Very first recipe

[Rhymenoceros]

So I want to try to make my own recipe, but have no idea what I'm doing. This is something I threw together in beer smith, any ideas and comments will be greatly appreciated. Also I dont know what yeast to use.


3 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 40.00 %
3 lbs Wheat Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 40.00 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
8.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
1.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.3 IBU

 

[Corey_James]

I would probably use a london ale yeast for this. It does not sound to bad though.

 

[Shawn Hargreaves]

Honey malt and flaked wheat both need to be mashed to make proper use of them. Just steeping them in water will extract a minimal amount of flavor and some starch from the wheat, but you need to mash them alongside some base malt to get proper results.

 

[rocketman768]

So I want to try to make my own recipe, but have no idea what I'm doing.

Probably need to work on that. You at least need an idea of what your goals are in the beer (taste, color, blah blah). Otherwise, you run a good risk of not enjoying the beer.

I would suggest reading John Palmer's Recipes to get an idea of what you want, then reading his descriptions of grains and hops to figure out how you will achieve the taste you're looking for.

In other words, your thought process might be "I like this stout recipe, but I'll add less chocolate malt since I don't like a strong coffee flavor, and I'll add more flaked oats to make it taste thicker."

 

[Whisler85]

i would start with a sub-category i liked, such as american browns, english bitters, irish reds, and try to stay within those parameters- there is still plenty of room to make the recipe your own, but you will have guidelines to keep you from making anything undrinkable

my first recipes had this problem- i just didnt balance IBUs, OG, and style of yeast properly to make anything coherent- using the style guidelines will save you that trouble and let you move forward with a solid foundation

ps- read "designing great beers" - it gives examples of how much variation there is within each sub-category, going so far as to tell you how often certain grains were used in a style (by a national competition finalist, ex: 99% use roast barley in export stout, etc) how often hop varieties were used, OG range, etc- might be just what you are looking for