Where do your recipes come from?

[Nosybear]

BYO Mag is a fairly reliable source.

 

[Dana Pellerin]

Curious to see what other people have to say.
Do you just go by kit instructions or recipes you've found elsewhere?
Do you tweak those existing recipes based on your knowledge / preference of ingredients?
Do you create one from scratch based on what you've read about a particular style or ingredient?

or is it somewhere in between or another option?

for me, i think it's typically the last one, but sometimes the second one. when i started brewing, i was perhaps more apt to follow a "tried and true" recipe, but that quickly fell by the wayside as i read and brewed more

These days I'll buy recipes if I want something I've never made before or that I want to be a "sure thing". However, I'm starting to experiment more, and making my own recipes based on research.

So for me, right now it's about 50/50 canned recipes vs. my own recipes.

 

[OAE Iceman]

I get a lot of my recipes from Brew and Zymurgy magazines. I usually brew them once with the recipe and then tweak them as time goes on.

 

[jeffpn]

I usually brew them once with the recipe and then tweak them as time goes on.

That begs the question. How often do people completely morph a recipe, but just a tweak at a time, until it's nothing like what it started as?

 

[jmcnamara]

That begs the question. How often do people completely morph a recipe, but just a tweak at a time, until it's nothing like what it started as?

And how much of it is out of necessity with the lhbs being out of stock of something or because of that brewer's knowledge for what they like and can make work?
Wheels within wheels man

 

[GPA]

I lack both the knowledge and experience to stray to far , but I'm not afraid to tinker a bit, and since I grew up drinking my parents PBR's and Shmidts.
If I screw it up I do have an uncanny ability to swill down some pretty crappy suds..

 

[Brew Cat]

I lack both the knowledge and experience to stray to far , but I'm not afraid to tinker a bit, and since I grew up drinking my parents PBR's and Shmidts.
If I screw it up I do have an uncanny ability to swill down some pretty crappy suds..

If you start buying in bulk you will automatically start doing your own recipes because you have to brew with what you have on hand. Really not going to make anything crappy as long as you follow a few rules

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Stuff the rules !!
Unless you get it really wrong it'll still make drinkable beer
There are a few styles you just can't mess with but with APA and the like it's a very broad definition

 

[Brew Cat]

Stuff the rules !!
Unless you get it really wrong it'll still make drinkable beer
There are a few styles you just can't mess with but with APA and the like it's a very broad definition

Rule number 1. Don't put stupid shit in your beer. Rule number 2. Read rule number 1

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

one beer you cant really screw up is a brown ale, its a very forgiving style

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Rule number 1. Don't put stupid shit in your beer. Rule number 2. Read rule number 1

So my planned Chilli , ginger and choc Lager isn't a good idea ?
( where's the sarcasm font ? )

 

[Nosybear]

So my planned Chilli , ginger and choc Lager isn't a good idea ?
( where's the sarcasm font ? )

Strangely, it might be fairly good. Give it a shot! But to recipe sources, I'm getting good inspiration from Craft Beer and Brewing's website these days. Lots of time, they don't give absolute recipes, just guidelines. So far, what I've brewed from there has been good.

 

[nzbrew]

Have brewed a couple of recipes lately from the AHA competition winners section. Generally to recipe, with a couple of tweaks for my system and what ingredients I can / cannot get.
Also been using 'brewing classic styles' book, improving my consistency and repeatability by keeping things simple!

 

[Head First]

Have brewed a couple of recipes lately from the AHA competition winners section. Generally to recipe, with a couple of tweaks for my system and what ingredients I can / cannot get.
Also been using 'brewing classic styles' book, improving my consistency and repeatability by keeping things simple!

We use recipe's out of this book once in a while. Some great beers in there. I like the way they list extract and all grain both. Janet's Brown(from this book) is done every year in honor of my late sister. We do small changes each year just for fun as sis would have.

 

[Nosybear]

Where the recipe comes from ultimately doesn't make a whole lot of difference because a recipe is at best a starting point. With some experience, you can look at one and say it should work or it won't, for example, someone has put together a recipe with half-ounce quantities of twenty malts, don't brew it. Same is true with hops: After about three, the flavors start to run together. I can't describe the procedure, but there's a reasonableness test. Has someone really gone overboard on a character malt? A special ingredient? There are reliable sources but it's ultimately your taste and judgement that will determine what gets brewed.

 

[Thurston Brewer]

I'm with you, Nosy. I'm sticking to 3 malts max (base, coloring, roasted) and just one hop at a time for now. Gotta learn the differences before I can mix and match.

 

[Mark D Pirate]

only time i do more than 3 hops is when it's time to clear the freezer !
even then it was 3 C's and armadillo , pride of ringwood for the 60 min
that one came out pretty good , can still taste the chinook and amarillo even though there was loads more cascade and citra