I have a new fun thing to think about, The Menu. Basically, the story is that you imagine yourself owning a pub and you try to figure out six beers you'd serve, justify that menu, and consider how you would describe them. Now, the challenge is to have a menu that has broad appeal without ever once even for a moment sacrificing one iota of integrity. Indeed, the menu should testify to your integrity.

Here's the menu I have and my descriptions of the beers as I imagine them, not necessarily as I would describe them to a customer.

-Pale Ale: the flagship beer, the finishes dry and clean with bitterness counteracting the malt. A slightly fruity yeast character, honey and light caramel in the malt, subtle hints of american citrus hops complimented by floral and earthy hop flavors and aroma. Imagine the love child of AleSmith X and Fuller's London Pride. O.G. 1.044, 38 IBU

-Amber Ale: an american amber with more in common with a british best bitter than an american pale. Well bittered, but balanced by solid base malt and caramel flavors; finished with british hops. Malty yeast. O.G. 1.052, 34 IBU

-Oatmeal Stout: a serious stout with the smoothness of oatmeal, this is a bitter, roasty beer, the kind of thing tough guys order because they think "dark beer have alcohol more!" Fermented with a fruity yeast that compliments the roast character of the beer. O.G. 1.059, 43 IBU

-Porter: a brown porter in the spirit of Fuller's London Porter, caramel character comes through to balance the roast character of chocolate malt. Fermented with an oaky, malty yeast. O.G. 1.047 29 IBU

-Weiss Bier: bavarian wheat beer, true to the style. 60% wheat, 40% pale malt. The character comes from a bavarian wheat ale yeast. 1.044, 17 IBU

-IPA: thoroughly american in style, citrusy hops, solid malt, but finishing dry and assertively bitter. Clean, dry yeast. O.G. 1.066 55 IBU

Notes and justifications: The pale ale should be light in color; this beer is a session beer and should suggest as much. I want a beer too reserved for San Diego, but too dry for Seattle. The amber is a chance for the lover of british beer; let the malt shine, but never forget balance and drinkability. The choice to include two black beers is risky, but I think it's high time american respect that black in beer is not one thing; a side-by-side tasting of these two beers is going to reveal the difference. The oatmeal stout is going to be full bodied, while the porter will be light, the porter oaky while the stout is fruity, the porter will balance the roast character with caramel dark crystal malts, while the oatmeal stout lets roast rule with support from hop bitterness. Weiss Bier is Bavarian Weizen; in my mind this style involves little latitude for interpretation, and plenty of longetude for appreciation. The IPA is familiar to you if you know American IPA.