Blending Beers

So you’re talking about DIY blends? The Firestone Anniversary beers are all pretty amazing blends.

I know a few beer nerds who experiment with French pressing all kinds of things into beers (mostly stouts).

 

29 pages of them in this locked thread:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/blending-beers-share-your-experiments.16392/
(Topic's come up before...)

 

Back when Alpine was still a good brewery, people ordered a DuHop: Duet + Pure Hoppiness. Good stuff.

 

It's interesting to me how when I've DIY blended with a friend, when the beers are on their own you get certain hops or flavors, but the combined blend you get something completely different somehow. It's fun to try and enjoy.

 

Not sure if this is exactly in the spirit of this thread, but the Original Dogfish Head 75 Minute was a straight 50/50 blend of 60 Minute and 90 Minute. If you ever wanted to see what it was like before they added the maple.
And sometime maybe... two years ago? New Belgium had a variety pack out called "Blend Like a Brewer" that had (I think?) 6 different beers in it with a page of premade blend recipes. No idea if they plan on making that again though.

 

Sam Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout black and tanned with Well's (Now Eagle) Banana Bread Beer. Timeless and delicious, or...life hack, take a bottle of Lindeman's Framboise to a party, and add some to any AAL found therein and BOOM instant Abita Purple Haze on the cheap.

 

I discussed a beer blend in the last New Beer Sunday thread:

Belated Happy Halloween everybody!

My wife is a BIG fan of a beer blend of a Pumpkin Beer and chocolaty Stout which she calls a Chocolate Pumpkin. This is an annual treat for drinking at Halloween time.

The choices of Pumpkin Beers this year has been quite limited and as of a couple of weeks ago not too many brands at my local beer retailers. For folks who are not fans of Pumpkin Beers this may be viewed as being a good thing. I was lucky to find a 4-pack of a Pumpkin Beer from Manayunk Brewing branded as Yunkin’ Pumpkin which I have never had before. On the can it listed: “Pumpkin Ale with Spices”. What you want for this blend is a Pumpkin Beer with prominent spice levels since this aspect will get diluted via the blending process.

Below are some details about Yunkin’ Pumpkin from the brewery’s website:

“Brewed with real pumpkin, this seasonal favorite is the one true indication that fall has arrived. The aroma of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and clove jump out of the glass creating an experience much like eating a slice of pumpkin pie on a brisk autumn afternoon.

ABV: 5.5% IBUs: 17

AVAILABILITY: 12 oz Can, Draft

MALT: 2-Row, C-30, C-40

HOPS: Summit

SRM: 7 | OG: 14 Plato”

https://www.manayunkbrewery.com/news-item/back-flip-seasonal-copy/

The ‘standard’ choice for the chocolaty Stout is Young’s Double Chocolate Stout which luckily my local Retail Beer Distributor had in stock. On the bottle it lists: “Dark beer brewed with real chocolate and natural chocolate flavor added”. Other Stouts that have a notable chocolate flavor to them can be used for the blend but IMO Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is the optimum choice here.

The process to make a Chocolate Pumpkin:

Step 1 is to pour the Pumpkin Beer in the glass(es) first:



Step 2 is to then pour the Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. I prefer to perform a vigorous pour to encourage mixing. I suppose you could use the back of the spoon method if you prefer to ‘float’ the Young’s Double Chocolate Stout on top of the Pumpkin Beer?



So, how well did the Yunkin’ Pumpkin ‘work’ for this year’s blend? I am very happy to report that it worked very well. This blended beer had a very enjoyable combination of chocolate and pumpkin pie spice flavors.

Cheers to Chocolate Pumpkin blended beers!

 

I’m blanking in which very chocolaty stout I mixed with founders rubaeus but that is a nice combo for the chocolate and raspberry fans out there! It may just have been the sam smith organic chocolate iirc.

 

This was my favorite blend of 2019. Strawberry sour + DDH IPA and it was way better than I expected

 

Just mixed a delightful pair of beers, MiddleCoast 75% GW's Little White Lie Cherry Belgian Style Wit and 25% O' Porter House coffee porter which is a unique mix. They call it "The Dirty General" in their materials and it is delicious. They sell 16 ounce cans in NY, MI and PA

 

I lost my Guinness spoon to make half and halves, gotta be Harp. But it’s been a decade or more since I’ve made one.

 

Not well known, but an obvious combination. I've mixed an Avery Nuttiest Professor Peanut Stout and an Atwater Decadent Dark Chocolate Brown Ale. I figured this would taste like a peanut butter cup. The nose is there, and the taste is pretty good too. Both beers have nutty taste. Not bad. If I could review this, I would give the nose a 4.50 and the taste a 4.25.

 

Troegs Mad Elf and Nitro Chocolate Stout, which they call I think a Chocolate Elf. Blend is 50/50. Also, blend 30% Mad Elf, and 70% Dreamweaver Wheat, which they call Mad Dreams. Both are tasty!

 

Sometimes I like to mix ipas together. Over the holidays my favorite was SN celebration mixed with Short's Brewing's Liberator at about 70:30. The citrus peel and light body of the shorts were the perfect tweaks for celebration for me

 

I'll mix 1/4-1/3 WCIPA with 3/4-2/3 of a joosy murkbomb to give it some flavor.

 

I think that's the first time that I've seen anyone write anything kind of positive about any Atwater beer in these forums. They're not very well thought of here in their back yard. Maybe they've finally figured things out and I'll have to give them a third chance.

 

Decadent Dark Chocolate was excellent, though not sure they're distributed here anymore, haven't seen them in at least two years.