Understanding recipes posted

Hi all,

I've been checking out the various recipes within HBT's database. However, some of the recipe listings are a bit confusing to me. I think it is output from beer brewing software.

Is it just chronological order and I'm completely looking too hard at it? Example: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/weegies-summer-blonde-259002/

I tried searching on a howto read recipe FAQ, but didn't find one.

Thanks!

What do you not understand? THat was a fairly easy one.

That is just a list of ingredients, not how to brew it. It's just the recipe, so to speak, not the instructions.

If you've got the basic brewing technique down, understanding this recipe should be a cinch! If not, don't worry! John Palmer's book "How to Brew" is free online! It's a bit dry reading, but an awesome resource! http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

At the same time, maybe you're just not reading something right. If there is a particular part you aren't understanding, let us know and we'll help!

For this recipe, the first section (with the bold titles) is like the overall stats for the beer.

Then it lists the grain

Then it lists the hops, and spices.

Then it's got a paragraph with some other notes and info.

There is a standard format, like that, that all recipes have. It's kinda like making cookies- you have to learn which ingredients go first and with what, but then once you've done it a few times it becomes second nature.

All of the grains are crushed and put together in a bag loosely. Then, water is brought up to 165 degrees or so, the heat turned off and the grains steeped.

After the steeping, the grains are removed and the resulting liquid brought up to boiling. Unless stated otherwise, the malt extract is added then (take the pot OFF of the flame during that!). Bring back up to a boil. When boiling, the hops are added, starting with the 60 minute additions. So, at the first addition, set the timer for 60 minutes and then add the following hops when that much time is left on the timer (ie 15 minute hops are added when there is 15 minutes left in the boil). When the timer goes off, the wort should be quickly quickly, usually in a water bath. Then it's added to a sanitized fermenter, topped up to 5 gallons (or the amount specific in the recipe if different), aerated by stirring/shaken, and the yeast added.

If you need help with specific steps or when to do the steps, let us know. We can help!

Great info guys! Thank you.

I wondered the same once, too. I'm sure many were confused by the assumption of process-knowledge.

Enjoy and be sure to ask if anything else stumps you!

B