How do you find your recipes?

[Jamesman]

Hi everyone, another wierd question here but where do you find your recipes? I'm about to do my first 5l AG brew but I'm already ready thinking about the next one. I've seen a few recipes on the maltmiller and a few other online shops but theyre all bigger batches and I don't really want to pay the delivery cause I live in Germany. Could I basically copy that recipe and order my own ingredients over here and use their directions for the brewday or don't they put up all information I need online for everyone to see? And anyone got any info about how to scale recipes up or down? I've had a quick look on brewersfreind but it's like gobbledigook. I don't really understand it. Sorry for the long post I hope it makes sense. Thanks in advance. Cheers.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I have recently started doing small all grain batches ,between 10 - 17L, using simple 8 gallon pan and BIAB no sparge.

I have been using some of the recipes from Malt Miller AG kits sections, I like the Jon Finch ones.
I order all my malt,hops and yeast from them as they are very reliable and have good website
which is easy to order from.

The easiest way to work out your own version is use software to adapt quantites etc.
I use Brewfather, you can download a free version. I ended up subscribing for a year cost me £16.
First select your set up - there is a BIAB no sparge option.

Then click the recipe function, there is a style setting which gives you the parameters for each type
- ABV
- original and final gravities
- EBC ( colour )
- IBU ( bitterness )
- BU/GU ( sweetness to bitterness ratio

You can then select batch size, it will calculate your total water needed.
Then enter malt, hops, yeast etc and it will quantify it for you in an easy to understand table ( as above ).
It's very intuitive, just have a play around. I'm not very computer savvy but picked it up quickly.
I've found it pretty accurate in terms of efficiency/ gravities etc and it means you have a specific end in mind
rather than random guesswork.
You can print off a copy for your brewday, jot down notes as you go then update info on a batch
setting which moves from planning, to fermenting, to conditioning.

You need a basic understanding of the basics, all of which can be picked up on this forum somewhere.
Someone else has always been through it before you and you can learn from their experience
saving yourself some time.

Happy brewing !

 

[obscure]

First up basically any recipe you see can be scaled up or down to suit your needs I regularly scale 23L batches to 9L. I use Brewers Friend as it can also quickly adjust the recipe to my efficiency as well as desired volume but in principle if a recipe is for 23 L simply divide everything by 23 and multiply by your desired volume.

As for where I get recipes from a few places first of all a couple of books I use regularly are Greg Hughes Home Brew Beer and Graham Wheelers Brew Your own British real ale. Both are decent books however Greg Hughes is my preferred tome. Its also easy to use them as base recipies and then adjust to your own preferences over time, I also keep an eye out on the various brew day threads people post here (some people post some really decent recipes).

 

[steve123]

I sometimes think of a beer I like, then search the net for clone recipes and see what I find, can be a bit hit and miss as it’s just someone’s interpretation of it.

If you like BrewDog beers they, list the ingredients and quantities they use in their beers on their website, think the recipes they give are based on 20l.

 

[Jamesman]

I have recently started doing small all grain batches ,between 10 - 17L, using simple 8 gallon pan and BIAB no sparge.

I have been using some of the recipes from Malt Miller AG kits sections, I like the Jon Finch ones.
I order all my malt,hops and yeast from them as they are very reliable and have good website
which is easy to order from.

The easiest way to work out your own version is use software to adapt quantites etc.
I use Brewfather, you can download a free version. I ended up subscribing for a year cost me £16.
First select your set up - there is a BIAB no sparge option.

Then click the recipe function, there is a style setting which gives you the parameters for each type
- ABV
- original and final gravities
- EBC ( colour )
- IBU ( bitterness )
- BU/GU ( sweetness to bitterness ratio

You can then select batch size, it will calculate your total water needed.
Then enter malt, hops, yeast etc and it will quantify it for you in an easy to understand table ( as above ).
It's very intuitive, just have a play around. I'm not very computer savvy but picked it up quickly.
I've found it pretty accurate in terms of efficiency/ gravities etc and it means you have a specific end in mind
rather than random guesswork.
You can print off a copy for your brewday, jot down notes as you go then update info on a batch
setting which moves from planning, to fermenting, to conditioning.

You need a basic understanding of the basics, all of which can be picked up on this forum somewhere.
Someone else has always been through it before you and you can learn from their experience
saving yourself some time.

Happy brewing !

Hi thanks for the reply. I'm doing biab aswell for my first brew. I'll have a look at Brewfather. The working out the recipe bit is what's confusing me the most so that should help. I can't wait to get going. I've ordered a 5l Belgian Ipa and was thinking of an oat stout after that. Have a good night. Cheers.

 

[Alan_Reginato]

Brewers friend is a good source of recipes. Also, you could check out some of them and adapt to your taste. That's what I do. Just keep it simple at beginning, and then increase the complexity, if you want.

 

[Jamesman]

First up basically any recipe you see can be scaled up or down to suit your needs I regularly scale 23L batches to 9L. I use Brewers Friend as it can also quickly adjust the recipe to my efficiency as well as desired volume but in principle if a recipe is for 23 L simply divide everything by 23 and multiply by your desired volume.

As for where I get recipes from a few places first of all a couple of books I use regularly are Greg Hughes Home Brew Beer and Graham Wheelers Brew Your own British real ale. Both are decent books however Greg Hughes is my preferred tome. Its also easy to use them as base recipies and then adjust to your own preferences over time, I also keep an eye out on the various brew day threads people post here (some people post some really decent recipes).

Hi, I've got the Greg Hughes book some nice recipes in there. I've just had a quick scan through the brewday thread aswell. I won't go thirsty Working my way through that. Cheers.

 

[Jamesman]

I sometimes think of a beer I like, then search the net for clone recipes and see what I find, can be a bit hit and miss as it’s just someone’s interpretation of it.

If you like BrewDog beers they, list the ingredients and quantities they use in their beers on their website, think the recipes they give are based on 20l.

Niceone, I'll check that out. Is that normal for a Brewers like Brewdog to post all their recipes online? Good on them though. Cheers.

 

[Jamesman]

Brewers friend is a good source of recipes. Also, you could check out some of them and adapt to your taste. That's what I do. Just keep it simple at beginning, and then increase the complexity, if you want.

Thanks. It is really handy having the ready made AG kits. Takes a bit of pressure off the first brew knowing its all been weighed out. Cheers.

 

[steve123]

I don’t think that most breweries post their recipes, certainly not what I have found

https://brewdogmedia.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/docs/2019+DIY+DOG+-+V8.pdf

 

[Jamesman]

I don’t think that most breweries post their recipes, certainly not what I have found

https://brewdogmedia.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/docs/2019+DIY+DOG+-+V8.pdf

Cheers for the link.

 

[AFC]

I use AG, and always looking for new recipes. But can’t compute why some use nearly 60lt water to achieve a batch of 20l with only a 1 hour boil.

 

[MmmBeer]

I use AG, and always looking for new recipes. But can’t compute why some use nearly 60lt water to achieve a batch of 20l with only a 1 hour boil.

Where have you seen that? Most of the resipes I use require 30-33 litres of water for 23 litres if beer. Are you sure they're not listed in pints?

 

[Rodcx500z]

Wow thats alot of water for 23L i have just done a 21L batch total water was just over 29L

 

[DocAnna]

I have too many books on brewing, with more recipes than I could ever try, but they are always a a starting point. As an example, at the request of my son I'm making a Mexican Cerveza lager beer which there are plenty of recipes for online and in the books. I look at the differences in the recipes, get an idea for which of those differences is important and which ones might be simplifications. I'll copy the basic recipe in to brewfather then tweak ingredients, quantities and batch volume till I have something I like the look of. Keep in mind that the ingredients are only one part of the recipe. The methods including mash temperatures, hop stand temp and fermenting temperature over time will also make significant differences. Some of that is fun and some of that is quite simply a headache.

The most recent book I have is Gordon Strong's 'Modern Homebrew Recipes', though I also like Dave Carpenter's 'Lager'. I know Greg Hughes is the recipe basis for so many ideas but he is a bit short on detail about fermentation.

Anna

 

[An Ankoù]

I have much the same approach to recipe formulation except the Brewfather bit.

The most recent book I have is Gordon Strong's 'Modern Homebrew Recipes', though I also like Dave Carpenter's 'Lager'. I know Greg Hughes is the recipe basis for so many ideas but he is a bit short on detail about fermentation.

Gordon Strong is an odd one. He's president of BJCP and his recipes are possibly hamstrung by that to the extent that any slight deviation from style guidelines has to be included in his chapter "Experimental Beer Recipes". Not that it's a bad thing to aim to hit the style right on the centre stump, necessarily.
He also starts with RO water for everything, adding phosphoric acid and, sometimes, some salts according to the style. I've used Modern Homebrew Recipes as a reference book and, more often than not, ended up simplifying his recipes. I wouldn't be without the book, however.
On the other hand, his other book "Brewing Better Beer... etc" is, imo, truly awful. Rather than focusing much on technique it's more like akin to a do it yourself psychotherapy course. Couldn't read it to the end as I lost the will to live about half way through.
Another great book is Cris Colby's although he, perhaps, dwells too long on extract and partial mash techniques for those of us who've moved irrevocably to all grain. Nevertheless, it seems to be the Bible of another UK forum in place of Greg Hughes.

Haven't read Carpenter on Lager, but thoroughly enjoyed Mark Dredge's A Brief History of Lager. It's not a recipe book, rather the saga of a lifetime's pub crawl (it would seem). It kicks of in the tap room of Schlenkerla in Bamberg. Where better to start a story.

 

[m_kc]

There some great brewing channels on YouTube that have recipes then reviews in their content. A couple I tried from 'Genus Brewing' and 'Dr Hans Brewery' worked out well - I usually try to follow theirs, then after adapt it a little and see what happens.

 

[fgoulding]

I use Brewfather and it took a bit of time to get the hang of it (well for me anyway!).

But I tend to not trust the recipes there too much but have found great recipes (clones etc) on this forum which I then use the Brewfather app to tweak them.

 

[An Ankoù]

For those who want to make Belgian beers, Castle Maltings malts page has a list of their malts and associated recipes. You have to do your own scaling as they're not necessarily homebrew quantities.
https://www.castlemalting.com/CastleMaltingMalts.asp?P=105&Language=English

 

[AFC]

Wow thats alot of water for 23L i have just done a 21L batch total water was just over 29L

NEIPA - Lenny's Lair
Brewfather
there are a few on Brewfather