Recipes that don't really conform to a style

[user 336313]

So... Our (small) brewery was asked to create and brew a recipe for an arthouse cinema around the corner. They want something special as a core beer that is their own. Something that has its own character and yet is sessionable and suited for wide public. So I came up with the recipe below. What would you call this? What style is it? Do you guys sometimes come up with something that doesnt immediately conform to a known style? Also: feel free to voice your opinion of it, and hit me with suggestions...

Munich malt 72,2%
Roasted wheat malt 18,2%
Cara Gold malt (Crisp) 9,1%

Fermented with Munich Classic by Lallemand

Single hop: Warrior - 30 mins boil, 10 mins boil and whirlpool at 194 F.

IBU: 20
BU/GU 0,35

ABV 5,3%

Thanks!

 

[Miraculix]

So... Our (small) brewery was asked to create and brew a recipe for an arthouse cinema around the corner. They want something special as a core beer that is their own. Something that has its own character and yet is sessionable and suited for wide public. So I came up with the recipe below. What would you call this? What style is it? Do you guys sometimes come up with something that doesnt immediately conform to a known style? Also: feel free to voice your opinion of it, and hit me with suggestions...

Munich malt 72,2%
Roasted wheat malt 18,2%
Cara Gold malt (Crisp) 9,1%

Fermented with Munich Classic by Lallemand

Single hop: Warrior - 30 mins boil, 10 mins boil and whirlpool at 194 F.

IBU: 20
BU/GU 0,35

ABV 5,3%

Thanks!

Dunkelweizen. Or dark Dampfbier. I personally don't see this one as a good choice for beer that suits a bigger audience. Too dark if you ask me. About 20% roast is about 10% above what I would do max in a stout.

 

[user 336313]

Dunkelweizen. Or dark Dampfbier. I personally don't see this one as a good choice for beer that suits a bigger audience. Too dark if you ask me. About 20% roast is about 10% above what I would do max in a stout.

Roasted wheat isnt that dark though! More bready, like wheat bread from oven. I use it in our hefeweizen too. That beer is still yellow-gold-orange... So the name is misleading.

 

[Miraculix]

Roasted wheat isnt that dark though! More bready, like wheat bread from oven. I use it in our hefeweizen too. That beer is still yellow-gold-orange... So the name is misleading.

OK, that sounds good then. I was more thinking in terms of midnight wheat. So it's basically a German Dunkelweizen that runs a bit low on wheat content.

Can be tasty!

 

[AlexKay]

I usually find that proportion of Munich malt overwhelming. It depends on the maltster; Munichs vary a lot. If it were my beer I'd swap for 70+% Vienna. That will give you an entirely different beer, but it might end up more sessionable and with broader appeal.

What flavors are you hoping to get from your yeast?

 

[tracer bullet]

I've never used that much Munich nor ever used the Roasted wheat and won't comment on the recipe. I will however ask - did they give you a totally blank canvas or is anyone there a beer geek in the least with at least something in mind as a starting point?

 

[kevin58]

It's beer. Why does it have to fit into a neat box?

 

[mac_1103]

It's beer. Why does it have to fit into a neat box?

The problem I see in this case is that the beer has to fit into a very poorly defined box. You could probably make two dozen beers that might be "special with it's own character but sessionable and suited to a wide public" and have the client say "that's not at all what we had in mind" two dozen times.

 

[user 336313]

OK, that sounds good then. I was more thinking in terms of midnight wheat. So it's basically a German Dunkelweizen that runs a bit low on wheat content.

Can be tasty!

That's what I thought! The style, I mean...

 

[user 336313]

I usually find that proportion of Munich malt overwhelming. It depends on the maltster; Munichs vary a lot. If it were my beer I'd swap for 70+% Vienna. That will give you an entirely different beer, but it might end up more sessionable and with broader appeal.

What flavors are you hoping to get from your yeast?

Nice one, I'll consider that.

And as for yeast: not too much banana, but def some clove and hefe vibe.

 

[user 336313]

I've never used that much Munich nor ever used the Roasted wheat and won't comment on the recipe. I will however ask - did they give you a totally blank canvas or is anyone there a beer geek in the least with at least something in mind as a starting point?

Cart blanche. Only criterium: something original, yet sessionable, yet can't be too much like standard lager (because of conflict with InBev otherwise). And I didn't want to do yet another IPA. They have plenty of those (commercial ones) already anyway.

 

[user 336313]

It's beer. Why does it have to fit into a neat box?

It doesn't! That's kinda what I meant. Yet we automatically start comparing it to a style, don't we? As a point of reference...

 

[user 336313]

The problem I see in this case is that the beer has to fit into a very poorly defined box. You could probably make two dozen beers that might be "special with it's own character but sessionable and suited to a wide public" and have the client say "that's not at all what we had in mind" two dozen times.

Very true. I did show them this recipe and tried explaining what I had in mind. They said: go for it. But it feels like quite a leap. I mean I don't know what will come out exactly.

 

[mac_1103]

I'm not trying to be overly negative about the project. I guess it depends on how well you know your customer. They don't exactly know what they're looking for and you don't know exactly what you're making. Could be a lot of fun if they really are as open-minded as they sound. Or no fun at all if not.

 

[user 336313]

I'm not trying to be overly negative about the project. I guess it depends on how well you know your customer. They don't exactly know what they're looking for and you don't know exactly what you're making. Could be a lot of fun if they really are as open-minded as they sound. Or no fun at all if not.

Jep... I know the people though. Also, I will def tweak the batches that follow after the first, with input from them, and me tasting it myself.

 

[Miraculix]

Something in the direction of Kentucky common might also be worth a look. Not common at all nowadays but one of the most crowd compatible beers I've brewed till this day.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

create and brew a recipe for an arthouse cinema around the corner. They want something special as a core beer that is their own. Something that has its own character and yet is sessionable and suited for wide public.

Single hop: Warrior - 30 mins boil, 10 mins boil and whirlpool at 194 F.

something original, yet sessionable, yet can't be too much like standard lager (because of conflict with InBev otherwise).

My immediate thought, if it's not a conflict with Hoegaarden, would be "wit with a spin", along the lines of Bombay Dazzler which for a long time was the house beer of Bundobust in Leeds - a wit with ginger, coriander seed and cardamom pods reflecting their Indian food.

The basic style is familiar to the customers, it's not too dependent on the hops so you can use ones that have a bit of a story, and it's easy to do a differently/non-spiced version for the pub from the same gyle.

By hops with a story, I'd either use local hops - you're local, the cinema is local, the other beers on the bar are from InBev, so why go halfway round the world for your Warrior? Or use hops that have a nod to the cinema - Epic is the obvious one, Herkules and Pilot also kind of work. But I suspect you'd have to go direct to someone like Hukins for the Epic and Farams for the Pilot, but I'd guess both can probably do you 1kg bags which would make customs easier.

 

[user 336313]

My immediate thought, if it's not a conflict with Hoegaarden, would be "wit with a spin", along the lines of Bombay Dazzler which for a long time was the house beer of Bundobust in Leeds - a wit with ginger, coriander seed and cardamom pods reflecting their Indian food.

The basic style is familiar to the customers, it's not too dependent on the hops so you can use ones that have a bit of a story, and it's easy to do a differently/non-spiced version for the pub from the same gyle.

By hops with a story, I'd either use local hops - you're local, the cinema is local, the other beers on the bar are from InBev, so why go halfway round the world for your Warrior? Or use hops that have a nod to the cinema - Epic is the obvious one, Herkules and Pilot also kind of work. But I suspect you'd have to go direct to someone like Hukins for the Epic and Farams for the Pilot, but I'd guess both can probably do you 1kg bags which would make customs easier.

Thank you for this!

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Back to your original question about "style". I feel with all brewing we need some sort of base line to follow and that's what style is. From that point a brewer can change the ingredients many different ways to suit what they want to achieve. Look how a wheat beer can change. I went through the BJCP training to become a judge and part of that was learning the style guidelines. The most important thing I learned was that the BJCP style guidelines were just that - a guide.

 

[hottpeper13]

I have a week left in fermentation ,then my Kentucky Common is going in a pin for a July 4 party. You can't find this style on tap much,Foxtown in Mequon put one out. I use corn grits in a cereal mash. BCM drinkers enjoy this style.

 

[user 336313]

So, I tweaked the recipe. Changed the malt bill.

Munich 45,5%
Vienna 36,4%
Roasted Wheat 18,2%

Probably better, taste wise. Better enzymic power too...

 

[user 336313]

I have a week left in fermentation ,then my Kentucky Common is going in a pin for a July 4 party. You can't find this style on tap much,Foxtown in Mequon put one out. I use corn grits in a cereal mash. BCM drinkers enjoy this style.

Looked it up and it´s actually quite close to what I´m planning to brew!

 

[Miraculix]

Looked it up and it´s actually quite close to what I´m planning to brew!

The main difference is the yeast which makes yours an entirely different beer.

 

[thiagoedwardo]

So... Our (small) brewery was asked to create and brew a recipe for an arthouse cinema around the corner. They want something special as a core beer that is their own. Something that has its own character and yet is sessionable and suited for wide public. So I came up with the recipe below. What would you call this? What style is it? Do you guys sometimes come up with something that doesnt immediately conform to a known style? Also: feel free to voice your opinion of it, and hit me with suggestions...

Munich malt 72,2%
Roasted wheat malt 18,2%
Cara Gold malt (Crisp) 9,1%

Fermented with Munich Classic by Lallemand

Single hop: Warrior - 30 mins boil, 10 mins boil and whirlpool at 194 F.

IBU: 20
BU/GU 0,35

ABV 5,3%

Thanks!

About the recipe, is it sweet at the end? I would probably go with more IBU, bur for my taste, sounds like an interesting beer.
About the style, do you need to have one? If its for this partner, cant you just call it an "arthouse beer" or something like that, that would help to sell this idea of an exclusive beer, and its cool!

 

[user 336313]

The main difference is the yeast which makes yours an entirely different beer.

Yes. I´ll get more of the hefeweizen vibe, you mean?

 

[user 336313]

About the recipe, is it sweet at the end? I would probably go with more IBU, bur for my taste, sounds like an interesting beer.
About the style, do you need to have one? If its for this partner, cant you just call it an "arthouse beer" or something like that, that would help to sell this idea of an exclusive beer, and its cool!

So, thing is, they want it a little sweet. Their clientel (arthouse cinema) is predominantly women of 40+. Appearantly sweeter beers do well there.

 

[Miraculix]

Yes. I´ll get more of the hefeweizen vibe, you mean?

To be precise, Kentucky common has zero hefeweizen vibe, so yes, that's the difference.

 

[user 336313]

To be precise, Kentucky common has zero hefeweizen vibe, so yes, that's the difference.

Told you this beer doesn´t conform to any style! ;-)

Guess I´ll just call it an amber ale...

 

[Miraculix]

Told you this beer doesn´t conform to any style! ;-)

Guess I´ll just call it an amber ale...

It's pretty much a dunkelweizen running a bit low in wheat.

 

[sallgoodguy]

So it's been a while. How did it turn out? I'm brewing today with a new recipe that's Munich heavy. Munich, golden wheat, and a pinch of crystal 80.