July 7, 2010

Update: Around the Style Guidelines in 365 days

By the druidic calendar as well as the Gregorian, the time allotted for my beer style marathon is a little over halfway used-up. I haven't been counting, and this seems an appropriate time to stop, reflect, and take inventory. So how'm I doin'?

The first half of January saw a flurry of brewing, both extract and AG. The year 2010 was inaugurated by knocking out a brown porter, an American IPA, an American amber, a Bohemian pils, a Munich Helles, an English old ale, a Trappist-style single, a Trappist dubbel, a blonde Doppelbock, and a Vienna lager. That's ten. Sweet.

Ah, yes, and in case the ATF has subscribed to our blog: all of that beer was given away free of charge to consenting adults, I only kept the porter and the Helles. Thanks, dudes.

February: goose egg. Uh-oh. I don't remember what my problem was. Maybe no empty carboys. This is gonna cost me.

I got back on track in March, though. Mild ale, Dortmunder, Maibock, and a classic American pils. That's fourteen.

April: English IPA and Biere de Garde ... sixteen.

May showed real promise with an American pale and an open-fermented Weissbier brewed within a day of each other. But then I went to Portland OR for a week, and focus shifted from production to sensory evaluation. Eighteen.

June brings us the majesty and madness of the National Homebrewers Conference as well as long, long daylight brewing hours courtesy of the summer solstice. Warm weather now makes us very happy to have that Weissbier on tap. Brewed a spiced ale and a saison. That makes twenty. 

July is still young and I've got a special bitter (oh, it's so special) in primary. Twenty one.

Twenty one brewed out of eighty possible.

I think this might have to become a half-marathon.

3 comments:

  1. I hit 43 styles last year, so good on you!

    PDX Brewers

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  2. Remember, you can hit different styles on a single batch of beer with a few tweeks. Belgian blond and triple, add sugar to the fermenter. American wheat and Weizen, different yeast. And so on.

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  3. I know you didn't really want to brew a Black IPA anyways.

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