I'm new to brewing,, I've brewed a few extra kits and am wanting to try BIAB. Looking for info on what malts to use for different styles of beer. I really don't have a clue which malts to use. Any help would be appreciated.
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Check out a recipe book. "Brewing Classic Styles" is a great one. In each style there is some discussion of the malts/hops used and why. "Designing Great Beers" is another good one, more focused on how to design a beer then on recipes. I liked the styles book and following recipes first as it gave me a chance to experiment with different malts and learn which ones I liked best for different beers.
Even within a certain grain there are many variations of malts and each of them may bring a little difference to the beers.
Cheers, have fun.
Even within a certain grain there are many variations of malts and each of them may bring a little difference to the beers.
Cheers, have fun.
This is great at describing most grain you'll ever think of using. Also, you can click on NB's kit's recipes and read the pdf files. They list the ingredients. So if you're looking to brew a certain style, that'll give you a decent idea of where to start.
ie Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone
ie Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone
Yeah, all grain kits are probably the easiest step up from extract kits. You can also just check out the recipe threads on this site or just google "clone recipe" for your favorite craft beer. Don't just brew the first hit though - look at several and find a consensus. Also, consider starting with something simple like a SMASH (Single Malt And Single Hop).
You're getting some good tips here already and the NB site gives you a good idea about malts.
Another suggestion is to check out a malting company website. I use a lot of Briess malts in my recipes. If you go to their website you'll find lots of recipes but better yet you'll find analysis of their malts. This will give you an idea of what flavors you can expect from one if their malts. Each malting company is different, European ones for example will have subtle flavor differences than US. Weyermann is another malter I like and on their website they have this wheel chart that shows the characteristics of their malts.
A little wordy, but I hope this gives you some more knowledge in the world of brewing malts. Next I'm sure it'll be hops.
Happy reading!
Start with kits or recipes from books and magazines at first. You've got enough task load to worry about without wondering if you've put a workable recipe together right out of the gate.
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This. Brewing Classic Styles is a great book, and it will help you make good beer.
Yeah, I say this to a customer in my shop about once a week. "If you brew any of the recipes in BCS and the beer doesn't turn out decent, it's not the recipe"
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By the way, JZ is very happy to answer questions about the recipes, or brewing questions in general.
I have to agree with some of the suggestions. IMO, don't worry so much about trying to make your own. Just brew a few all grain kits. Northern Brewer was mentioned and I agree. My first all grain was their German Alt kit. They aren't the only ones that are willing to share their kit ingredients, so consider the other. There's this place as well. LOTS of recipes here and chances are the recipe makers are more than willing to help out.
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