One of the things I want to get better at as a homebrewer is brewing with the seasons. For years, I mostly brewed whatever sounded good at the time. There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want a pale ale, a stout, or a weird experimental beer and you brew it. But now that I’m getting more intentional with Hop & Harp, I want the beers on tap to feel like they belong to the time of year.
A dark mild or porter makes more sense when the weather turns cold. A pale ale or wheat beer feels right when summer is coming. Märzen belongs in the fall. A lager should probably be around all year if I can manage it.
That’s the idea anyway.
This year, I’m starting from nothing on tap, so the first goal is simple: get the pipeline moving.
The Starting Point
My draft system should be ready in early to mid-June, so I’m planning the first few beers around that. I want three taps going, with a mix of easy-drinking, seasonal, and traditional styles.
The first few beers in the lineup are:
- Blue Moon-style Belgian wit
- American pale ale
- Dunkelweizen
- Dark mild
The Blue Moon clone will be brewed in May, but I’m not planning to tap it until early or mid-June. That should give me a bright, citrusy, easy-drinking beer ready for the start of summer.
The American pale ale is the one I’m most excited about for July. With 2026 being the 250th anniversary of American independence, I wanted to have a simple celebratory beer ready for the Fourth of July. Nothing over-the-top. Just a clean, drinkable American pale ale that fits the season and gives me something fun to pour around Independence Day.
After that, I’ll work in the Dunkelweizen and dark mild. Those may seem like very different beers, but that’s part of the fun. One leans German and malty with wheat character, while the other leans English, low-gravity, and pub-friendly. Both fit the kind of traditional brewing I’m becoming more interested in.
What I’m Trying to Build
The goal is not to have a tap list full of random one-off beers.
I want to slowly build a rhythm.
Something like this:
- A lighter seasonal beer
- A traditional ale
- A lager or German-inspired beer
That gives me variety without making the whole thing too complicated.
I’m also trying to get better at repeatability. That means dialing in my Brewzilla, understanding my efficiency, getting more consistent with fermentation, and building recipes that I actually want to brew again.
That’s a big part of why I’m starting this blog. I want a place to write down what I brewed, why I brewed it, what worked, what didn’t, and what I’ll change next time.
The Calendar Mindset
A brewing calendar sounds more formal than it really is.
For me, it’s just a way to avoid getting caught flat-footed. If I want a beer ready for July 4th, I can’t start thinking about it on July 1st. If I want a Märzen in the fall, I need to think about it well before fall shows up.
This is especially true for lagers. They need time. And if I want to always have at least one lager or lager-adjacent beer around, I need to plan ahead.
That’s probably one of the biggest lessons I’m learning: brewing is part cooking, part cleaning, part process control, and part patience.
The First Few Beers
Here’s the first part of the plan:
Blue Moon-Style Wit
Brewed in May and tapped in early to mid-June. This one should be light, citrusy, and easy to drink. A good beer to start the draft system with.
American Pale Ale
Planned for the Fourth of July. Since 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, this will be a simple celebratory beer for the holiday. Clean, hoppy, American, and not overthought.
Dunkelweizen
A maltier German wheat beer. This gives me something with more depth and character while still being drinkable.
Dark Mild
A low-ABV English pub ale. This is the kind of beer I want to get better at brewing. Simple on paper, but not always easy to make well.
Where This Is Going
Eventually, I’d like Hop & Harp to have a few dependable house beers. Not just recipes I brewed once, but beers I come back to and improve over time.
That might include:
- A house bitter
- An ESB
- A dark mild
- A porter
- A helles
- A Märzen
- A pale ale for summer
Some will be seasonal. Some may become regulars. Some may get brewed once and disappear.
That’s part of the process.
For now, I’m starting simple: build the pipeline, get beer on tap, take notes, and learn from each batch.
If you’re following along, this blog will be where I document the good, the bad, and the probably-overcomplicated. Hopefully, each batch gets a little better than the last.
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