Anyone here make "crowd pleasers"?

[cyanide]

I thought it might be fun to make a lighter ale. Something that would do well with the masses on a hot summer day.

I'm not trying to make an A-B or Miller, but an ale that most people would enjoy.

I have 10oz of 60L and I'm thinking of buying a cheap 3.3lb thing of liquid light extract. I'd also use an ale yeast and some hops. Then I'd make it in 3-4 gallons of water. The amount of water I use, obviously will determine the abv. Can't decide what abv to aim for.

Speaking of which, what's a good IBU to aim for? I'm thinking of using either Cascade (always good) or the hops usually found in my favorite micros: Hallertauer or Tettnanger. I'd prefer to stick to one.

I know that no matter what I do, I'll like it. But just for kicks and maybe to impress friends and family, I'd like to make something everyone could enjoy. I'm sure some people here have done this before. Advice welcome!

To sum up, for a crowd pleasing ale:
- What's a good IBU to shoot for?
- Cascade, Hallertauer or Tettnanger.. or does it matter?
- Advice on hops boiling times? Should I just finish, or bitter, or both?
- Is 5%abv too much? What about 3.5ish?

[danno]

look at my last post in the "mild ale recipe" thread, both these styles look like just what you're aiming for...

I usually have a wheat beer on tap for the summer, goes over pretty well...

[b3s]

i make the beer i like...i buy the beer i like...i mix drinks the way i like (so be careful, my martinis are 3-1 and my daquris are 4-1)...my opinion is if people are over at my house drinking my beer and booze they'll drink it the way i make it....

otoh, when i'm at their house, i'll drink what they serve (well, unless they serve natural light, that is) and not complain...even my buddy ken who thinks fresh coors is the best beer in the world (he's got issues...i've told him).

this summer a group of friends and i are doing some camping and off-roading in moab and parts of CO. i'm bringing some samples of my home brew by request. what they don't like i'll gladly drink :)

[wortchillergoal]

I have made that type of brew. I go light on the hops and usally use cascade. I do an hour boil and use some finishing hops as well, same as the bittering. I have done a couple browns that were well liked. Pretty much the same way but I use maltodex as well. My hockey team like the cheeks to the wind mild in Papazian's book.

[sallad]

a simple, light easy, summery brew i like to make:

4-6 lbs light extract syrup (or substitute 1-2 lbs extract with 1-2 lbs wheat extract)
1 lb orange blossom honey
1 oz challenger hops (60min) ~6.0% AA
.5 oz challenger (20 min)
1 crushed cinnamon stick (10 min, optional)
.5 oz challenger (5 min)
yeast of your choice

this should come out to be anywhere from low 3s to upper 4s % ABV, depending. its light and easy to drink, flavorful without the big bitterness of IPAs or any thick carmel, chocolate, or roasty flavors. a crowd pleaser, indeed! you can also add small amounts of fruit to this beer, but that might not be a crowd pleaser anymore.. :)

[yonkersbrewer]

I just had the same itch - to make a nice clear yellow beer for the summer. I took up the Wisdom Ale recipe in BYO a couple of months back and it came out great! It even turned into a great name, IMHO. Since it was a clone of Wisdom Ale from the Replicator column in ?BYO I called it "Cloned Wisdom Pale Ale" which I thought was a cool name. LOL...what is cloned wisdom? I don't know but I can imagine Spock sermonizing about it in Star Trek.

[S.F.B.]

The lightest thing I have been brewing is a CA Common/Steam. It is light enough in the ABV (around 4%) to not knock you out on a hot day yet, very tasty so it pleases the bigger beer flavor lover in me.