Experimental brewing

[Brew Cat]

any one doing an experimental brewing?
I've noticed a lot of brewers stay in their comfort zone which is fine for some
I love to experiment and have done a lot over the years
I am interested in what others are doing

I've been experimenting with no pressure and open fermentation lately among other things

 

[Dave Y]

I don't think I go as far as 'experimenting', but I am open to trying new styles and such. And I wouldn't mind at all if I could speed that up but my WCIPA is ...STILL... fermenting away. It's been a week already. Hurry up, yeast.
#Whydidn'tIuseVoss?

 

[Brew Cat]

I don't think I go as far as 'experimenting', but I am open to trying new styles and such. And I wouldn't mind at all if I could speed that up but my WCIPA is ...STILL... fermenting away. It's been a week already. Hurry up, yeast.
#Whydidn'tIuseVoss?

I'm not speaking about styles and recipes per say
as homebrewers we all do or should do that at a minimum

 

[Dave Y]

I did do a partial mash brew exclusively with open fire; no electric or gas - I did use gas to get the burn going. That was a long day, and stopped being fun after about the dozenth time I had to move the pot of wort. I should have gotten pictures.

 

[Brew Cat]

I did do a partial mash brew exclusively with open fire; no electric or gas - I did use gas to get the burn going. That was a long day, and stopped being fun after about the dozenth time I had to move the pot of wort. I should have gotten pictures.

a better way is to heat rocks and drop them in to get the wort boiling and then keep rotating more in
traditional rauchbier

 

[Brew Cat]

 

[Craigerrr]

Probably the most experimental brewer I recall on this forum was Ben. Malted his own grain, went all in on gluten free brewing for a couple of things. I am not that adventurous myself.

 

[Minbari]

my biggest experiement was substituting a large portion of hops for juniper berries in an IPA. it kinda works, has a similar piney flavor as some hops. took a few batches to get it to work.

 

[Brew Cat]

I threw some brett in a keg and would push in some beer then drink half and put in another batch drink half and do it again not a real solara but a mock solera. it was actually pretty good if you like funky stuff. I've moved on. I still have the keg though

 

[Zambi]

Not that much experimenting, but I did try a recipe that used mainly AP or bread flour to make a hazy.
It actually came out very nice.
Only possible with BIAB I think as it will clog up everything

 

[Brew Cat]

Not that much experimenting, but I did try a recipe that used mainly AP or bread flour to make a hazy.
It actually came out very nice.
Only possible with BIAB I think as it will clog up everything

When I was a kid my old German neighbor made beer in his cellar (illegal back then)
he used flour a cereal I believe
boy that smelled awfully to me
have no idea what he used for yeast
probably what ever was in the air

 

[NorthCoastBrewer]

Fermenting in a carboy without an airlock (open fermentation?) and "American No Chill" cooling (let it cool on it's own it in the kettle, pitch yeast later) have been the last couple of experimental (to me anyway) process changes.

Also, looking into some process change ideas I read about for a shorter brewday using DME+steep; the process seems to cover more styles than "no boil" approaches.

For ingredients, I'm trying some "new to me" base malts, finally pitched some Lallemand House Ale (trying it in the low 60s), and some new to me hops.

 

[NoClueBrew]

I should say every second or third batch have some odd experiment in it. So far this year a) saison with crushed fennel and aniseed, b) lambic-style wild yeast capture and c) belgian dark strong using reiterated mash. I usually dump one batch of four or five.