Help sort of this madness?!

Hey everyone,

So I want to start brewing beer, but I want to try out my own recipes. Here's the problem though: I don't know how to create them! I have read almost all of John Palmer's How To Brew book, and I have seen multiple videos online regarding brewing technique but I just can't seem to find any info on how to structure your recipes.

Ok, so let's just say I want to make a 5 gallon batch of an IPA with a 1.070 OG. How would I know how much malts to use? I certainly wouldn't want to use just one kind of malt, so how would I factor in other ones?

Expanding on the previous question, let's say I was to do a partial mash, and I choose to use 5lb 2-Row Pale Malt and 1 lb 40L Crystal Malt(random numbers), how would I know how much DME to use after extracting the sugars from the malts?

Ahh, I just feel so frustrated with this. I just want to have some fun!

Get some brewing software. They all offer free trials. Then you can just plug in the ingredients and the software will compute the numbers for you.

Also look at a lot of the recipes in the recipe section in this forum to get a good idea of what works for the style you are interested in.

slow down, brew a kit or two to see what a recipe's all about, and get some software. i totally appreciate the enthusiasm, but you're going to jump in over your head. take it easy and get a brew day or two under your belt before trying to dive in head first.

oh yeah, welcome to HBT and this wonderful hobby. look up our motto, RDWHAHB, the golden rule of home brewers with good reason.

"Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels is a must if you are going to be doing our own recipes. Brewing software is great for crunching the numbers, but you need to know what ingredient bring what flavors to the beer.

I looked up guidelines in The Complete Joy Of (p.154-165) and quickly and easily put together a recipe for a Northern English brown ale that was delicious!

Thanks everyone for the responses. Also, thanks broadbill for the book recommendation. I will bookmark this for sure!

I know it's typical(and hell, probably even logical) to start out with a kit but that really is just not me. I want to get in on the full process. I expect to have some hiccups, but I also plan on investing lots of time researching this particular topic. And yes, research is not a supplement for experience. I had actually intended to scan around the website for some recipes and try to base my own off others. Meanwhile, I will probably take broadbill's recommendation and do some reading.

Good luck. Some wade into the water, some jump into the deep end. Personally, I have started with extract beer kits to make sure I get my methods down pat. Still so much to learn along the way.

Hopefully, if it goes south on you, it doesn't cause you to quit.

I'm a jump in the deepend kind of guy myself. Have at it and have fun! If you're not getting the results you want, you can always try a tried and true recipe or kit. No worries, this is the coolest hobby on the planet. Engage!!