Are there any recipe books with recipes . . .

[Grinder12000]

Are there any recipe books with recipes with ingredients an American can actually buy?

I only have one so far - "Brewing Classic Styles" and it is full of odd extracts like Munich and English Pale ale and Steeping grains called Victory.

What is a good recipe book with ingredients you can actually find at a good Brew store ??

 

[bradsul]

You should be able to find all those things no problem. Victory can be substituted with Biscuit Malt and English Pale Ale malt you can use Maris Otter. The major online suppliers will all carry those malts, they are not at all unusual (though I'm not sure about the Munich Malt Extract).

Edit: Assuming you're willing to order online of course, I don't know the state of your local stores, but mine certainly suck. I have to be willing to get a 25KG sack or drive quite a ways to get any kind of selection.

 

[Yooper]

You should be able to find all those things no problem. Victory can be substituted with Biscuit Malt and English Pale Ale malt you can use Maris Otter. The major online suppliers will all carry those malts, they are not at all unusual (though I'm not sure about the Munich Malt Extract).

Munich extract is also available. None of those ingredients are weird- they are very common and should be available in any decent homebrew shop.

 

[Yooper]

Munich extract is also available. None of those ingredients are weird- they are very common and should be available in any decent homebrew shop.

Are you by any brew shops that we know? I don't know where you are located.

 

[Revvy]

Most LHBS's stock those grains, they are not that odd, and in fact are quite common...Even the small lhbs down the block from me, that sells pre measured 1 LB bags of grains have all the ones you listed....Victory is one of my favorite grains...

I don't think there's going to be any book that isn't going to call for Munich or Victory in several of their recipes...

Brewing Classic Styles is pretty much the best recipe book out there to date, Jamil is one of the most award winning homebrewers out there, and John Palmer is pretty much the guy that took up the mash paddle from Charlie Papazian.....

 

[HOOTER]

You can't find that stuff? If you don't have a LHBS that sells it then you can certainly find it online. For example, check out Northern Brewers list of available grains.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/grainmalts.html
Anything and everything you will find on a recipe is readily available and just a mouse click away.

 

[Brewtopia]

Bradsul and Yooper are correct. You should be able to find those ingredients. But, here are a couple of recipe books that I like anyway...

Clone Brews by Tess and Mark Szamatulski
Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher

 

[Grinder12000]

Wine and Hops Shop - Madison - maybe just not listed online - I think I'm frustrated by a guy at a new shop that I was talking me out of following a recipe.

Palmer says use TWO Wyeast packets in his book Brewing Classic Styles. So the guy kept telling me he was brewing a double batch.

Then the shop had Crystal 60ish - my recipe calls for crystal 40L and Crystal 120L - well - just substitute 60L he said.

They never heard of Victory grains and"just skip Munich for Extract, it's only .7 lbs.


grrrrrr

 

[Revvy]

Wine and Hops Shop - Madison - maybe just not listed online - I think I'm frustrated by a guy at a new shop that was talking me out of following a recipe.

Palmer says use TWO Wyeast packets in his book Brewing Classic Styles. So the guy kept telling me he was brewing a double batch.

Then They had Crystal 60ish - my recipe calls for crystal 40L and Crystal 120L - well - just substitute 60L he said.

They never heard of Victory grains and"just skip Munich for Extract, it's only .7 lbs.


grrrrrr

Sounds like more a problem of your lhbs, than of the book.....

 

[Grinder12000]

Thanks = being new to this I thought that also - they are just getting going with home brew but I think I know more then they do at this point.

 

[Yooper]

Wine and Hops Shop - Madison - maybe just not listed online - I think I'm frustrated by a guy at a new shop that I was talking me out of following a recipe.

Palmer says use TWO Wyeast packets in his book Brewing Classic Styles. So the guy kept telling me he was brewing a double batch.

Then the shop had Crystal 60ish - my recipe calls for crystal 40L and Crystal 120L - well - just substitute 60L he said.

They never heard of Victory grains and"just skip Munich for Extract, it's only .7 lbs.


grrrrrr

Well, they are giving you bad advice. You can realize that and still shop there, or you can go somewhere else.

 

[Nurmey]

Grinder, after you've been brewing a while you should come back to this thread. When I started reading recipes I couldn't get a grip on the ingredients. With those numbers, symbols, and abbreviations used it seemed really confusing and I was sure I would never be able to find the ingredients. After you get the hang of what those recipes are asking for it, it's much easier than it looks.

I had to chuckle at your thread because it could have easily been written by me a few years ago. You made me remember when I first read through some recipe books and my frustration.

 

[Grinder12000]

I understand the numbers but an unfamilier with the actual products - not sure what is out
there and so forth.

I NEW this guy was giving bad advice when he was telling me instead of

Steeping Grains
Crystal 40L 0.75lb
Crystal 120L 0.50lb

He told me

Crystal 60ish 1.25lb

hmmmmmmm geez - like I AM Obsessing over beer making and I THINK this is bad advice

 

[Nurmey]

Unfamiliar with products just means you have to start brewing a lot more styles, a lot more often, so you can use them all!

 

[Yooper]

I understand the numbers but an unfamilier with the actual products - not sure what is out
there and so forth.

I NEW this guy was giving bad advice when he was telling me instead of

Steeping Grains
Crystal 40L 0.75lb
Crystal 120L 0.50lb

He told me

Crystal 60ish 1.25lb

hmmmmmmm geez - like I AM Obsessing over beer making and I THINK this is bad advice

Well, you've got alot of common sense behind your knowledge! So, find a recipe you want to make. Post it here, and ask if anybody has anything to add. Then, buy the ingredients (online, if you have to) and brew it!
You can make just about anything you'd like, with steeping grains and extract. The hard part right now might be in finding the exact hops you want to use. So, we'll help you find a good substitute for the hops. You can definitely make any recipe you want!

 

[FlyingHorse]

I NEW this guy was giving bad advice when he was telling me instead of

Steeping Grains
Crystal 40L 0.75lb
Crystal 120L 0.50lb

He told me

Crystal 60ish 1.25lb

Any LHBS that doesn't have Crystal 40L and 120L (doesn't get much more basic than that) AND gives you this kind of advice doesn't deserve your $$. I wouldn't go back.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Bad advice for sure. A few LHBS's will sell you some BS just because that is what they have on hand.

Hey at least he didn't tell you to use twice as much 60L as an equivalent to 120L

 

[tdavisii]

The internet is a wonderful tool. You can get any indgredient you want.

 

[Jamo99]

Do a google search for any ingredients that you aren't sure of (or check the Wiki). You will at least be able to read a description of it and how it should be used (steeped/mashed/boiled/etc.) and if there are any similar products. Some grains are extremely similar to others, but some have proprietary names.

 

[dzlater]

One reason I started buying ingredients on-line is because every time I went in the LHBS with a recipe I never left with exactly what I wanted to. Your beers will most likely turn out OK with the substitutions.( as long as a little common sense prevails )