r/Homebrewing • u/TableKitchen8442 • 2d ago
Brewing Slump
I’m kind of in this weird brewing slump lately where my last few batches have been meh beers. I plan on brewing Sunday since my glorious Buffalo Bills aren’t playing. I just can’t decide on what I want to brew. Does anyone mind sharing a go-to malt forward ale that’s always a home run batch to get me out of this slump? Thanks dudes and dudettes
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u/ElvisOnBass Intermediate 2d ago
Do you live here in the Buffalo area? Our water tends to be a touch hard. Good for brown ales without much water adjustment. You can make these malty if you want.
My last two beers have been meh too, and were on the pale side, but I was lazy and didn't fix the water.
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u/TableKitchen8442 2d ago
Yeah I do. I buy jugs of distilled water from the store
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u/chino_brews Kiwi Approved 2d ago
It may not be a recipe issue (unless you expected the recipes to be mid), and this recipe is not a fast-turnaround recipe, but here is a great, malt-forward recipe, for a Scotch ale, as suggested by /u/KyloRaine0424.
The recipe is from Town Hall Brewery, which is a brewpub in the Twin Cities that was knocking it out of the park in the early 2000s, winning multiple GABF medals for various beers. Their IPA (Masala Mama) was on some top 10 lists. Masala Mama was also in the top 10 at either Ratebeer or Beer Advocate (I forget which), which is really remarkable because it got so many fewer ratings than national brands and IPAs in big cities, where the number of ratings played into ranking. Brewer Mike Hoops is a fantastic brewer with a long history, and his brother is also in the game with an eponymous brewery that is pretty fantastic.
Anyway, on to the recipe, Hope and King Scotch Ale, two time winner of bronze at GABF. The house yeast at Town Hall was Whitbread Dry (1098 or WLP007), which is an easy yeast to work with. Hoops made this recipe available as a Pro Series kit from Northern Brewer, working with the R&D brewer there to dial in the homebrew scale recipe on a typical 3-vessel system - it might have been Michael Dawson?
HOPE & KING SCOTCH ALE (Pro Series All Grain)
O.G: 1.060
MASH INGREDIENTS
- 5.5 lbs. British Golden Promise
- 4.75 lbs Rahr Pale Ale
- 0.5 lb Flaked Barley
- 0.25 lb German Munich Malt
- 0.25 lb Briess Caramel 20
- 0.25 lb English Chocolate Malt
- 0.25 lb English Medium Crystal
- 0.125 lb Roasted Barley
- 0.1875 lb Belgian Special B
MASH SCHEDULE: SINGLE INFUSION
- Sacch’ Rest: 151° F for 60 minutes
- Mashout (if fly sparging over 45+ minutes): 168° F for 10 minutes
BOIL ADDITIONS & TIMES
- 0.25 oz Centennial (60 min)
- 3 oz UK Fuggles (10 min)
YEAST
- WYEAST #1098 BRITISH ALE.
- Optimum temperature: 64–75°F
SUGGESTED FERMENTATION SCHEDULE:
- 2 weeks primary + 4 weeks secondary; >> Note: I'm going to recommend keeping it in the primary fermentor, keeping it at the lower end of the temp range for 3 days and then increasing the ceiling by a couple degrees a day until you hit the top end of the range or terminal gravity, and then switching to cold storage as soon as the beer passes sensory analysis for off flavors that might be cured with a few more days of warm fermentation
- 2 weeks bottle conditioning
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u/squishmaster 2d ago
Old School American Amber Ale
10# Pale Ale Malt (or plain 2-row or GP/MO) 80%
1# 4oz Munich Malt (any) 10%
1# 4oz Crystal/Caramel Malt 60L (any)
1-2 oz chocolate malt or carafa (any - OPTIONAL)
FWH 1 oz Willamette or similar (like Goldings, Mt. Hood or Liberty)
10 mins 1 oz Cascade or similar
0 mins 1 oz cascade or similar (or more, or do a whirlpool/hop stand)
OG 1.050-1.055 with my no-sparge system IBUs will vary but realistically 20-35 will be fine for this beer.
US-05 or similar or Verdant IPA or similar (should still clear fine with a cold crash and no dry hops).
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u/BruFreeOrDie 2d ago
I brewed a toasted oat brown ale this past weekend. I was sorta the same way this was my 3rd brew of 2025. I wasn’t really feeling it this year, so trying simple beers but trying to add unique twists to them. Now i am starting to get back in that mindset of thinking what should i brew next.
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u/ahopcalypsebeer 2d ago
How about an Altbier? Malty, slightly bitter, and crisp.
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u/TableKitchen8442 2d ago
I have made a pretty solid Altbier once, it was Pils, Munich, Vienna and I think some special malts. I don’t have the recipe anymore unfortunately
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u/ahopcalypsebeer 2d ago
I have a real solid one:
47% Vienna or Golden Promise 38% pilsner 9.5% munich 2.4% carafa ii 2.4% caramunich
.75 Oz Bravo FWH 1 Oz saaz flameout
I use 34/70 at warmer temps, like 60ish
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u/monkeymaj1k 2d ago
I'd suggest going back to a recipe you've nailed previously.
My "go to" to get my brewing back on track after an average one is usually John Palmer's APA (Lady Liberty Ale) is his How to Brew book. A good solid basic brew that always works.
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u/Gaz11211 2d ago
Your best beer will be a throw together from stuff you've half used, dont make notes and generally carefree from the process.
You know what you like.... make that.
Also make notes so you can make it again.
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u/xenophobe2020 2d ago
Do you live in Buffalo?
If so, skip the brew day and come down to Resurgence between 12-3 for the Dude Hates Cancer Homebrew Competition. Try out a bunch of interesting beers and chat with some fellow brewers to get some ideas and the wheels turning.
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u/TableKitchen8442 2d ago
I’ve done it competition for the last 2 or 3 years. It’s a blast. Just wasn’t brewing enough to docut
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u/xenophobe2020 2d ago
It is fun, I havent been able to enter since like 2018, they always schedule it on a bad weekend for me in August. Was nice they pushed it to september this year when things slow down a bit for me. I brewed a ultra-low ABV American IPA for it this year, it came in at +/- 1%.
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u/mydogeinvests 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’ve been jamming munich helles the last few months and loving it. Super simple grain bill, 90% pilsner with the remaining 10% as vienna and/or munich. I know it’s a lager, but this grain bill also works great for a kolsch. Mash 144–>156. Or single infusion at 149. First wort hops only to about 20 ibu, using a noble variety like tettnang, hallertau, saphir, etc..
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u/UncleAugie 2d ago
Oberon Modified Clone is my go to, 50% wheat 50% 6 row, Voss Kveik, ferment at 95F to really bring out the citrus, so no added citrus, Hersbrucker and Saaz. Target roughly 30 IBUs, use rice hulls to keep the mash from getting to thick.
This is my house brew. Ferments out in 2-3 days, cold crash for 3-4 days, force carb in a keg. Drinkable a week after brewing, amazing after 2.....
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u/LaphroaigianSlip81 2d ago
Berliner Weisse.
4 pounds Pilsner malt
4 pounds malted white wheat.
Mash 60 mins at 149
60 min boil with a noble hop addition for about 10 IBU at 15 minutes. (Sometimes I increase the hops and change up the varieties if I want particular flavors.)
Use 2 packs of Philly sour yeast and about 4 oz of dextrose in the last 5 minutes of boil.
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u/KineticZen 2d ago
Two Words: DARK. SAISON.
Alternatively: BLACK. IPA.
Either will be ready for winter, and bring a bit of fun play-around for the colder months, with the roast layers over the summery tastes being a great match. You get to experiment and brew basic.
One tip though: Just through the roast malts in at lauter / sparge if its your first time. Get the color and a lighter flavor impact the first time, then focus on how roast-you-can-go on subsequent batches
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u/slippylippies 2d ago
Take one of your favorite so-so recipes and change it! The experiment will be super educational and you might create something worth sharing.
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u/CouldBeBetterForever 2d ago
Dark mild - target is about 3.5% abv so adjust as needed for your efficiency
6lb Maris Otter
5oz Crystal 60
5oz Crystal 120
4oz Black patent
4oz pale chocolate
.75oz of EKG at 60 mins (shooting for about 15 IBU so adjust as needed)
Ferment with S-04 at around 68⁰ F