Beer Style: Specialty and Experimental Beer
Lindgren Craft Brewery’s Narrow Gauge Shiitake Mushroom Saison clone
This beer features what you would expect in a saison in regards to the malt and hops balance and the fruity esters and phenols derived from the saison yeast. The shiitake mushrooms provide a notable sweet white chocolate flavor and aroma that pairs very well with the yeast to create a beer like no other.
Gruit
While it is true that it is an unhopped beer that uses other herbs to add character, traditional gruit is a very narrowly defined and specific beverage that was highly regulated by various governments in the Middle Ages in northwestern Europe. Learn more about this concoction of lore.
Sly Fox Brewing Co.’s Morning Brew Coffee Blonde clone
The blonde ale itself was made with a simple malt bill and low bitterness — a little lower on the bitterness scale than normal since the coffee, even though it was cold-brewed, would still add some sharpness.
Sapwood Cellars’ Flaked clone
This is their Sapwood Cellars’ Flaked (2021) beer, which is described as an imperial oatmeal stout with coconut and vanilla, and weighs in at 10.5% ABV.
Chicha Beer
Chicha beer is a modern interpretation of the historical chicha drink from the Andean region of South America that respects tradition by using elements of the historical style with modern methods and ingredients. This reimagined style is open to interpretation, but is most often brewed with corn and other ingredients native to Latin America, has a slight sourness, skips the hops, and should be drank fresh. Learn more about this rustic style and how to brew your own chicha beer.
Pickle Beer
If you are on the hunt for a beer that is nice and refreshing on a hot day, here is a recipe for you!
Behemoth Brewing Co.’s Chocolate Fish Milk Stout clone
A flavorful beer led by chocolate with notes of raspberry supporting. The beer drinks like a chocolate raspberry dessert while retaining all the character and drinkability of a traditional milk stout.
Gordon Strong’s Sahti
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.099 FG = 1.038IBU = 9 SRM = 16 ABV = 9% Ingredients15.5 lbs. (7 kg) Pilsner malt2 lbs. (0.91 kg) dark Munich malt2 lbs. (0.91 kg)
Sahti: A traditional Finnish farmhouse ale
As the oldest continually brewed beer style in the world, sahti production does not follow modern brewing practices. Explore what makes this Finnish farmhouse beer unique.
Castle Danger Brewery’s Nordic Sahti clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.053 FG = 1.011IBU = 26 SRM = 7 ABV = 5.5% Ingredients8 lbs. (3.6 kg) Pilsen malt1.25 lbs. (567 g) Briess caramel malt (10 °L)1 lb.
Coffee American Rye Ale
This combines the spicy flavor profile of you basic rye ale and adds a shot of coffee to boost the complexities found in the beer’s profile.
Pistachio Pale Ale
What’s better than drinking beer and eating pistachios? Smashing them together (of course) and making citrusy pale ale using Palisade hops with a smoky pistachio kick.
