Frustrated on my beer...

[android]

our recipe database here at HBT also has some great extract, partial mash, and all grain recipes. a nice thing is that the recipe states what it is, so you don't have to do much guesswork. it all seems complicated now, but once you get a dozen or so batches under your belt, and continue to research, you'll understand how the processes differ. i would also agree that 'brewing classic styles' is a great resource.

 

[jfr1111]

Buy a kit from a brewshop (though maybe not your brewshop, if they told you this recipe would work). Otherwise, you can pick up something like Brewing Classic Styles.

This. The guy who manned the first brewshop I got my stuff from was a very nice man, but he was very much clueless when it came to recipes (or he had no tastebuds). I remember the last time I went there, he was trying to push on me some form of stout that used about 3 pounds of black malt and a pound of maltodextrin.

He said it drank like a dessert beer. It probably drank like an ashtray.

Keep to the recipes in the database that have a lot of feedback. Or better yet, get a copy of Designing Great Beers and Jamil's book. Recipe formulation isn't rocket science once you get the basics down.