Grains, Hops, Yeast, How do you choose?

[markab]

Hi,
I haven't been brewing beer for very long but the idea of getting away from LME and moving on to grain mash brewing intrigues me. I have a local supplier that offers dozens of different Grains, Hops, and yeasts. I'm now gaining an understanding of the process involved from this wonderful website but I'm left wondering how does one know what grains go well with what yeasts and hops? Are there general guidelines offered here or elsewhere that illustrate this, or do I need to find a recipe that has the various ingredients offered by my supplier? Thanks for your suggestions.

Regards,
Mark

 

[VTBrewer]

Most LHBS have recipes for you to browse, and they are usually glad to help you adjust them to your tastes.

There are TONS of recipes in the recipe database on this site.

All the online vendors have prepackaged all grain kits.

Your LHBS will have 99% of all the ingredients you encounter, or a capable substitute.

 

[Soulfeather]

go ask questions at yer HBS...try to go during "less crowded" times if you can. Midday, when its slow. Tell the guy/gal what kinds of beers you like and 9 times outta 10 the guy will know what goes in it. if he doesn't, the internet is a click away. Plus there is prolly somebody that has purchased that recipe or something similar. The HBS may have it on file...just my 1 cent. It's worked wonders for me

 

[iron_city_ap]

One of the things I do on the rare occasions where I try to make up my own recipe is I'll research other recipes and see what is used in them. I try to use the ingredients that pop up most commonly and then experiment from there. Instead of Chocolate Malt, I may get crazy and go with Chocolate Wheat or Black Barley, for example.

If you can, find a guide to hops and just read up on what that hop is commonly used for and what its taste is, and how you feel about that flavor in what you are trying to make. You may not like the idea of the spicy, floral, grapefruit character from using Cascades and think the mild flavor and aeroma of Mt. Hood would be a better fit.

Yeast is the same way. They contribute flavor and don't just simply eat sugar and give you alchohol. A Belgain Wit yeast will contribute different flavors than a German Ale strain will. California Ale is a great 'generic' work horse yeast that is extremely versitile while Trappist Ale is more specific. Champagne yeast will get you a higher ABV, and dryer taste while Bavarian won't.

You have to piece it all together with something in mind. Do you want a light beer, high in IBUs, with a citrus hint? Look for ingredients that all lend to that. Do you want it dark, earthy, and malty? There's plenty out there to get you in that direction too.

I use this site, Beer Smith, and just about any other resource I can find to read up on what ingredients contribute what and go from there. The LHBS is a great place to start, but they won't have ALL the answers, PLUS, the taste of the person you are asking will reflect in their answer. They may not like a certain grain, but you will. They may not taste a difference between 2 hops, but its black and white with you.

Hope that helps.

 

[lumpher]

i still use recipes i find online. lots of homebrewers know more than i do, and i've learned a lot over the years following recipes finding what i like and what i dont, and comparing the differences. i use beersmith, and it has recipes you can download, and you can look at them and see what goes together. a general idea, comparing it to a cooking recipe, is 2-row and pilsner are like the flour in a recipe, crystal malt is kind of like the sugar, and specialty malts are the real flavors. not quite like that, but in a general kind of way. i learned a lot from my lhbs owner who steered me on the right path, then i joined a brew club with some very knowledgeable people