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A beer style poll and discussion...

What are your current favorite styles or types of beer to make and/or consume? (choose all that app

  • Yeast driven flavors

    Votes: 9 42.9%
  • Malt forward flavors

    Votes: 13 61.9%
  • Hop forward flavors

    Votes: 12 57.1%
  • Adjunct flavors

    Votes: 2 9.5%
  • Sours

    Votes: 3 14.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 4.8%

  • Total voters
    21

Scott Ickes

Grandmaster Brewer
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I thought it would be interesting to see what Beersmith users favorite styles or types of beers to make or consume are.  So, I thought I'd start a poll and this thread to create discussion.  I know that my preferences have changed over the years.

After I discovered Sam Adams Boston Lager when it first came out, I realized that beer wasn't limited to Coors, Miller, Bud, Strohs, PBR, etc.  I found that beer could actually have tastes.  As I continued to try more and more varieties and styles of beer, I learned that the flavors seemed endless.

At first, I was attracted to malty beers.  Then I discovered IPA's and became a hophead.  That was about the time that I started making beer, so much of my first beers were IPA's.  I'd hop the daylights out of them and thought that they were wonderful.  However, judges thought that my IPA's were overhopped (this was in the mid 1990's).  That shows how much times have changed.  My "overhopped" IPA's would be considered average now! 

I moved out here to the Portland, Oregon area in 2002.  This appears to be the center of the overhopped IPA world, and I've grown very tired of the style, for the most part.  I still make some IPA for personal consumption, but I stay away from the strongly bitter flavors.  I aim my creations towards a smooth, well rounded bitterness with a touch of grapefruit flavor.  I also make an English IPA, which I enjoy very much.  My favorite English IPA usually scores around 40 when I enter it in competitions.

Lately, I gone back to the malty side, with some Saisons.  I also have 13 gallons of sour blends that have been aging for over a year in fermenters.

In the poll, please choose all that apply to what you currently enjoy making and drinking.  Also, please feel free to tell us your thoughts on where your at in your beer style journey at this time.
 
My tastes usually fluctuate pretty wildly during the course of a month.  Much of it depends upon the type of cuisine SWMBO is cooking and that tends to run in streaks as well.  So, in response, I usually like to have a good variety of styles available at most times and rebrew as needed to replenish when a particular style is out or low.  It sometimes overwhelms guests, as my beer list is usually longer than some bars or restaurants have available.
 
i'm currently leaning towards belgian and german styles, so i voted for yeast flavors.  this has certainly changed over the years.
 
I have always preferred the malty flavors so I am currently experimenting with Stouts. My Black Gold Stout turned out great, my coworkers want more. The exception is a Blond Ale that I made for my wife that will be bottled on Friday. Then I have an Oatmeal Stout recipe that I am going to brew the same day. I'm thinking of putting it in the FV on top of the Notingham Yeast trub from the Blond.

My understanding of hops is limited but once I finish experimenting with Stouts I'll start on IPAs and Pale Ales.

Yeast flavors are still a mystery, I'll get to that sometime in the future.

It's the endless variables that make this such a fun hobby.

Al
 
I have pretty much always brewed with Ale yeast. I started with German and British styles and have transitioned to mostly British/American styles. I tend to just do my own thing rather than try to stay "true" to any particular style. I just brewed my first Saison (non-sour) this year which I enjoyed and definitely will do again. I have never had any interest in fruit or sour beer, but never say never, I might try it one day.

I do grumble that there are a lot of mediocre or just plain bad IPAs out there in the craft scene. A really well done well balanced IPA is still a beautiful thing though!
 
I've been in a 5-year love affair with IPA (with occasional dalliances). But like you, @Scott, I'm growing a bit weary.

I live in a slightly backwater part of China. We have a few well-stocked bottle shops, but by the time product hits the shelves here it's, on average, three to four months past its brew date. Those few months actually help smooth the bitterness of uberhopped IPAs, but a lot of the beer's nose is lost. And with a well-made, high-ABV beer, the dustier the better. But saisons are no longer "in saison" and many pale ales are ... well, just pale. This is actually what got me brewing in the first place (that, and a bottle from Brouwerij De Molen, my favorite brewer, can cost upwards of US$10!).

I started my all-grain adventures months ago by cloning a lot of my favorite IPAs but plan to broaden my brewing horizons soon. Summer is nigh and Southern China has a lot of fruits that never make it out of Southern China that I feel would lend themselves exceptionally well to beer. Loquat ale, anyone? Perhaps a carambola sour saison?
 
I really like them all! but have been brewing a lot of German and Belgian styles here lately, kolsch and pilsner, and wheats!
 
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