About to pop my home-brew cherry

[TheTerrapinHammer]

I'm about to make my first batch of beer and would like to hear some advice from people who have been doing this for a while. My first batch will be an American IPA and any and all advice will be heeded. The IPA's that I like best and one day hope to emulate are: Terrapin's Hopsecutioner & Hop Karma, DFH's 90 minutes, and Great Divide's Hercules Double.
I am looking for suggestions on hop and malt choices, especially.

Thanks, again.

The Terrapin Hammer

 

[StarCityBrewMaster]

The beauty of the internet (and the generous brewing co's) is that you can find a lot of information just by looking them up.

Here is Terrapin's Hopsecutioner info:
http://www.terrapinbeer.com/beers/28-Hopsecutioner


You can also google clones for specific beers that you like but once you figure out your mash efficiency you can take the ingredients listed on a brewers website and begin to formulate a combination that meets those numbers and your one your way to figuring out a clone for yourself. Theres nothing more fun then making your own combos up anyway, especially when they turn out really good!

 

[maxamuus]

My first brew i missed a couple things. I would suggest making a list in the order you need to do things so you don't miss a step by accident.

Welcomes to the obsession.

 

[jonmohno]

+1 hopsocutioner. Those are exactly what im going for but have none of those hops right now. did an ipa with Summit. I hope i can try that Hopsocutioner some day.

 

[TheTerrapinHammer]

...IPA's are amazing. Hopscutioner is a great one, too.

 

[misterVT]

My recommendation, and something I still struggle to follow consistently, is to take good notes. While you're brewing, post brew, post fermentation and while you're drinking. Jot down process flaws in additional to tasting notes throughout the process, especially hop additions. I didn't notice how inconsistent I was at making beer until I started to keep track of all the steps and all the measurements. I'm an AG brewer and have yet to make the same recipe twice...it's just involved and challenging, which is why I love this hobby. Oh yeah, and RDWHAHB!

If you figure out Great Divides Hercules, extract or all-grain, please let me know! I love that stuff!