Lambics are hard to get right. They take a long time to mature, so you’re going to need to show some patience. They’re worth it, though. In exchange for a couple of hours each year, you can develop a steady rotation of complex and flavorful sour beers.
One nice thing here is that once you get past the “emergency – need beer” time window, you can lager this beer just like any other. Tuck the bottles or keg away for a few weeks of cold refrigeration to clean up and clear up.
Drink this one as soon as it’s ready. It doesn’t age poorly, but the seasonally-evocative nature of the recipe might make it seem out-of-place. Happy (early) Holidays!
Start working this one into your autumn or late-winter lineup (I like it as a “welcome to spring” beer), and I think you’ll find yourself with a new favorite sessionable lager.
As a Specialty style, Fruit Beer is necessarily broad (or, more accurately, user- and declared-style-defined). The overarching theme of the style is “balance,” though, with a beer that’s still recognizable as “beer” but also with “evident” fruit character.
Smart and effective hops pairing is a front-end, preproduction skill that every brewer should work to develop because pairing, blending, and mixing hops increases the odds of getting what you want out of your recipes and beers.
Far from being just the “middle child” of the British Pale Ale family, the Best Bitter should be one of your favorites because it combines the lightness of the Ordinary Bitter with the more flavor-forward nature of the ESB.
Kellerbier merges the best of British cask ale with German malts and hops in a unique lager style. It has an atypical flavor profile that, depending on your finishing steps, can represent itself as a kind of German ESB or a Continental IPA.
There’s a simple pleasure to this style that makes it a joy to drink, with the added bonus of being a beer that you can enjoy a full dimpled mug of and still follow the action on the pitch.
The robust porter (sometimes called American porter) because it can showcase almost any set of flavors you want. Brew one up now, and it’ll be perfect for your winter social events!