[JFMBearcat]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

May I ask for the Czech lager recipe? One of the few styles I haven't brewed much of.

[chinaski]

American brown ale

[RC]

Have you ever gotten diacetyl or a pineapple ester from 1084?  That's why I stopped using it long ago, but I'm not ruling out something I did.

I know you're not asking this of me, but...

1084 is not in my regular lineup, but I've used it enough to know what it brings to the table in my homebrewery, and I have never tasted either of these in my beers.

[HopDen]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

May I ask for the Czech lager recipe? One of the few styles I haven't brewed much of.

Here you go Jim,

90 Min Boil
92% Weyermann Floor Malted BoPils Malt
6% Carapils
2% Acid Malt
Saaz Hops @ 75,60,30 I also will at times add Saaz at 15,10,5 & knockout which won't change your IBU's much if at all.
40 IBU's
WLP 802 or 34/70 or S-189 Ferment at 48-52
Mash@ 122* for 30 mins, raise to 152* 30 mins mash out 168* or you can single infuse @ 152. I have done both and honestly don't see much difference.
OG 1.053
FG 1.011

Enjoy!!

[Bel Air Brewing]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

I agree, Czech lagers are among the best. Anywhere in the Czech Republic great beer is easy to find. Not so much here. We have purchased 1/4 bbl kegs of Pilsner Urquell, part of the SAB family now, and the beer is excellent. I do not buy it in bottles as that is a crap shoot.

Brewing your own is the best way to go. In addition to my beers, we sometimes keep one, maybe two kegs of commercial beer on tap.

[goose]

One beer that I brew occasionally is a Baltic Porter.  I can't find Baltika #6 anywhere near me so I brew the style.  Mine always comes out pretty well.

[beersk]

Thanks to Denny and beersk for the yeast suggestions, I've not experimented with a lot of different kinds.  And for beersk, I make oatmeal stout and porter with flaked oats quite frequently.

Great. I've got one ready to tap this Friday with 1084, stoked about it. I toasted the oats for 25 minutes at 325F also. Adds a nice dimension I think.

Have you ever gotten diacetyl or a pineapple ester from 1084?  That's why I stopped using it long ago, but I'm not ruling out something I did.

A little diacetyl, yeah. It's that butterscotchy/diacetyl thing I love about that yeast. It goes so great in UK styles. I use it for my best bitters also.

[Village Taphouse]

When I go to the bottle shop I am often surrounded by a lot of beer I would never buy... over-the-top IPAs, Belgians, gimmicky beers, etc.  So many of my batches are meant to fill that void:  German styles that I feel are better than what I can get here because the ones in the stores are usually aged.  Mine are clearly not "better" but they are good and they are "fresher".  Middle of the road pale ales... like APAs.  Hard to find in a bottle shop.  Dark lagers along the lines of Mexico's INDIO which I don't think is available here.  Think 5%, SRM 15 or so and IBUs of maybe 20.  Yuengling when I'm in the mood for it.  Can't get it in Illinois.  There is an Amber Lager by Live Oak in Austin called Big Bark.  Can't get it here so I asked the brewer for the recipe and he obliged.

Good call on Live Oak.  They are not easy to find outside of Austin.  I love Primis, their weizenbock which tastes better on tap than the couple of six packs I’ve managed to run across when I was in that part of the country.   Asking for their recipe is on my to-do list

I'm not into Hefeweizens but I understand Live Oak's Hefe is fantastic.  It's been mentioned a number of times and I wish I liked it just so I could appreciate what Live Oak has done with that style.  Their Pilsner and the Big Bark are fantastic.  My daughter actually bought sixer of the Big Bark in the Austin airport when she was coming home once and surprised me with it. 

I find that small breweries will share recipes so with regard to this thread... if I am traveling I like to sample the local beers and if I find one that I like and the brewer will share it with me (and I feel like the brewer has done something unique with the recipe) I will make it here and feel like I am serving a nice craft beer in my basement that could not be purchased in my area.  I know that might sound weird but to have a beer on tap in my house that no one can get locally... that's kind of cool to me. 

[Bel Air Brewing]

When I go to the bottle shop I am often surrounded by a lot of beer I would never buy... over-the-top IPAs, Belgians, gimmicky beers, etc.  So many of my batches are meant to fill that void:  German styles that I feel are better than what I can get here because the ones in the stores are usually aged.  Mine are clearly not "better" but they are good and they are "fresher".  Middle of the road pale ales... like APAs.  Hard to find in a bottle shop.  Dark lagers along the lines of Mexico's INDIO which I don't think is available here.  Think 5%, SRM 15 or so and IBUs of maybe 20.  Yuengling when I'm in the mood for it.  Can't get it in Illinois.  There is an Amber Lager by Live Oak in Austin called Big Bark.  Can't get it here so I asked the brewer for the recipe and he obliged.

Good call on Live Oak.  They are not easy to find outside of Austin.  I love Primis, their weizenbock which tastes better on tap than the couple of six packs I’ve managed to run across when I was in that part of the country.   Asking for their recipe is on my to-do list

I know that might sound weird but to have a beer on tap in my house that no one can get locally... that's kind of cool to me.

This.

[HopDen]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

I agree, Czech lagers are among the best. Anywhere in the Czech Republic great beer is easy to find. Not so much here. We have purchased 1/4 bbl kegs of Pilsner Urquell, part of the SAB family now, and the beer is excellent. I do not buy it in bottles as that is a crap shoot.

Brewing your own is the best way to go. In addition to my beers, we sometimes keep one, maybe two kegs of commercial beer on tap.

I would very much like to get ahold of 1/4 bbl. I did not know you could get them. The hunt is on!!

[Bel Air Brewing]

I would say my favorite style is a Czech Lager and lagers in general. I can find a few offerings in bottles which I avoid because Ive been skunked one too many times. Wish I could get in cans but haven't seen any near me. Aldi's sells some german pilsners that are damn tasty and for a fair price.  So, to the point, I brew a Czech Lager that is pretty friggin awesome. I try to keep 3-4 kegs in rotation but for some reason find that difficult because I have friends and neighbors who seem to think its awesome too.

I agree, Czech lagers are among the best. Anywhere in the Czech Republic great beer is easy to find. Not so much here. We have purchased 1/4 bbl kegs of Pilsner Urquell, part of the SAB family now, and the beer is excellent. I do not buy it in bottles as that is a crap shoot.

Brewing your own is the best way to go. In addition to my beers, we sometimes keep one, maybe two kegs of commercial beer on tap.

I would very much like to get ahold of 1/4 bbl. I did not know you could get them. The hunt is on!!

Very easy to get, as it is owned and imported by Miller Brewing - SAB/Miller. Any keg retailer can get one for you.
They are the tall 1/4 bbl kegs, not the short, large diameter size.

[erockrph]

If it's easy to get locally, then it's not generally something I'm going to spend time brewing. When I first starting brewing I was chasing a white whale of how to cram the most hop flavor into a beer. Several years later, NEIPA has become a thing and I have brewed far less IPA's since then. I just make a run to Treehouse when I need to scratch that itch.

I definitely brew beers that I can't get good, fresh examples of locally, but I'm usually focusing more on flavors/ingredients and styles rather than replicating a specific beer.

[chumley]

I brew a lot of English bitters with high ester-producing yeasts. They don't travel well over the pond, and seem to be a neglected style by American craft brewers.  Yeasts like WY1318, WY1469, and WY1968. Hops like Goldings (East Kent and Styrian), Fuggles, Norther Brewer, and Northdown. Maris Otter malt. Invert sugar. OG around 1.045.  These are delicious and need to be drank quickly, for after a month the esters fade and the wow factor is gone. 

[fredthecat]

I brew a lot of English bitters with high ester-producing yeasts. They don't travel well over the pond, and seem to be a neglected style by American craft brewers.  Yeasts like WY1318, WY1469, and WY1968. Hops like Goldings (East Kent and Styrian), Fuggles, Norther Brewer, and Northdown. Maris Otter malt. Invert sugar. OG around 1.045.  These are delicious and need to be drank quickly, for after a month the esters fade and the wow factor is gone.

one of my favourite bitters had bramling cross hops in it. i have never  been able to get ahold of them to brew with. i have the recipe ready in my mind, but that is the missing element.

[4dogbrewer]

Kolsch, no one brews one where I buy beer. Also, a good clean lager that doesn't have rice/corn in it. Even if I may find one, being from Canada it is too much money. I am a cheap homebrewer you know!!