How Do You Name Your Beers?

I have a thing for specific dates on the calender. I have a calender in my head and I remember dates and volumes of other useless trivia and factoids. I am obsessed with history. Some of my beers are named for battles of the American Civil War. Others are named for a woman, heartache and whatnot. The last one is still a little fresh and recent in my memory. Best to discuss such matters in person over a cold pint fresh from the kegs in the keezer.  I’ve made beers on Election Day, Friends & Family members Birthdays, Groundhog’s Day, inside jokes that I would have to explain face to face, Game of Thrones inside baseball stuff, others are symbolic or silly nicknames for my pets,  both the living and those who have gone to their reward, made a special beer for my Pops on Fathers Day, Thanksgiving & Christmas insiprations and when I got home from a cemetery and could not bear to just stop and let those thoughts take me away. It’s at those times, the wheels start turning and I start to look through my supplies and get busy. When my primary business is slow? No sales and nothing to ship out? Time to brew. 

Back when I was a teenager in the 1980s, I had a St. Pauli Girl poster on my ceiling along with an American flag, photos and memorabilia and countless punk rock flyers and a collection vinyl 45 records on the wall. I’ve brewed a variety of beers over the last few years and named the them after the country of origin of the malted barley I used. I had a supply of Irish Stout malt, didn’t want to make a stout, so I went with a variety of pale U.K. malts and hops. That became Irish Girl Pale Ale. I also made a German Girl and an American Blonde not too long ago. 

One of my recent brews was an English style red ale and I thought of tall ships, cannons, naval warfare and other perils of the seas and I opted for Man O’War. Another creation was when I tweaked the first beer recipe from a kit that I ever brewed and decided to make it a little more complex. That was Pepper Tree Brown Ale. That one has a few fans. 

Today I set out to make a Boddington Pub Ale clone and I looked over 3 different recipes I found online. I gleaned over the guidelines and went with what I think would work best. I’m a fan of the genuine article. I’ll pick up a 4 pack of the real deal so I can compare what I have created today. We shall see.