Anybody interested in helping?

I am pretty new and this brewing thing, I just finished my first kit and it turned out great it was a nut brown ale.

Well I want to move on to the next beer and I am not sure what to do next. I would really like to make up a recipe on my own but I know that is an art form. What do you guys think should I just stick with the pre thought out kits for now?

I have a idea on what I want to make next but I am not sure how to go about it and how to figure out what kind and how much hops and grains to use. How do you guys who make your own recipes figure that out.

Also It seems lately that a lot of brewers are fermenting with fruit is there any tricks to this or do i just throw it in when the fermenting process is started?

Thanks for any help guys. If anybody would be interested in pming me to help me figure out the right amount of stuff would be awesome.

Check the recipe section here. There's some great stuff. There's also some great recipe books too. 'beer captured' has tons of clone recipes. 'brewing classic styles' has 80 award winning recipes.
I'd also suggest using recipes of the same style as a guideline if you're going to try to formulate a recipe from scratch. I do this alot, if I'm making say an English bitter, I'll look at a few recipes of bitters I enjoy, then create a similar recipe to style using software (BrewPal and iBrewmaster).
Good luck!!!

Buy Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer (over 80 styles) all award winning recipes.

Or look on this forum under the recipes tab.....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/

As a brand new brewer you should go with proven recipes for a while, no use working 3-6 hours and then realizing you hate the results.

Trust me, I tried after 4 batches....not pretty !

NordeastBrewer77 said:

I'd also suggest using recipes of the same style as a guideline if you're going to try to formulate a recipe from scratch. I do this alot, if I'm making say an English bitter, I'll look at a few recipes of bitters I enjoy, then create a similar recipe to style using software (BrewPal and iBrewmaster).
Good luck!!!

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With the exception of a kit I bought for someone else and brewed with them, I've only done my own recipes. And this is exactly what I've always done. With extract and specialty grains it's really hard to screw it up that badly- as long as you don't do something insane, even if it's not perfect it'll still be drinkable beer. As you brew and experiment you'll gain a taste for which grains and hops you like, which yeasts you like, as well as the characters they impart and what styles they work well with.

To answer your second question, I believe most folks wait until after primary fermentation is finished, and then either add fruit into the primary or add the fruit in a secondary fermenter and rack the beer on top of it. I've only done one beer with fruit, and I put it in the primary after fermentation was done, left it for two weeks and bottled. I'm not particularly happy with the results myself, but other folks who've tried it really enjoy it.

Personally, I think you've got enough going in learning the brewing processes and techniques. I'd stick with tried and true recipes or kits for now. After you've learned the processes, what ingredients contribute which flavors, are comfortable on brew day, and the beer made is up to standard, I'd consider incorporating recipe formulation.

You can find great recipes from Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, Brewmaster's warehouse (look under the Shoultz/Meyer recipes, he's the owner) and Ahs. Buying from one of those 4 will eliminate one variable when you're learning the processes. Good luck.

Agree with the basic sentiment to stick with known recipes for awhile. But to answer your question, brewing software helps a great deal when formulating recipes. Beersmith has sliding indicators that show where you're at with a particular style for multiple factors. If you add too much or not enough of a particular ingredient, you'll be out of range. That's how you can get in the ballpark.

I'll admit, every recipe I've ever jacked with or did from scratch has come out bad.

Kits are a great way to keep the focus on your process and worry about the artform later

Its like cooking, (i guess you could but wouldnt know the outcome) would you just throw anything together? You really dont until you get some basics down learn styles,how much of what, there are so many choices not all work together.Ive started out making a few of my own,drinkable just were not great but after brewing more spending countless hours researching and learning i have made some really good ones, you could get lucky too but its all beer and i still have never dumped any of mine even an infected batch that is great, just not coditioning anymore.
I generally use recipies when i brew a style ive never brewed before.Ive had to subb alot too but would stick to the recipe.There is usually a reason its posted or a kit, because it works out good for those particular ingredients. Then again you can make a recipe from a book and not like it sometimes.
Starting out basic is always a good idea too with just a few ingredients to learn whats what.

My first brew was a kit... Second brew from the recipe sectionof this site.. Third brew was one I made up.

Read a ton of threads here and get a good idea of some recipes and what is in them and then geet some brew software, and go for it..

Water, malt, hops, yeast. It really is pretty easy to make your own recipe and have it come out very good. Just follow good technique and KISS. Pale ales are about as easy as it gets, and probably one of the most popular styles so you might want to stick with those for a few batches. The problem I see new brewers get into when trying to make their own recipes early on is they seem to have an irresistable urge to add honey, or oak chips, or burbon or apricots, or make a stong Belgian, or Sour, or 8% plus ABV beer, etc, etc, etc.

If you just use good water, fresh extract, some caramel malt, don't go crazy on the hops, use Beer Calculus to help you get the amounts correct and use healthy yeast, good sanitation and control the fermentation temps there is absolutely no reason your home recipe pale ale wont be just as good as a kit. In fact if you can step up to a partial mash, even if you are stovetop brewing, your pale ale will be better than most kits with extract and steeped grains.

BBD Brown Biscuit. It is a partial mash in the recipe section under English Brown Ale. You will love it

thanks for the help guys I appreciate it I am going to read a ton and probably buy another kit.