[dmtaylor]

I brew great gruits, they always turn out really tasty and interesting, yet I can't say I've ever tasted anything else like it anywhere else.  I use restraint to ensure the finished product still tastes like beer and not an herb bomb.

Can't say I've ever had good roggenbier or a Swedish Gotlandsdricke either, before I brewed these last year.  Both turned out awesome.  Next time I'll use even more juniper berries in the Gotlandsdricke because I discovered the flavor is much milder than I anticipated.  Like gruit, I used restraint, but discovered this was NOT necessary for juniper berries.

Anybody else brewed any of these styles, ever?  My guess is [radio silence].

[Wilbur]

I brew great gruits, they always turn out really tasty and interesting, yet I can't say I've ever tasted anything else like it anywhere else.  I use restraint to ensure the finished product still tastes like beer and not an herb bomb.

Can't say I've ever had good roggenbier or a Swedish Gotlandsdricke either, before I brewed these last year.  Both turned out awesome.  Next time I'll use even more juniper berries in the Gotlandsdricke because I discovered the flavor is much milder than I anticipated.  Like gruit, I used restraint, but discovered this was NOT necessary for juniper berries.

Anybody else brewed any of these styles, ever?  My guess is [radio silence].

I made a Stjordol last year using traditional alder smoked sainhuss malt last year. Got the malt from Sugar Creek, it was fantastic. Planning on making it again soon, but my wife tells me a 7-8 %ABV smoked beer isn't a "summer beer", whatever that means.

[hopfenundmalz]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

I agree, Czech lagers are among the best. Anywhere in the Czech Republic great beer is easy to find. Not so much here. We have purchased 1/4 bbl kegs of Pilsner Urquell, part of the SAB family now, and the beer is excellent. I do not buy it in bottles as that is a crap shoot.

Brewing your own is the best way to go. In addition to my beers, we sometimes keep one, maybe two kegs of commercial beer on tap.

I would very much like to get ahold of 1/4 bbl. I did not know you could get them. The hunt is on!!

Very easy to get, as it is owned and imported by Miller Brewing - SAB/Miller. Any keg retailer can get one for you.
They are the tall 1/4 bbl kegs, not the short, large diameter size.

When ABInbev bought SABMiller, the EU made them divest PU. Asahi is the owner.

[ynotbrusum]

Potsdamer Stangenbier - made it last fall.  Really flavorful.  It was featured in BYO a while back:

https://byo.com/recipe/potsdamer-stangenbier/

[fredthecat]

I brew great gruits, they always turn out really tasty and interesting, yet I can't say I've ever tasted anything else like it anywhere else.  I use restraint to ensure the finished product still tastes like beer and not an herb bomb.

Can't say I've ever had good roggenbier or a Swedish Gotlandsdricke either, before I brewed these last year.  Both turned out awesome.  Next time I'll use even more juniper berries in the Gotlandsdricke because I discovered the flavor is much milder than I anticipated.  Like gruit, I used restraint, but discovered this was NOT necessary for juniper berries.

Anybody else brewed any of these styles, ever?  My guess is [radio silence].

ding ding this is the answer. now these are universally very hard to find styles. i wanted to do a gruit for so long, but was always worried about ending up with an infected, failure beer.

[Andy Farke]

I brew a white IPA at least once a year, because it's hard to find on shelves in our area, and none of the readily available examples fit the hop/yeast/lower-abv combo that most appeals to me. And I do an American amber ale at least once or twice annually, because that too has effectively vanished. (I see the discussion up above in this thread about how amber ales are bland, and I can see that viewpoint, but it's also a style I just find incredibly drinkable when I want something that's a step up from a blonde ale and a step down from an IPA).

[dmtaylor]

One beer that I brew occasionally is a Baltic Porter.  I can't find Baltika #6 anywhere near me so I brew the style.  Mine always comes out pretty well.

Baltika #6 is one of my Top 5 all-time favorite commercial beers.  There used to be an eastern Europe source in Wisconsin Dells where I would pick some up about once per year but that place changed owners years ago, now I can't find it anymore.  I would love to see your recipe, if it's anything close.

[fredthecat]

basically anything it turns out. i know theres some other ontarians here but it is getting worse and worse steadily here. i wanted to try something new or exciting to get my brewing thoughts going. i passed some smaller LCBOs and went to the one i knew as big and well stocked in the past. its been really bad over the past few months. look at the state of it now:



hobgoblin is mediocre IMHO. the rest are pale lagers, then a single 6pack of leffe and some chimay blue (not in the mood for, and its $4.30 per 330ml).

basically the soviet union. the other wall is the canadian microbreweries which are widely awful and overpriced (imports are cheaper prices than the "set" minimum of ~$3.25 for canadian tallboys - wow very smart move to make people buy canadian) and it wasnt too well stocked either.

i brew out of necessity, there are simply very few options out there. the supermarkets do sell beer but all of it has to go through the LCBO or beerstore because there are never any different brands and the prices are again, set.

[Oiscout]

Wasn't there a hobgoblin at one time that wasn't an IPA I seem to recall?

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[goose]

One beer that I brew occasionally is a Baltic Porter.  I can't find Baltika #6 anywhere near me so I brew the style.  Mine always comes out pretty well.

Baltika #6 is one of my Top 5 all-time favorite commercial beers.  There used to be an eastern Europe source in Wisconsin Dells where I would pick some up about once per year but that place changed owners years ago, now I can't find it anymore.  I would love to see your recipe, if it's anything close.

I'll post the recipe and/or send it to you when I get home, Dave.  I don't have it on my laptop in FL.  I think it is pretty close to the Real McCoy  Leaving Thursday and will probably be home probably late Friday depending on how I feel after getting the second Moderna shot.

[BrewBama]

Wasn't there a hobgoblin at one time that wasn't an IPA I seem to recall?

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The Hobgoblin I am familiar with is brewed at Wychwood Brewery. It’s a “Strong Dark Ale” described as "full bodied and well balanced with a chocolate toffee malt flavour, moderate bitterness and a distinctive fruity character with a ruby red glow". The style guideline uses it as an example of a British Brown Ale.

There are a few HomeBrew renditions floating around the internet. My favorite is the Dave Stratton recipe via Cutter’s Choice YouTube channel. Malt Miller has a very similar recipe. https://youtu.be/VokL_3MmLwY


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[Oiscout]

Wasn't there a hobgoblin at one time that wasn't an IPA I seem to recall?

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The Hobgoblin I am familiar with is brewed at Wychwood Brewery. It’s a “Strong Dark Ale” described as "full bodied and well balanced with a chocolate toffee malt flavour, moderate bitterness and a distinctive fruity character with a ruby red glow". The style guideline uses it as an example of a British Brown Ale.

There are a few HomeBrew renditions floating around the internet. My favorite is the Dave Stratton recipe via Cutter’s Choice YouTube channel. Malt Miller has a very similar recipe. https://youtu.be/VokL_3MmLwY


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That's the one. I used to like to get one of those and a skull splitter

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[cjfrye]

I've experimented a few times with gruits, and I'm about halfway through Lars Garshol's book on Historical Brewing Techniques. But I started brewing when I fell in love with Guiness and I couldn't find it in Ohio (rather some time ago). Today, I mainly brew Belgian Abbey styles, sometimes crossed with bitters. The beer I need to start brewing is Orval ― my local stores appear to have stopped carrying it sometime last year.

I brew great gruits, they always turn out really tasty and interesting, yet I can't say I've ever tasted anything else like it anywhere else.  I use restraint to ensure the finished product still tastes like beer and not an herb bomb.

Anybody else brewed any of these styles, ever?  My guess is [radio silence].

Cal
On tap: Cluj Abbey Dubbel, and another of the same (Belgian Pale on deck).

[nateo]

I don't brew them regularly, but two of my favorites recipes are for Belgian brut, and a dry hopped American adjunct lager. Those don't have many (if any) commercial examples.

I want to figure out how to make a good Kellerbier, I don't have anything like that near me anymore. It seems like German and Belgian styles in general have been supplanted by domestic craft beer at my local liquor stores, and with the rise of seltzer pushing craft beer out it feels like 2005 all over again.

[riceral]

One beer that I brew occasionally is a Baltic Porter.  I can't find Baltika #6 anywhere near me so I brew the style.  Mine always comes out pretty well.

Baltika #6 is one of my Top 5 all-time favorite commercial beers.  There used to be an eastern Europe source in Wisconsin Dells where I would pick some up about once per year but that place changed owners years ago, now I can't find it anymore.  I would love to see your recipe, if it's anything close.

I'll post the recipe and/or send it to you when I get home, Dave.  I don't have it on my laptop in FL.  I think it is pretty close to the Real McCoy  Leaving Thursday and will probably be home probably late Friday depending on how I feel after getting the second Moderna shot.

Goose,

Please post this online if you can.

I'm always on the lookout for a good Baltic Porter recipe.