First all grain recipe ideas

I'm looking for a good entry level AG recipe that is forgiving as to get the process down a couple of times and still have good beer. Probably American wheat style or a moderately hopped Light ale to appease SWMBO. All suggestions are greatly appreciated.
P.S. This forum is full of great advice and willingness to spread the joy of homebrewing. I think I speak for all us Newbies when I say Thanks to y'all.
(hope that didn't sound like BLATANT brown nose-ing for a recipe..hee hee hee . )

My first AG was Papa Charlie's Good Life Pale Ale, in Complete Joy. Simple reciple, a nice, light pale ale. I would probably not do a wheat first, as you run the risk of a stuck sparge a lot easier when using wheat. Any kind of American or English pale ale would be an easy first step to AG.

Really, though, the whole process is a LOT easier than you're going to expect.

I've got that book, I'll give that recipe a look. I've got my extract brews going pretty good, but now I have to move on and improve to some Jedi brewing.

As another soon to be new AG brewer, I really appreciate this thread. This will save me from posting this in a couple months. I've been reading a lot about the process and while I know that it's not rocket science, but it's kind of intimidating. I'll pick up a copy of Complete Joy and have a look at the recipe when I start AG.

An English Mild or Brown might be a good place to start. Light beers can be somewhat problematic when it comes to water chemistry. Darker ones are more forgiving. Milds and Browns are about the middle of the road for almost everything (hops, grain bill, color, etc).

Honestly, I wouldn't get too stressed out about it. Brew what you like, it's not that much more complicated to do an IPA or whatever else you like (within reason). Maybe a few more grains or a few more hop additions, but nothing overly complicated.

Once you you pick the style (wheat or american ale), keep the grain bill and hops quite simple. You want to have a basis to compare the later brews. If you go really complicated from the start, it would be hard to see what you do/don't like. Keep the variables to a minmum. ie) 2-row plus a few ozs. of specialty grain..or something between a 40/60 or 50/50 wheat to 2-row ratio...also stick to hops you know.
You will be surprised how good it turns out !

Cheers.

My first was a Scottish 80 ale. It was good. I would suggest to have a little DME on hand in case you miss the OG real bad.

I would also go through a dry run, (no grain), to check my equipment, before I brew. During the brew is not the time to try and repair things.

Just my $.02

One more piece of advice. Once you've picked the recipe get enough ingredients to brew it 3 or 4 times in quick succession. Take copious notes and measure everything (temp, volumes etc) as you go and dial in your system. This will make your future brewing experiences MUCH more pleasurable.

this is the good stuff here. I REALLY appreciate the good tips and advise, 'cause I have a little boy and a baby and my brewing time is very limited. I'm sure alot of you can relate. When the schedule lightens up, I plan to experiment and run wild, but for now.....you know.
Anyhoo....Thanks again everyone!!

a hefe wouldnt be too hard for my first all grain right? if i add rice hulls i wont get a stuck sparge and it would be a very simple recipe

My first AG was a brown ale a few weeks ago. Theres a few things i need to work on with the next one, but its relatively easy and fun. I cant wait until I can do my next one.

I did my first AG on Tuesday, thought I would share a few tips:

1) Definitely have some sort of extract on hand, I milled my own grain(corona style and ended up with a <50% efficiency
2)Get a heavy spoon to mix the mash, i had a cheap plastic one, it broke, then I burned my hand(well not really, just dunked it in to some really hot 154 degree water a few times), using a smaller metal spoon.
3)Don't get to upset when/if something goes wrong
4) Have Fun

Wup

P.S. I just did my second AG things went much smoother then the first and I managed a 72% efficiency

I went back to basics when I did my first AG. I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything too complicated so I could focus on following all of the steps correctly and as mentioned before, taking good notes. I would recommend a PA, something like you may have brewed one of your first times brewing with extract.

Other suggestions:
-Be sure to check gravity against what you would expect to get from the recipe you are using so you know your system efficiency for future batches.
-Have some boiling water and cold water available at mash in case you need to add some if you for some reason really miss your mash temperature, and have a ball park idea of how much you need to add per degree that you need to affect your mash. Nothing worse than yo-yoing above and below your target.
-On a related note, pick a recipe that has a moderate mash temperature, say 152, so if you miss your mash temperature by a lot, you can still adjust and at least get it to a range of 149 to 155 without severely thinning your mash. If you make a Scottish at 158 and you miss high (and don't catch it for 15 minutes), you could be deactivating enzymes.
-Write down everything you are going to do and in the order you are going to do it, even the stuff you have done dozens of times before, and follow your list. It is easy to miss something routine (like sanitizing your funnel for the fermenter) because you were so focused on getting the mash part right and forgot to do the simple things.
-Have a helper for the first AG brew, just for the extra set of hands. It's nice to be able to concentrate on getting it right and having a gopher get the stuff that you suddenly realize you need when your hands are full (expect the unexpected). Besides, it never hurts to have a drinking buddy while brewing.
-Start early in the day. I can regularly get from start to finish including clean up in four and a half hours now, but my first few AG batches went about 7 hours.
-If it hasn't been mentioned anywhere else, relax and have a homebrew.

i would consider something in the Ordinary/best/extra special bitter line. the soft english style hops are forgiving and no matter WHAT the OG is it is still correct for something. ie: yeah guys, i thought about a special bitter but decided at the last minute to make an ordinary! you know summer is coming on.....