First own-recipe help

[ryandonaldmcleod]

Hi there

My first ever batch was a success! it was beautiful and worth the wait!

now im looking ahead to my next batch, and im having trouble trying to decide what to brew next

i really want to do my own recipe rather than use someone elses, else i'll just feel like im copying?

My question is:
Is there such a thing as a wrong combination of hops, wheat etc?
With soo many varieties of hops and wheat etc its all a little confusing

i theory, could you just pick any old wheat and hops and see what happens?

Ryan

btw my first brew followed this recipe:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCW-SVPCw4Y[/ame]
It was beautiful

 

[ryandonaldmcleod]

I shoudl add as well that the sorta recipe i have in mind would use lapsang souchong leaves as a dry hop to get a smokey/wood smell to it - if anyone has smelled lapsang souchong before you'l knwo what i mean

 

[WayFrae]

That video doesn't really show a recipe, it just seems to show how to brew a kit. If I were you I would just buy a recipe kit for a porter, stout, or brown ale and then use your lapsang souchong (I have no idea what that is) to add a smokey flavor. You could even get a smoked porter or smoked stout kit and use that stuff to accentuate the smokiness.

 

[ryandonaldmcleod]

I dont wanna use a kit tho, just seems like cheating
The recipe above i used grains hops etc i went out and bought myself
kits just seem like a "just add water" solution to cheating yourself out of enjoying brewing

and sorry WayFrae but you didnt really answer my question there, i asked:
"Is there such a thing as a wrong combination of hops, wheat etc?"

 

[Dave_K]

Is there a wrong combination? Perhaps if you want to make a specific style of beer, but you absolutely can pick up any ingredients you want, throw it together and see what you get.
Could be terrible, could be awesome.
The way I got started forming recipes was: I'd figure out what style I want, then look up a bunch of recipes to see what ingredients and percentages people were using (homebrewtalk is a great resource for that). From there I would put together my own from what sounded good. The rest is learning from experience and reading.

 

[rodwha]

Like Dave, I looked at other recipes to get an idea of what it would take, both here in the recipe databank, and MoreBeer's recipe sheets. I then formulate my recipes and post them here for critique and fine tune them.

 

[TimFarAway]

I like the recipes here and on www.brewersfriend.com Then I adjusted for what I thought would make it my own, and brewed away. Start with what style you like, and go from there. My 2nd batch was an apricot ale for the wife. She appreciated the effort, and doesn't mind now when I spend a bit on new gear and ingredients. Welcome to the obsession! There is sooooo much to learn. Everything from ingredient properties, to techniques to advanced chemistry.

 

[MindenMan]

I agree with Dave K, start with a style you like, and then look at others' recipes. Unless you have already done a lot of research on ingredients, I would error on the side of caution as to not add so much of one ingredient, that is all that would be tasted. If I were new to brewing, I would start by making 1 or 2 gallon batches, that way if you make something you don't really like, it is easier to toss 1 gallon as opposed to 5 gallons.