Finally entering the real world

[mmorley]

I've finally think i have the guts to move off the kits, and look at making my own beer, what Recipe to you think that i should try??

Seeing as this will be my first beer made from ingredients, I'm looking for something not to hard, or that bitter, but still will be good for the heat of summer

 

[EvilTOJ]

Asking us what recipe to make is like asking what your favorite sports team should be. Everyone's opinion is different, and may not be to your liking. What you should ask yourself is "What kind of beer do *I* like? What kinds do I not like?" Then when you have a style you want to make we can be more helpful.

 

[mmorley]

well i was thinking of looking at starting on a pale ale, but i think i might need a step by step guide. Because looking at recipes, people just was what they use, and dont say how to

 

[Grinder12000]

I'me doing kits and recipes - I take a recipe and start tweaking it to make it my own, different hops, change the yeast and so forth.

 

[Yooper]

If you find a style that you like, and then an idea for a recipe (it can be an all-grain) we can help you convert it to easily understood step by step instructions.

Beer recipes are written in beer shorthand, and that's like a foreign language at first. We all understand that, so can break it down and add some instructions for you. Just about any recipe can be converted to extract- so think about what you'd like to try.

One of my favorite extract beers was my Dead Guy clone. I have several easy extract recipes posted, depending on what you like. I know that many others do, too.

 

[Bob]

well i was thinking of looking at starting on a pale ale, but i think i might need a step by step guide. Because looking at recipes, people just was what they use, and dont say how to

That's because the "how to" is pretty much standard. Steep grains, add extract & hops, boil, cool, transfer & aerate, pitch. Most recipes will only give a how-to if the recipe deviates from the norm.

If you're still unsure about the method, I suggest you approach your first few non-kit brews with lots of preparation. Read lots of books, like Section I of Palmer's How To Brew, and develop a list of steps to follow. Then you can simply plug your ingredients into the steps.

Better yet is to make friends with a more-experienced brewer in your area, and trade a few bottles of your homebrew for his guidance while brewing it. Brewing is much more fun when you're not alone!

Bob

 

[jcdillin]

Recipe isn't much different than brewing a kit, biggest things you have to look for is Boil volume and Hop timing and amounts.

Like for instance, this is the next recipe i'm brewing

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/426430-post10.html

Notice that is tells you the amount of hops and the boil time in minutes next to each one, also note the boil volume. Heck if you needed general guidance you could use the instruction sheet from one of your kits.

 

[Coastarine]

I love brewing kits. If you don't have the expertise to formulate your own recipe from scratch (and I don't) then I don't see anything more "real world" about using other peoples recipes instead of using kits. I do usually tweak my kits a little, even if it just means an extra pound of base malt.

To answer your question though, BM's cream of three crops might be a good one for you. edit: I don't know if anyone has done an extract version. I don't know if you are an extract PM or AG brewer.

 

[FishinDave07]

I would pick up designing great beers by Ray Daniels. It tells you grain/hops bills in NHC 2nd round beers and a wealth of info. He has a pretty extensive Pale Ale section as well. I also find that toying around with BeerSmith or some of those free online recipe calculators help.

How about a Blonde Ale? It probably won't make it to summer, though