Beers for Local Demonstration

Thanks all! I had a pretty good presentation/tasting, it seemed to be well received. I hope to bring an example of the three beers I bottled (and perhaps even the kegged, if I can figure out how to put it in bottles) to the informal meeting--if time allows, I have a large commitment later that week.
I didn't get to do anything too far out of the normal for me, such as an IPA or sour beer. I brought what I said I would bring, a harp clone, a McEwans clone (wee heavy Scottish), an oatmeal stout, a nut brown ale, and a slightly hoppy Boulevard wheat clone. They seemed to go over well, and I heard some great comments, such as, "I don't normally like a dark beer, but this one is good" about my nut brown ale, so I was excited to be opening people's minds.
Thanks again!
James

cctsurf wrote:

Can I do a sour beer in a month? Just a thought...

In my estimation it would be near-impossible to do an authentic sour beer in a month. Now, if it didn't matter how you soured it or how the sour character ended up in the finished beer, then yes, it would be possible. You can sour a beer using sour mashing, use of acidulated malt or food grade lactic acid. There was also a recent article in one of the BYO or Zymurgy magazines that discussed a fast route to a sour beer aside from the above methods. You may want to try and seek that out that article if the the methods I mentioned don't appeal to you.

I have a pumpkin spice or a pale ale for you but no stout sorry.....

I appreciate the idea, however, I'm really looking for something that would take the drinker out of their coors light comfort zone. Right now, I've got the McEwan's Clone, Harp, Oatmeal Stout, Newcastle Clone, and a Boulevard clone planned, most of which are fairly amenable to that pallet, with the possible exception of the Stout. I'm really hoping for a sour beer... I've never brewed one either, so that's a reason as well... Can I do a sour beer in a month? Just a thought...
Thanks,
James

I have don't have any IPA suggestions for you... but as for the sour how about doing a Flanders Red, those are usually nice.

Jamil's got a good recipe for a starting point: Flanders Red Ale Recipe

I'm looking for recipe suggestions for the ipa and for the sour beer. I'm planning on ordering this afternoon, gonna have to rush it...
Thanks in Advance,
James

I think you've got the right idea with the line up. Try to hit something of every color.

Will you be the only one serving the beer? I guess I'd do bombers if I had to bottle, and if you can, get a pourer for each beer. That may not be necessary depending on how many people are drinking though.

If its just you doing the pouring, I would serve them in an order (mildest to strongest is easier on the palate). That way when everyone's been served the first brew, you can introduce the next and take questions while pouring.

It's going to be in Ashley, I'm really not certain how many people are going to attend, there seems to be some excitement about the presentation, so it could be a fair number, however, I think if we sample at a rate of 1-2 oz per person, a gallon or two of 6-12 beers should suffice. Like I said, any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
James

Sounds like fun. Bad day though.

Where's the event at? How much beer are you thinking you'll need?

I'm sorry I haven't been able to make meetings for a little while, however, I have an interesting conundrum. I have been asked to do a homebrew demonstration/howto locally, and they have also asked me to contribute a number of homebrews for tasting. Sadly, this event takes place on October 1, which I believe coincides with Octoberfest.
Anyway, What I'm interested in is ideas on brews I might make for the tasting. I currently have one beer on tap (a boulevard wheat clone) that I will be willing to contribute, and I was planning on making ~5 new brews in 2 gal batches, to be tasted in 1-2oz increments. I believe that they should be fairly amenable to the average (coors light) pallet, yet I am unwilling to entirely compromise, and want to make at least a couple of fairly exotic brews as well. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. A few beers that I am fairly familiar with making are a harp clone, an oatmeal stout, a "strong scotch ale" (McEwan's Clone), and a Newcastle clone. I was hoping to get into a Lager, but I would say that time is not available for lagering. I thought I might like to branch out a bit for this, perhaps a simple sour beer, an IPA, or something else...I'm wide open for ideas.
If anyone wants to trade some brew with me or something like that, so that I might have a wider selection, that would be great too!
I am also curious how you would serve all these brews, I would love to be able to keg them, but that is a little outside of my current abilities, right now I'm planning on bottling, as much as I love that... Again, any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
James