One of the things I really enjoy about brewing is coming up with my own recipes. I feel like I know enough to decide what malts and how much I want to use. However, hops are a different story. I am a relatively new brewer so I only have 4 of my own recipes under my belt, but for those I have just been taking someone else's hop schedule (How to Brew, etc) and substitute different hops. I know some people will say that taking hop schedules and changing them subtly will be the bes t way to get a feel for designing hop schedules, but I think there is a better way.
I have recently been reading through "Designing Great Beers" and he attempts to describe such a method. Ray Daniels was saying to choose the aroma/flavor hops first and then add bittering hops to contribute the rest of the necessary IBUs. Despite going into detail about how to determine the amount of hops for bittering, he doesn't do a good job describing how to decide the amounts of flavoring/aroma hops (he discusses different oils and how to choose hops, but doesn't explain how amounts affect flavor).
What methods do you guys use to determine hop schedules (amounts and times)? Please divulge your secrets and experience.
I have recently been reading through "Designing Great Beers" and he attempts to describe such a method. Ray Daniels was saying to choose the aroma/flavor hops first and then add bittering hops to contribute the rest of the necessary IBUs. Despite going into detail about how to determine the amount of hops for bittering, he doesn't do a good job describing how to decide the amounts of flavoring/aroma hops (he discusses different oils and how to choose hops, but doesn't explain how amounts affect flavor).
What methods do you guys use to determine hop schedules (amounts and times)? Please divulge your secrets and experience.