what style/styles did you have the hardest time with? the beer you could never get right. For me its BGSA, 13 years and still can’t manage to brew a good example lol >:( and its such a basic recipe but just never got what i was looking for, either its hot, over the top esters that are not enjoyable, the yeast stalls, ends up too sweet etc etc, yup 13 years of attempts never made a good bgsa, sad but true
For me the most elusive has been a British bitter. Go figure! I’ve brewed the style several times, at least as many as any other style I’ve attempted. I say I’ve struggled the most with it because although I’ve made some that were pretty spot-on for style and had one do well in competition but I’ve tweaked recipes and even tried to emulate a commercial (British) example in an effort to get one that’s “wow, that’s amazing!” and more often than not I’ve failed to make the beer I imagined I was going to. Few British brands are available as imports and they’re often a bit stale off the shelves, and I find most brew pub examples are an American concept of what an “ESB” (strong) might be, not really what I’m looking for, so I want to brew a craveable version of my own. I’ve played with water profiles, grain bill, and tried several yeasts and made ones I’ve enjoyed but not one that totally nails what I’m trying to achieve. That white whale is still out there and the search will continue.
IPA’s. The right blend of hops, avoiding oxidation, not clogging poppets with excess hop material, etc. Hopefully the last few modifications I’ve made will resolve that.
I’ve been brewing some cream ales and pilsners recently, and found them relatively easy.
Crisp, dry lager. Took me years. Water profile was the final step. I had the mash, hops, yeast, ferment, procedures, etc., all pretty much all figured out, but addressing water was my “aha” moment.
i hear that, water is the final frontier, i stopped adding anything to my water for the most part, my water is just fine for the beers i brew, i just make sure my ph is correct now
Me too. I had a hard time with ‘gold lagers’. Water was also part of the solution as was better pH control. At first I thought I just had poor brewing water but as I look at it now, all of my numbers are relatively modest except for bicarbonate (138ppm) which is easily neutralized with sauergut, acid malt or lactic acid. Once I got my pale lagers in line, I was able to brew pretty much everything. In a close second may be “red beers”. When I was an extract brewer I brewed from kits and made nice red ales and lagers. When I switched to all-grain, I had a harder time and kept getting “amber beers”. Some Special B, some dark UK malt (has quite a bit of red in it) and either Carafa or Midnight Wheat to PUSH the color into a spot where it will have some glints of red in it.
I don’t know if it’s something I’d call a stuggle, but I’ve been working towards my personal Holy Grail (or white whale, possibly) of a super-saturated IPA that is loaded with massive hop flavor, with just enough bitterness for balance, and minimal (ideally no) vegetal/grassy flavors. While that may sound like NEIPA, even the best NEIPA’s I’ve had don’t quite seem to hit the target I’m shooting for - either flabby/flat-tasting from a complete lack of bitterness, or grassy and harsh (often both). Most don’t come close to the level of hop oil flavor saturation that I’ve flirted with in my best batches.
Like I said, this is probably destined to be my white whale of brewing, but it’s a fun journey nonetheless.
Flanders Red. Last attempt was a drain pour. Haven’t tried since, so maybe it doesn’t qualify but [emoji2369]
good one, sours are tricky man, i brew one every year just a basic “lambic” style and just cause of the fact they take so long makes them tricky
I love a good sour, but my problem with brewing them is that I inevitably forget about them for a few months, the airlock goes dry, and I end up with either mold or a kombucha-like jellyfish. Maybe one day I might find a keg to dedicate to extended sour fermentations, but until then I’ll leave it to the pros.
the first sour i ever made was back in 2013-14 and my dumb ass used a silicone vented bung thinking it would take the place of a airlock( i was very very wrong), ended up with 5 gallons of vinegar lol now i use airlocks and luckily i remember not to let the AL dry out keeping the carboy in the kitchen helps cause im always in here
There was a period of time that I tried many times to make a good Altbier, but somehow never quite got it right. Eventually I stopped trying. Perhaps I should try again with more emphasis on the water.
I struggle with Belgian styles. It is always hard for me to get the yeast character that I want. Some are flabby and some are too phenolic. I have messed around with grain bills, different yeast strains, and different fermentation temperatures. I’ve made a few good ones over the years, so I keep coming back to them and hoping for some yeast magic.
Blonde ales were a big struggle, until I started focusing on water…now they’re one of my favorites!
i think part of my problem with the bgsa is ramping temps too fast , next round im gonna try fermenting steady @ 64-65F until its pretty much finished then add the sugar to the fermenter and start the temp ramp and hopefully it will dry it out and give me the flavors im looking for, 13 years of failure with this style i almost expect it not to work lol ;D
I’ve seen a couple of you mention that you can’t get the Belgian yeast flavors you’re looking for. I’d be curious to know what those missing flavors are
for me its that perfumy pear flavor/aroma, spice and that bone dryness, crispness. i always get a muddled mess of flavors nothing pops and its way to sweet
I don’t like phenols dominating the flavor profile. I like fruity esters with phenols in the background.
Intersting. I’m just the opposite. If you don’t mind discussing it, what styles do you want fruitier? Do you have any commercial examples in mind as a target?
A commercial example I could never get close to was Rochefort 8 or 10. I used WY 1762 and the beers turned out plain and dull lacking in yeast character. It has been a while so I am going on a not so clear memory. Admittedly, I have a hard time finding anywhere near fresh examples of Belgian beers and I have never been to Belgium. My perception could be off as well, but the Rochefort beers that I get are much better than what I have been able to produce. I made a Tripel for my 300th beer and it never carbed up enough (bottle conditioned) and I was hoping for more fruity esters that seemed lacking for my tastes.