Newbie's Recipes Quest

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Kurdysseus

New Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Ey gents, I'm new to brewing. I'm looking for some recipes that wouldn't be extremely difficult, but could still get me some good practice. I've brewed a batch already, a Honey Cream Ale from my guide book. It wasn't bad but I want to try other styles. Any suggestions for this n00b? (preferably recipes that won't break the bank either).
Cheers! :mug:
 
What kind of beer are you looking to do? We can easily help you with any recipe if you let us know what kind of beer you would like to make, the amount you'd like to make, and the equipment you have.
 
You doing extract, partial mash or all grain? I've looked at recipes at hopville.com to get ideas.
 
When starting out, it is good to just get the pre-assembled kits from the major online stores, like Austin Homebrew, Midwest Supply, Northern Brewer, Brewmaster's Warehouse, MoreBeer, Williams Brewing, etc. All of these guys do lots of volume and have very fresh ingredients, lots of kits to pick from, and great support and customer service.

Go to any of these sites, pick a brew that you are familiar with, and focus on getting the process down and learning what each ingrediant and brewing variable adds to the final product.

Once you can do the process in your sleep (took me about 6 batches), and you have a basic idea of what everything adds to the final taste, you'll be comfortable in formulating your own recipes.

That's the route I took....worked for me!

Good luck!
 
I started with using the kits from online vendors which were clones of my favorite commercial beers. That ensured my beers came out tasting good while I learned my process/equipment. From there, pick a style you like and search for recipes on here or other sites. Once you feel comfortable with other people's recipes, I'd suggest picking up Daniels' book, Designing Great Beers, and experimenting.
If you're looking for price savings - buy in bulk, look into reusing yeast, use more grain/less extract. Higher hop bills and bigger, higher OG beers tend to add a bit more into the cost of your brews too. Lastly, equipment adds up quickly - you can make some seriously good beers with minimal equipment!
 
The clones are great ideas.
At the moment, I have a basic brew kit (two food grade 5gal buckets, airlock, bottling rod, steeping bags, bottle capper), which limits me to 5 gallon patches. I was thinking extract recipes would be easier for someone as inexperienced as myself.
Favorite kinds of beer: Pale ales and IPAs (although I would be a liar if I said I didn't like any kind of beer you give me).
Thanks for all the tips guys!
 
The clones are great ideas.
At the moment, I have a basic brew kit (two food grade 5gal buckets, airlock, bottling rod, steeping bags, bottle capper), which limits me to 5 gallon patches. I was thinking extract recipes would be easier for someone as inexperienced as myself.
Favorite kinds of beer: Pale ales and IPAs (although I would be a liar if I said I didn't like any kind of beer you give me).
Thanks for all the tips guys!

An IPA or American pale ale (or the English versions) are about the most simple beers to make around, so that's a good one to like!

You need a pound of crystal malt, and some extract, and some hops. Here's a sample for a Sierra Nevada- style pale ale:

1 pound crystal malt 40L
6 pounds DME
.5 oz magnum 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade 15 minutes
.5 oz cascade 5 minutes
S05 ale yeast

Steep crystal malt in grainbag for 20 minutes in 2 gallons at 150-160 degrees. Lift out grain bag, and put in a colander and pour water over the grain, up to your boiling volume. Drain, and discard grains.

Bring that to a boil. Add about 1/2 of the DME and stir well. Bring to a boil, and add the first hops when the liquid starts to boil. Set your timer for 60 minutes, and then add the 1 oz of cascade hops when there is 15 minutes left on the timer. When there is 5 minutes left on the timer, add the cascade hops. When 0 minutes is left on the timer, turn off the heat and stir in the rest of the DME with a whisk. Once well mixed, cool the wort in an ice bath to 70 degrees and then pour into fermenter. Top up to 5 gallons, and then add 1 package of S05 ale yeast.
 
If you can make beer, you can make beer. Why don't you just decide what you really want to make and then go for it? It is not any harder to make one style than another, it might take slightly longer on brew day perhaps, but it is not going to be any more difficult.
 
If you only have 5 gallon buckets, I'd strongly suggest you rig up a blow off hose, or else risk blowing the top off your bucket!
 
If you only have 5 gallon buckets, I'd strongly suggest you rig up a blow off hose, or else risk blowing the top off your bucket!

True haha. I forgot to mention that these buckets already have holes for spigot to be attached as well as an airlock cap for the bucket. Thanks for the heads up though!
 
You see that tab up at the top that says, "Recipes"?? Click on it, pick some styles you like and find extract/PM/AG recipes that fit your process and preferences. There's some good ones to be found, for certain...but I suggest starting with ones that are well discussed and well liked.

The kit idea is good too and certainly makes things easy on the beginner. I personally think it's a good idea to build a relationship with your LHBS for ingredients (not necessarily kits) as this will give you a local source to discuss brewing, methods, equipment and potential substitutions/ideas to make a recipe your own. It's also typically a fair bit cheaper than online sources, from my experience.
 
Back
Top