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by Chris Poel (cj in j)
 Imagine designing a beer that had no style guidelines. One that didn't start out as a well-defined recipe, but was created by different people who had never met, each suggesting an ingredient or two. A beer that had  no target original gravity, no guidelines on bitterness or flavor or aroma hops, no Reinheitsgebot purity limitations, nothing to direct the creators other than their imaginations. A beer where each ingredient was suggested by a different person, with the only "rule" being that it had to be something that she or he would normally use in a beer. The result might look something like BrewBoard's Communal Beer, which was recently created right here on HBA's Internet Forum.
It started with a simple suggestion posted on BrewBoard by Ted: Let's make a communal beer. What's your favorite ingredient? The suggestions started flying immediately: Belgian Aromatic and Biscuit malts, Gambrinus Honey malt, German Tettnang hops, a half gallon of maple syrup, Wyeast 1187 Ringwood ale or 1007 German ale yeast. Some tried to shoehorn the beer into a certain style, but others resisted the urge. Early on it looked like the collective was moving toward a German ale, such as a dark Alt or Bock. But with suggestions like maple syrup, oak chips (why not?), and Belgian Abbey ale yeast, the beer was looking more like an Eclectic Ale than anything else.
Summaries were posted and other people joined the fun, suggesting more interesting ingredients. Several members requested extract versions of the recipe, and more suggestions on how to do that appeared. The final all-grain recipe was compiled from a summary of suggestions, and then Ted did some quick conversions and near-equivalent versions for partial-mash and extract with steeping grains were finished. After a brief discussion, we decided to leave the brewing method up to the individual brewers -- they could employ whatever technique they were used to. Likewise, choice of yeast was left to personal preference, as well as carbonation method. That would be how each brewer could personalize his or her brew.
At that point the Great Adventure shifted toward organizing the Great Beer Exchange. Wouldn't it be interesting if some of the brewers were willing to send a couple of bottles of their version of the recipe to the others, and enjoy a comparison taste test?! Too expensive? How about a regional exchange, where three or four or five members exchanged. Maybe we could meet at the AHA Homebrew Conference in Chicago and share some bottles there! Could we arrange to have bottles judged, possibly by HBA's Five Guys themselves? The discussion was organic and free-flowing. In the end, quite a few BrewBoard members decided to brew the beer, with half interested in exchanging and half brewing just for the fun of it. The details of the exchange have yet to be worked out.
The next decision concerned when we would brew our creation (some might even say "monster"). After discussing brewing schedules, delays in getting the necessary ingredients (at least one brewer in the UK and one in Japan are planning on brewing the Communal Beer), conditioning time when brewing with maple syrup, the collective decided that a reasonable target was the first week of April -- kind of BrewBoard's version of Big Brew. That way the beer would be adequately conditioned in time for the AHA Homebrewers Conference in Chicago that takes place in June. The hope is that many of us can meet there and exchange beers -- and maybe even do an informal taste test!
 And then the final question: What do we call our new creation? Names flew from computer keyboards, some silly, some serious, some good, some boring. In the end, we decided to ask HBA's Ale to make the final choice. And the winner was: 21st Century Schizoid Ale! This joint creation is now available from HBA!
BrewBoard's Great Adventure was a lot of fun for everyone, even those who don't plan on brewing the beer. It was a great way to get to know each other and bring the BrewBoard community closer together. Unfortunately, some of the more interesting suggestions (like the aforementioned oak chips) didn't make it into the final recipe. But, there's always next time. As one member said, "Is this going to be done again?
This recipe doesn't really appeal to me, but I'd love to take part in another communal beer." With the fun we had doing this one, there's no doubt that the next one is looming on the horizon. And no matter what the outcome of the next Great Adventure, we are sure to have as much fun creating it as we did dreaming up this one.
Extract Recipe: 
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| Belgian Special B |
4.0 ounces
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| Chocolate Malt |
4.0 ounces |
| DME Light |
4.0 pounds |
| DME Amber |
2.0 pounds |
| DME Wheat |
1.0 pound |
| Maple Syrup (You Supply) |
1.0 quart |
| Corn Sugar (Bottling) |
0.75 cups |
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| Liberty (First Wort) |
1.0 ounces |
| Northern Brewer (Bittering) |
1.0 ounces |
| Perle (Bittering) |
1.0 ounces |
| Styrian Goldings (Flavoring) |
1.0 ounces |
| Saaz (Finishing) |
1.0 ounces |
| Tettnang (Knockout or Dry Hop) |
1.0 ounces |
| Irish Moss |
1.0 package |
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| Wyeast #1056 American Ale |
1.0 package |
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OR
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| White Labs WLP-001 |
1.0 package |
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OR
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| Doric Ale Yeast (Dry) |
1.0 package |
All Grain Recipe:
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| Maris Otter |
8.0 pounds |
| German Munich |
1.0 pound |
| German Vienna |
1.0 pound |
| Honey Malt |
8.0 ounces |
| German Wheat |
8.0 ounces |
| Belgian Aromatic |
8.0 ounces |
| Belgian Biscuit |
8.0 ounces |
| Chocolate |
4.0 ounces |
| Special B |
4.0 ounces |
| Maple Syrup (You Supply) |
1.0 quart |
| Corn Sugar (Bottling) |
0.75 cups |
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| Liberty (First Wort) |
1.0 ounces |
| Northern Brewer (Bittering) |
1.0 ounces |
| Perle (Bittering) |
1.0 ounces |
| Styrian Goldings (Flavoring) |
1.0 ounces |
| Saaz (Finishing) |
1.0 ounces |
| Tettnang (Knockout or Dry Hop) |
1.0 ounces |
| Irish Moss |
1.0 package |
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| Wyeast #1056 American Ale |
1.0 package |
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OR
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| White Labs WLP-001 |
1.0 package |
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RESOURCES:
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Never heard of King Crimson? Check out this Rolling Stone review:
The album begins by setting the scene with "21st Century Schizoid Man." The song is grinding and chaotic, and the transition into the melodic flute which opens "I Talk to the Wind" is abrupt and breathtaking..
Read The Article (click Here)
Visit the official King Crimson website
Why the Name?
Well, several reasons. First of all, this is the first time anyone has attempted to devise a recipe from start to finish on the Brewboard. Many online participants contributed to this project without ever having met each other, some of whom live many thousands of mile apart. This was made possible only through the Internet, which seems to be shaping a lot of the things we do in this new century.
Secondly, as this recipe developed, it took on several personalities. It began as a German Ale-type creation, but then drifted towards looking Belgian with the addition of the specialty grains. However, when Maple Syrup was added, the recipe took a more American route, with a highly hopped profile and a woody finish. The use of an American Ale yeast is listed on the recipe sheet, but as you can see from the original Brewboard thread, you can use any number of yeasts, from German Ale to Belgian Ale to British Ale. If you choose to substitute the yeast when ordering this recipe, just let us know your preference in the comments sections in the shopping cart checkout.
Lastly, 21st Century Schizoid Man is the first song of the debut album produced by the rock band King Crimson in 1969. Musically, it was one of the great breakthrough albums of that period, and inspired many "art rock" bands afterwards. Read the Rolling Stone review here.
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