Beer Blending: Tips from the Pros

Author: Betsy Parks Issue: September 2011

Want to try an easy homebrew experiment? Try blending!
When are two beers better than one? all the time, of course! two (or more) beers are
even better than one, however, when they taste great together. Beer blending is a fun
way to experiment with your homebrews, and These three beer blending experts
encourage you to give it a try.

Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian

Marc Kadish, owner and executive chef of Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston,
Massachusetts. Marc started his culinary career at age 15, working for hotels, inns
and restaurants and today is considered by many to be one of the biggest beer experts
in the Northeast. He opened the Sunset Grill in 1986.
Our beer menu at Sunset Bar & Grill features several beertails and meadtails. Some
of our most popular combinations are, of course, the old fashioned blends like a
snakebite (cider and beer) or a Beery Mary (beer and bloody mary mix), but we have
several of our own. We have Black and Blue, which is Guinness and a blueberry ale, a
Black Velvet, which is cider and stout, a Honey Moon Ale, which is Hoegaarden
and mead and a Peach Fuzz, which is Allagash White and Lindemans Pecheresse. We
also play with all kinds of different versions of black and tan for example, Dogfish
Heads Worldwide Stout on top of their 90 Minute IPA. I like to think that when people
come here and have the chance to get creative, they might order a better beer than they
are used to and then maybe move on to craft beer next time.

Getting ideas is kind of like coming up with peanut butter and chocolate. We come up
with ideas on our own as well as from customers. A lot of the inspiration comes from
coming up with a fun name for example, a favorite here is the Dirty Ho, which is a
mix of Lindemans Framboise and Hoegaarden. We also mix beers for special occasions,
such as when the Bruins were in the hockey playoffs this summer we made a Bruins
Town Black and Gold, which was Guinness and Blonde Cougar from Wormtown
Brewing Company in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Its easy to come up with blend ideas when you have a lot of different beers and
different styles of beers on hand, such as in our case where we have 112 beers on
draft. Its all up to your imagination.

Photo by John Foyston

Ron Gansberg, Brewmaster at Cascade Brewing Barrel House in Portland, Oregon.

Ron started in the brewing industry in 1986 and has been at Cascade Brewing for 13
years. Before brewing, he was a winemaker outside of Portland, and has made fruit
wines and honey meads since he was a teenager.
At Cascade Brewing, we predominantly brew sour beers and barrel-aged sours, so that
is what I blend. When we blend our beers, which are finished beers, we look at different
flavor profiles as building blocks. Were looking to take the flavors and attributes of one
mature beer and bring them together with another so that the sum is greater than the
individual piece. It allows us to layer in flavors.
Our blending process is sensory oriented somewhat like consulting the brewers
Ouija board. We dont use any quantified equations for our blending, its all very
organic, proportional blending. We also blend with aging in mind were not blending
for our tastes now, but also for how they will taste in the future as we will often age our
beers for up to three years.
If youre interested in blending at home, be bold put some flavors together and
experiment. Do as much blending at the tap or with bottles with finished beers that you

can. Here at Cascade, were constantly taking different beers that we have from the tap
and blending them on the fly.
If you have the space, brew a little extra homebrew, or reserve a little bit of beer from
each batch and start putting away a varied stock and inventory and library of blending
components. Always, however, keep the beer away from O2 as much as you can when
youre blending keep the oxygen exposure to a minimum.

Garrett Mead, Manager, Long Trail Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners,

Vermont. Garrett oversees the operations of Long Trails pub and visitor center,
which was inspired by the Hofbruhaus in Munich, Germany.
I like to blend beers at Long Trail for a couple of reasons: to increase the variety of
whats on tap, to enhance the flavors and/or qualities of each beer and also to live
recklessly!
To come up with our beer blend ideas, we (the staff in Long Trails pub/visitor center)
look at pairing contrasting styles. For example, pairing our Belgian White with a shot of
Coffee Stout, which we named Oreo for its dark color, white head, and sweet palate.
We also sometimes blend beers to temper some of the extreme characteristics in a beer,
like bitterness or alcohol levels. Once we come up with an idea, however, we simply go
ahead and give it a try usually after hours when the crew is sharing some shift pints.
Also, occasionally a guest will come in and surprise us with an idea to try. My absolute
favorite beer blend so far is Long Trails Double Bag (a strong ale) blended with our

traditional IPA. We call it Inda Bag.

The exploration of beer flavors when you are blending is the fun part. If you want to try
blending, dont be shy two different beers that may not seem compatible at first can
often surprise you. Also, keep in mind that everyones palate is different, and what may
not appeal to one person may be heaven to another. If youre going to try blending, I say
nothing is sacred. Remember beer drinking is about having fun, not being all stiff and
snooty.
If you are focused on selling beer or just getting your friends to try it think of
blending beer this way: if you give someone a blend and they like it, you have just sold
two beers instead of one!
On the other hand, if you are in it for the heady joy of brewing only (pardon the pun),
you can offer your guest or homebrewing friends a unique treat for their palate.
Finally, experimenting with beer blending can spur creativity in coming up with new
brewing ideas. Exploring blends can inspire you to create a finished beer from the kettle
that possesses the positive qualities of your blend.