Beer styles.

[Skullfingr]

When making a beer and not following any true recipe except your own. how can you know which kind of beer you're making for..say.. competitions?

 

[b-boy]

I'd say it depends on which style it's modeled after. I think most recipes follow a basic template, then variations are made from there.

For example, is there wheat or oatmeal in your grist. What are the grain types/ratios? What color is the final product? What yeast are you using? What's your ABV?

Look at your template and see where it fits in with existing beer styles.

There are books on making classic styles that give basic recipes for each style. That should help you figure out where your final product fits.

 

[Skullfingr]

So what would light pilsen DME and a moderate amount of hops (5.5 gal with a little less than 3oz of hops) be?

 

[kombat]

Depends on the hops, yeast, the rest of the grain bill, ferm temp, etc.

 

[Skullfingr]

Anyone with a link to styles that would explain all that would be appreciated.

 

[Double_D]

Anyone with a link to styles that would explain all that would be appreciated.

http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php:mug:

 

[b-boy]

So what would light pilsen DME and a moderate amount of hops (5.5 gal with a little less than 3oz of hops) be?

Most important - lager or ale yeast?

If it's lager yeast, you've got a lager of some kind.

If it's ale yeast, you probably have a blonde ale of some kind, maybe leaning towards a pale ale. That would probably depend on your other grains, what hops you were using, and how you used them.

 

[lump42]

So what would light pilsen DME and a moderate amount of hops (5.5 gal with a little less than 3oz of hops) be?

It would depend some on the yeast type used and the AA% and timing of hops. Brewer's Friend (http://www.brewersfriend.com/) has a small feature in their recipe creation that suggests what styles a recipe matches based on the stats only. It is on the expanded view of the stats section. That might be a starting point for placing a recipe in a category.

 

[Skullfingr]

Most important - lager or ale yeast?

If it's lager yeast, you've got a lager of some kind.

If it's ale yeast, you probably have a blonde ale of some kind, maybe leaning towards a pale ale. That would probably depend on your other grains, what hops you were using, and how you used them.

I used the Super San Diego yeast.

 

[Skullfingr]

It would depend some on the yeast type used and the AA% and timing of hops. Brewer's Friend (http://www.brewersfriend.com/) has a small feature in their recipe creation that suggests what styles a recipe matches based on the stats only. It is on the expanded view of the stats section. That might be a starting point for placing a recipe in a category.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Awesome, thanks!

Designing great beers by Ray Daniels is an EXCELLENT, albeit outdated, resource for understanding what makes what, how, and why.

 

[Double_D]

Designing great beers by Ray Daniels is an EXCELLENT, albeit outdated, resource for understanding what makes what, how, and why.

This. It's a very dry read. I'd read it again before I read "Water" though.