Willing to take suggestions!

I feel like I’m in a rut. Entering my second year and I have 30 batches under my belt. I’m looking at what I have on tap (English Pale mild, Dawsons multigrain Red), fermenting (Patersbier, Petite Saison D’ete, Raspberry Wheat) On deck for Saturday SS Minnow. They are all fine, but what do you do to break out of a rut of similar flavor profiles (mild session beers). Help a brother out. Thank you,

How bout something big! RIS, Belgian Tripel or Quad? Maybe a barley wine. Or get creative and come up with something new. My brew club meeting last night was all about smoked or wood aged beers. Had a few good ones (and bad). Mine was a Vienna smoked lager. A Vienna lager with some cherrywood smoked malt. I also had a smoked chocolate stout that was fantastic!

So I say go BIG or creative!

What beers have you had lately that you liked? Always a good place to start.

I don’t see any IPAs on you list, if you like those, that would be a good choice. Summer’s coming, how about a wit or American Wheat?

Something with hops in it - American IPA or Stout for instance.

Denny’s RIPA or BVIP

+1 to going big!

Brew Denny’s RIPA if you haven’t yet. That’s a really amazing beer. Also, plant some rhizomes this spring and start growing your own. Then you could experiment with hops over a base grain recipe.

I really like the grain bill for the Red Chair Ale
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=86635&hilit=Red+Chair
clone.

I would also suggest you pick up Brewing Classic Styles and try a few in there. I’ve been brewing my way through the book and have been really pleased with the results. Go for something you haven’t tried before!

I guess I’ve never really been in your shoes before, but I could see where you’d be getting ready to try something new. If you’re not already, you could switch to AG, which would open up a whole new world of brewing.

Good luck! :cheers:

One thing that often keeps me motivated is scheduling a couple parties a year with “theme” beer. I will have a st. pat’s party with a couple irish reds and a couple stouts, a summer bash with some pale ales, wheats, kolsch, An oktoberfest with . . . .well, octoberfest, alt, pilsner. That is always fun to plan ahead for a gathering of friends to showcase 2-4 different beers that fit a season or holiday.

Also, as others mentioned, try some big beers. Or, try some experimental beers - brew 2 five gallon batches of the exact same beer. Divided into 4 fermenters. 2 with one yeast, two with different. Dry hop some with different dry hops. Great way to do some real research into different aspects of a beer.

Lagers???

Go to the liquor store and buy a couple mix and match six packs to see if you can’t find something to inspire you. Take a road trip for a weekend and hit a half dozen brewpubs to find something new.

Or, if all else fails . . .go buy something really expensive for your brew setup that will take you in a new direction:)