Ready to get off of extracts

[PijanyPole]

So, after brewing my first batch in over a decade, I have decided to pop the extract teat out of my mouth. My big problem is where to start on formulating a partial mash recipe.

I would like to make another heff, I only want to use 1 can of lme, how do i go about formulating the grain bill for such a recipe? Is there a science to it, or is it more of a trial and error deal? I guess i'm just at a loss when it comes to mixing grains, im worried ill end up with franken bier!

 

[tknice]

So, after brewing my first batch in over a decade, I have decided to pop the extract teat out of my mouth. My big problem is where to start on formulating a partial mash recipe.

I would like to make another heff, I only want to use 1 can of lme, how do i go about formulating the grain bill for such a recipe? Is there a science to it, or is it more of a trial and error deal? I guess i'm just at a loss when it comes to mixing grains, im worried ill end up with franken bier!

I would started with a recipe from any of these links. They are fairly well proven and once you find one you like, brew the default and then you can start tweaking it from there. That is what I am doing until I understand things a little better.

http://beerdujour.com/JamilsRecipes.htm
http://www.brew365.com/recipes.php

this one has a lot too:
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipes

 

[MaltedLiver]

www.hopville.com

Has a lot of recipes on it as well.

 

[peanasky]

I don't know how you plan to do you're partial mash, but if you're looking for a stove top method, I suggest reading DeathBrewer's Easy Partial Mash Brewing thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/).

In there somewhere i believe he has a recipe for a partial mash hefe. (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/index31.html#post1068526)

Also, if you want to play with some free software, check out BrewTarget.

Good Luck!

 

[erikpete18]

What really helped me was some brewing software. BeerSmith seems to be the gold standard, but if you really just want to play around with something for free, I also like BrewTarget. Its an open source (ie free!) software, and the developer at least used to be on here from time to time (check out the software forum).

Once you've got that, find a recipe (either all grain or extract). Add your specialty grains and your hops. Figure out how much grain you can actually mash (using Deathbrewer's method I can get 5-6 lbs in a 3 gal pot at 1.25 qt/lb). Add your base grain of choice (2-row, pilsner, maris otter, etc.) until you hit your grain amount. Then if you check the recipe, you can figure out what the OG is supposed to be. Add extract until the OG is correct!

 

[PijanyPole]

Ty for the help, ill head in that direction and give it a go.

 

[aggiejay06]

Once you pop the teat out of your mouth, you'll never want to go back! It's freedom!

 

[ruffdeezy]

When I started formulating my own recipes, I looked at NB's since they post them for each kit and that helped me get an idea where to start. From there, it's just trial and error, or adding something from one recipe, something from another, etc.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/recipe-kits/partial-mash-kits

 

[aggiejay06]

I used Beersmith to help design my recipes...you choose a style to go by and it makes sure you're staying within the guidelines of the style. Granted, you could still totally choose the wrong grain if you don't know what to choose yet, so I just did searches on this forum to see what grains people used for the beers I wanted to make, and tweaked from there.