first off thanks for all the replys on my first topic (what type of bottle ),now Ive been lookin at the extract recipe kits and I’m lost,Ive never drank a dark beer ( I know go to beer store and buy some) but I have always been meanin to,I do drink serveral beers a week and I’m not sayin I want to do a dark beer, I just want a beer that when I come home from work or mowin the yard or have some buddys over to through a few down,and be able to say thats pretty good ! so where to start ? thanks again for the help
My first kit was Caribou Slobber. It’s a nice clean drinking brown ale that turned out very well. It depends on what you are looking for, you mention never having had a darker beer but that you are curious to try one. This may be one of your safest lead ins to a darker style beer. When you reach for a beer, do you have a particular type that you would go for? There are several more basic kits through our host that could be great for you depending on what you’re looking for.
Rad
I know with me, BREWING the beers led to liking the beers. I never liked hoppy beers, but after brewing my first kit and adding some bittering hops, I developed a strange obsession with hops. The 2nd kit I brewed was a 60 Minute clone. I’ve loved hops ever since and had an ever-evolving palette since then.
So, longer way of saying that by brewing them, you will learn to like them.
I would second Caribou Slobber, though I haven’t tasted that beer or Moose Drool. But my understanding is that it really hits that middle/approachable ground of hoppy, malty, somewhat caramelly.
Other styles to check out for having multiple pints without being tanked: blonde ale (sounds boring but they can rock), kolsch, cal common/steam, altbier. If you want to start looking at darker styles, check out brown or robust porter, irish dry stout, irish red.
People seem to love Caribou Slobber, but I’ve never made it (I’m not a huge fan of brown ales). I learned to love beer sipping on porters at the local brewpub, so I’m a big fan of the St. Paul Porter kit, if you did want to go for something dark. Although the after work/after yardwork comment makes me think you might want something a little more easy drinking, like a pale ale. I’m a big fan of hops, so I would go IPA, but there’s nothing wrong with a pale ale. Cream ale is another refreshing beer that’s got a really unfortunate name (it’s just a nice, light, flavorful beer that isn’t creamy at all).
I think a great beer after lawn mowing and for a few with friends, without getting totally tipsy, is NB’s Petite Saison. Brew it with WY 3711 at the low end of the temp range for the yeast and carbonate about 2.6 to 2.8 volumes for a spicy and bubbly libation. Light gold with late extract addition.
I apologize for using the word libation. I thought it was better than treat.
Also, are you doing one gallon or five gallon batches? You could experiment with one gallon batches, but if you’re going to do five gallons, I really think you should try something in the same style first before being stuck with five gallons. If you don’t care for hops, five gallons of my favorite IPA would be a drag. Same thing for me if I ended up with five gallons of Saison (I can’t stand the yeast character). The easiest thing would be to come up with some commercial examples of beers you enjoy. From there, we could probably give you better advice.
Flars, there’s nothing wrong with “libation”!
In fact, after the last few months of campaigning I’ve switched to the libation party too.
Dan
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Taking over for @pietro I see! 
I agree that there are a lot of styles out there that meet the middle ground. I also agree with @uberculture that you should buy a bottle of a few different styles before committing to 5gals.
I would definitely say that you might want to try a few different commercially available ales before settling on a kit that may land you with 5 gallons of beer that you don’t care for at all.
That said, if you’re looking for something light and refreshing, you’ll want something along the lines of an American Amber at the dark end of the spectrum and a Blonde or Mild on the light end. Kolsch, Altbier, Saison, Hefeweizen and Pale Ale would all be potential choices too. No matter what you choose, you’re not going to end up with Coors Light by brewing an ale, you would have to brew a lager and be serious about temperature control to achieve something along those lines.
Don’t be afraid to try darker beers though. Just because I’m not recommending them doesn’t mean they are not good, I actually love a lot of the dark stuff like Irish Red, Porter, Stout, Dark Belgian, Scottish Export, Wee Heavy, and some Browns. But if you’ve never had anything except Coors Light and you sit down with a Wee Heavy, it’s going to knock your socks off. Which is why I say you should probably try a variety of beer before brewing something. Naturally, if you buy something like say, “New Belgian’s Fat Tire” American Amber Ale and you brew say the Waldo Lake Amber Extract Kit with Specialty Grains, the two are not going to taste alike, but rather vaguely similar.
thanks everyone for the feed back,I drink reg.Bush beer,We live out in the country,they aint no fancy beer stores very close and I don’t travel to them big cities unless its in a ambulance, Im not worried about the octane I usaly chase my beer with some of the more refined clearer stuff. I would like to try some of the darker stuff though as long as it aint thick or like cough surip,as for as hops and malty tastes, I’m not sure I can say its this or that.Also what is a IPA,I apoliage for my spellin and writin I’m doin a lot of readiing these fourms and seems about the time I think I’m getin it someone throughs out there a new word li ke LIBERAL,whats that ? thanks again I cant weight to get started,
Tough to say what you’ll like, but I’ll try this out…
First, on your questions- IPA stands for India Pale Ale. This is usually a pale beer, a touch on the strong side, with more bitterness/hop flavor than your average pale beer. For dark beers that aren’t thick and chewy, stick to brown ales, brown porters, or stouts. If you see the world “imperial,” expect something syrupy.
In more general terms, let’s talk through a few terms.
“Malty” styles can taste like a lot of things… common tastes that come from malts can be cracker, biscuit, bread, caramel, toffee, chocolate, coffee, cereal, etc.
“Hoppy” means a lot of hops. Hops can taste like a bunch of different things. Almost every beer has some hops in it. That can range from just enough to balance out the beer (so you can’t taste it) to a ton of hops. Hops add bitterness, but can also add their own flavor. There are a lot of different types of hops out there, but common flavors associated with hops are pine, citrus, resin, flowers, fruits, herb, spice, woodsy. On your next homebrew, when you open the packet of hop pellets, take a big smell of them. That’s what you get from hops.
Yeast- often overlooked, yeast plays a huge role in how beer tastes. You can choose a yeast that just ferments and gets out of the way, or you can choose a yeast that adds its own character. Lager yeast or relatively clean American ale yeasts tend to fade into the background, while English ale yeasts can be a bit fruity tasting. Belgian yeasts are something that a lot of people love, but I can’t handle them personally. They can be a bit spicy, or taste like a pile of barnyard.
Can you try to describe what kind of beer you’d like to make? Don’t think about what’s out there, but if you close your eyes, what does the beer you want to make taste like?
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Just my 2 cents, but a great first time beer especially if you prefer a “lawn mower beer” would be the Cream Ale, or the Czech Pilsner. Both will be light but have some character.
Once you have your first batch behind you then feel free to branch out and try something else.
I agree with Eric on the cream ale. I brew this for my “Bud light” friends but I add 1/2 ounce of dry hop so I can drink it too.
hey thanks eubculture,nice right up there,helps a bunch knowin some of them words,I think maybe something a little fruite but not to sweet but not to tart or bitter something refreshing (if that makes since) thanks again for the write up splanes a lot
Just what you are looking for . Refer to my first post.
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ok thanks Ill look it up
??? not sure what you a sayin
