Josh Weikert

Suffice to say, the beers in the experimental style (like this one) get a little weird. Not only are there no limits or guidelines, if there were, the beer wouldn’t be entered in this style. Swing for the fences.

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• Colonial Stock Ale
• Experimental Beer

The beer you get from this recipe will seem like a lighter, brighter pale ale with a flavor that is probably pretty clean and fruity. Over time it might develop those barnyard “Brett” flavors, but they should complement the peach/pineapple flavors nicely.

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• Pale Ale
• Brettanomyces

The style is a place for beers that represent a “harmonious marriage of sugar and beer,” in which the base style is recognizable but to which we add a noticeable flavor addition from an adjunct sugar product.

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• Alternative Sugar Beer
• Homebrewing

Some specialty categories seem frivolous or unnecessary, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find uses for them in particular circumstances. So it was with my Light Altbier, and the resulting beer is a fun year-round lighter-bodied but fully-flavored option.

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• Homebrewing
• Altbier

Replicating a beer is a different skill set (though it does overlap), but don’t worry too much about making an identical twin – making a great sibling is more than good enough, and who knows, you might even improve upon a classic!

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• Clone Beer
• Homebrewing

This is an "Americanized" version of an existing style in the colonial sense – brewed using what was available in early America – rather than in the “extreme” sense, as we see with many other styles.

• Beer Recipe
• Pre-Prohibition Porter
• All Grain Recipe

Alternative grain beers don’t need to be excessively complicated or weird to be successful – this recipe (and others in the category) show how base grains can make a significant difference in flavor and improve upon the standard barley-based approaches.

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• Alternative Grain Beer

Once you get the process down for your system and palate, you can play around with the amount and type of coffee involved, and you should also start playing around with the styles of coffee beer you brew!

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• Coffee Beer

Lambics are hard to get right. They take a long time to mature, so you’re going to need to show some patience. They’re worth it, though. In exchange for a couple of hours each year, you can develop a steady rotation of complex and flavorful sour beers.

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• Lambic

One nice thing here is that once you get past the “emergency – need beer” time window, you can lager this beer just like any other. Tuck the bottles or keg away for a few weeks of cold refrigeration to clean up and clear up.

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• Mocktoberfest

Drink this one as soon as it’s ready. It doesn’t age poorly, but the seasonally-evocative nature of the recipe might make it seem out-of-place. Happy (early) Holidays!

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• Winter Seasonal

Start working this one into your autumn or late-winter lineup (I like it as a “welcome to spring” beer), and I think you’ll find yourself with a new favorite sessionable lager.

• Beer Recipe
• Aber Lager
• All Grain Recipe