I think you just invented a beer float!

Hard to answer as women, in my experience at least, have as much a variation in taste of beer as men. (It would be an interesting study to actually see why, in some generations and/or cultures, men drank more bitter, blander drinks than women. Maybe just because blandness and bitterness was more economical - men may have been more dependent on alcohol?)

Anyway, times have changed and we now have a bigger variety of beers.

About eight years ago, when amarillo was throwing fantastic flavour and aroma (haven't seen that lately), I brewed the All Amarillo American Pale Ale recipe you'll find on this site. Males/females from ages of 18 to 85 loved that beer. I wish amarillo was still the same.

There are some easy ways around your question though. Ask the person what they like... what aromas, what flavours... do they like bitterness?

You can still go back to that All Amarillo American Pale Ale recipe as a base. You can throw in crystal malts that add caramel/toffee flavours. If the drinker doesn't like bitterness, don't add any hops until 15 mins before boil end.

You can also buy some commercial examples to get them to try to get a better feel for what they might want.

So, it's going to really be down to you asking the right questions of the 'consumer.' Once they are answered, I'm sure we can help with a recipe.


PP

Crunch,

I would not recommend making a beer where you finish over 1.040. That sounds horrible! Even if you start big (like 1.070 or 1.080), I would think you would want to finish in the low 1.020s at a minimum, and likely in the teens. And this is a guess without looking at past recipes or brews.

Do you have the Brewing Classic Styles book? Easy to accurately copy their recipes...and good quality recipes.

Sounds like she would like something with crystal / Carmel malts, like PistolPatch suggested. Or perhaps other malts that have sweetness to the, and taste character.

Still doesn't answer the question on "how bitter", and how much Hop flavor...? My guess (???), maybe some hops and bitterness but not over the top. (???) Really need to confirm this.

And how about Lager vs. Ale? Lagers can seem to smooth out the rough edges of a beer, so to speak. Ales you get a little more rough edges but also some more "character" in the flavor. And how much

ABV to finish with? Think from what you described, on the bigger side is okay...(?)

Lager Examples:
- German Dunkles Bock
- Double Bock
- Dark Czech Lager
- Munich Dunkles

Ale Examples:
- Big Dark Stout (a recipe with plenty of crystal malt)
- Northwest Winter Ale...but may be a tad too hoppy. Could tone that down. And on specialty malts use Carafa Special instead of Carafa for less bitterness...

I second PP's recommendation of getting some commercial examples she likes - if possible. Easier to help with this knowledge. But some styles are hard to find. I've even had some commercial beers from Germany that are fabulous there, but traveling around the beer in a bottle...don't do them any favors. May end up thinking she does not like a beer or style she really does.

In my mind - if my guesses are right I would go with have her taste my Dark German Bock...which is now all drank. Won a 1st place with it last month at the Oregon Homebrew Festival. Looking about 6.5% ABV. I used large portion Weyermann Munich Malt... Lots more details on this naturally. Recipe from the BCS book and tweaked some by me. Very characterful Lager, but smooth as well. Great beer!

That's all I can do without more help from you.

Haven't heard of the premature halt to fermentation crunch . Be great if you can find some info on it. It sounds very strange and I'm a bit worried it might be one of those myths that often float about? For example the Wisconson Belgian Red you mention has cherries in it. After degassing, a "real" OG could be hard to get; the fruit pulp could possibly make a difference to the density,it takes quite a while to de-gas a sample completely and during that degassing, it's likely that alcohol would evaporate which, again, makes the sample "heavier." As for it being 1.050, that would be super strange. It's a 4.3%ABV beer so, I reckon, its more likely, with a Belgian yeast, that the FG is really 1.005. Anyway, definitely do some solid research on that.

Even if it does exist, there are much easier ways to get a sweeter beer: use a low attenuating yeast, high mash temperature, crystal malts and tropical hops. (You could even add a "sacharine" tablet to each glass you pour!)

I've just run out of time sorry crunch. Maybe firstly look at the BJCP guidelines in your browser, search for "sweet" and see what styles come up. Have a read of those styles with your wife and see which ones stand out and then we can work from there.


PP

AdeDunn,
In search of a recipe for your wife?
First off, how large is your kettle? Depending on the size of your wife and what equipment you have on hand, Scott’s usual advice to get a bigger kettle might apply.
Is she a bitter person? If so, use low AA% hops and add them with less than 30 minutes remaining in the boil.
Is she sweet? That could affect your choice of yeast and how far it attenuates.


This interpretation of your question came from the following:
As a Connecticut Yankee, I’d ask the Pharmacist what to take for a cold. The Brits would ask the Chemist what to take against a cold.
So, answers could be:
1. A recipe to please your wife; 2. A recipe using your wife as an ingredient; or 3. The recipe results in a copy of your wife. Let’s not go there as I am sure she is one of a kind.

To be more constructive, how about an ale like the attached BIAB file? I have made it several times and women (including my wife) seem to like it as it has a multitude of layers of flavor late in the tasting. It is neither bitter nor hoppy. I do not add any extra hops for bittering although it has been suggested and might appeal to your wife. I tried reducing the chocolate malt and it was not as good. After bottling, wait at least 4 weeks to try it. Thinking it would age well, I staged the bottles for consumption over time. The beer peaks in flavor around 9 months later, then slowly fades; at 13 months, it is all gone.