28 replies to this topic

[Beerbecue]

If you had the bucks and were ready to open your brewery/tasting room soon, what would be your first brew offerings? Do you have some recipes that you know would go and stay on your menu? Would you offer just your best ales or would you add any of your lagers? I've got a few tried and proven recipes for an across the board variety of ales so my menu would include my best..

American pale ale

West coast IPA

Hoppy Red ale

Robust Porter

 

 

[matt6150]

That list would be about the same for me too. I have never done a lager and really have no plans for one so that wouldn't make the cut. Would probably add a saison and/or another light beer, maybe blond. Would also want to get some barrels going right away as well.

[Bklmt2000]

If it were me, I'd offer:

 

- an IPA (probably would be my flagship beer)

- some kind of stout (probably served on nitro)

- a cream ale

- a hard cider

- a rotating tap of one-offs/specialties, lagers, etc.

[Big Nake]

Here is what I am noticing with some of the small breweries and it says something about American tastes on the whole: You make a beer that sells and that beer finances all of your other efforts. New Glarus Brewery in Wisconsin has a sort of Cream Ale called Spotted Cow that makes up about 75% of its revenue. They need that beer so that they can go off and make a lot of the other beers that they're excited to make and that a small percentage of beer lovers are excited to drink. That one beer doesn't have to be that style but it probably will be a light style. I saw a small brewery in Texas and their #1 beer was a blonde ale with 15 IBUs. In Milwaukee there are a number of small breweries (Rock Bottom, Milwaukee Ale House) and their #1 sellers are on the light side. It seems like you find that beer and it pays for all of the other projects. That style may depend on the local citizenry. Also... what you think is the right combination may not be, depending on your target audience. Mine would probably be something like an American Pale Ale (I think you have to), something Blonde Ale-like with American hops. A dark lager/Vienna Lager/Mexican Vienna Lager of some sort. A Pilsner of some sort. Rotating beers would be kolsch, west coast lager/steam/common, dunkel, ESB, Red Ale/Red Lager, Amber Ale. So many styles. Then you do some test marketing and find what works and then you stick with those.

[HVB]

My Choices:

• IPA and APA of course
• Wheat/Kölsch that would rotate
• Porter
• Smoked Brown Ale
• Saison/Berliner Weisse that would rotate

[Steve Urquell]

I'll side with Ken and say there needs to be a beer that the non-craft drinker can enjoy. Every time I go to a brewpub seems like 50+% of the people are asking if they serve something like their favorite BMC lager. I do an ALL that would be dirt cheap and quick to turn, 1.030-1.000 using amylase enzyme.

[positiveContact]

 

My Choices:

• IPA and APA of course
• Wheat/Kölsch that would rotate
• Porter
• Smoked Brown Ale
• Saison/Berliner Weisse that would rotate

 

 

solid choices.  I'd probably add in a "wild card" spot to make other styles whenever I wanted to.

 

while I love lagers I'm not sure most small breweries can swing them.  maybe the accelerated maturation ferm profiles could make it doable though.

[Poptop]

I happen to agree with Ken that a Flagship beer can pump immediate life into the business and afford the opportunity to design other great offerings. I've been talking to some friends on the same lines and one is in the sales end of the craft market. His opinion/experience is that any brewery must have at least an IPA, a Wheat and a Stout or Porter. Sadly, these are the least of my "go to" beers.

[HVB]

I happen to agree with Ken that a Flagship beer can pump immediate life into the business and afford the opportunity to design other great offerings. I've been talking to some friends on the same lines and one is in the sales end of the craft market. His opinion/experience is that any brewery must have at least an IPA, a Wheat and a Stout or Porter. Sadly, these are the least of my "go to" beers.

For me I feel that a wheat beer can be put out fast, have a low abv and you can really change how it tastes depending on what hop you use.  That would be my intro beer. 

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I'd brew a bunch of beers then re-brew the ones people buy the most. 

[Poptop]

If it were to please a crowd and generate business, I'd come out of the gate with a very drinkable non intimidating APA. If it were to please.... me.... Saison

[HVB]

If it were to please a crowd and generate business, I'd come out of the gate with a very drinkable non intimidating APA. If it were to please.... me.... Saison

I think that brings up the questions.  Who are you trying to please?  If it is the masses then the lineup will be much different than the beer "geeks."

[armagh]

The line up proposed in the OP is identical to virtually every small breery/tasting room I've ever been to, which is why I generally don't bother any more.  Regardless of how well those beers are made, I've had them to death.  Were that the basis with the intent to add something less common and more interesting, I take a page out of SOAPT's book and at least throw in a Franco-Belgian style and a continental lager.  Some of us have hit palate fatigue with high IBU beer.

[HVB]

The line up proposed in the OP is identical to virtually every small breery/tasting room I've ever been to, which is why I generally don't bother any more.  Regardless of how well those beers are made, I've had them to death.  Were that the basis with the intent to add something less common and more interesting, I take a page out of SOAPT's book and at least throw in a Franco-Belgian style and a continental lager.  Some of us have hit palate fatigue with high IBU beer.

While I agree that every tap room seems to have the same lineup, I think it goes back to my post about who are you catering towards.  I would be shocked if a brew pub/brewery could open and not have at least one hoppy beer.  Around here at least. We did just have a place open that is all lagers, sunk a lot, 8+ million, into their brewery as a start up and dumped countless batches before they put one out. 

[Poptop]

Some of us have hit palate fatigue with high IBU beer.

me

[neddles]

Some of us have hit palate fatigue with high IBU beer.

Not me. (Unless you are talking high IBU with no complementing hop flavor which I still find in some APAs... irritating)

 

If you offer variety with options from light to dark, low abv to high abv, malty to hoppy to yeast driven, delicate to bold and beers that reflect different origins/regions... I will be happy. Because I will likely want something different every time I am there.

[HVB]

me

So far it has not happen to me and I hope it never does.

 

If you offer variety with options from light to dark, low abv to high abv, malty to hoppy to yeast driven, delicate to bold and beers that reflect different origins/regions... I will be happy. Because I will likely want something different every time I am there.

yes! 

[matt6150]

So far it has not happen to me and I hope it never does.

This.

[Big Nake]

What would happen if after a couple of years (thank your lucky stars!) you found out that the 4 or 5 best-selling beers you made were the ones you absolutely hated to make or just disliked because they were just not your type of beer? In the end, it's not about preference or your opinion as much as it is about keeping the doors open. I can see DREZ now... Yeah, I don't know what to tell you... the biggest sellers are the peanut-butter porter, the salsa-spiked cerveza, the brussel-sprout blonde and the rutabaga red!

[Bklmt2000]

I'd brew whatever kept the doors open, the lights on, and patrons coming in the door.

 

That said, I'd also brew what I liked, too.