First Time Recipe Formulation - Need Help!

[BeardedBrewer]

Hey All,

I purchased a couple kits from Northern Brewer, including the Smashing Pumpkin Ale. After drinking more pumpkin ale, I really realized I'm not a fan and want to use the ingredients in the kit (with some additions) to make something different. This is only my third brew so I don't know much about recipe formulation. I've come up with this and would like people with more experience to gauge how good this would taste.

I'm going for a Honey Brown.

Thanks for your input!

 

[JonK331]

Looks good. In the future though, stay away from the Amber syrups and stick to the lightest LME/DME you can find. THat will give you much more control over your recipes. Amber syrup has an unknown amount of crystal malt so it is difficult to know how much more to add to the recipe. I think, in this case, adding only a half pound if crystal 40 is safe. Also, add your extract late and add your honey very late. The honey flavor boils off very quickly.

 

[JonK331]

BTW if you want to get into making your own recipes, Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is the single best resource I've come across. Brewing Classic Styles is also very good but it is easy to get in a groove of just following Jamil's recipes, DGB gives guidelines and forces you to make up the recipes on your own.