So New Belgium released a "Blend Like A Brewer" variety pack. It's essentially 2 of New Belgium's beers..their Fat Tire, 1554, Citradelic..etc. The idea is to mix/blend them according to their recipe booklet to create a "new beer". So far I've tried the Black Lager mixed with the Sour...not bad. But I'm left with 2/3 a bottle of a sour and 1/3 a bottle of the black Lager. I just ended up mixing those 2 together. Wondering what all of your opinions are on this whole mixing beer thing? And also any beers you may have dared to mix together that weren't part of such a pack? Great combos? Terrible ones? What are your experiences?
Edmund Fitzgerald and Ghost Face Killah. Used half a bottle of each in beer bread batter, then mixed the rest together to drink. The beer bread was quite tasty. The drink was an epic fail.
Only ever really done two: FBS and Xocoveza. I feel Xocoveza is a touch on the thin side and I dont always like the full onslaught of spices, so this blend ends up being magical. I don't feel a lot of beers need help, but this help makes the beer into something truly great. Nothing goes to waste. You can either perceive it as a fuller bodied Xocoveza, or a mexican hot chocolate FBS. And if you are brave enough, find a can of death by coconut and experiment with that one. A tri-blend of the above three is such a treat as well. That small splash of coconut sends things into a tizzy. I tend to go about 1/3 of each for the tri, or 1/2 of FBS and 1/2 of Xoco for the two beer blend. Cats out of the bag. I've been blending these for 2 plus years now (xoco is only 3 years old, right?) If Founders ever releases a mexican hot chocolate FBS, these are the type of flavors I am dreaming about. Experimenting can be fun. Ive heard of some people using coffee presses and DFHs randal to get spices/hops infused into their beers. But thats a bit different from a straight blend or mixing of beers. I know of a few who tried a pour mans BCBS 'coconut' with bcbs and death by. Results were mixed
Did this a few weeks ago; 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.
I’ve mixed before, but usually to compensate for flaws in homebrew. Be careful about getting too much into the mixing/cocktail spirit. I once pretended I was Tom Cruise and flipped a full open can behind my back. THAT took a while to clean up...
I've found that mixing a good stout and a good fruit beer results in a beer that's significantly better then most fruited stouts I've had
Rimshot... A buddy of mine likes to mix a local chocolate golden ale with stouts at the same brewery and he claims it's better than either originally is. In fact the brewery started putting mixes with their chocolate and blueberry on the menu. I don't normally like mixed beers (black and tan for instance). I am planning on experimenting with some local stouts and a French press soon. Need some vanilla beans!
I've done this with homebrew as well. Doing in now with a sour cider and a brett beer with excellent results. The individual beers weren't flawed, just not very exciting on their own. With commercial beers, I'd recommend keeping in mind that blending 50/50 probably isn't your best bet. Just like with blending gueuze or even wine, starting out with a solid base beer that will make up the majority of your blend is paramount. Then add smaller percentages of one or two other beers to accentuate the flavors in the first beer while bringing other characteristics to the palate. Blending is fun, but you've got to know what you're looking for before you start. It isn't as simple as "this beer is good and this beer is good, so together they should be great".
Two-thirds Founders Imperial Stout (or Bell's Expedition) and one-third Rubaeus is a great combination.
