Critique: My first attempt!

[hannylicious]

Well,
I like to brew - but have never even made a real attempt at 'making' a recipe. I much prefer to find recipes of beers I enjoy and create them myself. That said I don't have a strong knowledge of what goes with what, and what makes up a 'good recipe'. I wanted something that had a touch of sweet, a touch of smoke, and a nice clean basic flavor.

I tried my hand at creating this, but wanted to get some opinions on it:

5 Gal. Batch Size
Style: American Pale Ale

5lbs Pale Malt (2 row)
2lbs Vienna Malt
1lb Corn, Flaked
1lb Honey Malt
1lb Smoked Malt

1.5 oz. Hallertauer (60 mins)
1.0 oz. Centennial (15 mins)



Any feedback would be appreciated. I figured the corn would 'tone down' the smoke & honey to make it more of an afterthought, and that that particular combo of hops would give a nice aroma & decent clean flavor. If I'm way off - let me know! Sorry in advance if this recipe is horrible

 

[KYB]

Not bad for a start. The corn will kind of lighten the body, and sometimes produce corn flavor in larger quantities, but not in this case. 1lb of Honey Malt may be a bit much, I'd drop it to a .5lb. I would probably do the same for the Smoked Malt since this is a lighter beer. Also, do not get Peat Smoked Malt, as that stuff is apparently very strong. I have no experience with it myself though. Get regular smoked malt, I used Briess Smoked Malt which is smoked over cherry wood. I used 8lbs in an Imperial Smoked Porter. Turned out great. You will probably get a good amount of flavor from that late hop addition. It sounds good to me but not sure if that is what you are wanting or not. It will be more citrus flavor since it's centennial.

 

[hannylicious]

Thanks for the reply Daniel.

Before I read your reply I was reading a bit more about the honey malt and was wondering if 1lb was 'too much', good to know I was on the right track.

I appreciate the feedback :-D I do like the flavor of Centennial which is why I thought that would be a good late addition.

 

[hannylicious]

I figured I should update this with how it turned out (if anyone was curious). It's not 'bad', but it's not 'great' either. It didn't quite get the taste I was hoping for. The smoked malts weren't quite as prevalent as I would have liked (they show up as an afterthought and kind of linger around the back of the mouth), but I did like the way the honey malts gave it a little bit of a 'bite' right up front with sweetness. I would have liked just a bit more of the smoke to come through.

I did go with 1lb of honey, and 1lb of smoked and neither seems to overpower the beer by any stretch of the imagination; in fact they both seem a bit tame. The hops did a great job though, the aroma is nice and the flavor is distinct and present but not overpowering or bitter.

I think with some changes this could be a much better fall beer than I had originally hoped for but in it's current state it's just sort of middle of the road - nothing great to remember about it, but nothing that makes you pour it down the drain.

 

[jfr1111]

I figured I should update this with how it turned out (if anyone was curious). It's not 'bad', but it's not 'great' either. It didn't quite get the taste I was hoping for. The smoked malts weren't quite as prevalent as I would have liked (they show up as an afterthought and kind of linger around the back of the mouth), but I did like the way the honey malts gave it a little bit of a 'bite' right up front with sweetness. I would have liked just a bit more of the smoke to come through.

I did go with 1lb of honey, and 1lb of smoked and neither seems to overpower the beer by any stretch of the imagination; in fact they both seem a bit tame. The hops did a great job though, the aroma is nice and the flavor is distinct and present but not overpowering or bitter.

I think with some changes this could be a much better fall beer than I had originally hoped for but in it's current state it's just sort of middle of the road - nothing great to remember about it, but nothing that makes you pour it down the drain.

Good job. First recipe and it is drinkable, that's an accomplishment in and of itself. If I could make a couple of suggestions:

1) What kind of beer were you shooting for ? You say a "fall" beer, but this is some kind of light ale. When I think of your typical fall beer, I think of an Amber or even a Stout or a Porter. My guess is that such a beer would be better suited to heavier usage of smoked malt. Historically, a good number of the smoked beers were of darker color.

2) Take notes. Saying it is decent doesn't help you. Take a judging sheet off the net, print it, and give your beer a score with tasting notes and keep that for your next rebrew. Or use beersmith to take notes. Even if you are still new to the game, it pays off to do this: you'll learn what the ingredients contribute to the beer and you'll also exercise your plate. You just don't stumble on great beer, you have to have the tools, preparation and knowledge to get there.

 

[hannylicious]

Good job. First recipe and it is drinkable, that's an accomplishment in and of itself. If I could make a couple of suggestions:

1) What kind of beer were you shooting for ? You say a "fall" beer, but this is some kind of light ale. When I think of your typical fall beer, I think of an Amber or even a Stout or a Porter. My guess is that such a beer would be better suited to heavier usage of smoked malt. Historically, a good number of the smoked beers were of darker color.

2) Take notes. Saying it is decent doesn't help you. Take a judging sheet off the net, print it, and give your beer a score with tasting notes and keep that for your next rebrew. Or use beersmith to take notes. Even if you are still new to the game, it pays off to do this: you'll learn what the ingredients contribute to the beer and you'll also exercise your plate. You just don't stumble on great beer, you have to have the tools, preparation and knowledge to get there.

Thanks for the feedback!
You're right about the 'fall beer' not being very 'fall', and I would agree - an amber would be more in line with that feeling of fall. I was thinking more of those cool afternoons I spent fishing/camping as a kid in the early fall... for some reason I imagined a lighter beer with a crisp 'bite', but smokey tones would be a good representation of that. I think an amber would be far better suited for what I want to do - thanks for the suggestion!

I printed of a bunch of copies of the judging sheets - that's a great idea! I keep records of everything else, so that will fit in perfectly! Thanks for that idea too!

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

My initial thought on this recipe, especially for someone new to recipe creation, is that it's a bit too complex. There's too many "specialty" ingredients in there to really get a sense of individual flavor contributions.

I'm no opponent of complex recipes, but the learning process of creating your own recipes involves really understanding individual ingredients, and it's important to get through that stage before you start unconventional pairings, and it will REALLY help you tweak proportions.

That said, you made something drinkable -- I know quite a few of my early recipes BARELY qualified as that!

 

[jfr1111]

My initial thought on this recipe, especially for someone new to recipe creation, is that it's a bit too complex. There's too many "specialty" ingredients in there to really get a sense of individual flavor contributions.

I'm no opponent of complex recipes, but the learning process of creating your own recipes involves really understanding individual ingredients, and it's important to get through that stage before you start unconventional pairings, and it will REALLY help you tweak proportions.

That said, you made something drinkable -- I know quite a few of my early recipes BARELY qualified as that!

This. I'm a big "KISS" guy myself. A lot of my beers have one or two speciality grain (some have none). I need a very good reason to up this number. Complexity comes from good process, yeast and quality ingredients mostly.

 

[bottlebomber]

I would save your 1.5 ounces of hall and bitter with a half ounce of high alpha hops such as magnum or nugget