A recipe is a set of instructions to combine ingredients in a specific process to achieve a specific result. Because it involves a process, it can be protected. Merely listing ingredients without a process cannot, it's nothing more than a shopping list.
Ingredient list like this:
6lbs wheat
6lbs pilsner
1oz Hallertau
WLP300
is just a list and not a true recipe, thus cannot be protected. Gravity and fermentation could be added without issue too.
Now add mash schedule, temperature, hop addition timing, etc that's a true recipe in that it involves a process to go with ingredients. That can be protected.
I cannot see a way a brewing recipe can be copywrited, even including the process. The process of brewing has been around for what, 5k years? Sort of beats out any patent rights.
(And you can't copywrite a process...you can however, patent it)
Brewing would all fall under "Trade Secrets". The same reason Coca-Cola keeps their recipe under lock and key. It is a trade secret. If it was found out, it damages their company but is totally legal to use.
It is very much legal to reverse engineer something and use it as your own, you just need to not infringe on any TradeMarked names.
Pharma companies protect themselves a bit by placing a patent on their products, because they are patenting specific bio-chemicals (or whatever) for a
Specific Use. After 17 years, they lose business to the generics, because they just reverse engineer what they had and sell it on the cheap.
Beer however, has one purpose (to make life awesome), and only has 4 real base ingredients as pointed out. Thus the trade secret ruling, and importance to TradeMark names. (Thanks Anchor, for not letting anyone use the name Steam in their beer type)
As a side note, probably not the best marketing plan to say you just copy other really good beers.