Beer is generally made from four major ingredients — grain, yeast, water + hops. (You don’t have to have the hops, but it’d be pretty bland without it.)
And there’s a lot you can do from there, so we asked you — our lovely readers — to play brewmaster + tell us what ingredients or flavors you’d want to see in your beer. 🍻
And who knows, maybe your dreams will become a reality. Local beer makers are watching your comments. Check out this comment from Heaven and Ale. The owner of the local brewery might create a batch with your suggestion. ⬇️
🍺 “I got a mind to pick my favorite idea from the comments and make a new beer. Whatcha got, Chattanooga?” @heavenalebrewco
Without further ado, here’s what readers said. ⬇️ Do any of the ideas sound sip-worthy?
🍺 “@heavenalebrewco craving pistachios right now…” — @westvillagechatt
🍺 “@heavenalebrewco Love Supreme: Chai Edition 🤤” — @business_matt
🍺 “My opinion won’t be the most popular, but anything that is not an IPA or light beer. Brown Ales or just make PBR! 🤪 And a pickle??” — @birdwhite333
🍺 “Introducing the Big Rig 8axle Diesel Stout by Trident Transport brewed by @heavenalebrewco : A stout brewed with coffee beans + chocolate malts, adding milk and honey to give it a smooth finish and mold with the boldness of the chocolate & caffeine. 🍻 s/o to our employee @jon.c.ford for coming up with our potential brew!” — @trident_trans
More reader suggestions
“Bacon and Bourbon..No doubt.” @htkgirl 🥓
“A touch of mixed berries? Almond?” @joyellis438
“@heavenalebrewco coconut chai or coconut strawberry, both on the darker end of the spectrum would be SO yummy. yall know how to make a damn good dark beer. would love to see something sweet like that.” @heyshelbybryant
“I’d love something with a cool fruity flavor... maybe cucumber & berries!! maybe a strawberry ale, not enough of those !” @madelinepage
“cinnamon toast beer 🍺” @livenashvillelive
Q&A with the brewers
We asked local brewery owners Melanie Krautstrunk, co-founder of Hutton and Smith, and Joe Winland, who owns Heaven and Ale, to provide some insight into what they like + what their customers enjoy.
🍺 ” What makes a tasty beer TO YOU? (Specific flavors? The certain way it’s made?)
Krautstrunk:
“I like to compare taste in beer to taste in ice cream or even pasta sauce. If you love to cook at home and make a fresh sauce there’s always a personal touch, maybe more basil, or garlic, or maybe even a special ingredient.
Where ice cream is concerned, some people just have a favorite flavor, chocolate, pistachio, or maybe you prefer sorbet! It all comes down to personal taste and everyone is different.
I personally prefer malty beers, where the ‘flavor’ in the beer is distinguishable by malt vs. hops, though I do like hoppy beers as well. I’m not crazy about sours, to me they are the black licorice of the beer world, but many people are crazy about them.”
Winland:
“I love all beers equally. I really just want a flavorful, cleanly made beer and I can enjoy any style.”
🍺 What are your most popular beers and why?
Krautstrunk:
“IPA’s have been the most popular style of beer for years, but recently some trends are picking up, the hazy IPA and the craze for sour beers.
2018 marked the first year at the Great American Beer festival where the IPA style did not receive the most number of entries for that category.
The style was eclipsed by the addition of the “hazy IPA” that took over as the most popular style.
That being said, our hazy IPA (Promenade), our traditional IPA (Igneous) and our session IPA (Tectonic) are our best sellers. A new brewer joined us in May that basically only brews our sour beers and they are very popular as well.”
Winland:
“Love Supreme Milk Stout is a favorite. Feedback ranges from Almond Joy to Crème Brulee to Fudge to Vanilla Bean. This beer is just one of a kind.
Devil’s Armpit West Coast IPA because it’s a classic. So approachable but bursting with hoppy flavors.
Cloudland New England IPA is a hazy, juicy IPA. That style is trending right now, and CloudLand is strong version of it.”
🍺 What do you consider flavor-wise (otherwise?) when making your own beer for public consumption?
Krautstrunk:
“Commercial brewers are challenged by the availability of ingredients, namely hops. Homebrewers have access to pretty much everything, and are using very small amounts and are free to brew whatever their hearts desire.
When brewers start to scale up in production the availability of ingredients in large quantities starts to narrow, unfortunately. Though we still have a variety of options available so that we can still get creative and design something delicious.”
Winland:
“There’s a few factors that drive our recipes, but we generally start with a flavor combination that we want to achieve and we work backwards from that. We plan hop additions and the grain bill with a very specific product in mind.
Aroma, mouthfeel, flavor, and appearance are all considered carefully.
For some of our crazier beers, I draw a lot of inspiration from cocktail menus and dessert cookbooks and cooking shows, or childhood—candy bars or other candies or treats.”
🍺 Anything else?
Krautstrunk:
“Be creative and adventurous! Try something new! Don’t be afraid because a beer style sounds pretentious or you can’t pronounce it. Chattanooga brewers are, in my opinion, not snobby and eager to educate people new to craft beer on different styles, and in general passionate about brewing craft beer.”
