What beers or breweries influence your brewing?

[Hwk-I-St8]

I was first going to post this as a "what beers would you like to be able to re-create" thread, but I'm not really talking about cloning per se. More about beers or breweries that you really like that influence what you choose to brew.

For me, it's Tree House, Trillium and Toppling Goliath for IPA's. For stouts it's Prairie Artisan (mostly the noir series) and Fremont's BBA Dark Star beers.

I don't want to clone any of them, I just want to brew beers that are of similar style and quality.

Who influences you?

 

[oceanic_brew]

Mikeller made a raspberry sour dopelbock that I tried once in Iceland and cloned multiple times. Almost thought I was missing the mark until I got the chance to try the real thing and I realized mine was much much better.

So that process taught me a lot

 

[kh54s10]

For me it is the last good commercial beer I have bought. I have not even seen the ones you are talking about and try to keep my purchases of craft beers in the $10 - $11 a sixpack range. I buy a lot of different styles so my brewing also covers most styles. So, when I drink one that I like, I take a recipe (usually already started) tweak it and brew away.

 

[corkybstewart]

In 1981 I married a French girl and we spent the summer at her parent's house. Even though it's definitely dry red wine country her dad kept a small fridge of Belgian beers on the front porch. And one BIL was an over the road trucker, he would come home on Friday night with beer from wherever he had been, Poland, Germany, Italy or wherever. So the amazing variety of European beer I was exposed to is what convinced me it was time to start brewing beer.

 

[DarthBrewer1]

Lamplighter Brewing Co (Cambridge MA) Awesome very well made beer with great yeast and hop combos. Starbust is amazing.

Hillfarmstead (Reduce oxidization and fermenting under pressure)

 

[Lefou]

I like German and Belgian styles, light or dark. Paulaner and Wehenstephaner brews are seasonal commercial imports I will buy because I like their beers. Stateside breweries I like are Virginia's Devils Backbone and Filthadelphia's Yards Brewing. DBB's Vienna lager is awesome and Yards saison is a good Belgian beer, if a wee bit extra on the ABV side for the style.

 

[schlagle]

I've made recipes based on Boulevard Brewing's Tank 7 twice now. The first one was hopped with a lot of Centennial turning it into more of a Belgian IPA. For the second I ramped up the fermentation temp over a week and it's closer in flavor to Tank 7. I will definitely play with this recipe more.

I've also tried to make a beer similar to Allagash's White. Love that beer. Mine wasn't as good but I'll try it again because it was still a good summer beer.

And I just fermented my first hefe based on Weihenstephaner. Blew the top of my crappy big mouth bubbler. (My main fermenter is full of cider right now.) I'll keg it this weekend and try drinking it next week.

 

[HOPME]

All the usual NE breweries. Just loved the low IBU's and soft mouthfeel.

 

[foam_top]

Busch, Miller, Coors, Corona, PBR. You asked what breweries influence us to brew. Not WHY they influence to brew.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Goose Island gave me a ton. And so many beers, almost all of them British. Honestly, one beer that has stayed with me is Coniston Blue Bitter. I don't even know if they're around anymore but in Chicago, had it for the first time, and was blown away you could achieve so much with so little, such utter simplicity. This little beer won Champion Beer of Great Britain, can't remember the year.

British ales set me on an insatiable path. Goose Island taught me a lot about ingredients and techniques.

 

[MrPowers]

Initially when I was getting into beer, Paulaner was my biggest inspiration. Their Marzen was one of the first beers I tried to clone. Since then, Toppling Goliath and Odell have been huge inspirations for my IPA's.

 

[hezagenius]

Trillium and Hoof Hearted are my benchmarks for what I am trying to do. Low bitterness, juicy NEIPAs with some dankness to them.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Honestly, one beer that has stayed with me is Coniston Blue Bitter. I don't even know if they're around anymore but in Chicago, had it for the first time, and was blown away you could achieve so much with so little, such utter simplicity. This little beer won Champion Beer of Great Britain, can't remember the year.

Yep, Bluebird is still around, the classic example of a Challenger beer. The connection is that in the 50s Donald Campbell set a series of world speed records on Coniston Water in speedboats called Bluebird.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Yep, Bluebird is still around, the classic example of a Challenger beer. The connection is that in the 50s Donald Campbell set a series of world speed records on Coniston Water in speedboats called Bluebird.

Awesome, thanks Northern. Great to know it's Challenger. I can't get anything here - the very odd London Pride - but Chicago is another matter and I'd love to get some again, and marry it to the hop.

Thanks man. And that is fabulous, the Coniston story.

 

[d_flyer]

I mostly brew IPAs, I love them all so not necessarily inspired by any particular brewery. However my favorite brewery is Anchorage Brewing, a great producer of brett beers, a leftover from when my wife and I lived in Alaska. When I brew with brett, I am always inspired by their offerings. Unfortunately they don’t distribute to MN.

 

[DromJohn]

Initially Anchor and Redhook.
Second act, the off-centered Dogfish Head.
Then Dubuisson and Allagash.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I started brewing in 2006, living in Georgia. Two of my favorite beers at the time were Left Hand Milk Stout, and Terrapin Rye Pale Ale.

In 2007, I moved back to California and neither brewery was distributed. So I started brewing a Milk Stout and a Rye Pale Ale. As you state, mine were not clones, but rather inspired by those beers.

 

[passedpawn]

In 1981 I married a French girl and we spent the summer at her parent's house. Even though it's definitely dry red wine country her dad kept a small fridge of Belgian beers on the front porch. And one BIL was an over the road trucker, he would come home on Friday night with beer from wherever he had been, Poland, Germany, Italy or wherever. So the amazing variety of European beer I was exposed to is what convinced me it was time to start brewing beer.

When I die, I want to be reincarnated as you corky. That was as great story. I want so bad to insert myself into it. I spent almost a year in france (around paris) and drank my share of 1664.

Harpoon opened my eyes to craft beer with my first IPA. But I'd have to say I've spent a brewing lifetime (almost 20 yrs now!) still trying to make the perfect German Pilsner. I've spent considerable time drinking german beers and loving them. A nod to the Dusseldorf altbiers, which I also drank a ton of.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Odell, Fuller's, Funkwerks, and Prost inspire me quite a bit.

 

[MHBT]

Moortgat brewery for me...Duval is the beer that got me into brewing and still to this day my all time favorite beer

 

[brewbama]

Now a days Fuller's, Timothy Taylor, Samuel Smith's, etc influence me.

 

[corkybstewart]

Passedpawn, I hit the jackpot with my wife. We inherited the house and will move there within the next few years. 1664 is a very popular "aperitif" beer, served in 25CL bottles at room temp. My favorite aperitif beers are the Pelforth Brune and the Blonde, but a lot of people really like Grimbergen or Leffe Blonde. My first belgian over there was the St. Bernardus 12, and my FIL was also very fond of the 3 Chimay's, but he kept a lot of 25CL Grimbergens on hand too.

 

[Bilsch]

This.

 

[MHBT]

This.

i wish i could get that beer around here..never tried it heard good things

 

[radwizard]

I would say successful homebrewers inspire me the most. Bloggers like, Ales of the Riverwards, The Mad Fermentist, Farmhouse Obsession, Sour Beer Blog, to name a few.

My first visit to Holy Mountain Brewing in Seattle really changed my thoughts on brewing as well.

 

[Brownalemikie]

I started brewing in 2006, living in Georgia. Two of my favorite beers at the time were Left Hand Milk Stout, and Terrapin Rye Pale Ale.

In 2007, I moved back to California and neither brewery was distributed. So I started brewing a Milk Stout and a Rye Pale Ale. As you state, mine were not clones, but rather inspired by those beers.

Yep, same with me. I fell in love with Bitteschlappe Brown Ale brewed by Excelsior Brewery in Minnesota. Then, after moving to Florida 2 years ago, I couldn't find anything close to Bitteschlappe so I started home brewing. Now my pipeline consists of Brown Ale and Stout on rotation. I brew 3 gallon batches of each every other week. Couldn't be happier