What should I brew?

[chapelhouse]

I'm in a fantasy football league and for our draft party we usually have a keg of millbudcoors. I talked the guy that runs the league to let me brew up a couple of kegs for the draft party. So what should I brew? What would be a good "gateway" beer to get these guys hooked on good beer? I brew all-grain and keg my beer. My plan is to have two different styles on tap.

 

[Zamial]

The common responses are blondes, kolsh, cream and saison.


I just brewed up a batch of a Hamm's like ale. 6-row, 1 pound of popped popcorn white (instead of corn adjunct) Hallertau (60min), Tettnanger (15 min), Hallertau (7 min) US-05. I have very high hopes for this batch.

BE WARNED, These lighter beers are hard to make because there is little a flaw can hide behind.

 

[fletchsj]

Red or a Pale could even do a hoppy pils/steam beer. That's what I'd do. Hoppy steam beer maybe using pacific jade or citra hops.

 

[bwomp313]

I agree with those above me. Also, a czech pils if you have time or any type of pilsner really. american amber ale also

 

[brewski08]

brew up a black double ipa or a russian imperial and then laugh at them and call them lil' girls when they call your beer "icky" :rockin:

...and make sure you drink your beer out of stein to further establish your masculine dominance.

 

[ahaley]

brew up a black double ipa or a russian imperial and then laugh at them and call them lil' girls when they call your beer "icky" :rockin:

...and make sure you drink your beer out of stein to further establish your masculine dominance.

Indeed.

 

[agentEhrman]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/blue-balls-belgian-wit-blue-moon-clone-24978/

An amazing recipe, sure to impress your BMC friends. I actually cut the flaked in half and replace it with wheat malt. I also use US-05. Either way, a great recipe and it's easy to brew. I have found wheat beers to be a great gateway!

 

[BrutalBrew]

If they only are used to BMC then I would go with a Honey wheat. If you are going to brew more than 1 batch then add something different so they can see all beer doesn't taste like watered down pee.

 

[SouthBay]

If you have time and capacity, do up an american lager without adjuncts - base grain, munich, a touch of caramel malt, bittered with some noble-style hops. Just make it a baby step for them to convert to real beer. They'll probably like that best, since thats what they're used to, and it'll open the door for you to make more in the future - worst case scenario would be if you made something like a pale ale or a stout and someone hated it, b/c they might opt out of having you do the brew for next time... baby steps.

 

[Jipper]

I think a blond is probably your best option. If you want to be risky, you could do a mild brown too. These are darker in color, but are much lighter than their appearance. I've brewed for two weddings and a few different birthdays/parties. I always brew a stout, pale, wheat, and kolsch/blond (a couple of double batch days). The people that ask me for "coors light/budweiser" type of beer get pointed straight to the blond, and generally say "Oh dang, this actually is pretty good!" Checkout the following kits:

Blond Ale - http://morebeer.com/view_product/9821//Blonde_Ale_-_Extract_Beer_Kit
(All Grain) - http://morebeer.com/view_product/9829//Blonde_Ale_-_All_Grain_Beer_Kit_Advanced

Brewing Network Session Brown - http://morebeer.com/view_product/10876//The_Brewing_Networks_Session_Brown_Ale_-_Extract_Beer_Kit
(All Grain) - http://morebeer.com/view_product/10...ssion_Brown_Ale_-_All_Grain_Beer_Kit_Advanced

If you end up trying either (or both) of these let me know what you think (and what your friends think!)

Cheers!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

If you aren't set up to lager, I think a Cream Ale, Blonde, or Heffe are all easy gateway brews for the BMC crowd to cut their teeth on.

 

[Jipper]

I agree, except for the Heff. BMC is so clear and crisp, where a heff can (and usually is) cloudy. The appearance might deter them, or make their mind up before actually drinking it

Just something to think about. Whatever you end up brewing, keep it light.

Cheers!

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

Go with Bier-muncher's Cream of Three Crops Ale.

 

[Mexicanconnection2002]

I would do a Blonde Ale and an English Bitter. Something with low ABV because some fantasy drafts last for hours.

 

[November]

I usually take beer to our draft.com I generally take a keg of CAP to please everyone and either a schwarzbier or a mild to let people branch out a bit.

 

[Irrenarzt]

I second the Muncher's Cream suggestion

 

[jcdouglas]

Some recipes that my BMC friends seem to enjoy are:

Blonde Ale: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

Cream of Three Crops: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/

Pale Ale: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

 

[brewmaster12]

If you're trying to bring them into the world of good beer and have the ability to lager, why not something like an Oktoberfest? Clean, crisp, but still tasty enough to begin opening their eyes to a whole new world of beer. If you can't lager, something like a belgian wit always does the trick. You did say kegs too, so why not one that you know everyone will enjoy, and then a big brown ale or porter for people who are more into the craft/homebrewed beer?

 

[chapelhouse]

Wow! Thanks for all the help and recipes. I like the idea of doing something pale or blonde because a lot of them say "I don't like 'dark' beers". Unfortunately, I'm not set up to lager and I don't want to get too hoppy...one of the guys told me that Dales Pale Ale was an extremely hoppy beer . I'll do some more research, tasting, and brewing I will let you know what I decide to brew.

 

[chapelhouse]

brew up a black double ipa or a russian imperial and then laugh at them and call them lil' girls when they call your beer "icky" :rockin:

...and make sure you drink your beer out of stein to further establish your masculine dominance.

LOL... And I have a great stein to use

 

[SouthBay]

Without the ability to lager, I'm going to second the centennial blonde.