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Author Topic: This is kinda bugging me  (Read 2215 times)

Offline Megary

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #15 on: December 18, 2021, 07:47:15 am »
↑↑  All of the above.

And by all means, post your new recipe on this very helpful board and see what others think.  Sometimes the recipe is fine as is, sometimes it might need a little tweak, and sometimes it's way off base.  We've all been there.  We're all still there.

Offline goose

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #16 on: December 18, 2021, 10:17:28 am »
Also remember, Google is your friend.  When designing a new recipe, I take look at what others have successfully done and maybe pick one thing from this recipe, one thing from that recipe, etc. to create my own unique recipe.  As others have said knowing what flavors various malts impart in the beer is a key to making a good beer for a specific style.  Every style has been brewed many times so there is a wealth of information out there to help you.

Once I have a base recipe, I can tweak it to improve it for a future brew.  That is the fun part!

Just my 0.02
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Offline Thirsty_Monk

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This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #17 on: December 18, 2021, 03:51:54 pm »
Yeah, experience counts for a lot. I start with imagining what the beer should taste like, then work backwards from there. That means you have know the flavors of different ingredients, and to figure that out there's nothing like brewing a bunch.
Agree with Denny.

Sometimes I make a “concept” beers. They are usually for special occasion.

The recipe process goes like this.

What this beer should be like?
Alcohol? How big?
Color?
Bitterness? What kind of flavor?
Mouthfeel?
Any other special flavors and additions?

Final questions is “Will I like it?”

Then backfilling the ingredients that you know will get you those flavors.

It drives me nuts when people ask me what style of beer it is.

I do a plenty of beers to the style and I call them that as well.
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http://www.lazymonkbrewing.com

Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #18 on: December 19, 2021, 05:58:18 am »
Pick a style and look into award winning examples, then brew it over and over again, making minor changes until you are well pleased with it.  Then do the same with another style.

Process, ingredients, water adjustments, and fermentation control all play into a good recipe.
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Offline Andy Farke

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #19 on: December 19, 2021, 07:56:38 am »
For me, the biggest thing is knowing my ingredients, and knowing my outcomes. (also mentioned by many above)

To get to this point, I do a decent number of SMaSH-type beers, and beers that highlight a limited number of ingredients. I also make at least a mental note on any commercial beers I try (or beers brewed by others), and track down particular ingredients that create a flavor I want. For my own beers, I take copious notes, and do a review of every single beer I brew. That way I can figure out if an ingredient manifested as I expected (and if it didn't, I can figure out if it was something inherent to the ingredient itself, or a process issue, or something else).

As I've built up my mental library of flavors and such, then I can start to build out recipes more creatively and confidently. And then as I brew them, I evaluate, and iterate, and apply what I learned to a future recipe.

Also as mentioned by others, if I'm brewing to style, I do a ton of research, and look for commonalities across recipes.
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Offline redrocker652002

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #20 on: December 19, 2021, 11:46:08 am »
Great stuff folks, thank you for all your input.  I am just starting, but I am already noticing some similarities.  With time and experience I will come up with a few that I really like and take it from there.  I am going to look for that hop flavor chart someone posted a while ago and save it.  That seemed to have a boat load of info on what each brings to the table.  Thanks again all for your replies.  RR

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #21 on: December 19, 2021, 01:25:52 pm »
As a new brewer IMO the best thing to do is brew, taste ingredients and study the recipes you brew so you can understand the interplay between ingredients and start learning things you like in recipes. As you learn the ingredients/combinations you like that will help you form building blocks for future recipes.

When I think about recipes I start thinking about the beer I want to brew. What will it taste/smell/feel like? How will I serve it? Then start working backwards to build the recipe. I like to research trustworthy recipes especially those close to what I want to get a rough sketch of a basic recipe. I might look at older recipes of my own and articles on the style for additional ideas. Then I start dialing in the recipe. I usually think on and adjust a recipe for several weeks before brewing to give myself time to synthesize all of the info I took in and try to make the recipe the best it can be. I could push a recipe out sooner but I enjoy percolating on a recipe as part of the brewing process.

Heck yeah I blog about homebrewing: Brain Sparging on Brewing

Offline Richard

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #22 on: December 19, 2021, 04:04:33 pm »
These days you also need to have a backup plan in case some of the ingredients  you want are not available. I usually have a shopping list with an alternative for each item. For some things there are no real substitutes, but for most there is something close. I try to shop far enough in advance that if the store doesn't have what I want I can have them order it or I can get it somewhere else.
Original Gravity - that would be Newton's

Offline neuse

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #23 on: December 20, 2021, 09:56:49 am »
There is one thing about recipes that isn't obvious - you need to have enough diastatic power in the grain bill. I don't brew from grain any more and don't remember the details, so I won't try to give specific instructions - but it's something you will need to consider when formulating recipes.

Offline erockrph

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #24 on: December 20, 2021, 08:22:46 pm »
Start by brewing known recipes for a few batches, then you can try making small substitutions or additions in a recipe you know to try out new ingredients or processes.

American Pale Ale is a good style for experimenting with hops, base malt and even Cara/Crystal malt. Other styles work too, depending on what you like. Brewing Classic Styles is getting a little old, but it's a good resource for recipes for most styles. I still refer to it from time to time.
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Offline Cliffs

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #25 on: December 21, 2021, 11:47:07 am »
the best recipe done with subpar ingredients or process isnt going to make a good beer. I like simple recipes made with quality ingredients.

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #26 on: December 22, 2021, 09:47:12 am »
 I read all of the "Classic Beer Styles" books that the Brewer's Association published when I first started to brew in the early nineties. There were not as many available back then as their are today, but it was a great place to start because even the craft beer industry was in its infancy. I literally devoured every brewing publication on which I could get my hands and I am certain that pretty every brewer on this forum who started to brew before any significant Internet forum appeared did the same thing (the magazine "Brewing Techniques" was invaluable at that point in time).  If you read enough recipes, you will discover that most of them fall into either the 90% base malt/10% specialty malt/adjunct or the 80% base malt/20% specialty malt/adjunct categories grist-wise.  The base malt puts one on the page whereas the specialty malts and adjuncts are used to fine tune flavor, body, and color. 

IMHO, the major takeaway from the Daniel's book is the bitterness to gravity ratios for different beer styles (defined as IBUs to O.G. or in shorthand the BU:GU ratio). That information has stood the test of time.  What I have found is that brewers either over-hop or under-hop their beers when they first start creating their own recipes.  I know that it was a problem for me.  An IBU calculator will get one on the page, but re-brewing a beer several times while tweaking the kettle and finishing hops is the trick to truly understanding the importance of BU:GU ratios in producing a beer style.  The claimed IBUs in today's IPAs are a little misleading, especially from smaller breweries that do not have full quality control labs.  A lot of the IBU levels claimed by West Coast-style IPA brewers are little more than works of fiction because the major hop charge occurs at or near knockout with additional hopping done via dry hopping.  Like the components found in humulus lupulus' cousin, hop alpha acids are not soluble in water.  They have to be isomerized via boiling for a period of time to be soluble in water.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2021, 09:49:49 am by Saccharomyces »

Offline Saccharomyces

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #27 on: December 22, 2021, 09:54:50 am »
the best recipe done with subpar ingredients or process isnt going to make a good beer. I like simple recipes made with quality ingredients.

Subpar ingredients are not the problem today that they were when I started to brew.  We received the castoffs from the microbrewers as they were called back then.  The microbrewers received the castoffs from the industrial brewers.  Purchasing ingredients from a reputable supplier with good inventory turnover is the key.  I have not seen brown hops on a homebrewing supply store in a long time, but it was common problem when I started to brew. 

Offline Cliffs

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #28 on: December 22, 2021, 10:02:20 am »
I still see poor hops being sold at homebrew shops and definitely taste them in some of the homebrews Ive tried at club meetings.

Offline BrewBama

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Re: This is kinda bugging me
« Reply #29 on: December 22, 2021, 12:17:55 pm »
I still see poor hops being sold at homebrew shops and definitely taste them in some of the homebrews Ive tried at club meetings.
I agree. I began buying hops based on harvest year a while back from reputable sources such as YCH, Hops Direct, or Ted. I believe I can tell the difference with fresh hops or it may be confirmation bias. Either way, I like the outcome better than buying an unknown harvest year from a HomeBrew shop.