Looking for a recipe for the wife....

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zprime

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Howdy all, I'm hoping that you all can help me out. I'm looking for a light recipe that my wife might like. I need a recipe to kind of ease her into beer drinking. What seems to be her turn off about beer is the hoppiness of most of it. So I guess what I'm looking for is a light, low hop beer, maybe a little on the sweet side. I'm looking for a beach head to start her down the beery path. :D

All grain is perfered....but extract will work.

And just a quick note for all those that help us all out in this forum you guys rock and have made this a great place to chat about beer. Thanks all.
 
zprime said:
Howdy all, I'm hoping that you all can help me out. I'm looking for a light recipe that my wife might like. I need a recipe to kind of ease her into beer drinking. What seems to be her turn off about beer is the hoppiness of most of it. So I guess what I'm looking for is a light, low hop beer, maybe a little on the sweet side. I'm looking for a beach head to start her down the beery path. :D

All grain is perfered....but extract will work.

And just a quick note for all those that help us all out in this forum you guys rock and have made this a great place to chat about beer. Thanks all.


I would go with a brown ale. Those are typically not too hoppy and slightly sweet. Many of my friends who are macro swill (Bud, Miller, Coors) drinkers exclusively were drooling after they tasted my brown ale. I got comments like "best beer they've ever tasted" and "I'd buy that", and "can I take some of this home!!!!" :p :)
 
I just brewed a belgian wit beer, which is supposed to be similar to blue moon. It is not very hoppy and a sweeter beer. It has an orange flavor to it. I can get you the recipe i used later if youre interested. I have not tasted it yet since i just brewed it yesterday but im guessing it will be pretty good.
 
A few people have asked me for the Brown Ale recipe I used (probably because I keep bragging about it), so here it is:

Extract/Grains:
6 lbs. Light LME
.5 lb. 60L Crystal Malt (steep)
.5 lb. Chocolate Malt (steep)

Hops:
.5 oz. Fuggle :)60)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)30)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)15)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)00)

Yeast:
(White Labs) WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Notes:
Steep grains 155-160 deg. F (15-30 mins.)
Pitch/Ferment @ 65-70 deg. F
OG: 1.047
IBU's: 23.6
Color: 21.5 SRM
Alcohol: 4.5%
 
Brown Ale, Belgium Ale, so what if she doesn't like any of those?

Why don't you just take a recipe for something close to what she already likes and reduce the bittering hops by .5 or 1 oz and add a 1/2 gal of water to the size of the batch. That will reduce the bitterness as well as thin it out a bit.

Good luck. :D
 
Strangely enough, I'd suggest an English Bitter, which isn't very Bitter at all and is very accessible. My dad, who only drinks cheap crappy beer polished off darn near a keg of our Bitter and liked it much more than the crappy canned beer. A nice light Bitter is light, has a creamy body with a bit of richness to it and a refreshing, but unobtrusive hoppiness.

A *really* simple recipe is something like (10 gallons):
18 lbs 2-row
2 lbs flaked barley (this stuff is great for the creamy body)
4 oz Fuggles (3.1% alpha) - 60 minutes boil

Add some 20L or 40L crystal if you want it a bit darker and sweeter. Cheers! :D
 
that sounds really good janx, and what i was gonna suggest too. a real simple ale, with low hops and some malty flavor! i might substitute two pounds carapils malt for the flaked barley meself.

;)

i love the hops and since i began brewing my own, i find the commercial, with the exceptions of sam adams (the only real micro brew i can afford) to be rather dissapointing. i've disgraced my hillbilly brethren by embracing the hops... ;)
 
Thanks for all the comments/recipes guys.....I'm going to give janx's bitter a try as my first all grain. Hopefully this weekend I'll have the rest of my hardware, or at least enough to get started!
 
orrelse said:
Hops:
.5 oz. Fuggle :)60)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)30)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)15)
.5 oz. Fuggle :)00)

Okay, dumb question time...LOL

I just downloaded a recipe program which shows the Hops like above in tme increments.

Now, as I have followed recipes for adding the hops, and want to make sure Im using the time shown in this program correctly...

.5 oz. Fuggle :)60) 60 minutes before end of boil?
.5 oz. Fuggle :)30) 30 minutes before end of boil?
.5 oz. Fuggle :)15) 15 minutes before end of boil?
.5 oz. Fuggle :)00) Aroma right at end of the boil?

Is this correct?

I like the program, and it makes storing them easy.
 
Yes...that's what the times mean. Alternately, you could phrase it as: Boil for 60 minutes. Boil for 30 minutes. Boil for 15 minutes. Boil for 0 minutes.

Is it SUDS that you downloaded? I really like the way that one helps you hit the IBU's to within AHA styles. Cheers! :D
 
It was a program called Q Brew. What kind of program is SUDS?

Thanks for the acknowledgement of the hops time set up.
 
SUDS is the same sort of thing. Recipe database. Calculates IBU's. It has the style guidelines for AHA styles so you can see where your recipe falls within (or outside) the guidelines. Color calculator. I find it very helpful since I almost never use a recipe and generally make it up as the mash water is heating. Q Brew sounds much the same.

As much of a slacker brewer as I am, I do like to have some record of the batches I have made in case something deserves making again. Software makes it a lot easier for me to actually follow through on taking some notes.

Cheers! :D
 
Janx said:
SUDS is the same sort of thing. Recipe database. Calculates IBU's. It has the style guidelines for AHA styles so you can see where your recipe falls within (or outside) the guidelines. Color calculator. I find it very helpful since I almost never use a recipe and generally make it up as the mash water is heating. Q Brew sounds much the same...

The following link shows a screenshot of the program: http://usermode.org/code/qbrew.png

Link to the program:
http://usermode.org/code.html

Please let me know how it compared to SUDS.
 
It looks functionally very similar. In SUDS you have to flip to a different screen to see style guidelines, but it shows your recipe in the middle with the low values on the left and the high values on the right. I also highlights where you are out of range. So, that's kind of cool. Q Brew looks slick though, and I may have to try it out.

Here's a link to SUDS in case anyone is interested:
http://www.oldlib.com/suds/
 
Cool, let me know which you like better, as Q Brew is free, and SUDS isnt so Id like an opinion before I plop my cash down.
 
Back to the original question about brews for the wife... I had the same thing going on with my wife years ago. She initially started to "enjoy" beer with a Hefe and the lemon in it. Now, we'll frequent a local brew pub and she's always getting either a Bees & Berry (dark/honey/berry), Apricot Ale and/or any other thing that has fruit in it. She's getting braver and now requesting a 1/2 stout and 1/2 bees & berry (guess its some bizarre black & tan).

I had a nut brown ale that all my friends raved about, mild slightly sweet. She tried it and turned up her nose to it (yet she liked my bock :confused: ). My 1st that I made her was an apricot wheat and she likes it.

Quite frankly though if you have a local brew pub with some sort of variety I'd belly up to the bar and order a sampler and let her give it a go. They always seem to have one or two fruit types for the ladies... I wouldn't just guess else you might be drinking what you "thought" she'd like. Or buy a six-pack of what she might be intriqued with 1st.
 
Wow that's funny. My wife is a hophead to the core. If I make a thoroughly bitter, brutal IPA, she'll just love it. But a Brown? Amber of any kind? No way. Too much malt.

Also, she hates any sort of yeast character I've noticed. I can ferment the same recipe with White Labs California and White Labs British and she'll love the California but hate the British. I don't tell her there's a difference. It's just that she'll ask for more with the California, but switch to another tap if it's the British (sucks to be her because I *love* White Labs British Ale yeast). No esters for my girl. Nor maltiness, nor sweetness.

Now, she *does* like malty dark beers as long as they aren't sweet...ie not much crystal, but plenty of chocolate malt. Porter is one of her faves, and she also really liked an Oatmeal Stout we made recently. But any kind of beer that is malty and less than black will not happen for her.

She also hates lagers of all sorts, though Bocks are OK, I imagine because the dark malt overwhelms that "lager" flavor.

But basically I could make extremely hoppy IPAs and Pales with California Ale yeast forever and she'd be just fine. Myself, I have trouble saying no to almost any style as long as it's well made.

Wives are a funny lot aren't they? ;)
 
Janx said:
Wives are a funny lot aren't they? ;)

Oh yeah...

I'd be torn is she liked what I like. Then she'd be drinking all my brew, but then again I'd probably get to make more with out getting that :rolleyes: look. In its current state at this house, I told her every 5th batch can be something to her liking that I make; anything more and I'd have to purchase more equipment to keep up with the two distinct tastes! :D
 
I just hope I can find something that she likes.....she really likes some of the meads I've made but the honey required for that will bankrupt me pretty quick. I'm also trying to make a batch of cider right now, though this time of year the cider selection is pretty slim pickins.

The bad part is that everyones always said I was picky in my tastes about food and drink, there are times I believe that she is allergic to flavor altogether. :D

But I honestly believe that there is enough variety in brew to find a beer for everyone. So that's my goal, to find a brew for the wife.
 
My Wife loves this one........ its a Vanilla Weizen :D
not hoppy and has a nice undertone of vanilla.


1 Package of Wheat, Dry Malt Extract with Bittering hops (Hallertauer) already mixed into the dry malt
1 Package containing Crystal Malt {Specialty Grain), along with a cheesecloth grain bag
This Kit Contains:
1 Package of Flavor hops (Hallertauer)
1 Package of Finishing Hops (Hallertauer)
1 Package of Irish Moss (clarifier)
1 Package of Ale Yeast (optional: Wyeast #3068)
1 Package Vanilla Bean
1 Package of corn sugar that is used to "prime" the beer just before bottling.
 
Brewman said:
My Wife loves this one........ its a Vanilla Weizen :D
not hoppy and has a nice undertone of vanilla.


1 Package of Wheat, Dry Malt Extract with Bittering hops (Hallertauer) already mixed into the dry malt
1 Package containing Crystal Malt {Specialty Grain), along with a cheesecloth grain bag
This Kit Contains:
1 Package of Flavor hops (Hallertauer)
1 Package of Finishing Hops (Hallertauer)
1 Package of Irish Moss (clarifier)
1 Package of Ale Yeast (optional: Wyeast #3068)
1 Package Vanilla Bean
1 Package of corn sugar that is used to "prime" the beer just before bottling.

Irish moss in a hefe?! Blasphemy!! :D

I love hefe's, and that actually doesn't sound half bad. My wife DESPISES beer, so I don't have to worry about her.

How much DME is in the package....about 6lbs?

If you really like the traditional hefe's, you should try Wyeast's Weihenstephaner (sp?) Hefeweizen yeast. It has a load of the banana/clove character that the style calls for.

Oh yeah...I'm doing a Bavarian wheat at the moment. It was a kit and I decided it was going to be kinda "blah", so I added some orange peel and coriander to the secondary. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.
 
Ok, to continue with the wifey trend we had going here. After I started brewing this last Saturday happily concocting a nice oatmeal stout I all of a sudden recognized that I got one in the secondary and no spare fermentation lock for my primary. I tell the wife I got to head down to the brewstore to purchase a $1.50 item. She opts to tag along (doh). First time she's ever been in there and she starts looking at the recipe book and says "ooh, this berry honey whatcamacallit sounds good". 'twas a kit based brew coming in at 37.99! I tell her that me making this for her would be beyond her alloted every 5th batch she gets to select. Otherwise I'd need to purchase another carboy to start multi-tasking here as she can't get in the way of making real beer.

Well, I end up walking out $75 later with a new 6g carboy, some fruity tootie brewskie and my original intention of a ferm stop * 2. Now if I went in there by myself, I'd walk out $1.50 shy; job done. Some things never change (like my wife shopping!). I guess long haul having the extra carboy is my benefit but...
 
I can't enter a store w/ my girlfriend. I go into a store when i need something..get it, and get out...She's there for hours...and I stand around DYING...but that's how it is w/ everyone, I s'pose. There was a study done about men and Christmas shopping that showed their stress levels reaching unhealthy heights...women can handle it. I wonder what that's all about, on a deeper level?
 
Sounds like a good deal to me, desert. That carboy will be in service long after the fruity-tootie is bottled. :D

More...beer...toys...mmmmmmmm
 
Hey Desert,

I had an old girlfriend like that. I wouldn't shop with her unless the store had one of those "guy chairs" that I could lounge on while she endlessly paraded new outfits in front of me (and thank God she didn't ask if she looked fat in any of them, because she was fat in all of them). I would routinely seek revenge whenever we went to the brew supply or other place licensed to sell beverages of the adult variety and carried a decent stock. Then it was "Ooh... what do you think of this new pilsner?" And three hours later we emerged with the girlfriend exasperated and desperately seeking to quickly mass-consume as much alcohol as she could.

You don't get that kid-in-a-candy-store effect when you shop for brew? I used to have a room mate who would take like 3 hours when we went to Home Depot or Lowe's. He'd insist on going in every time we drove by because he "might find something we need". He'd look at large power tools way out of his price range, construction supply, lumber, plumbing, etc. I'm sitting there like "Dude, we live in an apartment and you don't even bother to clean the bathroom more than once every six months. I think installing a ceramic tile hot tub is a bit beyond the scope of the premise upon which this trip was founded." Yah, sometimes I speak like that.

I guess the point is that when it comes to shopping for guy-things, it is socially acceptable to do heavy browsing.
 
rightwingnut said:
I can't enter a store w/ my girlfriend. I go into a store when i need something..get it, and get out...She's there for hours...and I stand around DYING...but that's how it is w/ everyone, I s'pose. There was a study done about men and Christmas shopping that showed their stress levels reaching unhealthy heights...women can handle it. I wonder what that's all about, on a deeper level?

Ditto! I immediately revert to a 5 year old kid whining if the process is going to take longer than 15 minutes. Aimlessly walking around looking for the deal... BTW, I attest it to days gone by when the female sex was out gathering nuts and berries (shopping) while the guys were out hunting (or making beer :D ). Sorry for the ladies on this site if I've offended but the trends are the trends.

Side note, yea I easily spend 30m in the brew shop though, browsing :(
 
Not trying to offend anyone, but are there any women on this site? I just realized from the last post that I haven seen anyone of the women folk on here, or if I have it hasn't clicked.
 
Frannie is the only female I know of who is a member, but maybe we have some lurkers.

For some reason, it's a boy thing...
 
brewing seems to be a boy thing... toys is exactly right!

my general rule of thumb when browsing the net is to assume, untill i have incontrovertable proof, that all posters are male ;)

i hate shopping. it has to be an in and out deal. no mall crawling, no browsing the bargin rack. i research what i want, find the place that has it and blamo in and out. i can't deal with pushing the cart while my wife and daughter run around shopping. the baby loves to go too (she's four now, and has more money in her wallet than me)... i definately something genetic going on...

i hate nosey sales reps too...

can i help you...

if i wanted help, i'd ask... :D
 
t1master, I don't want to deflate your ego or anything, but all that research you're doing on the internet or wherever is really just comparison shopping.

On the significant others note, however, I've got one of the coolest chicks around. Black & Tans are her favorite and she only knows to mix a stout and an ale, so why would I complain about getting to make ten gallons of beer without hearing an ill turned comment. Plus, that means I get ten more gallons before she even gets to make a suggestion as to what the next beer should be.

To avoid being a complete threadjacker; in response to the original question, girls are weird and completely impossible to figure out. I'd go with the plan posted earlier of a sampler at the local pub and find something she likes.
 
mate my ego was crushed long ago... i answer to the less liked of our two dogs, the it goes up the chain of command, the other dog, my daughter, then my wife... ;)
 
My wife is fond of Classic American Pilsner, and Cream ale, here's the Cream Ale recipe:


A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

03-C Light Ale, Cream Ale

Min OG: 1.044 Max OG: 1.055
Min IBU: 10 Max IBU: 22
Min Clr: 2 Max Clr: 4 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.75
Anticipated OG: 1.052 Plato: 12.77
Anticipated SRM: 4.7
Anticipated IBU: 21.1
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.044 SG 10.92 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------


Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30

Additional Utilization Used For First Wort Hops: -10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
66.7 6.50 lbs. Lager Malt(6-row) Canada 1.031 1
20.5 2.00 lbs. Flaked Corn (Maize) America 1.040 1
7.7 0.75 lbs. Honey Malt Canada 1.030 18
5.1 0.50 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.40 oz. Crystal Whole 3.25 4.4 First WH
0.40 oz. Cluster Whole 7.50 11.4 60 min.
0.40 oz. Cascade Whole 7.10 5.3 15 min.
0.25 oz. Czech Saaz Whole 3.10 0.0 0 min.
 
Just to follow up Janx's Bitter recipe got my wife's best rating to date "not bad for beer". Mean while my friends and I absolutely loved the stuff, it was far to easy to drink :). At this point though I realize I need a far larger setup to keep myself in beer. As soon as we're done moving though it's back into hyper brew mode (well at least a 5 gallon batch a week for a month or two).
 
Awsome work zprime. Since you have had such good results I think I may sway from my plan to make an Oatmeal stout and try a Brown Ale. It will be my first beer and my friends have a lot of doubts, so I want to make something they won't turn their noses up to.
 
My wife loves her some Miller Lite, and that's about it. She's a bit upset that I chose to get into this "hobby" (obsession, lifestyle choice, preferred thing to do) while she's preggo. No chance for her to taste the results.

If your wife doesn't like beer by now, there's probably not a great chance she'll get into it. You can make her some candy beers that she may tolerate, but a liking for beer is something you have or you don't have. Maybe you should try wine or mixed drinks. Does she drink at all?

I'd say keep the beer for yourself and your friends. Let her be your DD when you go out.
 
Cheesefood said:
If your wife doesn't like beer by now, there's probably not a great chance she'll get into it. You can make her some candy beers that she may tolerate, but a liking for beer is something you have or you don't have.

Amen Brother, this guy knows what he's talking about. :D
 
Janx said:
Strangely enough, I'd suggest an English Bitter, which isn't very Bitter at all and is very accessible. My dad, who only drinks cheap crappy beer polished off darn near a keg of our Bitter and liked it much more than the crappy canned beer. A nice light Bitter is light, has a creamy body with a bit of richness to it and a refreshing, but unobtrusive hoppiness.

A *really* simple recipe is something like (10 gallons):
18 lbs 2-row
2 lbs flaked barley (this stuff is great for the creamy body)
4 oz Fuggles (3.1% alpha) - 60 minutes boil

Add some 20L or 40L crystal if you want it a bit darker and sweeter. Cheers! :D
do you use 4oz pellets in this recipe?
 
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