Am I a rat bastage / recipe thief?

[MikeScott]

I've been brewing for about a year now, and I've been wondering, would it tick people off if I took their recipe and renamed it?

I still give credit where credit is due, and I'm not selling it or anything, but I wonder.

So far, I've only done it for 3 recipes, and none of those had a name outside of the style, so I didn't think the author's would be ticked.

 

[ChshreCat]

If you alter the recipe, then it is now a new recipe. "alter" has a pretty wide range of definitions. Throw in an extra pinch of 2-row... new recipe!

 

[JesseRYC]

In my opinion. No. Most brewers would be more than happy to share recipes with others. I often find recipes of styles I like and end up tweaking and altering them a little bit for my own personal touch.

 

[MikeScott]

Good.

Like I said, I absolutely give credit to the original author, I just like to call it something different.

 

[MikeScott]

If you alter the recipe, then it is now a new recipe. "alter" has a pretty wide range of definitions. Throw in an extra pinch of 2-row... new recipe!

What's funny is that one of them is a Irish Red Ale, and when I put it in brew smith I set it up as a 5G batch, it was really 10, and Brewsmith said it was going to be black.

So I adjusted the grain to make it red. I didn't realize my mistake until I had bought everything, and it was too late to fix it. I think it's going to be yellow now.

 

[demonrichie]

yea name it whatever you want maybe at the very least say you got the original recipe if asked

 

[lschiavo]

I have the same dilema. I think the brewery makes it unique...but I still cant rename Yoopers DFH60

 

[arturo7]

Hell, as long ass you're not going to market it you can call it Budweiser.

 

[MikeScott]

I have the same dilema. I think the brewery makes it unique...but I still cant rename Yoopers DFH60

Yoopers Stone Ruination Clone is one of the ones I renamed

Hell, as long ass you're not going to market it you can call it Budweiser.

That's true. I was really just curious how folks felt.

 

[demonrichie]

Hell, as long ass you're not going to market it you can call it Budweiser.

dont do that itll magically turn the best beers into piss in a bottle

 

[david_42]

Generally, if you brew someone's recipe, enter it in a competition and win, it's proper to credit them in your post. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

 

[KyleWolf]

Hell, as long ass you're not going to market it you can call it Budweiser.

While you COULD...I can not think of a worse hex

 

[shanecb]

How about this... what if you've made a particular recipe for years and you decided to go commercial... would you have to change the recipe (even if just a little bit) to feel right about using it commercially? I think I would. At the very least, asking the person what they thought

 

[jds]

Personally, I think that a large part of the craft of brewing is in the process. As far as I'm concerned, if you brew a beer with somebody else's recipe, it's your beer, and you get to name it. I think chances are pretty good that the recipe you borrowed from somebody was also borrowed from somebody else who got it from someone else and so on.

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

I agree with what jds is saying.....not to mention your crush is not going to be exactly the same, your h2o prob has a diff profile, your timing may be diff, etc. Personally if anybody wants to copy my recipes, let me know, I'd be flattered!

 

[MikeScott]

Thanks Guys!

 

[bigsilk]

I make a batch of beer for friends to offer as Christmas gifts. For '08 I made a clone of 'Old Speckled Hen,' which I euphemistically named 'Young Solid Cock' (opposite of each word.)

My guy friends wouldn't touch the stuff. The ladies thought it was a hoot.

 

[jgln]

If "Rach" can change the name of food you can change the name of beers.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

Your brewery your names. If you copy anything of mine, let me know and tell me the name. I love hearing how people like my recipes and stuff. I think most people are excited to have people try their recipes and would love to hear how it went.

 

[azscoob]

My house ale started life as EdWorts Haus pale ale, I have since tweaked the recipe a fair bit, I brew an Irish red that started out as Rolf's Irish red, but again I adjusted it to meet my whims and brewing style, my house stout is a melding of several recipes, I think most of us end up tweaking the original recipe based on what we have on hand or what the LHBS carries, so it then becomes a unique version. if I brew a recipe as I find it I keep the name it was given, but if I tweak it, I give it its own name. thats just how I look at it!

 

[Yooper]

I agree with what jds is saying.....not to mention your crush is not going to be exactly the same, your h2o prob has a diff profile, your timing may be diff, etc. Personally if anybody wants to copy my recipes, let me know, I'd be flattered!

I agree. If you like something enough to brew it, that's great. If it comes out good enough that you brew it again, and love it, that's even better.

If you make the beer, it's YOUR beer. Most of us are pretty flattered by someone enjoying making the recipe we created.

The only time I was only slightly irritated by someone claiming a recipe without naming me was an isolated case. This one guy PM'd me asking me how to convert an AG recipe to extract/PM. I converted it. He then asked me how to sub a couple of the items he didn't have. I rewrote the recipe for him. About 6 weeks later, he posted it here in the database as "his" recipe. Not a big deal, really- but I wrote the recipe, converted it for him, and even adjusted the ingredients! He posted the recipe, bragging about how good his recipe was. Hmmmmph.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Whenever I use someone else's recipe I always make a note in my notes that it is based upon someone's recipe or that it's a variation of someone's recipe.

It was also mentioned earlier that if you toss in a little extra grains or hops it's really a different recipe taking into account your water profile and such.

But I would not use their recipe "name", like renaming "Ed Wort's Haus Ale" as "HB99's Haus Ale". That's not right.

Of course, if the recipe was a totally different one then there's no reason I could not use the title "HB99's Haus Ale".

 

[viking73]

Whenever I use someone else's recipe I always make a note in my notes that it is based upon someone's recipe or that it's a variation of someone's recipe.

Ditto. Always give credit where it's due.:rockin:

 

[MikeScott]

I agree. If you like something enough to brew it, that's great. If it comes out good enough that you brew it again, and love it, that's even better.

If you make the beer, it's YOUR beer. Most of us are pretty flattered by someone enjoying making the recipe we created.

The only time I was only slightly irritated by someone claiming a recipe without naming me was an isolated case. This one guy PM'd me asking me how to convert an AG recipe to extract/PM. I converted it. He then asked me how to sub a couple of the items he didn't have. I rewrote the recipe for him. About 6 weeks later, he posted it here in the database as "his" recipe. Not a big deal, really- but I wrote the recipe, converted it for him, and even adjusted the ingredients! He posted the recipe, bragging about how good his recipe was. Hmmmmph.

I'm glad you feel that way I brewed your stone ruination clone and called it "Semper-Fi(PA)!". I'm mailing it off to some other Jarheads for the Marine Corps Birthday on November 10th. Of course, I'm not claiming it's mine, it's your recipe all the way

Thanks for the recipe by the way, so far it looks and smells great

 

[MikeScott]

Whenever I use someone else's recipe I always make a note in my notes that it is based upon someone's recipe or that it's a variation of someone's recipe.

It was also mentioned earlier that if you toss in a little extra grains or hops it's really a different recipe taking into account your water profile and such.

But I would not use their recipe "name", like renaming "Ed Wort's Haus Ale" as "HB99's Haus Ale". That's not right.

Of course, if the recipe was a totally different one then there's no reason I could not use the title "HB99's Haus Ale".

That's pretty much how I feel too. So far, the recipes I've renamed are just named after the style. I've gone so far as to add the recipe's creator to the name on the labels. Everyone knows "Biermuncher's Centennial blonde" isn't my creation.

 

[Yooper]

I'm glad you feel that way I brewed your stone ruination clone and called it "Semper-Fi(PA)!". I'm mailing it off to some other Jarheads for the Marine Corps Birthday on November 10th. Of course, I'm not claiming it's mine, it's your recipe all the way

Thanks for the recipe by the way, so far it looks and smells great

I think the basics of that recipe came from BYO. I remember reading it somewhere, even though I didn't really copy it. I think that is noted in that thread.

If people put the recipe in the database, or elsewhere online, it's out there for everybody to use. That's the point. I don't care if I get credit.