Being Inventive...

[Nate5700]

So, I'm new to this homebrewing thing (I actually have my first batch fermenting right now), and I think one of the things that attracted me to the idea is the ability to experiment and brew some things that you can't just buy at the store.

My first batch came from a kit, and from what I can tell it was a good kit that the brew supply store put together themselves. It's a Belgian amber ale that is supposed to be inspired by Fat Tire (which you can't get in OK because New Belgium won't bend over backwards for OK's archaic and asinine alcohol laws). IMO it was definitely good to brew from a kit to learn the basics of brewing, but long-term I don't think I'll be satisfied following step by step instructions and having the ingredients chosen and measured out for me.

For my next batch I think I'm going to want to try or adapt a recipe, and I'm wondering if someone here can point me in the right direction, since I'm not as educated about beer in general yet as I'd like to be. I really like the fruity/clove flavors that are prominent in wheat beer, but I wonder if you could get those in a beer that has something of a darker character to it, like a deeper color and creamier texture like you'd find in darker beers, but without so much bitterness. Does this sound like something anyone has heard of before?

 

[rocketman768]

To me, the best way to be inventive is to get familiar with the flavors and limitations of all the classic styles. "Brewing Classic Styles" is great for this purpose along with knowing all the bjcp guidelines for each style.

I watched an interview with Eric Clapton once, and he was asked how he could come up with so much good music. He said that he and his band would listen to every group and style and absorb all their techniques. When they were sufficiently "full" of music, then it was time to write and build on it all.

 

[Hang Glider]

You can brew anything you want.

If you want to brew to a style, the official styles can be found at bjcp.org (Beer Judge Certification site)

If you want to make up recipes, get some software, plug in style you want, and begin adding ingredients. BeerSmith has a free download trial.

Online brewing supply stores like Northern Brewer tell you what's in their kits, so you might begin there, find a style you like, look at the ingredients list, decide on a few changes, ....

You can certainly buy your supplies individually. Many of us by specialty grains and keep them on hand. A foodsaver vacuum device is handy, as is a rolling pin (cheap) or mill ($$$) to crush the grain.

Good luck! welcome to HBT and your new hobby!

 

[PintOfBitter]

... I really like the fruity/clove flavors that are prominent in wheat beer, but I wonder if you could get those in a beer that has something of a darker character to it, like a deeper color and creamier texture like you'd find in darker beers, but without so much bitterness. Does this sound like something anyone has heard of before?

Dunkelweizen would be a great style to look at, at least as a starting point.

 

[whoneedsabeer]

I got into this hobby back in Dec, and felt the same way you do about making my "own" beer recipes. But after reading similar advice here already given regarding the flavors of the ingredients, and needing a foundation of good brewing techniques and habits, decided not to embark on my "own". I have tweaked recipes however, and tried to imagine what the tweak would produce. Sometime I even got it right.

But the biggest reason for not doing an experimental brew for your second time is simply a matter of supply. For me, I can't afford spending the 2-3 months to get the beer to the glass only to find out it's crap. So I'm now adopting a strategy of every third batch be an experiment of some kind. That way I at least have a few beers to drink when my experiments don't work out as I planned.

Fruity/Clove flavors come primarily from the yeast. So maybe try working up a recipe in beersmith or some other software that will give you the desired color and character, then pitch a hefewizen style yeast.

 

[Nate5700]

Thanks everyone for the replies. The idea had occurred to me that it would suck to spend a month brewing/fermenting/conditioning a beer and have it turn out badly. Every third batch being experimental sounds like a decent strategy.

I think for my next batch I'll try a Dunkelweizen recipe, and before I start another batch I may play around with that BeerSmith software, it sounds like something that could be very helpful.

 

[l1ranger]

i think a dunkelweizen is exactly what your looking for.

once you brew it, then you can figure out what you want to change/keep and go from there to nail down the recipe that you want.

 

[yodalegomaster]

The name for that beer your looking for is Dampf Beer, it's an old german recipe. Dampf is (steam) in German. The bananna and clove comes from using weinstephen hefe yeast, at about a 62 ferment temp. Lager yeast will not get you any fruity esters, and it much harder to brew a Lager. If you post your recipe most people will help you formulate what you want.

 

[JJL]

The weinstephen yeast will do it. Other hefe style yeasts and some belgian strains will give you the clove and fruity type aroma and flavor. You should go to a site like Northern Brewer or or Midwest Supplies and look at their yeast descriptions. Or you could probably go directly the White Labs, Wyeast or Fermentis sites for descriptions.

If you want a place to start and you want to experiment you might want to pick up a copy of Brewing Classic Styles. It will give you a recipe for a solid example of whatever style you want to brew, and then you can tweak it from there.

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

BeerSmith is Lord, and BrewPal for the iPhone is his apostle.

If you have an iPhone grab the app, best .99 I've ever spent.

 

[Nate5700]

The name for that beer your looking for is Dampf Beer, it's an old german recipe. Dampf is (steam) in German. The bananna and clove comes from using weinstephen hefe yeast, at about a 62 ferment temp. Lager yeast will not get you any fruity esters, and it much harder to brew a Lager. If you post your recipe most people will help you formulate what you want.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think to brew at 62 degrees in Oklahoma I'll have to wait until December though.