Black beer styles for Summer

[Bigbre04]

Hey all,

I need some ideas for some black beer styles for summer at the beach. My Standard is a Schwarzbier(which is what is on right now) but i am kind of bored with that. There is a chance that i am instructed to double batch that for distribution, but that hasnt happened yet so i am still allowed to dream.

Obviously i could brew a 5-6% stout and let it ride, but that feels lame.

I built a recipe for a slighlty reduced abv black belgian ale and posted it for feedback. I will likely build a new recipe from scratch and see how that turns out.


Current draft list:
1-coconut brown 6.1% <--Brown/amber
2-maibock 6.8% <--Flexible Spot for random styles
3-apricot/strawberry sour 6.4% <-- sour(keylime sour after this one kicks)
4-IPA 7.3% <--Strong IPA
5-Golden lager 5% <--Golden lager(year round)
6-Black lager 5.8% <-- Dark beer
7-Imp Golden lager-8.3% <--Strong spot but can be something else
8-session IPA 5% <-- Session IPA(year round)

 

[Sandy Feet]

I think a normal, Irish Stout around 4.8% is VERY summer. Not so much the heavier ones. Dark Mexican lager with a little flaked corn? Redish/darkish, Vienna Lager?

 

[Bigbre04]

I think a normal, Irish Stout around 4.8% is VERY summer. Not so much the heavier ones. Dark Mexican lager with a little flaked corn? Redish/darkish, Vienna Lager?

Just kicked my Amber Mexican Lager/Vienna. I could certainly make that again it sold really really well, but that would slot more into the amber brown line.

I dont recall the irish stout selling very well, but i will look back at that.

having only 8 draft lines makes this far far more complicated. i really try to keep a bunch of different stuff on so that people have variety and to satisfy most tastes.

 

[Sunfire96]

Do you have to have a dark beer on year-round? If you find 8 lines too limiting, just drop the dark beer for a few rotations

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

How about a Peach Wheat Ale? Very summery.

 

[Brew Cat]

I noticed you don't have any Weiss beers
That's sacrilegious
We have been discussing the dunkelweissen
Why not brew that

 

[Brew Cat]

My Bier de Garde is dark and that can be good for summer highly carbed

 

[Bigbre04]

Do you have to have a dark beer on year-round? If you find 8 lines too limiting, just drop the dark beer for a few rotations

i dont have to have it year around, but surprisingly on the beach people still drink dark beers pretty steady.

Technically they are different threads, one was about the recipes, this one was really looking for different styles. but they are similar threads in hindsight.

How about a Peach Wheat Ale? Very summery.

you mean apricot? lol peach is a flavor that does not translate very well. I have tried many times. Most commecial beers you find that call themselves peach are actually apricot.

A fruity beer would be fitting. ill spin one up.

I have a "italian" pilsner that is in fermentation right now that will slip in on the next line that opens up.

I could bring back my blueberry kolsch? or maybe once the sour changes over i will do a Apricot Kolsch.

@Brew Cat I would need to bring in different yeast for a beire de gaurde and i dont trust Saison yeast. It is sketchy in a commercial setting. BUT i could probably do something similar using trappist yeast???

 

[J A]

I have 5 lines but I don't stick around all summer and end up not brewing much after about March so things start thinning out by April and May.
To me a solid summer lineup would be:
American Lager/Cream Ale/UK Golden Ale
Texas Bock/Light American Amber
Session Pale - usually juicy or hazy
Witbier or UK Golden Ale
IPA - not too heavy

For fall:
Pils or Rice Lager
Octoberfest
Pale Ale
IPA
Irish Red


Winter going into spring:
Pils
Pale Ale
IPA
Irish Red or American Amber
Dry Stout

I don't usually think of anything darker than Shiner Bock or maybe Negro Modelo when the weather is hot but I had a party the other night and still had a dry stout on tap from the winter and found myself hitting it exclusively. A good Guinness-style stout with lots of malt, plenty of roast but not overbearing hops, that finishes clean and light is just hard to beat.

 

[Brew Cat]

i dont have to have it year around, but surprisingly on the beach people still drink dark beers pretty steady.

Technically they are different threads, one was about the recipes, this one was really looking for different styles. but they are similar threads in hindsight.

you mean apricot? lol peach is a flavor that does not translate very well. I have tried many times. Most commecial beers you find that call themselves peach are actually apricot.

A fruity beer would be fitting. ill spin one up.

I have a "italian" pilsner that is in fermentation right now that will slip in on the next line that opens up.

I could bring back my blueberry kolsch? or maybe once the sour changes over i will do a Apricot Kolsch.

@Brew Cat I would need to bring in different yeast for a beire de gaurde and i dont trust Saison yeast. It is sketchy in a commercial setting. BUT i could probably do something similar using trappist yeast???

If you read up on Bier de Garde
Saison yeast is rarely used
Often brewed with lager yeast or German ale yeast
You could go with an Abby yeast
I used T-58 because I had it around
It's a fun style to play around with
You can even use fruit
Let me find some literature for you when I'm near a computer

 

[Brew Cat]

I have 5 lines but I don't stick around all summer and end up not brewing much after about March so things start thinning out by April and May.
To me a solid summer lineup would be:
American Lager/Cream Ale/UK Golden Ale
Texas Bock/Light American Amber
Session Pale - usually juicy or hazy
Witbier or UK Golden Ale
IPA - not too heavy

For fall:
Pils or Rice Lager
Octoberfest
Pale Ale
IPA
Irish Red


Winter going into spring:
Pils
Pale Ale
IPA
Irish Red or American Amber
Dry Stout

I don't usually think of anything darker than Shiner Bock or maybe Negro Modelo when the weather is hot but I had a party the other night and still had a dry stout on tap from the winter and found myself hitting it exclusively. A good Guinness-style stout with lots of malt, plenty of roast but not overbearing hops, that finishes clean and light is just hard to beat.

Personally I wouldn't reach for a British style in the hot months
Dark Czech Lager yes

 

[J A]

Personally I wouldn't reach for a British style in the hot months
Dark Czech Lager yes

UK Golden Ale that I've been making goes down like a lager. It's a style that's fast to get online, too. My brewery area has been down for a couple of months but I need to get everything working long enough to throw down a quick batch. If I could manage to do that and a quick Pale Ale, I could be set until I leave in July. If I'm smart I'd try to get a 10-gallon batch of Octoberfest sitting in kegs over the summer for tapping in September/October.

Back in the day I drank Michelob Classic Dark pretty much year round (though I didn't live in Texas then). That beer fit the International Dark Lager guidelines and that's not much different at all from the Czech Dark. I think anything that stays crisp in the finish and has just enough roast to balance the malty sweetness will do the trick.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I like my Amber bock dark lager recipes, my stout is too acitic, I need to work on that

 

[The Brew Mentor]

The way I look at is that if someone is looking for a roasty, dark beer in summer, you may as well give it to them.
That being said, id go with a big, rich Oatmeal Stout.
6.5% and thick and creamy.
My 2 cents.
Cheers,
Brian

 

[Mont Y. Märzen]

+1 on the Czech Dark, but I'll also offer:

* Tropical Stout
* Chocolate-Cayenne Stout (you won't be able to keep it in stock if you nail the pepper right)
* Dark Mild (maybe with some added Midnight Wheat if you want 'Black Mild' for another Session option)
* Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale (Magnum for bittering, Sorachi Ace Whirlpool & Dryhop, you'll get Menthol out of it - very cooling and refreshing!)

On the note about the Cayenne, the best way to dial that in is to find someone with a freeze drier and dry some fresh whole peppers and pulverize them. (yeah, you can buy the powder too, but not as great) Then dose a beer starting slow until you find the right balance to the Chocolate (they pair perfectly!) measuring of course along the way. Then just dose your kegs at transfer with the powder.

 

[Mont Y. Märzen]

I could bring back my blueberry kolsch? or maybe once the sour changes over i will do a Apricot Kolsch.

Cucumber-Lime Gôse?
Salted-Watermelon Gôse?

Urban South in NOLA makes both - delicious Spring–Fall.

 

[Clibit]

Being English I have a different slant. Golden ales are very popular here, especially in the warmer months, and other light coloured styles, though our warmer months aren't as warm as yours. We also drink at lower ABVs than you, especially in summer. You will find a lot of beers on draft here in the 3.4 to 4.4% range, and there are more, darker options available in the winter months. Guinness is drunk all year round though, it's not far off being a black nitro lager really, very light, 4.2%. That would be my suggestion, an Irish stout with that kind of ABV. For me, Beamish beats Guinness hands down. It's much harder to find outside of Ireland though, unfortunately.

 

[Brew Cat]

⁸

Being English I have a different slant. Golden ales are very popular here, especially in the warmer months, and other light coloured styles, though our warmer months aren't as warm as yours. We also drink at lower ABVs than you, especially in summer. You will a lot of beers on draft here in 3.4 to 4.4% range, and there will more darker options available in the winter months. Guinness is drunk all year round though, it's not far off being a black nitro lager really, very light, 4.2%. That would be my suggestion, an Irish stout with that kind of ABV. For me, Beamish beats Guinness hands down. It's much harder to find outside of Ireland though, unfortunately.

When I was in London in the 90s didn't see any Guinness in the Pubs I visited
Is it different now?

 

[Mont Y. Märzen]

⁸

When I was in London in the 90s didn't see any Guinness in the Pubs I visited
Is it different now?

Beamish is indeed excellent and I prefer it to Guinness. I haven't seen it in a spell so I'll have to go hunting for it.

 

[Ward Chillington]

Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale (Magnum for bittering, Sorachi Ace Whirlpool & Dryhop, you'll get Menthol out of it - very cooling and refreshing!)

And you can think about those snow capped black mountains as you sip through that beautiful head of white foam! Absolutely cooling and refreshing!