[HoosierBrew]

If you're a hophead you will be hard-pressed to find a commercial beer that matches the hop character you can get from a super-fresh, massively-hopped, homebrewed IPA. I rarely buy commercial IPA's anymore because I can have mine fresher, and stuff in more hops than is affordable at the commercial scale.

^This^    I rarely buy commercial IPAs either.  That's what the freezer full of hops are for.  No substitute for having it made just the way you like it, and super fresh.

[IMperry9]

Thank you everybody for sharing your experiences and knowledge, I have found it very helpful. Just listening to you guys has been insightful, for starters I know that I am not a hophead and I can really see that. I am a malt forward beer kind of guy. Also based off my budget and availability I rarely brew lagers. Moving forward I plan on just trying to be creative as possible to expand my horizons. Some of my next potential brews will probably include an APA because of its flexibility, a rye beer, saison and scotch ales. I plan to eventually have brewed one of every style there is just to cover all ground thanks again!

[dilluh98]

If you are looking to brew your first saison, I recommend this site as a quality primer:

http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/guide-saisons-and-saison-yeasts

[RPIScotty]

If you're a hophead you will be hard-pressed to find a commercial beer that matches the hop character you can get from a super-fresh, massively-hopped, homebrewed IPA. I rarely buy commercial IPA's anymore because I can have mine fresher, and stuff in more hops than is affordable at the commercial scale.

^This^    I rarely buy commercial IPAs either.  That's what the freezer full of hops are for.  No substitute for having it made just the way you like it, and super fresh.

You know how it is. IPAs really aren't my thing so I just buy the few commercial examples I enjoy.


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[David Lester]

I prefer Lagers by far. I'm not a fan of the buttery-ness of an Ale. My favorite style to brew is a Helles Bock followed by browns, reds and IPA, IIPA like Pliney The Elder. Lagers are great go-to beers before diving into other styles.

Good Luck,
DL

[David Lester]

If you are looking to brew your first saison, I recommend this site as a quality primer:

http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/guide-saisons-and-saison-yeasts

Ya, the author, Drew, is a pro at Saisons. I believe there is an article by him in the AHA Magazine a while back with some good recipes to try.

DL

[dilluh98]

http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/saison-every-season

I'm still experimenting with saison yeasts and different hops so I stick with a recipe close to his "saison experimentale" except I don't add sugar.

[Stevie]

The article from zymurgy is "a saison for every season," or something like that. It is one of the free articles available on the main AHA site.

Edit - beat me by a long shot. Saw the maltose Falcons link and didn't think it was for the zymurgy article.

[klickitat jim]

I enjoy trying to dial in American sour beer. The 6 to 8 months between batches gives me time to brew other things and reduces the monotony

[santoch]

I prefer Lagers by far. I'm not a fan of the buttery-ness of an Ale.

Butteryness is a flaw in most styles, ales included.  There are a few that allow it (such as ordinary bitter, and mild), but even in all of those the idea is that it is limited to low or none.  If all of your ales show butter (diacetyl), there may be something else going on, or you are exceptionally sensitive to it.  I doubt the latter because in general, lager yeasts are far more diacetyl prone than ale yeasts.  You'd find the lagers even more buttery (diacetyl rests included).

You may be rushing your ales more than your lagers, or perhaps you are allowing proper diacetyl reduction by following a stricter protocol when you ferment your lagers.

One other possible culprit is overuse of WLP002/Wyeast1968/S-04.  This British strain is a diacetyl generator and beers brewed with it should get ramped temps at the end of fermentation in the spirit of a diacetyl rest to reduce it.  You CAN brew diacetyl free beers with that strain, it just takes a bit of focused attention.

HTH-

[S. cerevisiae]

One other possible culprit is overuse of WLP002/Wyeast1968/S-04.

S-04 is not WLP002/Wyeast 1968.   It is WLP007/Wyeast 1098.

[santoch]

Thank you for the correction.