Thursday, February 14, 2008

You decide 2008 (the beer, that is)

I'm heading to Minneapolis for a conference to make me real good at learnin' my students good. While there, I will be stopping at my brewing supply house. Since these trips are few and far between, I need to plan ahead. I usually try to plan 4-5 batches in advance.

A recent cream ale I made was fantastic, but I made the mistake of sharing it. All I got out of it was half a case. I have got to stop sharing my good stuff. I plan on getting supplies to do two batches of it. Some to share and some to hoard.

Beyond that, I can't decide what to brew. So, I thought I'd let you the reader decide what I should brew next.

Which style of beer should I brew and why?

I will choose the best idea and brew that style. You will get nothing but the satisfaction of knowing you helped me decide. You will get none of the beer. Sorry :(

18 comments:

Brian said...

As a fellow homebrewer and chemist, I vote for something that only a homebrewer would ever make. Like a India - Dark - Rye (something like 40 SRM, high IBUs, and some rye malt). Hmm, I think I've just invented my next beer, which is good since you can't/wont' share. ;)

Chemgeek said...

Aaaaah, your typical IDR. Sounds intriguing. Especially since I've never used rye malt.

Anonymous said...

How about these?

1) An American Brown Ale, like Pete's Wicked Ale was before they changed the recipe. Man I loved that beer.

2) A Toasted Nut Brown Ale. I make mine by toasting a portion of the crystal malt in the toaster oven. I don't know that I'm doing anything different than what is normally done to make crystal malt, but it tastes "toastier" to me.

Yes, I like dark beer-- I think I better brew these soon!

Cheers!

Woller's Disciples said...

Vanilla Porter because I want to make one and need some advice on a recipe.

rangermonk said...

How about an Indian Brown Ale. It is a play off of two different beers, IPA and American Brown Ale. If you are familiar with Dogfish Head, you may have had their IBA. Not as extreme as the IDR, but a little bigger then the ABA. This is a much different style from what you have in your beer list, but fits well with extract and partial mash.

Foam said...

If you're planning on heading to northern brewer, check out their "New Old Ale" kit. It was the first batch I ever brewed, and it turned out great! On second thought, that's a horrible beer for the spring/summer. But if you cellar it until fall, it'll knock your socks off.

Maybe a saison instead, an awesome summer belgian style of beer.

marcus said...

Try a Honey Kolsch w/~30IBU's of Czech Saaz. Bottling with honey (not sugar)gave it a better aroma and flavor.

Chemgeek said...

Marcus,

Good idea. But, at with the current price of $6.25 per ounce for Saaz, it could cost $30 for just the hops. Yikes!!!!!

Savagesteve,

A brown ale. hmmmmmm. it has been a while since I did a brown ale.


Woller's disciples,

Give me a break. A vanilla porter?

Rangermonk,

Your idea intrigue me.

Foam,

I'll be in Bloomington and I do not plan on driving over to St. Paul. Even though, I am a fan of Northern Brewer. I've had great success with their kits. I plan on ordering some things from them (thanks to the $7.99 flat shipping rate) including my first attempt at mead... but that's another post.



So far a brown ale is winning, but it is still too early to project a winner.

Anonymous said...

May I suggest a nice medium-body amber ale or maybe irish red? Home-brewed beers are often quite heavy - which is perfectly fine for the winter - but you can't drink too many or you get slumberous. Make something that can be guzzled, not contemplated over. Then call up your old buddies, rent the orignical Star Wars and laugh yourself silly at stuff like "Luke, she is your sister!"

Anonymous said...

I'll vote for a Saison and do a bigger one that'll be ready in the dog-days of August. Better yet, add 1 or 1.5 lbs of honey and get a bier de miel-type beer.

Chemgeek said...

I still need to decide, but in the spirit of impending Spring (seriously, it has to become Spring eventually, right) I'm going to follow the lighter beer route.

A saison or a kolsch sound good.

MJenks said...

Between those two, kolsch. Mostly because I haven't had one in a while (not that I've had anything in a while, and not that you're giving me any of your beer, but a kolsch sounds tasty right about now).

It's sad when the parenthetical comments are longer than the actual comment.

Woller's Disciples said...

ass

Chemgeek said...

Whatever.....

Chemgeek said...

Here's your vanilla porter recipe:

Make a porter
Soak 4 vanilla beans (chopped up) in vodka and add the liquid to the secondary.

Proceed as usual.

Unknown said...

With the sinch on hops coming soon why not start your experimenting early. Get a jump start on a good low AAU beer.
It doesn't have to be vanilla but you can make a nice roasty porter with a low hop profile.

Woller's Disciples said...

ohhhhhh...Good thing I asked cause I was thinking 5 vanilla beans. Do you think one should go with Karkov or a smoother Silver Wolf?

Chemgeek said...

Get the cheapest vodka you can find because the vanilla beans will cost you plenty.