Perfecting One Recipe?

[michael_riccijr]

Hello everyone,

I just started home brewing in late November. I've got three brews under my belt.

TB German Style Light ~ Gone

BB Red Ale ~ In the bottle

TB Nut Brown ~ Primary

Here's my question...

I like to cook. But I like to cook foods I'm comfortable with. I don't use recipes. I know what tastes good and what will go into my foods to make them taste better. E.g. My pasta sauce. I started out with a recipe years ago, but now my sauce is totally different than what it was when I started. I've played around with it and got it to the point where it is perfect to my taste. Nothing major changes in the recipe and I could do it in my sleep. Same goes for my Chicken Tortellini Soup... It's perfection.

I want to apply this to making beer. I want to make the same beer (Something I won't get sick of) and just continue to improve on it until I perfect the recipe and can do it in my sleep. I am NOT learning anything right now by making different recipes every time. Not one of the recipes listed above have been even similar. Like my sauce, I know if I change something, I'll know what the outcome will be. I don't know what the outcome will be if I change something in my beer. I want to know that if I change something in my beer recipe, what the effects will be in the finished beer. I want to know what the effects of different hops and different yeasts will taste like in the finished product. You can try to explain it to me but I'd rather find out for my self.

Am I on the right track with this method of thinking???? This all came to me in an epiphany last night as I was going to sleep.

I want a simple pale ale with a nice hoppy finish. Nothing too dark... I'd get sick of that fast. The closest "good" HBS is about an hour and a half away, and next weekend I'm going to take a trip and pick up some supplies. I'm not an AGer yet, so I'd like to stick to D/LME... Any Suggestions??

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Sounds good. Start simple and build from there. Taste everything before it goes in and teach your palate to detect the nuances that get through the finished beer.

 

[sp1365]

I get what you are saying and I agree. Right now the way that I am doing it is "perfecting" 2 recipes (Mild and ESB) while experimenting with other styles. That way I get the best of both worlds.

One suggestion would be to do an Extract SMaSH (Revy mentioned it in another thread) and then build from there. Start with one type of extract and one type of hop and then each subsequent recipe change 1 or 2 things till you have found a recipe that you like. For a Pale Ale I would recommend Light DME and Cascade hops.

 

[techrunner]

i'm not exactly the wise and seasoned brewer yet, but that sounds like a good plan to get to that point to me.

 

[michael_riccijr]

Sweet... Thats exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[knelson]

OP- I have just started brewing myself and have the same thoughts as you. I decided to start with a simple EPA from my local homebrew store. I am a huge hophead so I figured this would be a good start and then build on it to increase the mouthfeel, hoppiness, and hopefully the ABV. My first batch I stuck to the recipe (except for a few changes, both intentional and un-intentional).

Instead of brewing another batch right away I plan on waiting until my first batch is bottled, carbed and ready to drink. The anticitpation is killing me and I still have about 4 weeks to wait!!! But I want to sit down and try the beer when it is complete and then take some very good tasting notes. From here I can identify what I would like to change for the next batch, do some research on how to do that, and make it happen.

To me this is what homebrewing is about. Its an experiment...sure I could go out and try to brew every style of beer. But I would most likely end up with a closet full of session beer to give away to my Miller lite loving buddies.

I would rather perfect (or at least get close) a single recipe, make sure I can then duplicate that recipe based on my notes. And then move on to the next brew and do the same thing. I'm not sure if this is the most efficient way to brew, or if my patience will get the best of me, but for now this is my goal.

I'm interested in hearing opionions of others on here as there are a lot of great home brewers with a wealth of knowledge!!

 

[sp1365]

I understand where you are coming from knelson, but if I may interject my opinion.

I would brew another beer while you wait. Designate the beer that you want to work on, but also brew something else. This has a couple of benefits:

1. Refine the process. There is something to be said for just practicing and working on your process. There is some variability outside of just ingredients in every beer. By brewing more often and getting into a set routine you can help reduce this variability.

2. Allows you to explore styles and get ideas. I get some of my ideas of changes to my beers for other beers I brewed. This comes primarily in the form of different malts or hops to try. I brew a completely different beer and I find a flavor that I think would work well in a different beer I am brewing.

With all that being said, there really is no correct way to go about this. In the end we all make beer. I am just impatient and love the brewing process so that is why I brew the way I do (perfect 2 recipes while experimenting with others).

 

[Revvy]

One way to do this is by brewing a series of SMaSH beers (Single malt and single hop) One base grain and one hop. Usually these come out as pale ales or Ipas. You could do as many variations of this as you wanted. You could also do a five gallon batch of this, and split it into 2 batches (or 5 i gallon batches) and ferment with different yeast.

It really is a great way to get a handle on ingredients, especially base malts/extracts and hops, and how they work together. It is also a way to get a good handle on your brewing process by brewing really simple beers.

By keeping a couple variable the same over a few brews and changing up 1 or 2 you can compare and contrast different things.


Another option would be to use the same amount of base malt say 6-8 pounds and add a pound of a crystal to the recipe and make a series of beers with different combos as well.

Just don't change too many variables at one time, or you will not be able to discern what variable is doing what.

this is not limited to ALL-GRAIN BREWERS ONLY you can SMaSH with extracts as well....

Some liquid extracts, expecially the lightest lovibond ones are SINGLE MALT as well.

Northern Brewer #20053 NB Organic Light Malt Syrup...Or even using XLT DME and a single hop would be an extract alternative.

Or a base extract + a couple ounces of steeping grain and a single hop. This isn't quite a smash...but you can use that to get an idea of how a steeping grain flavors a base of extract.

But there all 100% single malt (non blended/non hopped) Liquid extracts as well.

William's Brewing even offers Marris Otter LME. MARIS OTTER EXTRACT 8 LBS @ Williams Brewing

Briess offers an all Pilsner Malt Extract Pilsner Malt Extract | MoreBeer

So you too can play the SMaSHing game, it's not the sole propriety of the world of AG.

When I posted this info before someone remarked that some of these extracts aren't pure single grain ones, that they actually are a blend. Though there are organic 100% single malt extracts available but I'm not sure where.

No matter if it is blended or not, the concept is the same. A consistent base malt extract with a consistent single hop. As long as the ingredients are the same age, and preferably from the same batch, an extract SMaSH experiment would be educational.

It's a great way for everyone to get more control of their process, AND to get a feeling for how ingredients work with each other.

When I posted the links to the single malt extracts, a couple brewers told me they were going to do the extract smash...I haven't heard how it went.

Just take lots of notes.

 

[Chudz]

That's one of the great things about this hobby, heading in the direction that you want to go. Speaking for myself, I'm enjoying seeing what is incorporated into different styles at this time. Either way, we are still getting the process of brewing down, and refining it to what works best for us as individuals.

Enjoy!

 

[knelson]

Great input guys, thank you!!!

spa1365-I especially like #2 in your reply. I never thought of looking for positive characteristics in different styles to try in my "experiement beer". And I agree that my brewing process could use some additional practice...seeing as it took me....wait for it...wait for it.....over 6 hours for my first batch from start to finish.

Revvy- I just printed off your post. Great advice!

I guess rather than waiting a few more weeks to brew my next batch, I better get to the LHBS and get my next kit.

Thanks again guys, I'm very glad I joined this forum. I've learned a lot in the last couple of days.

 

[michael_riccijr]

Consistency and control are what will teach me the most... Thanks for the advice.

 

[sp1365]

Refining the process is definitely helpful. The way that I am going about it is typing up in a step by step manner everything that I need to do for a batch. Then if something changes or needs adjusting during brew day I jot it down and adjust the document on my computer. Eventually, this should lead me to a repeatable refined process. I have gotten down from 10 hours for my first AG batch to about 5 hours.

 

[Bob]

The best brewer is a consistent brewer. The most difficult task in brewing is to brew the same beer over and over again and have the fewest detectable differences from batch to batch. This takes skill, knowledge and attention to detail. Consistency is why Anheuser-Busch's masterbrewers make six-figure salaries: if a fella has a glass of Bud in the Sea/Tac airport and flies to Newark to have another glass, the Bud must taste exactly the same. That's really freakin' difficult, what with differences in environment, raw materials, and water. You need to have your **** together to take on a job like that, because if you screw it up, the beer will really show off your mistakes.

You're on the right track, young fella-me-lad. Brew the same recipe or the same sort of recipe, while taking copious notes, until you feel you've got your technical skillz at a place you like 'em.

Good luck!

Bob

P.S. Remember we're here to help. You need aid, you ask. Y'dig?