Where do your recipes come from?

This came out of a different thread where someone asked if anyone had ever found an online recipe database with "brewer/taster" reviews and feedback on the recipes.

http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20680

Could we create something like that on HTB? It would require a lot of people being the kind of brewer who either uses other people's recipes, or participates in beerswaps to make it work, but...

How many of your recipes are original recipes, and how many are recipes created by others?

To sort our some questions that might pop up, let's say:

If you use someone else's recipe with only some minor modifications, do not count it as "your" recipe.

If you use kits from an online or local brewshop, do not count it as "your" recipe.

-walker

Double-post, n00b!

the_bird said:

Double-post, n00b!

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Had a problem with the poll the first time.

I'll nuke the other one.

-walker

It's easy, I think.

Participate in the Great HomeBrewTalk 2007 BeerSwap. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=19386

Post your recipe.

Get feedback on that recipe.

Feedback is public.

The only thing we might want to add would be a single page where the different recipes were linked. A link for my smoked porter, next to a link for your Holy Grail, etc. Everyone would start a thread for each individual recipe rather than for all of their beers together.

Would that work for what you're thinking of?

I said 1 to 2. I make up most of my recipes, and come here for feedback. The only recipes that I have made from someone elses recipes that I will likely make again are Poor Richards Ale and Imperial Hellfire. That is not to say that I wont find other recipes in the future that I will want to try. By and large I have not been terribly impressed with Papazian's recipes.

- magno

the_bird said:

It's easy, I think.

Participate in the Great HomeBrewTalk 2007 BeerSwap.

Post your recipe.

Get feedback on that recipe.

Feedback is public.

The only thing we might want to add would be a single page where the different recipes were linked. A link for my smoked porter, next to a link for your Holy Grail, etc.

Would that work for what you're thinking of?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I suppose. That might be a pain to maintain, though. Maybe levels of forums? CLick Ale or Lager, dive deeper into general types (porter, pale ale, IPA, etc etc). One thread per recipe.

This is really a discussion that belongs in the site suggestions, so don't hijack my thread, Bi-atch!

Let's just see how many people out there make a habit out of using other people's recipes for their own batches.

-walker

Well, how come you ain't participating in my swap, boy?

I gotta pimp that thing out hardcore.

I like to make beers that I already know I enjoy, so most of my brews are clones. The only things I make that aren't clones are "bandwagon" recipes here on the forum.


By bandwagon I mean a brew that has an established following: aka Cheesefood's Caramel Cream Ale and EdWort's Apfelwein.

This is a good idea Walker. I voted but I don't know how accurate my vote is.

You know, you take someone's recipe and have to modify it because you don't have the EXACT hop they used or something. I just took DesertBrew's Chaos IPA recipe and had to use Warrior hops instead (I also added smoked malt, ), but I'd still give him credit for the recipe pretty much. I did everything the exact same for the most part.

Depends on how you look at it.

Dude said:

Depends on how you look at it.

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Yeah, I knew that there could be some grey areas. I tried to clarify in the first post, but whether changes you made to a recipe are major or minor is a matter of opinion.

-walker

I voted 1-2.

But I'm heading towards 0. Most of my receipes are my own now. When I want to start brewing a new style I do some research, which includes sampling commercial examples, reading some books and comparing existing recipes, and come up with a starting recipe which I will then work on. This is different from what I tried in the beginning where I just wanted to brew a different style with every batch.

Kai

What's the status of the recipe database that Tx was talking about putting together?

About 1/3 other, if you count ciders & mead. I really like a variety and brewing someone else's recipe or kit is the best way to try something new. It can help to avoid things like 12 oz. of peat-smoked in a barleywine (2003 and finally coming in). I've never made a Red from my own recipe, but Old Dog Brown is the first Brown that wasn't. I worked on a porter recipe for years, but AHB's RMP is so good, I doubt if I'll ever do my own again.

The next four are: Kit, own, BRR, all I have so far is 3 kg of 80/20 barley/rice LME

Bent Rod Rye is my own recipe, but it is really just a 2/3'rds bill of a Hop Rod Rye clone with hop adjustments for my personal tastes. How would that be classified?

the_bird said:

What's the status of the recipe database that Tx was talking about putting together?

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He seems busy on other projects. I'm looking forward to when it comes on line.
In the meantime how about a post with recipe database links, or do we have one?

You can have your thread back now.

orfy said:

He seems busy on other projects. I'm looking forward to when it comes on line.
In the meantime how about a post with recipe database links, or do we have one?

You can have your thread back now.

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I've started writing my own. When it's ready, I'd love to get you all involved with it. Shouldn't take too much longer.

You left out a catagory...someone else's recipe that you've tweaked...

I usually go from the guidelines and Designing Great Beers, to design my own recipes, but sometime I take someone else's recipe and tweak it a bit - almost always because of ingredient restrictions.

I voted 3-6, I think I'm in the same vein as a lot of other people here that sometimes take or tweak somebody else's, or other times just decide what to brew and do some research (reading and practical).

I like to START with tried-and-true recipes (particularly good clone recipes), and then tweak to my personal taste preferences.

Personally, I think you go through too much trial-and-error (i.e., mediocre batches) if you don't start with a good recipe right off the bat. Hence, my suggestion to have a rating system in a previous post. It would give new brewers some 'safe' recipes to brew from, and more experience brewers could tweak what they wanted, knowing that if they stay within reason their mods should build on an already good beer.

My $.02.

homebrewer_99 said:

You left out a catagory...someone else's recipe that you've tweaked...

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I actually mentioned this in the original post.

Some of people can't/don't read.

I use only other people's recipes, if we're talking about beer. I'm still learning, and either doing a clone brew, or stealing one of your recipes. Of course, I almost never follow the recipe exactly- the LHBS didn't have the same hops, or I had different yeast on hand, etc. I'm making careful notes, so I know what I did and what I like.

For wine, I almost never follow a recipe. I just make the wine the way I want. Or I look at some different recipes for ideas (how much tannin for blueberry, etc), and still do it my way.

Lonrea

I think we're all learning in one way or another. Now that I'm trying to do a greater percentage of "my own" recipes I'm actually brewing much simpler recipes to get a better understanding of what does what. Most of my batches now are 2, maybe 3 grains at most and 1 or 2 hops, often just one. Oddly enough, when researching historical styles I've found most traditional beers are like this, anyways.

My first recipe was a heavily modified Trappist Ale recipe I got from the Cat's Meow 3. It had different and less malts, and Nottingham dry yeast instead of a trappist yeast. Tasted nothing like a trappist. My second recipe was a modified porter recipe from the LHBS. Everything since then has been my own design. I said zero because both of the first recipes bore little resemblance to the originals.

Oddly enough, when researching historical styles I've found most traditional beers are like this, anyways.

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Fresh hop ales tend to be single hop and simple grain bills as well. Had an all Nugget APA last fall, very fine.

Walker-san said:

I actually mentioned this in the original post.

Some of people can't/don't read.

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Oops!!!:rockin: Hand up...can't read...

I used some recipes from palmer in the beginning. Since then, I've only done 2 recipes that weren't mine.

Yeah...for any given recipe, I'll find some sort of basic beginning research target (such as Papazian, or Designing Great Beers, or HBT via search, or recipator), and use that as the starting point. I'll then add/subtract/tweak it in ProMash to suit my tastes. I rarely just toss together a bunch of ingredients from scratch and hope it resembles the style I'm shooting for.

When I was first starting out, I followed others' recipes to a tee. But ever since I got ProMash and gained experience, I haven't copied anyone's recipe wholesale. No point in that, as far as I can see.

I do about a 50/50 split. I try recipes that are tried & true and I also use somme basic recipes to experiment. I still have loads to learn so I experiment a lot. Some turned out great, others, not so much. But I keep track of the things I do so that I can get an idea of how my changes affect the final brew. The biggest experiment yet happens in March...

C'mon.

Tell me I'm not the only one who get's recipies this way:

'Then they heard crackling of lightning and rumbling of thunder, until they thought that the whole place should be destroyed. In the midst of this storm there entered a sunbeam clearer by seven times than any daylight they had ever seen, and they were all illuminated by the grace of the Papazian. The brewers looked at each other, and they each seemed more handsome than ever before. But none of the brewers could speak a word for a long time, and looked at each other as if they were dumb. Then there entered into the hall the Book of Recipies covered with white silk, but none might see it, nor who bore it. And the whole hall was filled with sweet scents, and every brewer had such meat and drink as he best loved in this world. And when the Book of Recipies had been borne through the hall, then the tome departed suddenly, and they did not know where it went.'

It's more like .20 for me. There are a few beers out there that I'm interested in cloning, but honestly I think I'm pretty confident that the sheet I brew is the cats meow. I think in my lifetime I have only ever copied 2 or 3 recipes verbatim after I went all grain.

i voted 3-6 cuz i usually come up with my own, but i investigate the style like crazy before i decide on something and that includes checking out others recipes.

i also will copy a recipe from time to time, but rarely do i leave it unmodified.

i have certain tastes that i like and certain things i do with almost every brew (i add a small amount of wheat to just about everything.)

Only 1 of my last 10 beers was an "original" recipe, and I constructed it by looking at 10 recipes from the style.

For the forseeable future most of my brews will follow recipes from Brewing Classic Styles, without any modifications (unless I have to substitute for a hop). I like following recipes that are known to be good because it gives me a baseline against which to assess other recipes within the style and my progress as a brewer.

I don't think I've exactly copied more than a couple recipes but many are only slight modifications and most of the rest have a strong basis on recipes I have found else where. Only a couple have been truly unique and those are usually something thrown together like my Leftover IPA and my latest Brown Porter that was a last minute change when I realized I didn't have the yeast for a Scottish Ale.
I voted 3-6 but it really depends on your definition of copied.
Craig

I voted 3-6, especially since I've become more active on here. I am pretty confident in my own recipe formulations but there are many recipes in the HBT db that I want to try. Too many recipes, not enough time!

Dang... this thread was awakened on its 1 year anniversary.

For what it's worth, maybe 1 or 2 out of every 10 brews will be someone else's recipe. Lately it's been 0.

Before I vote, here’s my question.
I took this:

EdWorts Stone IPA
10.5# 2-Row Pale
1# Munich
1# Crystal 20L
1 oz. Warrior 60 minutes
1 oz. Centennial at 45 minutes
1 oz. Centennial at 5 minutes
Dry hop with 1 oz. Centennial
Safbrew US-56 Dry Yeast

Click to expand...

And made this:

Brown Dog IPA
10.5 lb John Bull Maris Otter LME
1 lb Munich 10º L
1 lb Caramel 20º L
Wyeast 1056 American Ale Liquid Yeast

Steep grains in 1½ gal at 154 for 45 minutes

60 minute 2 gallon boil:
3.5 lbs LME @ 60 min
1 oz Warrior @ 60 min
½ oz Amarillo and ½ oz Centennial @ 30 min
½ oz Amarillo and ½ oz Centennial @ 15 min
Flame out

Remove hop sacks
Add 7 lbs LME and 1oz Centennial
Pasteurize Rest for 15 minutes
Remove hop sack
Top off to 5 gallons
Dry hop w/ 1oz Centennial

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Where would you say it fits into the voting?
Should I call it my own or not?

I thought Munich 10º L needed to be mashed.

It's off topic but I am curious.

I thought Munich 10º L needed to be mashed.
It's off topic but I am curious.

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For conversion, you need to mash, but you do get flavor and color from steeping.

Those look like two different recipes.


TL

Glibbidy said:

It's more like .20 for me. There are a few beers out there that I'm interested in cloning, but honestly I think I'm pretty confident that the sheet I brew is the cats meow. I think in my lifetime I have only ever copied 2 or 3 recipes verbatim after I went all grain.

Click to expand...

Nice bump!

I get almost nothing from recipes anymore, but that's not to say I pull stuff out of thin air. I do a lot of research and perusal of recipes before formulating my own. I tend to brew traditional styles which are typically quite simple in terms of ingredients - 2, maybe 3 grains at the very most, basic hop profile, and appropriate yeast.