What do I like?

[wgbanks]

I am confused as to what to brew next. I am new to brewing and have an American Amber and an Octoberfest which I am currently enjoying. The American Amber is more to my liking than the OFest. My problem is I know what I like when I taste it but with all of the recipes I don't know how to figure out what will be to my liking. It is easy to understand why my homemade chilli taste good but I don't understand the makeup of beer. If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it. It seems that to buy the Brewers Best kits is to do the entire brewing process injustice and I should be using a specialized brew. Maybe I'm taking the whole thing too serious but it is beer brewing not tea steeping. Additionally, purchasing a Cornie was the smartest thing I have done so far. Thanks for any info and guidance.

 

[BierMuncher]

Sounds like you've got the hoppy beer covered with the AMber and the malty beer covered with the O-Fest.

Maybe a spice beer like a Belgian Wit (Blue Moonish). Or a light ale like a Belgian Blonde or American Wheat beer like Boulevard.

Get familiar with the styles of beers, then look for clone, or near copy recipes of the favorite names in those styles.

American Wheat Beer - Boulevard
American Pale Ale - Sierra Nevada
Belgian Wit - Blue Moon
Dry Stout - Guiness
English Brown Ale - NewCastle
Anglish Pale Ale - Bass & Co.
American P!$$ water - Bud, Coors, Miller.

Oops.... Did I say that out loud?

 

[Yooper]

Well, the easiest way to find out what you like is to think about the commercial beers or microbrews you like. I found that I was really liking malty beers at first, and then as time went on I was becoming a hophead. If you let us know what commercial beers you like, we could probably help you start to narrow down what you might like to brew.

I like to brew a super hoppy beer followed by something totally different. I'll go from an Oktoberfest to a pale ale. Next I'm making a nut brown ale and then an imperial IPA. I like to always have at least two choices around but in the winter I have more than that. I walk to the beer fridge and grab something I'm in the mood for at that time.

 

[malkore]

Definitely find a liquor store that has single bottles or mix-n-match 6-packs. several grocery stores in my area have that (though not a ton of variety).

beer hunting!

If you're really jonesing to brew this weekend, you could make some Kolsch. its a very un-offending beer to anyone's taste (even my wife!)

 

[Mutine Bullfrog]

American P!$$ water - Bud, Coors, Miller.

Oops.... Did I say that out loud?

LMAO. How true

 

[Cheesefood]

Have you tried a delicious Cockonlips?

 

[TheJadedDog]

Make mine another vote for doing some "research" at your local liquor store to determine better what you like and don't like. Once you know that you can start buying the ingredient kits that match those styles (or the clone kits from AHS). After that you can start experimenting with your own recipes.

 

[david_42]

If you know what commercial beers you like, then look for clone recipes or kits. Some homebrewers only do their own recipes, but making a kit or clone will give you a feel for what goes into beers you like. Also, once you've made a clone successfully, you can tweak it.

 

[wgbanks]

Thanks for all of the input. I really enjoy the process of making and then drinking the beer I have brewed. The 5 gallon experiments are the somewhat troublesome part. I guess I'll just have to drink alittle faster.