what and how much

[dps]

been thinking (i know you can smell smoke ).about going over to the dark side.but how do you decide how much and what grain and hops to use

 

[dennisking]

By the volume you want to end up with, the strength and style of beer you want.

 

[dps]

sorry if i sound thick. but still no a wiser.to how to work it out..to what hops or grain do what

 

[snail59]

If you want a light Pale Ale you would just use Pale Malt and Crystal Malt but for a Dark beer you add dark malts like Roasted Barley, Black Malt, Chocolate Malt etc. You can never work it out like an exact science. You wont always come up with a great beer, it's all a bit trial and error to some degree. Basic rules are not to use speciality malts in large quantities. So you would have say 80% Pale Malt with 10% Crystal malt 5% Chocolate Malt 3% Roasted Barley 2 % Wheat Malt for example. Hops are purely down to personal taste and you will need to read up on what each type of hop brings to the party and decide what you want in a beer. The Forum Recipe tool will allow you to create a recipe and give you an idea as to ABV, IBU & SRM.

 

[pittsy]

personally i would copy a recipe from the top left of the forum page next to the malt miller , click on recipes before you go making your own up , best to follow tried and tested recipes

 

[31bb3]

or get a book with recipe in

 

[Dave1970]

I've just started AG. First brew I basically used one of Graham Wheeler's recipes from the BYOBRA book, and then adjusted it a bit from reading on here. I then downloaded the free Brewmate software. Once you have this you can start playing about with recipes and see how you can change things. Once you have your own recipe post it on here and ask people's opinions, someone will tell you if you're planning something really daft.
There's loads to learn BUT so far it doesn't seem to be difficult to make good beer, not just much better than kits but better than a lot of what you buy. Making great beer consistently I suspect requires way more knowledge than I have and that's where the challenge lies. Come over to the dark side....you won't regret it! :thumb:

 

[phettebs]

Great questions. When I first started brewing, my local forum recommended I buy "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels. It talks about all the aspects of grain, hops, water etc. and how to combine them into recipes. That's the first half of the book. The second half has chapters on various styles of beer and how to make recipes for those.

While I was reading and trying to understand that info, I did as someone mentioned already: I used others' recipes from the various forums. Over time, you get the hang of which grains to combine based on what type of beer profile you are after. It just takes time and practice. The journey is the best part because either way, you make beer!

Good luck,
Baz

 

[artiums_enteri]

+1 on designing great beers. There is a very good overview of all ingredients in the book that goes into flavor, aroma, color, and how modified they are. Also "Brewing Classic Styles" by Jamil Zainachef is really good for recipes. Each of those recipes publishes placed and won in BJCP competitions.