No Room for New Wuss Brew

I am starting to have almost too much beer.

I kegged a batch of pale ale this month, and today I secondaried a new batch of red lager. I have ingredients on hand for an American-style wuss beer (two pounds of flaked maize, low gravity) for ManCamp, and I'm debating whether to start brewing it today.

I make fun of the wuss beer, but it should be pretty good. It's not like it's a crime to brew a highly drinkable beer with a little corn in it. Not a felony, anyway.

I criticize the Budmilcoors brews for being made from corn, but the real problem, probably, is the total lack of hopping. Hop bitterness in beer is measured in IBU, or "Something Something Units." Sierra Nevada Pale Ale goes about 40. Budweiser is generally believed to go about 10. That's just not enough, especially when your beer is watery and tasteless to begin with.

I don't know a whole lot about the flavors of corn and rice in beer, but my instincts tell me that corn isn't so bad. Brewers refer to "corn flavor." Haven't seen anyone talk about rice flavor. I doubt it exists. My guess is that corn is okay and can actually be an asset if you avoid using rice and you make sure there's a fair amount of barley in the brew.

We shall see.

I'm not sure where I'll put the wuss beer. All seven of my kegs are full or partially so. I'm just not drinking enough.

Isn't it wonderful to live in a country where I can have lots of guns and brew my own beer and enjoy both simultaneously?

I think it is.