Spawned from the Easy Partial Mash Brewing thread, I threw this together to give some people a better idea of grains, at least the ones I use regularly for now. This will become a branch of a tutorial I have planned, so feel free to ask questions, correct my mistakes, challenge my assertions, etc. and I will modify the posts. I'm thinking once the information is solid and the tutorial links to it, I'll have the mods close the thread.
Please note: Your posts may be deleted from this thread once your suggestions have been considered and/or included and the thread is closed
Recipe Formulation
If you want to get into recipe formulation, you just have to understand the ingredients. Much like in cooking, the key to a great beer is to know your materials, inside and out, from start to finish. Break apart a few pellets and stick your nose in a bag of hops. Taste the different grains you are using, and taste your wort at different stages during the brew process. Smell your yeast before you pour it in (it will smell funky but you'll soon be comparing it to other yeasts) and keep your nose over the airlock during fermentation.
Remember that although you may not be able to completely understand what ingredients will contribute to the end product, you will, over time, be able to distinguish the differences between similar ingredients. Understanding how a a Crystal 20L differs from a Crystal 40L will tell you how you wish to modify your recipe once it is complete.
Our homebrew club did a fun experiment last weekend. One member steeped specialty grains (crystal 10-120L) and different types of hops so we could taste the flavors. The difference between the aroma and taste in the grain was striking. You got a lot more from the nose than the flavor, and you can definitely tell what it contributes.
I think doing a 5 gallon extract batch with very subdued hops and steeping 5 different specialty grains separately to top off 5 1-gallon beers would be a good idea to better understand flavors, using a clean yeast. Maybe just use some carb tabs or sugar and force carbonate in a few bottles.
Reading descriptions will help somewhat, especially if you have the grain on hand to taste and think about. It will also give you a better understanding of the brewing jargon.
Here are a few links I found with a search of different malt types:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mash_ingredients#Pale_malt
http://www.thebeeressentials.com/beer/beer-specialty-malts.shtml
http://www.bunnchirobrewing.com/?page_id=8
And, of course, How To Brew:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-1.html
Comparing recipes also helps. I read many books and based my recipes for a long time off of things I had read. Using tried and true, simple recipes will greatly improve your knowledge.
I also went nuts with grains and overboard with many different things, which ended with some unpleasant beers and a new-found appreciation of subtlety. Checking out the style guidelines will help. Remember that when they say "up to 10%", they really mean "up to"...pushing the boundaries can be fun, but you first have to know what you're working with.
Starting simple may mean you'll have to brew more beers before you know ALL the ingredients, but it means you will have a greater knowledge of the ingredients you have used in those batches.
And, of course, there are many members of HBT that are willing to help you make any tough decisions.
Please note: Your posts may be deleted from this thread once your suggestions have been considered and/or included and the thread is closed
Recipe Formulation
If you want to get into recipe formulation, you just have to understand the ingredients. Much like in cooking, the key to a great beer is to know your materials, inside and out, from start to finish. Break apart a few pellets and stick your nose in a bag of hops. Taste the different grains you are using, and taste your wort at different stages during the brew process. Smell your yeast before you pour it in (it will smell funky but you'll soon be comparing it to other yeasts) and keep your nose over the airlock during fermentation.
Remember that although you may not be able to completely understand what ingredients will contribute to the end product, you will, over time, be able to distinguish the differences between similar ingredients. Understanding how a a Crystal 20L differs from a Crystal 40L will tell you how you wish to modify your recipe once it is complete.
Our homebrew club did a fun experiment last weekend. One member steeped specialty grains (crystal 10-120L) and different types of hops so we could taste the flavors. The difference between the aroma and taste in the grain was striking. You got a lot more from the nose than the flavor, and you can definitely tell what it contributes.
I think doing a 5 gallon extract batch with very subdued hops and steeping 5 different specialty grains separately to top off 5 1-gallon beers would be a good idea to better understand flavors, using a clean yeast. Maybe just use some carb tabs or sugar and force carbonate in a few bottles.
Reading descriptions will help somewhat, especially if you have the grain on hand to taste and think about. It will also give you a better understanding of the brewing jargon.
Here are a few links I found with a search of different malt types:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mash_ingredients#Pale_malt
http://www.thebeeressentials.com/beer/beer-specialty-malts.shtml
http://www.bunnchirobrewing.com/?page_id=8
And, of course, How To Brew:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-1.html
Comparing recipes also helps. I read many books and based my recipes for a long time off of things I had read. Using tried and true, simple recipes will greatly improve your knowledge.
I also went nuts with grains and overboard with many different things, which ended with some unpleasant beers and a new-found appreciation of subtlety. Checking out the style guidelines will help. Remember that when they say "up to 10%", they really mean "up to"...pushing the boundaries can be fun, but you first have to know what you're working with.
Starting simple may mean you'll have to brew more beers before you know ALL the ingredients, but it means you will have a greater knowledge of the ingredients you have used in those batches.
And, of course, there are many members of HBT that are willing to help you make any tough decisions.