For me, brewing a bunch of SMaSH (single malt and single hop) beers to learn what the different ingredients contributed and then adding speciality grains into the mix.How does one learn to create a recipe?
Hex said:Read books (Designing Great Beers).
AnOldUR said:For me, brewing a bunch of SMaSH (single malt and single hop) beers to learn what the different ingredients contributed and then adding speciality grains into the mix.
I forgot to mention beersmith. Beersmith is one of the best investment I have made since I started brewing. I'm still learning it but it is fun to use, and the potential in what I could create is limitless.
Besides Beersmith and Designing Great Beers, my best tip is to do two things. One, go to the homebrew store and sample all the grains they have in bins. (Ask them first, and tell them what you're doing!). Taste how the base grains taste. Once you "know" two-row, you can really taste the difference in different grains. Chocolate malt is burnt, Vienna is sort of sweet, maris otter is "warm", etc. That really helps.
The next thing is to look at the recipes of some of your favorite beers. See what they have in common- maybe that's why you like them. I noticed that many of the beers I loved early on had willamette hops in them and crystal 40l. That was sort of an "Aha!" moment for me. Then, I looked at other recipes and noticed that I really liked Munich malt.
If you know you like Munich malt's "malty" flavor in a beer, then it's easy to craft a recipe showcasing that. If you know you love the citrusy goodness of cascade, that is another great place to start. Knowing what you like in a recipe can help you craft new recipes, while taking out what you don't like.
I now can make recipes based on Bob's input. He has a great palate, and he'll say, "I like this beer, but I wish it had a bit more bready-ness and a bit of a red color" and I'll make the next batch with those changes. It's really helpful if you can get some critique like that instead of "your beer is good. I like it". Constructive criticism helps!
Enter your email address to join: