Advice on what to brew next? (First AG batch)

[dawn_kiebawls]

Hey guys and gals, I'm making the switch to AG for my next batch. My first extract brew was from a kit and was drinkable. Second batch was an abomination of a Belgian IPA I tried making up my own recipe for. Unfortunately I think that one is destined for the drain...Anyway, I want to make a beer I can finally completely enjoy and be proud of. I like pretty much all varieties of beer so nothing is really off limits.

I've been looking through the recipe section of HBT but I am worried those posted recipes may be a little to technical for me at this point. Should I look into doing a SMASH? Or are most recipes fairly straight forward as long as I can follow the directions?

So far these are the 3 I have been debating between: one ,two , three

Thanks for all the help, any input is very much appreciated!

 

[jurgenph]

it depends what your goals are

if you're going to brew beers from pre-made and tested recipes, pick one for a style that you enjoy and go for it.

myself, i went a different route.

i wanted to teach myself to be a better brewer. so i started off with a simple SMASH. 100% pilsen and Saaz hops.

i use a belgian yeast for each brew (either safale be-256 or lallemand abbaye)

each time i brew, i make a small change to the recipe, so i get familiar with different ingredients/malts.

from there on i brewed the same recipe, but added a second malt in the mix.

the same beers brewed with a near max recommended addition of either... munich, vienna, biscuit, special-b, d-180, etc... a different beer each time
and it showcases the specialty malt

sometimes i use styrian golding instead of saaz.

once i'm done using up all the malts i want to test, i'll start working on my own recipe.

but, that's just me. i like to tinker and experiment


cheers!
J.

 

[Sammy86]

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid

Two outta the three recipes you chose are pretty advanced in my opinion...especially the punkin Ale

Do a recipe that is going to be successful...SMASH is an easy way...pale ales are forgiving as well.

My advice...choose a recipe that your SG is going to be 1.040-1.050 with around 30-35 IBU.

Good luck!

 

[chickypad]

I agree with keeping it simple - I don't think that you have to do a SMaSH but maybe something without extra additions like spice/fruit/vegetable, and something not too big like the DIPA. In other words I'd go with a medium gravity beer without a lot of extras - beyond that what do you want to drink? Pale ale, porter, mild, stout, amber, brown, wheat...?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

I just did my first AG batch a couple months ago. It's tasty now and it didn't break the bank. Total grain bill minus lemons is $27.

Based on this Lemon Blonde Ale

It was a heck of a learning experience even after all the research. Plan on a brew day that's 6-8 hours depending on obstacles you have to overcome.

 

[Yooper]

You can do any of those recipes. Really, the only way AG differs from extract is the mash. If you can do those recipes as an extract, then you can do it as an AG batch. For AG, all the grains go into the mash, and so they are all the same and simple, unless you're adding adjuncts or something.

So my advice is to do the one that appeals to you the most. We'll be glad to give pointers as you go along if you need it.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Get a book called Brewing Classic Styles by Jail Zainachef <-spelling.
Super helpful.

 

[Kent88]

I've brewed a few great tasting SMaSH beers, usually lagers that use Hallertau hops. Munich Malt, Vienna Malt, and Kolsch Malt. All were good.

 

[BrianK3721]

Has anyone tried making a beer without hops out spices only malt, water, and yeast?

 

[TimmyWit]

Has anyone tried making a beer without hops out spices only malt, water, and yeast?

You should holler @fredthecat

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/you-still-use-hops-in-your-beer.636342/

 

[lump42]

Has anyone tried making a beer without hops out spices only malt, water, and yeast?

Yes actually, shortly after I started brewing I wanted to use the aluminum 16oz screw cap bottles that Miller Genuine came in to take on the lake. I made up essentially starter wort (no hops, DME to 1.040) and added US-05 to test that they would hold pressure still. Came out tasting like a BMC lite.

 

[JKenshi]

I'm in the same boat... well, similar... I'm doing BIAB due to limitations of my system. However, the concept is the same. For myself, I have my eyes on an ambitious recipe that I will be trying down the road a bit, but my first few batches with the training wheels off are styles of beer I'm familiar with or clones of beer that I like. That way I can compare what I've made to what I know and see how close I got. To make it a little more adventurous I look at several different recipes, find the similarities between them and mix and match them into a recipe I feel confident in, or go with the one that seems most representative.

I'm doing my first BIAB this weekend... a Belgian Wit in the Hoegaarden style as it is my wife's favorite.