Wanting to branch out

Yep. It's part of the cycle for many of us I guess. Your palate, interests, and imagination take you somewhere then it's time to go somewhere else. I left the hops behind to work on brewing my favorite beers to style. BCS helped me out a lot. Currently i am transitioning away from Belgians and back to using it all to do my own recipes again.

 

I've enjoyed Designing Great Beers, Wild Brews, and Brew Like a Monk...interesting stuff. I've not tried my hand at any wilds or Belgians, but they were good reads and informative. When I want to try something new, I'll often just browse through the recipes forum on HBT and click on threads that look interesting. There are a number of tried and true recipes on that board (look for the threads that were started like 2-3 years ago but are still getting posted in with 10 plus pages running. I find those threads very interesting...somebody posts a recipe and their brewing/tasting notes, other people try it, folks offer suggestions, adjustments are made, people run into problems, problems are discussed and resolved, folks report back having won comps with the recipe, people scale recipes/convert from AG to extract, etc. It's all very informative reading, and the recipes often get picked apart in great detail. It's helped me get a better understanding of recipe formulation, learn about different ingredients, etc.

Might I suggest taking a stab at a simple porter if you want to break out of the hop-centric pattern of brewing? I've enjoyed making porters, and it's a nice base beer to try your hand at experimenting with coffee, cocoa nibs, etc. Easier and quicker turn around than a big stout, more approachable for friends who aren't used to a big kick in the nuts RIS, etc. Also, I've had a good time doing hoppy beers with other ingredients...an American wheat, rye pale ale, hoppy amber ale, india brown, etc. Still satisfies that hop craving but also introduces you to other ingredients.

April through June is the busiest time of the year at work for me, so my next beers will be session ales so that I can keep my wits about me. Next up is a Dark Mild, shooting for an OG of like 1.035-1.040...seems like that will be nice for crisp spring nights. I did an ESB but didnt like the results, so I'll try that one again after the mild.

 

I brew about 10-12 times per year and about 5-6 of those are IPAs. However, I rarely ever brew the same IPA twice. I'll change the hops, grain bill and/or yeast. The beers are always good, but some are better than others. Since you're comfortable with the style you may want to give this a try.

I like JebediaScooter's suggestion of Porter and Milds. I'll add Hefeweizen and wheat beers to the list. Warm weather is coming and hefe's are easy to make. I've got a dunkelweizen on my list of brews for this year.

 

I've never brewed IPAs exclusively, but find myself gravitating back to them after brewing different styles I've never attempted before. I'm in a habit now of brewing 10 gal batches of porters, stouts, sessions, and hoppy styles to keep my kegerator full, mixing in an occasional 5 gal of others.

 

What usually does it for me is when I find either A: a commercially available example of a style I really enjoy that piques my curiosity to brew said style or B: a commercial exaple of a style that is terrible.

 

If you're looking for off-the-wall inspiration, I'd recommend Radical Brewing:
http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Brewing-Recipes-World-Altering-Meditations/dp/0937381837

It's not really very instructional; it just has lots of ideas for interesting brews based on historical styles, ingredients, etc. It won't teach you to brew but it's great for getting ideas if you find yourself in a rut.

 

My approach is different: I learn more about beer from drinking it than reading about it.

I never shop for beer without picking up some singles of mixed styles. The investment is only $1 to $4 per bottle, and I intentionally search for styles I have less experience with. Of course not all are winners, but randomly there is a home run in the batch. Much easier to determine if you like "smoked", "oak-aged", or "brett" from a single than brewing a batch.

Once I "discover" a new style I really like, I search for the recipe. The internet will always give you some results, but it's possible to separate the wheat from chafe with a little sleuthing. I like what Jebediah recommends, search for recipes that have a year+ of comments, tweaks, results. Usually these give decent results.

Research never ends . . .

 

You could try some SMaSH recipes. They're always interesting in my book. My bravo munich smash came out really good, although it's not really diverging away from hoppy beers and pale ales...

Or try a mild, I have rarely seen this style either commercially on as homebrew. I like both hoppy milds and regular versions.

Or perhaps delve into saison territory. I've done one (a smash with 3711 done at 64-66F) and I LOVED it, will be brewing more of these soon.

Pardon me for a moment, my niece wants to play with the emoticons, so bear with me...

she's a little monster
happy happy joy joy



Or you could research and try some not-so-common beers like zwickels, gose, and sahti.

Another idea is to branch into lager territory.

Or you could delve into Belgians, that's a long way from hoppy beers.

Just tossin' out ideas.

 

Yes. Both are good. DGB is a bit dated, but there's a lot to gain from reading it. As for what style to pick, as always, brew what you like (or what you think you might like). Tasting commercial examples helps calibrate your personal sense for tasty beer.

 

I agree with the Radical Brewing idea.

You might also try brewing an English PA or IPA, there are a lot of English yeasts to play with and some of them do very different things than 1056. Or try a hoppy saison, I have been playing with the Dupont strain and making some 4-5% beers, lots of flavor and not something I can buy in the store.

 

Designing great beers! Designing Great Beers! Designing Great Beers! It's a great book. However, I do believe there is an updated version coming out sometime in the near future. No idea when though. Could just be a rumor

 

Brewing Classic Styles is my favorite 1st step in coming up with ideas, I've only made two beers from the books but it's a great place to start when I need ideas.

Radical Brewing is also a great resource for ideas and good reading for all brewers.