A recent social media post (I don’t remember where now; maybe the AHA Forum?) asked about frequently brewed recipes. In the interest of curiosity, I dove into BeerSmith and assembled some statistics on recipes that I have brewed four or more times. I chose four as the cut-off because I have some three-peats that aren’t quite as remarkable or were early attempts to improve my brewing.

Collectively, I have brewed 11 recipes at least four times, comprising 17 percent of my recorded batches to date. It was interesting to track this, because some (e.g., Eagle Face Oatmeal Stout and Alstadt Alt) are still in semi-regular rotation, whereas others (e.g., Fake Tire Amber Ale) haven’t been brewed in years.

The common thread with all of them is that I just like how they taste. My tastes have changed over the years–I can say I’m much more into German styles now than I was in my early days–so it will be interesting to revisit this list in 5 or 10 years and see what is new and what has dropped off. I’m also inspired to revisit some recipes soon (looking at you, Orange Summer Wheat), but there are so many things I want to brew that it may or may not happen.

In any case, here’s the list!

• 4 (Four) Brews
  • Dunkel-Osteus
    • I really love this Munich dunkel, and it is definitely my favorite dark lager recipe. Plus, it comes with a really fun beer pun. I learned after my early batches that Chris Colby had a different recipe by the same name in his Home Brew Recipe Bible–great minds think alike! While researching this post, I discovered that my recipe has been brewed by at least one other person, which was a fun surprise.
  • Gondwana Pale Ale
    • Not much to say about this one. I went through a phase of brewing it from 2014 to 2017, but haven’t touched the recipe since. My notes show it to be decent, so I might resurrect it at some point, but then again there are so many other great pale ale recipes available. I recently dusted off the name for Gondwana IPA, a completely different recipe.

• 5 (Five) Brews
  • Alta California Lager (including current batch)
    • The first batch of this is one of the best beers I ever brewed. I’ve tried to recapture that lightning in a bottle multiple times, with variable success. Recently, I revisited the recipe and returned to the initial cereal mash technique, to see how that might help things. It’s now conditioning in the keg, so I’ll have to wait before claiming success.
  • Fake Tire Amber Ale
    • Fat Tire, how I have missed you! The reformulation of the beer by New Belgium was probably necessary for the bean counters, but created something quite different from the original that I loved. So, the “original” Fat Tire is one of those classic craft beers that only lives on in homebrew form. I made four extract batches, and it was my very first attempt at all-grain, over a decade ago. Perhaps it’s time to revisit?
  • Pannotia White IPA
    • The first time I encountered a white IPA (in Rome, of all places!), it was a palate-expanding experience. A hazy IPA before “hazies” were a thing, the mix of Belgian and American characters stood out. When I returned home, I had a burst of batches chasing this experience, and got pretty good results. I need to return to this recipe.
  • Raspberry Belgian
    • This recipe grew from a clone recipe of Funkwerks’ Raspberry Provincial. Somewhat perplexingly, the clone recipe recommended using a ton of acidulated malt to sour this one, but after the first batch I decided kettle souring would create a more tart and tasty beer. That was the right move, and I’ve enjoyed brewing it a few times since. It’s time for me to do this one again!
  • Snowdrop Kolsch
    • This is one of my favorite beers of recent years, although I’ve had some misses due to pulling the wrong grain bill and even an infection in one case. But when I get it right–wow! Unfortunately, two key ingredients (the Edelweiss hop blend and Köln Kölsch-style yeast) are no longer available, so I will either have to reformulate or scrap the name and create something new.
  • Thumbspike Saison
    • An early attempt at saison, and a fun Belgian-inspired paleontological name, I haven’t made this in awhile. I can’t see returning to it, because I’ve learned a ton about how to brew saisons, and I think my techniques and recipes are much advanced.
• 6 (Six) brews
  • Alstadt Alt
    • Alstadt Alt ranks as one of my favorite recipes, and I’m incredibly proud of it! I’ve made minor alterations from batch to batch, but the overall effect is consistently pretty excellent. It’s a style that is not readily available, or at least not with any variety, so I’m always excited to share my homebrewed version.
• 7 (Seven) Brews
  • Orange Summer Wheat
  • This recipe began as an extract batch, in an attempt to get close to Hangar 24’s Orange Wheat ale, and was a rare recipe to make the leap to all-grain. I haven’t brewed it in a few years, but need to do so. It’s an easy drinking crowd pleaser, making good use of our locally grown oranges.
• 9 (Nine) Brews
  • Eagle Face Oatmeal Stout
    • The first brew for this batch was in 2014, and the most recent one in 2024. I’ve brewed it for home, I’ve brewed it for festivals, it has been featured in Zymurgy, it has been everywhere! This is a classic style, and one you don’t see as much anymore at breweries, but it’s still one of my favorite recipes. As I transition to an emphasis on smaller batches, I find that kegs of “heavy” beers like this just don’t move as quickly (even though it’s <5% abv for most interations). So, although I still love this beer, I anticipate brewing a 3 gallon version of the recipe next time.