Favorite of experienced brewers.

[corkybstewart]

Kölsch getting a lot of love in here.

I love to brew regularly kölsch, Witbier (with and without raspberries) and Saison (the cottage house Saison from here) and the cascade Orange Pale ale from here too.

I like to brew the Saison in Summer and enjoy it nicely matured in winter.

Now I finally got a decent fermentation chamber I don't need to brew to the seasons so much but my wort chilling abilities still dictate it to an extent so this weekend will be my last chance to brew a kölsch before it gets too hot.

One of my taps almost always had a version of kolsch we called Happy Wife beer. A wonderful light, refreshing beer year round.

 

[worlddivides]

My favorite to drink? Lambics. Especially gueuzes. Flanders red ales are way up there too, though.

If we limited it to brewing, though, APAs, NEIPAs, brown ales, and stouts. If I had to just pick one for sessionability, maybe APAs or NEIPAs? As much as I love West Coast IPAs, I think I have to give it to APAs and NEIPAs here.

 

[Ingo]

My favorite to drink? Lambics. Especially gueuzes. Flanders red ales are way up there too, though.

If we limited it to brewing, though, APAs, NEIPAs, brown ales, and stouts. If I had to just pick one for sessionability, maybe APAs or NEIPAs? As much as I love West Coast IPAs, I think I have to give it to APAs and NEIPAs here.

Funny how tastes are different. Apart from sour beers NEIPA's are probably at the bottom of my list. Just below APA's and those hoppi american IPA's. I don't think they taste much like beer. More like alcoholic fruit coctails or something.
Not much ale goin on in my oppinion.

Someone said those american craft beers were for people that don't like the taste of beer and I found there's a lot of truth in that hahaha

 

[Yesfan]

...........Someone said those american craft beers were for people that don't like the taste of beer and I found there's a lot of truth in that hahaha

LOL! Define "American Craft Beer". There's a huge difference between Bud Light and a light lager offering from a craft brewery. That being said, and noticed you're from Iceland, my experience with Icelandic craft beers is pretty limited.....ok, maybe just limited to the brand below. It is a stellar brand though (their pale ale is my fav, when I can find it.)

 

[worlddivides]

Funny how tastes are different. Apart from sour beers NEIPA's are probably at the bottom of my list. Just below APA's and those hoppi american IPA's. I don't think they taste much like beer. More like alcoholic fruit coctails or something.
Not much ale goin on in my oppinion.

Someone said those american craft beers were for people that don't like the taste of beer and I found there's a lot of truth in that hahaha

Beer has been around for more than 13,000 years, while hops have only been used in beers for less than a millennia, and only predominantly in beers for the past 500 or 600 years. So arguably, you could say sours taste more like "beer" than... insert your more recent style (before the advent of hops, pretty much ALL beers were sours or were becoming sours).

I also wouldn't trust anyone who said "<X Country's> craft beers are for people who don't like the taste of beer." Sounds like someone who doesn't like beer that much. I would put just as much trust in someone who said "Italian wines are for people who don't like the taste of wine." or "French bread is for people who don't like the taste of bread."

 

[broot]

My favorites are porters, Esb, Belgian dark, English browns and most recently German pils.

 

[pvtpublic]

I love a good American light lager! What ibus are you after? How is head retention?

I never go lower than 10, it's pointless any lower than that. The head retention was typical of an American Light. However, I had two bottles stashed away that I opened two months later, and to my surprise, the beer was even better-incredible actually! And actually had a decent retention!

I've always found American lagers kind of dull. Lacking something. But I don't know many brands. Bud, Miller and Coors mostly and Miller the best of them. Works on a hot day that we don't have too many of here in Iceland.
But what's your recipe?

BMC isn't the best representation of American Lights, even though they are, if that makes sense... I've had a few from craft brewers that given the amount of distributing, ad space, and production capabilities, would absolutely bury them where not even Dr. Jack Horner would be able to dig them up. The likes such as Branch and Blade's Low Life or Bunkhouse's Canyon Lite.

But enough of my banter. I recommend you make something better than a Sudmeiser, a Swiller Lite, or a Poor Banquet. It's not hard at all if you have the means to do a lager. In fact, I just followed Jamil's book for it.

OG ~1040
FG ~1010
45% Pils
45% Pale
10% Flaked Rice
WLP840 (2 packs for every 5 gallons/20 Liters)
Mash @ 149F/65C for an hour (standard hour, not metric)
10 IBU's of Magnum or Hallertau (Rager Formula)
Pitch @ 45F/7C, but let it naturally warm to, and ferment at, 50F/10C for two weeks, let it rise naturally to 65F/18C for a week. Keg it with a floating dip tube, pressurize, and crash to 33F/1C until it's completely clear.

A few things to note:
1. This is how I do my lagers, they come out super clean. Everyone has their methods, so if you're more comfortable with your method, don't let me stop you.
2. I use Gallatin Valley Malt almost exclusively. It's some of the best malt I've ever worked with. It's also 30 minutes from my house and brewery, which is amazing. If you can't get it, use the best malt you can get your hands on/get your wallet on. You know, like every other beer you make. But I can't stress quality ingredients enough.
3. I also can't stress process control enough. Your process is what will ultimately dictate how good your beers will be able to become.
4. I just won some medals at the Idaho Falls IBA so I've been sampling those two generously as I've typed this up.

Prost! and other words like that!


Edit: My apologies for not responding sooner, the brewery has had my hands tied gearing up for summer