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!
This is a beer you’ll like, that can serve a big (and mixed-palate) crowd, with a hops blend that should intrigue the beer geeks, and has enough punch and interest to stand out on the competition table. Not bad for a boring fizzy yellow lager, eh?
While many variations exist, the recipe that follows takes a solid amber-brown ale and adds in both the real (pumpkin) and “evocative” (pumpkin pie spice) ingredients necessary to call to mind falling leaves and football (European or American).
Knowing how to build a recipe for fractional distillation (and, of course, how to use the process) and making a style an "Ice Whatever" is a great club to have in your bag.
This is a fun and easy beer. It has easily-recognizable flavors, can mask minor faults, and is easy to get right. Brew it up just before the holidays, enjoy through the snowy winter months, and share with your homebrew and craft beer skeptic friends!