What to brew

[mickp]

Hey all,
I'm curious how folks decide what they are going to brew. I've generally been pretty random, and have yet to find a style I don't like, although some I like more than others. I've thought about trying to follow some kind of seasonal pattern (eg. having Oktoberfest at the "right time", and some light stuff in the summer). Another thing I've done is brew in 2-3 batch groups so I can repitch the yeast. I have 12 kegs and a big enough freezer, so a variation of strengths could be another factor, having some bigger brews to age for a year, but also getting through the lighter/mid batches before they lose their edge.
I know some folks are brewing everything in Brewing classic Styles, and I know some folks have "house" recipes that they brew repeatedly. Does anyone have a "philosophy" that guides their choice of recipes?

[BarefootLion]

Right now goal is to Keep my APA on tap, just playing with the dry hop which different batches, I'll have another keg for a beer thats going into a comp(didnt want to say as I am friends with judges who read this) prize for the top 10 is a keg from the brew pub in place of ours being "donated" to them so might get one of those. After that, I want to get a lager in but leaning on an Imperial Hefe for summer, then doing a hoppy red for my wife.

No real pattern.

[speed]

no pattern, just try to have a little of everything i like on hand at all times.

[Bugeater]

I don't have much of a pattern other than I tend to brew several beers in a row with the same yeast so I can reuse the yeast cake. Every winter I brew a couple of big beers like barleywines and wee heavys to put away for a year. The rest of the time I tend to explore some type of beer in depth. I brewed mostly Belgian style beers for most of a year. Another year was all types of IPA's. I also did a year of doing weird experimental beers like my carrot cake beer and my oatmeal raisin cookie beer. Lately I've been doing a lot of really malty, mostly English style beers. I am picking up a bag of 2 row in another day or two and will be getting into more American styles until that is gone. I also do random beers just on a whim just because I feel like it.

Wayne

[CRBrewHound]

I live in Iowa, so being lazy and scared of the cold, I don't brew in the winter. So my schedule is first thing in the spring I brew my high grav's that require aging. So that I have a good six months on my RIS, Barleywine, sours, and such beers that benefit from six month of storage (then they are perfect at about Thanksgiving). Then I brew my favs that I drink regularly (Pale ales, IPAs, and double IPA's), then I go to the stuff that is great lawnmower and deck beers (wheats, browns, blonde ale, cream ale....).

[mickp]

Thanks for the replies guys. Maybe it's a wierd personality thing, but I feel like I should have some kind of "plan", and get (mildly) agitated when I consider what to brew next - it's such a wide world. I like the idea of pre-planning for those big winter brews, and I need to pre plan for lighter summer brews too (esp being in Texas). I'd like to perfect some of my favorite styles too, by repeated brewing.
I think I can work it out.

The BNA is my therapist.

[Kbar]

Since Spring is upon us, 60's here in PDX right now, I am still wanting to get my Big APA's, Barley-wines, and Imperials, going. Get some big beers in there to close out winter!

[pfooti]

Lately, I've been trying to make sure that I have a respectable amount of IPA and Stout in the pipeline, as well as something a bit more sessionable (currently experimenting with brown ale recipes both american and english until I find a brown ale I can call my own). On in-between brews, I either pull something at random from my list of crazy ideas or ask a friend to tell me what they most want me to brew.

I've been saving and repitching yeast, but the strain I have (pacman) is good for most of what I'm brewing (clean ale yeast). With my latest stout, I'm actually just experimenting with fermenting it a bit warmer to see if I can get it to throw some esters to make it taste a bit more british without having to use 002. Mainly I'm doing this on the advice of JZ and JP from an old brewstrong episode I heard a few months ago: get to know one yeast really intimately before you start brewing with all sorts of different yeasts, and you'll have better overall results. As I'm still relatively new to the hobby, it seems like a good plan.