO pleaser, SO4 cider was good, I'd serve that again, and I've got a weihestephan cider on the way, so we'll see)
#2: Witbier (I've brewed one that I loved but I'm still willing to tinker a bit till I get it just right, gonna try out the one from BCS next)
#3: BMC crowd pleaser (planning to try out BM's 3crops, Willy-mo smash was also good)
#4: Irish Red Ale OR American Amber (house recipes)
#5: Stout (so far the O'flanny is the pick but I might get a rotation with an oatmeal, choc, etc)
#6: Something new and interesting/experimental
Once I expand with two more taps (maybe next month?) I'll make my Winter Brown a permanent resident. I like this because I'll have reliably good beers on all but one faucet, but at the same time it won't always be the same lineup.