[chinaski]

I wonder if any of you have revised your recipes after not having brewed them for a long time?

I just took a nostalgic journey back to '05 or '06 by brewing Denny's Rye IPA recipe for the first time since 2006 or so.  There is no doubt that its a great recipe- this time I know what rye really tastes likes and noticed how it contributes to the beer.  I used his yeast for it for the first time.  I remembered how new I was to all-grain brewing when I last had it.  There are all sorts of memories associated with the beer and the time and place that I brewed it.

All that said, I have found that my palate now wants that beer to be altered in several ways (which I plan to try to do on my own)- less crystal malt flavor, more hop aroma- some of the things that I now associate with IPA in the here and now.  Not that I want a completely different beer- I just want to tweak it but retain the attributes that make it a unique and interesting beer.  I think it may be time to pull out my own old recipes and reconsider them.

Has any of you had similar experiences?

[joe_meadmaker]

I haven't, but this makes me want to give it a try.

The earliest recipe I still have my notes for was an attempt at an Oktoberfest/Marzen (although not exactly because I had no knowledge of lagering at the time).  This was probably around 2011.  I liked how the beer came out so much that I remember brewing it multiple times.  Admittedly getting a somewhat different beer each time because my process still had quite a bit of variation.

Having much more experience now, I might do a batch and see how the numbers (and beer) come out.

[skyler]

My standard porter recipe is kind of a "slow evolution" of a recipe that I put together back when I was still brewing extract in 2009. I often alter it to try out a newly available malt.

[denny]

I actually tend to brew old recipes the same as I used to.  The RyenIPA is a perfeddt example...I still love that beer as it was originally formulated.  I find that if I want a different beer, I just brew a different beer.

[erockrph]

I would say that I mainly use old recipes as starting off points for new recipes. It may be a grain bill I liked, or a hop combo, or maybe the way a couple of ingredients worked with each other, and then I'll bring that into whatever new recipe I'm working on.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[MattyAHA]

I would say that I mainly use old recipes as starting off points for new recipes. It may be a grain bill I liked, or a hop combo, or maybe the way a couple of ingredients worked with each other, and then I'll bring that into whatever new recipe I'm working on.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

i do that alot too

[Slowbrew]

My old recipes often change based on what I have available.  I've used the same American Wheat recipe for 15 years but it might be made with 2 row, MO, some pilsner and or red wheat, white wheat, unmalted wheat or whatever I have around that day.  The hops have changed several times. 

I have several recipes "I used for many years" that don't look the same today as they did 10 years ago but they've been on tap forever.

Paul

[chumley]

I have used the Sister Star of the Sun IPA malt bill many times for IPAs, using different hops.

[dannyjed]

A recipe that I have left alone and brewed many times in the last 13 years is an Amarillo Rye Pale Ale. Simple grain bill - two row, rye malt, and crystal 60. Amarillo hops and American Ale yeast. Great flavor and easy drinking 5.5% beer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[denny]

I have used the Sister Star of the Sun IPA malt bill many times for IPAs, using different hops.

There's a good reason it's a classic

[chinaski]

A recipe that I have left alone and brewed many times in the last 13 years is an Amarillo Rye Pale Ale. Simple grain bill - two row, rye malt, and crystal 60. Amarillo hops and American Ale yeast. Great flavor and easy drinking 5.5% beer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm curious, could you post the recipe or at least the %rye malt and % crystal you use?  Thank you!

[dannyjed]

A recipe that I have left alone and brewed many times in the last 13 years is an Amarillo Rye Pale Ale. Simple grain bill - two row, rye malt, and crystal 60. Amarillo hops and American Ale yeast. Great flavor and easy drinking 5.5% beer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm curious, could you post the recipe or at least the %rye malt and % crystal you use?  Thank you!

Sure
75% Two Row, 18% Rye Malt, 7% Crystal 60
35-40 IBU Amarillo @ 60, 20, 0, and dry hop


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ravenwater]

One of my early beers was an extract amber ale. At the time I really dug it. I impressed myself with it as a novice brewer. I've been seriously toying with the idea of re-brewing it ten some years later, perhaps revising the recipe a touch based on having more brewing experience. Part of me would really like to see what comes of generally following my original recipe. A couple of things feel like they're holding me back - - 1) recalling the flavor and mouthfeel of it I know now that I probably didn't oxygenate well, under pitched, and it was under attenuated, though somehow at the time I thought it was delicious nonetheless, but with a re-brew I wouldn't recapture my less stellar brewing technique so maybe couldn't replicate a similar beer; 2) with passage of time and palate training I've become more picky and my tastes have changed as well. I'm leaning towards giving it a go later this year. 

[chinaski]

One of my early beers was an extract amber ale. At the time I really dug it. I impressed myself with it as a novice brewer. I've been seriously toying with the idea of re-brewing it ten some years later, perhaps revising the recipe a touch based on having more brewing experience. Part of me would really like to see what comes of generally following my original recipe. A couple of things feel like they're holding me back - - 1) recalling the flavor and mouthfeel of it I know now that I probably didn't oxygenate well, under pitched, and it was under attenuated, though somehow at the time I thought it was delicious nonetheless, but with a re-brew I wouldn't recapture my less stellar brewing technique so maybe couldn't replicate a similar beer; 2) with passage of time and palate training I've become more picky and my tastes have changed as well. I'm leaning towards giving it a go later this year.

Very cool- this is exactly what I'm experiencing- a certain nostalgia for my early brewing "successes" in combination with a different set of skills, perceptions, knowledge, and available ingredients that I have now.  If you end up pursuing this idea- please post a follow-up!

[ravenwater]

One of my early beers was an extract amber ale. At the time I really dug it. I impressed myself with it as a novice brewer. I've been seriously toying with the idea of re-brewing it ten some years later, perhaps revising the recipe a touch based on having more brewing experience. Part of me would really like to see what comes of generally following my original recipe. A couple of things feel like they're holding me back - - 1) recalling the flavor and mouthfeel of it I know now that I probably didn't oxygenate well, under pitched, and it was under attenuated, though somehow at the time I thought it was delicious nonetheless, but with a re-brew I wouldn't recapture my less stellar brewing technique so maybe couldn't replicate a similar beer; 2) with passage of time and palate training I've become more picky and my tastes have changed as well. I'm leaning towards giving it a go later this year.

Very cool- this is exactly what I'm experiencing- a certain nostalgia for my early brewing "successes" in combination with a different set of skills, perceptions, knowledge, and available ingredients that I have now.  If you end up pursuing this idea- please post a follow-up!

Thanks for the encouragement. You've given me motivation to think more seriously about brewing my amber again. Yeah, I'll post results if/when I get the beer made.