How do you make a new recipe?

[bmbauer]

Hey guys,

So I am new to this whole brewing thing, but so far I am enjoying it. I am starting off with some kits i can buy online to get my feet wet and make sure I can figure it all out since I figure there is less room for error on those. The reason I really want to home brew however is to make beers of my own! I love the idea of making something new that is mine and special to me.

My question to you is, where do you guys start when you are making your own recipes? So far I have done a lot of looking at other recipes to get ideas and starting places, however with all of the different hops and yeasts and grains and methods.....it is a little bit overwhelming. How do I know that whatever I come up with could have some chance of being good?

Also, how often do you guys make a beer that is just terrible? I think if I made something that was just a little bit off I could tweak it and after a few batches have what I really want....but I dont know what I would do if I tried a beer that was just terrible.

Anyways, Thanks for the help! Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

 

[aidan]

It's a good idea to read up a bit on malts and also hops and yeast so you get familiar with the basic ingredients. I've started a page on my blog to compile info on the various grains from around the web: http://beerandgarden.com/brewing-malts-grains/

Brewing Classic Styles is often my starting point when I am brewing a new style of beer. I use it as a guidline for the malt bill and usually substitute my own hops (I use a lot of NZ hops since I live in NZ)

So far I haven't made any beers that were 'terrible' but I've had a few that were a little bit off but still drinkable and in those cases it was more a case of contamination rather than issues with the recipe. Sometimes I've had less hops come through than I expected so I just play with adding more hops at the various intervals.

Oh yeah and you'll need a recipe calculator. I use Brewmate, it's free: http://beerandgarden.com/2012/03/brewing-software-review-brewmate/

 

[Hammy71]

First I would suggest some brewing software such as Beer Smith. This will help with the numbers and such. Second, I would suggest you purchase the book "Brewing Classic Styles". This book will give you a base for almost any type of brew you want to make. Brew several of these and then you can start changing things, finding out what you like. Trial and error is the only way to really learn what fits your taste. Now I've made some sub-par brews. For instance I know for a fact I can't stand SA-04 yeast....in any style. But, most of my brews are pretty damn good.

 

[GotDrunkThenLost]

I'm hoping that will come with experience. Like you I've been doing a fair bit of recipe searching online but when I see a recipe I don't necessarily know what malts impart what kind of flavours, for example I did a hobgoblin clone at the weekend that included crystal malt, chocolate malt and black malt but for now I don't know what they all do.

I'm a bit lucky in that I can also get ideas from my dad who's part owner of a couple of breweries in the UK so I can get rough ideas (but not proper recipes) about things that work well.

Whilst at LHBS a couple of weeks ago my interest was peaked at a packet of elderflower so I picked it up, after a bit of googling I found it goes well with first gold hops and a bit of honey. I've got no idea about grains but I've got quite a bit of pilsner and maris otter malts so it will probably involve those. I'll be using brewmate to try and work out a sensible amount of hops and malts to my taste.

 

[sputnam]

SMaSH recipes - single malt, single hop. Good way to start learning stuff

 

[JediMaster77]

lots of good advice here so far

I personally wanted to understand the nuts and bolts first before getting a software program that does the work for you. though I did eventually get Beer Smith I first got my hands on John Palmers How to Brew and The Brew Masters Bible.

the bible has plenty of tables and recipes to help you formulate the basics and the other book has all the math and stuff to get you going.

I enjoy the formulation and use the software as a means to double check my math and see what minor adjustments will do without having to re-pencil everything.

good luck

 

[LesIsMore]

Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is another great resource. It was published in the 90's so some of it may be a little outdated, but it's still extremely useful.

Another useful thing to do is try out different grains like he does in this experiment so you get an idea of what they will add.
http://exbeeriments.wordpress.com/tag/specialty-grains/

 

[TheBrewingBear]

SMaSH recipes - single malt, single hop. Good way to start learning stuff

This.

You can also try swapping or omitting specialty malts/hops to see what changes.

 

[timrox1212]

What I did for my first 5-6 recipes was look up clones of my favorite beers and then combine them. So say you want to make an IPA, Look up clone recipes for your favorite 3-4 IPAs and make a list of the grains, the hops, and the yeast they all use. Then just pick and choose from each to create your perfect beer. This worked for me and it got me creating my own recipes.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Croyzen]

Get off kits and start brewing proven recipes. This is the starting point for understanding how ingredients work. Grab Brewing Classic Styles. Learn styles, learn ingredients by using them in things that taste good. Then start experimenting. Brew the same recipe over and over and over but change things. Change the yeast. Change malts. Change the hop schedule. Maybe do one gallon batches while trying out things.

 

[Puddlethumper]

Get off kits and start brewing proven recipes. This is the starting point for understanding how ingredients work. Grab Brewing Classic Styles. Learn styles, learn ingredients by using them in things that taste good. Then start experimenting. Brew the same recipe over and over and over but change things. Change the yeast. Change malts. Change the hop schedule. Maybe do one gallon batches while trying out things.

+1 ^^^

Keep it simple. How will you know what Cascade hops taste like unless you make a single-hop ale using Cascade hops? It's like learning to cook. Cooking is all about knowing how to season the dish. So how would you figure out how much cinnamon to add to a recipe if you didn't first learn what cinnamon tastes like?

So look for simple, single hop beers with minimal and simple grain bills. Brew them and taste them. BIAB in 1 gal. batches or use a Mr Beer to keep the investment of time, materials and space down. Then, using a recipe you are familiar with, change the yeast, or change the hops or maybe add or sub a specialty malt. That is how you will learn the quickest.

 

[bmbauer]

Thanks for all the help guys!
More advice is welcome however I am feeling a lot more positive and excited about this.

 

[jrgtr42]

Besides what they all said, there's a few other things to think about even before plugging in numbers.
The big question is what do you want to brew? What style for starters.
Then, what descriptors.
Say you want a stout. Do you want something roasty? smooth? Sweet? Dry? do you want a hint of chocolate? maybe a touch of smoke?
All these questions are going to start pointing the way. once you have a basic plan, then you can start looking into what ingredients are going to give you what you want.
Presuming you're looking at extract, you'll be looking to add your steeping grains, such as roasted, chocolate, Carafa, and so on. Then you'll be looking at your hop additions (mostly a bittering charge, with small additions later on.) Finally think about your yeast, and what you want to use (I personally have had good luck with Wyeast Irish Ale with stouts)
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[charliehorse]

Designing Great Beers is an excellent start. What I would do is find a recipe for a beer that you've tried (from a fellow brew club member?) and brew that. Make careful notes about everything. Taste all of the grains before you mash (or steep them), preferably before you've crushed them. This step is vital when you switch to all-grain brewing (which is way easier than you think). Taste your beer at every step; pre-mash (the grains), first runnings, sparge, post boil, post primary, post secondary and out of the keg/bottle. Doing this you will learn what each step and ingredient does to the flavor and appearance of your beer and you'll develop a skill that will allow you to taste, say, Caramunich, and know how it will fit into a recipe and how it will alter the flavor.

That said, the most important thing about developing a great beer recipe to to find a base style that you like. For instance, Stouts seem to be a pretty popular style for homebrewers. Make the base recipe until 2 or 3 batches taste the way you want them, constantly. Now, adjust it with the adjuncts you want or change the grain bill from 2-row to Maris Otter or Golden Promise.

Go slow. Don't decide that you want to come up with a Pumpkin-Jalapeno-Strawberry Pale Ale right off the bat. Learn what make a Pale Ale different from other styles and to make a good solid Pale Ale, then you can start monkeying around with it.