Brewer's Gold variation

[DaveyT]

Hello
I'm planning on doing a Brewer's Gold clone in the near future. Ordinarily I split my batches into two fermentors and experiment with one of them.
I was wondering what I could do with half my Brewer's Gold? On the one hand, it might be too good to muck about with so I could dry hop it and compare the results.
On the other hand, I was thinking of maybe adding a Belgian yeast or maybe a bit of lemon and rosemary. I've got some chipotles that I was going to try in a stout, but they might work just as well in a blond beer.
Recently I've been trying to make a ruby ale with limited success. I could give this a go again (suggestions welcome) or even try a black version, but I need some straw-coloured ales in the collection. It's getting warmer and I'm up to the gills in dark beers.
All suggestions welcome.

David

[seymour]

...On the other hand, I was thinking of maybe adding a Belgian yeast or maybe a bit of lemon and rosemary. I've got some chipotles that I was going to try in a stout, but they might work just as well in a blond beer...

Those are all fun, creative ideas. More power to you.

But even if you don't go to such extremes, it's always a worthwhile idea to split a batch of beer into multiple fermenters simply to differentiate between various yeasts. For instance, make your big batch of Brewer's Gold, leave everything the same except pitch one with S-04/Whitbread-B, one with US-05/Chico, one with Nottingham, one with Windsor, etc (and we haven't even yet touched on the countless liquid yeasts). You'll be surprised at the resulting differences, and you'll learn a lot about your own personal preferences in the process, thus improving your ability to "dial-in" the exact outcomes you want from future batches...

[DaveyT]

Thanks Seymour. Perhaps I ought to walk before I can run!
It's also good to have tasty beers to drink. Sometimes I want to make beers for the sake of making them and don't consider the fact that I might never fancy drinking the things as they're too off the wall.
Plenty to think about, though.

[seymour]

Thanks Seymour. Perhaps I ought to walk before I can run!
It's also good to have tasty beers to drink. Sometimes I want to make beers for the sake of making them and don't consider the fact that I might never fancy drinking the things as they're too off the wall.
Plenty to think about, though.

All true, and to be clear, I'm not trying to discourage audacious experimentation. Get any idea, then go for it. I think that's a big theme of homebrewing.

If you want to try crazy stuff without committing a whole 5 gallon batch, you could always get a bunch of 1 gallon wine jugs or small food-safe plastic paint buckets in order to ferment/spice a single batch many different ways. Best of luck!