Tough choices always abound when the seasons are changing. My IPA and Kolsch are going to get bottled up this weekend and its time to brew again. I have so many recipes that I want to brew, and styles that I want to drink. Several factors are making the choices hard:
1. Its getting warmer out. I was amazed at the American Cream Ale I brewed up not long ago and we toasted the whole keg at one party. I’d love to brew that up again for a regular drinker.
2. I still have a couple late winter recipes that I told myself to try out: Sweet Stout, American Brown Ale and Southern English Brown. Is it too late to brew these guys this far into spring? The stout maybe, but the browns would definitely still fit in with some wet spring weather.
3. I have a half sack of Pilsner malt and half sack of English Pale malt. I could brew up an Allagash White Clone that I put of from last year, or I could brew up a Best Bitter. I still need to re-try the Tripel I made late last year that didn’t quite turn out right. But these two beers have yeasts that I don’t have on hand right now.
4. I have a good amount of Cascade pellets on hand right now that are probably getting a little old. I should really brew up an all Cascade Pale Ale to use up those Cascades before they turn.
5. The IPA that is ready to be bottled has a nice yeast cake of Fermentis US-05 waiting to be repitched. Maybe that means the Cascade Pale or American Brown should be next. Then again that American Cream Ale starts rising to the top (Get it? Cream rises to the top!)
Anyhow here are the potential contenders in no specific order:
American Cream Ale
American Brown Ale
Southern English Brown
English Best Bitter
Allagash White Ale Clone
Belgian Tripel
Sweet (Milk) Stout
Cascade Pale Ale (American Pale Ale)
So what is sitting in your brew line up/agenda???
Jim L
If you brew the milk stout now and let it sit in the basement until the fall, the flavors will really improve.
Mike
Jim: That is an interesting idea actually. I had been having thoughts of making a much higher gravity version of a Milk Stout, adding some cocoa powder to it and then letting it age. Coupled with your advice a well aged chocolate Sweet Stout may be just the thing come Fall again in New England.
Ted
So many choices. Just got done with a mint stout 1 gallon starter with American 1056. Next up will be a late hopped Sterling Pale Ale. The Sterling Pearl last yeast had all late hops, and was truly a nice and refreshing beer. I hope to get around to a continuously hopped pale ale.
I know you currently have a hoppy IPA, and it is advantageous to brew for the distant future. But if you need more warm weather ale, and if you have enough Cascades, maybe try a continuously hopped (not overly so) APA. You could use a alternate bittering hop for the early additions if there aren’t enough Cascades. Just an idea.