Inexperienced Beer Drinkers and home brewing

[Mustangj]

Most micro brewerys have samplers. Most of the time you can get 3-4oz of 5-8 different beers

 

[beerrepository]

Went to the local Kroger tonight and made my own 6 pack. They were out of a lot of stuff but I ended up with some recommended by an "beer aholic" friend.

New Belgium Ranger IPA
Bells Winter White Ale - Tasty!
Upland Rad Red AA
Sierra Nevada Kelerweis Hefeweizen
Sierra Nevada Porter
Blue Dawg Blueberry

One will be drank tonight!
-Winter white ale

Kroger's U-pick 6 pack is awesome. I got to taste a lot of different stuff picking from that wall. One thing I would recommend is keeping a journal when you are trying a lot of new stuff. It is easy to forget what you like and didn't like. I started taking pictures of all the beers I have tried, so far I have 148 photos :rockin:

 

[cheezydemon3]

emphasis mine

Seems like it would be a good idea to drink some different styles rather than brew up a 5 gallon batch, sit on it for 6 weeks, and then find out you don't like it.

Agreed, but I admire his sense of adventure:

I want to venture into brewing different beers like IPA's, porters, stouts and things like that. So far I've done a Fat Tire clone and a dunkelweizen.

Where is a good place to start so I'm not turned off by radical beers?

Also, a beer brewed by you will likely be well recieved, and therefore may be a good intro to the style, and 5 gallons is a goodish amount to develop a taste for something you are not used to!

 

[starrfish]

If you can find it in your area, get a variety case of Victory Brew from Pennsylvania. It will have some stronger beers, like a Pilsner, IPA (hop devil), Golden Monkey (yum!), and some kind of lager (can't remember).

Really, if you look around at the beer store, you should be able to find some micro-brewery variety packs. Just check 'em all out and figure out what you like, then do some searches for "clone recipes" and try to make one of your favorites!

enjoy your journey to being a beer officionato!

marz

Victory Prima Pils (i'm not a huge Pilsner fan but that's a very very good one!) Hop Whallop (bigger than hop Devil closer to Dogfish Head 90 min)
Victory makes a Helios Saison that is really very good considering the price point (under $4 for a 22oz bottle). Storm King Stout is a big Imperial Stout... Can you tell I like Victory Brewing Company...

 

[shawnbou]

I'm 22 and a broke college student! Believe me, if I could buy beer in mass quantities to drink I would love to do so.

Originally this thread was meant to ask for good brew recipes to ease me into brewing different styles of beer. It's gotten away from the original purpose but any and all advice is duly noted. The only reason I've gotten anywhere in any of my hobbies (scca autocross/modifying cars, home theater building, and now this) is because I take every bit of advice thrown at me, so keep it coming!

My advice in an earlier post could probably have been clearer. I'd recommend trying some different styles so you know what a style is "supposed" to taste like before you commit to a 5-gallon batch. But if you like wheats, I do think they're a great place to experiment:
Step 1 - Make an ordinary wheat. Safe, simple, easy to drink.
Step 2 - Make the same wheat but add some crazy spice or herb to it.
Step 3 - Try again with some other new ingredient. You may surprise yourself.

And if you're broke, a fun way to try lots of beers without breaking the bank would be to check out some microbreweries near you that do tours and sample tastings. Not sure how many you have up in Indiana (I lived there for a while, but that was 10 years ago), but if there are any around you, it's always fun to get a tour of the brewhouse and then taste samples of a few different year-round brews and crazy seasonals. That's not only a fun and pretty cheap day out, but it's educational and inspirational.

 

[starrfish]

Single Malt & Single Hop (SMASH) extract beers can be a nice way to try several types of brew cheap using the same base recipe.

Light Munton and Fison dry malt extract (a must for a true smash it is only M&F base pale malt no specialty malts for head retention or color)
a hop at 60 min
a hop at 30min
and a hop at flame out
a yeast of choice

this site helps me build a lot of my recipes (and it's free)
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/

Here is a simple American pale ale SMASH using cascades that I've done (you can steep some specialty grains to darken color or change flavor, things like crystal malt work here, but it would no longer be a Single Malt & Single hop) It's pretty hoppy so back down a bit on the 60min addition if your not sure how hoppy you like your session ales:


06A. American Pale Ales, American Pale Ale Extract

Stats
OG 1.049
FG 1.012
IBU 40
ABV 4.8 %
SRM 2

Specifics
Boil Volume 3 gallons
Batch Size 5.5 gallons
US-05 Yeast

Fermentables
6.00lbs Light Dry Malt Extract (munton & fison it's a buck or two more but worth the extra. The best dry malt extract on the market in my opinion. I still use this when I do a partial mash of a BIG beer that I can't mash all my grain)

Hops
1.00 oz Cascade Pellet 60min
.5 oz Cascade Pellet 30min
.5 oz Cascade Pellet 1min

Yeast
Fermentis US-05 dry yeast

Just simple changes in hop type & amount and yeast choice will make a big difference in final product. To stay cheap experiment with dry yeast...

Hope this is more what you where looking for!

Oh add last few pounds (2lbs) of the dry malt extract to last 15 min of boil. You'll get better hop Utilization and it will help keep the color from darkening due to Carmelization of the sugars in the boil.

 

[brum]

And if you're broke, a fun way to try lots of beers without breaking the bank would be to check out some microbreweries near you that do tours and sample tastings. Not sure how many you have up in Indiana (I lived there for a while, but that was 10 years ago), but if there are any around you, it's always fun to get a tour of the brewhouse and then taste samples of a few different year-round brews and crazy seasonals. That's not only a fun and pretty cheap day out, but it's educational and inspirational.

Yeah! Within minutes I have Upland, Bloomington Brewing Company and Sun King (when i'm home from school)

Beer journal is a fantastic idea.

Again thanks for all the comments

 

[starrfish]

lucky bastard to have all those great local breweries, florence sc just got it's first... 2 beers of their own.... brown & a golden... both good.. but can't wait to see what comes on next 4 taps... talk to those local guys, ask questions if they are cool they will help you.
I found out both of the local brewpub ales are using the white labs sierra nevada strain. Ask for a tour... most likely they'll say yes! esp if they are not busy.

 

[Hoppin_Mad]

My favorite strategy for trying out some new beer is going to my favorite local bar and asking the bartender to shut his eyes and pick something. Of course this necessitates a place with a nice selection!

 

[Nokitchen]

One additional idea: if your dad and his buddies are the main people with whom you share your beer, ask what they'd want. Maybe they're all secretly Guinness fans and would love it if you brewed them up a nice stout. Perhaps they just want a more interesting lager beer -- maybe something with fresh local fruit or a different (but not higher) hops profile. Even better, ask them to bring you commercial beers in the styles they'd like to see you make so they pay for 'em instead of you!

 

[brum]

One additional idea: if your dad and his buddies are the main people with whom you share your beer, ask what they'd want. Maybe they're all secretly Guinness fans and would love it if you brewed them up a nice stout. Perhaps they just want a more interesting lager beer -- maybe something with fresh local fruit or a different (but not higher) hops profile. Even better, ask them to bring you commercial beers in the styles they'd like to see you make so they pay for 'em instead of you!

Great minds think alike! This exact plan is already in motion.

Good friend of mine who works at a huge college bar here (Nicks English Hut Indiana Uni.) is supplying me with bottles for free! She dropped off ~50 from just last night.

This only means one thing. More brewing