Skydiving themed beers

[billvon 2,406]

Been thinking about making some skydiving themed beers for friends and fundraisers. Some ideas:

Skydiver Blonde. This is a biggie because most people like it and it has a long and storied history in Montana and the Lost Prairie boogie. I'd have to get the OK from John C before I try to reproduce this in earnest, but I'm doing a few experiments to see how close I can come based purely on memory (and hints from their website.)

Porter. This seems to be the most popular dark beer out there, and I'd go for a chocolaty porter similar to Hangar 24's porter. Call it Perris Porter or something and have a picture of the Porter on the label.

Belgian. I'm doing a belgian double right now, but for the skydiving market I'd probably do it as an abbey-style single (broader appeal.) Aiming for a beer like Lost Abbey Inferno. Call it Bigway Belgian.

Fruit beer. I've had a lot of luck introducing people to better beer via fruit beer because it's less intimidating than (say) a stout or a barrel aged whatever. For this one I'd probably do a mild ale with raspberry or blackberry. (Rubick Raspberry?)

Anyone else have any ideas? The names are easy; I'm more interested in the styles people 1) like, 2) think would be popular to other skydivers and 3) are relatively easy to make. In other words, I'd probably skip the barrel aged sours and lagers for now in favor of the more basic ales.

[countzero 7]

a nice balanced red ale. or a belgain white ale.

i'd also say a pale or an IPA but i tend to find that people either love or hate real hoppy beers, so not much of a broad appeal there, but they are easy to make.

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[billvon 2,406]

>i'd also say a pale or an IPA . . . .

Maybe an APA there with bittering hops dialed back a bit, say to 20 IBU's. Dryhopping could give it a little more flavor without the bitterness.

[Jumpervint 0]

A Scotch ale. Something like Pike's Kilt Lifter.

Vint

. . . . .
"Make it hard again." Doc Ed

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” Nikos Kazantzakis

[faulknerwn 36]

I love Bocks and Reds ...

[skybytch 259]

A hefeweizen. No idea if it's easy to make, but I like it and I know some other skydivers who like it so...

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Pilatus Porter.
Speaking of porters, Atwater Block Brewery in Detroit makes a tasty beverage they call Vanilla Java Porter. Made with chocolate malt, vanilla & java beans, and U.S. Golding Hops. Tasty, but VERY filling.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[beowulf 1]

How about a Belgian triple??
I am a big fan of Gulden Draak

[VectorBoy 0]

I thought real skydivers just rank bourbon, can you make us some of that ? I know there is the whole water thing but you are a brilliant young mind that can get around that......right?

[riddler 0]

Seems like you should go for the popular styles - guinness-style stout, blonde and IPA might be the best bets.

Personally, back when I drank beer, I preferred a good brown beer. If I was going for a skydiving theme, I would definitely call it "Skid Mark"

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[billvon 2,406]

>guinness-style stout, blonde and IPA might be the best bets.

Blonde - agreed. But do skydivers really go for stouts and IPA's? I've had several people ask "that's not one of the bitter ones, is it?" at beer tastings I've had. Stouts seem a little more popular, with a few people asking for darker stuff.

If they would go for an IPA the timing is good - hop prices are finally coming down again. I'd try to copy the Bison Brewing IPA; it's got that grassy-hop taste and smell without being too bitter.

[anthonyfellows 0]

As long as they contain alcohol, I think you are bound to hit the market that you're looking for.

Serious relationships turn into work after a few weeks and I already got a fucking job :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
H.A.F. = Hard As Fuck ... Goddamn Amateurs

[ltdiver 3]

How about a raspberry ale?

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[anthonyfellows 0]

Quote

How about a raspberry ale?

Black Cherry would be better!!!

Serious relationships turn into work after a few weeks and I already got a fucking job :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
H.A.F. = Hard As Fuck ... Goddamn Amateurs

[angrypeppers 1]

I just brewed up my first ever batch of homebrew. It's a porter, but turned out darker than I was expecting. I'm calling it "Blue Skies Black Porter" since it's so dark..."Used Motor Oil" and "Lump of Coal" were already taken.

Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

[Harmless 0]

I like pretty much everything but pale ales of any kind... of course I've never turned down the chance to try a new one.

Some of my favorites...

Black Butte Porter -Dechutes Brew Co.
Milk Stout - Left Hand Brew Co.
Bell's Special Double Cream Stout - Bell's Brewery

I've found the Milk Stout to be liked by many that claim not to like dark beer...

"Damn you Gravity, you win again"

[billvon 2,406]

>How about a raspberry ale?

Working on one. It will take a few tries to get right I think; it's easy to overpower the beer with the fruit.

[DJL 232]

See http://www.hereforthebeer.com/ They're personal friends of mine (That's me in the ice fishing blog) and one of their themes is pairing beer types with events and activities if only for the literal fun of it.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[LongWayToFall 0]

I second the notion of a belgian trippel, they are great. I made a batch awhile back and it turned out well. Belgian beers are cool, because they have unique tasting yeasts, and some are very big but use low hops and so that is good for beer drinkers who don't like too much hops. If you didn't want to go too big like a trippel you could always do a farmhouse ale like saison (sp?) which is very good on a warm day.
Wit beers are great, they have become very popular recently, and out of my homebrews this style seems to be the most popular so far. Hogarden (sp?) is probably my favorite.
A pale ale is always great, as far as ales go. A chance to enjoy some great hop flavor without too much bitterness, like an IPA. (although i totally love IPAs also).
Have you tried that Italian beer that is mixed with lemonade? A friend made me buy it because he said it was good, and I have to agree, it was quite tasty. You could use something like this to fill in your fruit beer requirement. (what about orange mixed with a wit beer?)
Have you considered ciders? I enjoy brewing them allot, and they taste great. I am working on one now that uses lager yeast, and I have had great success with it in the past. As far as I know, nobody makes this style, but it is good, and usually I make mine very strong (10-17 percent) and the lager yeast makes it go down super smooth.
California Common (Steam beers) taste good. I am going to be brewing a batch tomorrow, actually. Wish me luck!

Hope you figure out some good brews, hopefully someday I may be lucky enough to sample some.

[DJL 232]

If you like tripels then try Vicotory's Golden Monkey. It's one of the best US trippels I've had and isn't as floral as most tripels.

If you're home brewing them then I have much respect for you. Anyway, here's a link to the Golden Monkey clone: http://www.victorybeer.com/golden_monkey.aspx

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Skydave103 0]

Quote

I thought real skydivers just rank bourbon, can you make us some of that ? I know there is the whole water thing but you are a brilliant young mind that can get around that......right?

How about an IPA aged in Pappy van Winkle oak barrels!

Atl Brewing Co did that with their 15th Anniv. It is an awesome beer!

LifeshouldNOTbeajourneytothegravewithawellpreservedbody,buttskidinsideways,cigarinone hand,martiniintheother,bodythoroughlyused upandscreaming:"WOO HOO!! What a ride!!!"

[kingbunky 3]

the Pump House Brewery, a local place here in moncton makes a blend for us we call Free Fall Ale. it's a 50-50 blend of their red and cream ales that we came up with over several weekly sessions with one of their (now ex) brewers, who happened to skydive with us. the plan was to take the flavour we came up with and come up with a scratch recipe for it, but the head brewmaster and our buddy both quit. it's quite tasty without being so extreme that only beer snobs will drink it.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[billvon 2,406]

>the plan was to take the flavour we came up with and come up with a
>scratch recipe for it, but the head brewmaster and our buddy both quit.

The original recipes should still exist though, yes?

[Nightingale 0]

I miss Huckleberry Honey.

[kingbunky 3]

oh yeah, both are still brewed and bottled (or kegged). when we have an event of some sort at the dz, we get them to blend a few kegs for us.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001