Do you prefer brewing existing recipes or building your own?

I'm curious what the division out there is amongst brewers between whether you like to brew existing recipes or crafting your own. Granted this is a fairly non-scientific poll and doesn't account for bias of brewing experience, but oh well

For reference:

• "Your recipes" refers to recipes you put tgether yourself. This can include modifying or combining recipes from various sources, but they should be primarily your own concept.*
• "Other's recipes" refers to recipes posted by forum members, home brew club members, magazine writers, etc. Can include clones unless otherwise specified.
• "Clones" refers to recipes made to imitate commercial brews.

*This means subbing out a grain or two, the hops, or the yeast used doesn't count as making your own recipe.

I usually go with a recipe that I've crafted myself. However, I will read a ton of other recipes and read up on that beer style so I'm going in somewhat informed.

50/50 here. I normally start with an existing recipe, but have to change something along the way to match my preferred taste. I don't only do this with brewing beer, but also cooking in general.

I am still very new to brewing, so i've been sticking to clones or other peoples recipes while i get my routines down. I'm sure i will create my own recipe one day...but for now i'm just learning.

As a relatively new brewer, I tended to rely upon recipes originally.

First with Extract/Steeping Kits that I purchased (5 batches).

Then I made the move to AG based heavily on the HUGE amount of information that I found on HBT. It made sense to me to use the "tried and true" recipes that I found on HBT as well. (Props to BierMuncher, Yooper and many others)

Ironically, of the 4 different AG beers that I have made [Centennial Blonde(x4); Bass Clone(x2); Irish Red(x2) and Yoopers House Ale(x2)]
I have only once actually made it through the brewday with no mistakes that "altered" the recipe.
Wrong hop additions
0.75# of choc malt (in a beer that called for 0.75 OUNCES) I named this my not so pale ale [NSPA]

So while I relied on a recipe, I often altered the recipe accidentally.
I am at a point now where I am beginning to distinguish the different characteristics that individual ingredients add to a beer (loving Honey Malt for exampe)
So I am now venturing into the realm of BlackBird House Pale Ale, which I hope to add to the recipe forum eventually as my own.

blackflagbrew said:

I usually go with a recipe that I've crafted myself. However, I will read a ton of other recipes and read up on that beer style so I'm going in somewhat informed.

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This is pretty much what I do as well.

NTXBrauer said:

50/50 here. I normally start with an existing recipe, but have to change something along the way to match my preferred taste. I don't only do this with brewing beer, but also cooking in general.

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+100

I love to tinker with what I have on hand or being inspired by a recipe that looks really good. I always change something, or a few things.

I mostly make my own recipes, but will sometimes look at other recipes to get an idea of hops/malt combos when I feel like I"m in a rut of the same old thing.

I started just kind of winging it with my own recipes right off the bat. Lo and behold, some of them weren't that great. I had this idea that styles were just points on a spectrum, and whatever I threw together would still be good even if it didn't land on one of those points. Turns out there's a reason all those different styles exist. Anyway I haven't given up on experimenting but I'm starting to do it with smaller batches and using other people's recipes on the bigger batches. That way I have lots of good beer, but still get to do the mad scientist thing.

I very occasionally use someone else's recipe, but 95% of the time it's my own recipes. If I'm brewing a new style I'll base my recipe on someone else's and there's those times I find myself drinking a beer that I just have to clone. If I'm cloning a beer, though, I usually try it myself before using someone else's recipe. The other thing with clones is that if I can't get it here and can't find anyone to trade for it, I'll just use someone else's recipe from the get go.

yes, I brew beers from recipes.

I voted a mix of mine and others but 98% mine.
I only brew others when it is a beer I have tried that I really like such as the entire catalog of Avery recipes I have I plan on brewing and hopefully succeed in duplicating.

I've been working on my recipes lately, but used to do recipes when I first started

I've been brewing other peoples recipes lately. I got bored and other peoples beers are something new. Sometimes you find something that's really good and you can further tailor it to make it your own. I've brewed quite a few of the 5 star rated recipes on here. Most have turned out good, a few were exceptional. I found my new favorite beer that way.

When I started I brewed only clones or other recipes to learn the ingredients. Now I create my own recipes to my taste which usually pushes "style boundaries" because I want to make something uncommon and memorable.

Unless I'm doing something unprecedented, which I like to do occasionally, a tried and true recipe for an established style is fine for me. I like to brew good beer, and, for most styles of beer, excellent recipes have been developed over the years. I find that anything more than a trivial change to traditionally developed styles usually disappoints. Doesn't necessarily mean I am rigidly tied to a recipe and take it as I find it, I just don't try to reinvent the wheel when brewing to style.

All of the above. Kits, other peoples recipes, my own recipes, extract, partial mash, all grain... Beer is good.

I mostly do my own recipes. I do look at a lot of recipes and may take an established recipe and tweak it to make it what I want sometimes. I do the same with cooking. I look at recipes to get the idea and then modify it to make it more to my taste.

Aside from a few extract kits at the very start of my brewing obsession I have never followed a recipe. I have made some awesome beers and a couple of stinkers but was learning all the time.

My procedure is really a combination. I take a recipe and make alterations to suit what I would like to accomplish. That way I am starting from something that should be good and if I don't go too crazy it should still be good. I have been lucky and most of my beers are quite good to great.

Recipe formulation is my favorite part of the process. Once I've brewed something, all I'm thinking of is what I'm going to brew next. I'd actually rather design recipes and brew more often than drink more often!

I love doing both. I love building and brewing my own recipes and trying new things. I also like doing existing recipes and kits sometimes. Sometimes its fun to just make a fun easy delicious recipe.

JLem said:

Recipe formulation is my favorite part of the process. Once I've brewed something, all I'm thinking of is what I'm going to brew next. I'd actually rather design recipes and brew more often than drink more often!

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I 100% agree with this. I really don't see a point to brewing an existing recipe, unless its tweaking my own. I don't see anything wrong with doing an existing recipe, just isn't for me.

I use all my own recipes.

When I first started out (back in 1995), I used recipes that I saw in books, and sometimes made slight adjustments, but after about 10 extract batches I started making my own. I went all-grain soon after, and haven't used a recipe even once since then.

I feel like crafting my own recipes and experimenting on my own makes me feel like a "Chef", as opposed to a "Cook". I'm a terrible cook, so I always follow recipes when I'm cooking food that I've never cooked before, but I know that the great Chefs in the world don't sit there with a recipe book, trying to replicate someone else's creation.

Also, it is IMPOSSIBLE to replicate someone else's beer. Your water is different, fermentation temps, Mash temp, ingredients different age, pitch rates are different, different "house flavors", exact carbonation level, sparge temp and length, grain crush, efficiency, etc etc etc.. so your beer will never come out exactly like someone else's. It may be very similar, but the fact is, you gotta tailor recipes and procedures to your own equipment and taste buds.

It's just so much more rewarding to drink my own creations. I don't fault anyone for following recipes, though - but I encourage everyone to invent their own at least sometimes.

All of the above. I do look at other peoples recipes when making my own. I also don't go crazy trying to match other recipes ingredients so a fair amount of substitution goes on.

But I do think my brewing improves when I make effort to brew to a target, not just add random ingredients. Tried and true clone recipes are a great way to practice to improve my skills, especially when the clone is commercially available in my area.

i've been brewing about a year and a half now and do a mix of all three
if i like a commercial beer and it's hard to come by or even if it's easy to find i enjoy making a clone to kinda sorta pay tribute to it. (i LOVE Kane head high. it's their regular american IPA and it's nothing special, but it's my favorite beer overall.)
i havent even been brewing long enough to attempt all the styles i want to try yet, so i think in the future i can see myself crafting 100% my own recipes.
like others i also sometimes start with someones recipe, but alter it so much it wouldnt really count as the original beer once brewed.
SO MANY good recipes on here, btw. it really is an amazing resource and i'm glad everyone here readily shares their recipes

Yooper said:

I mostly make my own recipes, but will sometimes look at other recipes to get an idea of hops/malt combos when I feel like I"m in a rut of the same old thing.

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Ditto this. I get into comfortable ruts pretty easy and it helps to look at what others are doing. I just got a clone for Racer 5 and I'm going to either brew it, or bastardize it a little, just to break away from what I've been doing.

Always my own recipe. I do research other recipes in the style category and tinker around with my brew software but when I share my beer I have pride in it ad want to say that I made it and it wouldn't feel genuine if it was someone else's recipe. Not downing anyone else, just my personal feeling on it

JLem said:

Recipe formulation is my favorite part of the process. Once I've brewed something, all I'm thinking of is what I'm going to brew next. I'd actually rather design recipes and brew more often than drink more often!

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I agree, and recipe formulation is something I have done a lot of reading on. I've got a few of the style-based books to get a idea of the traditional ways to make certain styles, and try to draw information from a sensory experience of similar libations (i.e. I like to drink examples of styles ).

I usually use my own recipe, but I also usually end up changing/adding things during brew day, so recipe is a bit of stretch (fwiw, i also write down any changes i make in case i really like something)

Best way to vet a new recipe?

See what recipes on HBT have the longest comment threads! These tend to be killer beers. Deception Stout, Cottage House saison, and a couple more. Yoopers Oatmeal Stout is my next test of this theory.

Although there was one loser in the bunch....

tgmartin000 said:

Best way to vet a new recipe?

See what recipes on HBT have the longest comment threads! These tend to be killer beers. Deception Stout, Cottage House saison, and a couple more. Yoopers Oatmeal Stout is my next test of this theory.

Although there was one loser in the bunch....

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Omigawd, dish, giiiirl.

99% recipes of my own creation.

I feel that if I am going to brew beer, I am going to do it my way with my own recipes. There is nothing wrong with brewing clones or others recipes, but it is much more satisfying to me when I open one of my own unique creations or get positive feedback from others.

Just how I am.

Tough to answer.
Mostly AHS clones and AHS kits (not clones) but I've done one substantial tweak of DfH 60-minute (60-minute Tamarindia Ale) and my own version of a clone is damned good and close yet not like others' attempts to clone Innis & Gunn Original. I've scheduled more tweakings in the future, and two brews from now I've planned a recipe off most charts.

Almost everything I've done lately has been my own recipe. A borderline case would be my honey saison, which started out as a couple tweaks to the Cottage Saison from these forums and ended up pretty different. Usually I try to establish grist percentages for a style and then work from there.

I started all grain with a few kits...maybe 5-7. Then I spent the next 30 brews on Smashs to learn what malts and hops tasted like. Then I added 10% crystal, then munich, then vienna to learn about formulating a recipe. It was annoying but my first actual recipe is still one of my best.

I always research a brew beforehand (BLAM, recipes here or Radical Brewing) but take it in my own direction. I never clone or completely copy. I even went back and forth with Southern Tier about doing a Harvest clone and got nearly everything I needed. Ended up making a double amber instead of an ESB but with a similar hop profile.

Also, take good tasting notes. Some people brew a recipe, hate it, and throw out the recipe. Think "what did you hate?" or "What was missing?" Everytime I venture into a new style I am very careful to document it.

Can't answer. Trick question. I don't think that anyone actually brews recipes that are exclusively their own. We all build on what's come before us. That said, don't think I've ever brewed a recipe line for line from an existing recipe. May be a sickness, but I can't help but to F with it. Even when I'm rebrewing one of my own beers.

I don't mainly my own recipes unless it's something I've never brewed before. I like knowing that it's a beer I created from the bottom up (except for the malting, obviously). I usually do the same thing when cooking, I'll take a well known recipe and use that as a base and change it to fit my tastes. Cooking and brewing are similar in that aspect for me, but I guess in cooking, I usually do the recipe exactly as it is written the first time, then change it after that.

AnOldUR said:

Can't answer. Trick question. I don't think that anyone actually brews recipes that are exclusively their own. We all build on what's come before us. That said, don't think I've ever brewed a recipe line for line from an existing recipe. May be a sickness, but I can't help but to F with it. Even when I'm rebrewing one of my own beers.

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This is me too. "Wow, this beer I just brewed came out fantastic!! Next time I brew it I should change the recipe!" Definitely an illness.

I usually get hints from others' recipes at least, or I might start with a recipe from somewhere and have to substitute something for what I have on hand.