formulating an extract recipe

[Mossbergmike]

i got a few brews under my belt now and ive decided to upgrade a little.. im ordering a cornelius kegging system.. and ive ordered some glass carboys to start doing 2 stage fermentation... up until now ive just done kits.. for my next batch i would like to do something thats more my own.... what is a good way to go about formulating an extract recipe that i can try.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

You can pony up some cash for some brewing software, or Google one of the many online calculators that are out there. Or rather than formulating your own recipe, you could find an existing one for now. HBT has a great recipe database, and there are others out there. Cat's Meow and Gambrinus Mug come immediately to mind. Good luck!

 

[Joos]

beertools has a free calculator

 

[Mossbergmike]

im at the point where i dont know enough to know exactly what to use to achieve certain flavors yet.... but far enough to know im ready to move on from kits... or at least try

 

[Thumper]

im at the point where i dont know enough to know exactly what to use to achieve certain flavors yet.... but far enough to know im ready to move on from kits... or at least try

In this case I suggest that you try what Bernie Brewer said abut finding a recipe here to use. I have done a couple of kits and tried one recipe here. That one is still in the fermenter. I have another kit on the way. I put my kit ingredients into Beer Smith in case I want to do them later by buying the just the ingredients separability or try to tweak it a little to learn what the different ingredients affect.

 

[Shawn Hargreaves]

The first step in formulating a good recipe is to look at lots of recipes that other people have used. You can find lots of recipes online. Look at many different ones for the style you are interested in. This will give you an idea what kind of ingredients people are using, what quantities are typical, etc. You'll generally find that for any given style, some ingredients are universal, while others are optional, so by seeing what other people have done, you'll get an idea what the options are when it comes to making up your own version.

Then, formulate the recipe using brewing software (I use Beer Smith) or an online calculator, so you can work out the alcohol level and IBU. Post it here, and someone will be sure to give feedback on it.

 

[Mossbergmike]

The first step in formulating a good recipe is to look at lots of recipes that other people have used. You can find lots of recipes online. Look at many different ones for the style you are interested in. This will give you an idea what kind of ingredients people are using, what quantities are typical, etc. You'll generally find that for any given style, some ingredients are universal, while others are optional, so by seeing what other people have done, you'll get an idea what the options are when it comes to making up your own version.

Then, formulate the recipe using brewing software (I use Beer Smith) or an online calculator, so you can work out the alcohol level and IBU. Post it here, and someone will be sure to give feedback on it.

very informative.. thanks :rockin: