when brewing a particular style, will consult with several recipes from various books, including Brewing Classic Styles and the Szamatulski clone books, then will decide on a combination of ingredients that is most interesting to me.
At this point in my brewing, I’m focused more on process and less on recipe. Things like keeping temperatures consistent and controlled, good fermentation, etc. This may differ for others, but for me, my beer results are driven about 70% by process and 30% by recipe (assuming high quality ingredients in all cases). After brewing the many batches it will take me to approach the experience of many others, I expect this ratio to shift more toward recipe.
Being completely unable to actually follow a recipe I have only brewed my own recipes for the past 15 years. I did kits for a year but I still added stuff not included with the kits. Recipe development is probably 50% of my enjoyment. When I first started creating recipes I would read a lot of other people’s recipes looking for common elements but then I’d write my own.
You should know how I feel about the “no pants” saying…for me, it means to brew when you’re hammered not the “fly by the seat of your pants” kinda brewing.
I figured most people don’t just throw stuff together at the last minute. If someone is going to do that with remaining ingredients that they have they’re still going to come up with a recipe for it.
My first recipe was a Mr. Beer Ofest (sort of) I got CP’s book and the middle pages listed how much malt to use for 5 gallons of beer as being 5-7pounds. Mr. Beer said 1.121 lbs for 2.5 gallons (approx) and I was trying to figure out how under 2.5lbs (Mr. Beer wouldn’t mislead me now, would they?) was close to the same as 5-7lbs in 5 gallons.
I ended up adding a couple pounds of DME to the Mr. Beer kit. 2nd brew was two of the remaining cans of extract and some dme to make something that would pass for an amber.
I upgraded to 5 gall for a couple of recipes (from a book, extract plus grain) and then moved to AG. I still have the Mr. Beer can of wheat extract from 10 years ago, can’t seem to part with it.
Methinks you don’t understand. “No Pants” is a required option in any homebrew poll. We will let it slide this time but if you don’t put a “no pants” option in your poll next time the poll will not be considered valid.
