Introduction and a BJCP Pole

[Tylor Miranda]

Hello. My name is Tylor Miranda, but you can call me Ty. I am new to brewing, but I have attended a one-on-one brew day with a local brewery. It was a lot of work, and very fun.

Every since then, I have wanted to brew beer at home. Honestly, being a brewer wouldn't be so bad either, but I have some disabilities that would keep me from doing that job.

Right now I'm studying a lot and saving for a brewing system. I'm formulating recipes based on my knowledge in the food and drink industries. The way I formulate recipes is:

- I see another person brewing a beer or read about a brewery's beer that interests me.
- I find recipes from trusted brewers and home brewers.
- I compare and contrast the recipes, and take what I find smart or interesting and start to build my own recipe.
- I think about the flavors, mouthfeel and body, five tastes, purpose, and chemistry of each individual ingredient and begin to formulate each weight.
- I revisit my recipes for a few days until I can't find a fault in them (on paper).
- I like to compare my beers with BJCP guidelines because the BJCP styles are tried and true drinks based on the world's knowledge and love of beers.
- If a beer is not yet listed in the style guidelines, I turn to the industry to determine a generalized set of rules for how the beer should be styled, then I break the rules if necessary.

Nice to meet you. I look forward to sharing in your knowledge, and I hope to bring something to the table as well. Thank you for your valuable time.

Cheers,
Ty

 

[thunderwagn]

Just curious, are you brewing these beers or just formulating recipes now and will be brewing later once you have a new brew set up? Do you have a brew set up now? Recipes make a great guideline or starting point, but a lot of the numbers change and are adjusted to accommodate your brewing equipment, style, tastes, etc and you typically need to brew to know how and where you need to adjust.

 

[Tylor Miranda]

Hello thunderwagn. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your response. It is very appreciated.

I am preparing recipes so that when I brew them I will have a base to work from as I will surely adjust for taste and efficiency of the system I am saving for.

Cheers.

 

[thunderwagn]

Hello thunderwagn. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your response. It is very appreciated.

I am preparing recipes so that when I brew them I will have a base to work from as I will surely adjust for taste and efficiency of the system I am saving for.

Cheers.

It's nice to be organized and have a plan. Cheers!

 

[Group W]

Welcome Ty. I refer to the BJCPs mostly for beers going to competition. Otherwise, they are helpful on a beer I’ve never brewed. When I started all grain brewing, like many, I was creating recipes with creative variations. But found after a few years, I needed to nail a basic beer like a pale or a blonde before moving on. Welcome to the addiction. Cheers!

 

[Craigerrr]

Welcome Ty!
I don't really pay much attention to the BJCP guidelines, I may, or may not be following them.
I brew for me, not for competitions.
If I could make one suggestion, it would be to brew something known.
When I started I used recipes posted by my local home brew shops, in fact there is one that I still brew.
My last brew was a coffee porter that was one from one of my LHBS's.
The only changes I have made to the recipe have been to experiment with different methods of adding the extra coffee flavoring.
Good luck, welcome, and cheers!
Craigerrr

 

[Nosybear]

I do pay attention to style guides, they're information about what has worked commercially. I use them as guidelines when formulating a recipe, scratch that, designing a beer. I'm not a slave to them but stylistically correct beers provide a great starting point.

 

[BOB357]

Welcome Ty.
BJCP guidelines provide parameters that can be especially important to new brewers. More experienced brewers seem to gravitate more towards beers they've enjoyed, which often involves thinking out of the box. Attempting to recreate a beer can be an interesting challenge. As a homebrewer you have the option to brew what you want, the way you want to brew it. As long as you enjoy the process and your final product you're doing it right.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Welcome to the forums Tylor gee you sure are Organized eh formulating recipies before you've even brewed a batch of beer!

My 2c start off simple like a basic pale/blonde / SMASH beer first that way you can dial in your soon to arrive brew rig. And you can learn about cleaning and sanitizing the most important and mundane part of the brew process.
Then start to tackle them amazing recipies you've created.

What brew rig you getting?
What's your first Recipie you thinking of trying?
Cheers
Have fun

 

[Blackmuse]

I will surely adjust for taste and efficiency of the system I am saving for.

What system are you considering? There are so many out there these days! I use the robobrew with the pump and LOVE it.

I honed in my system and brewing techniques making a Blonde ale repeatedly! It was very helpful and now I feel I tend to nail most other brews I tackle (my one exception has been very yeast strain specific beers).

Creating recipes is one of my favorite things to do! I have probably made 3 times more recipes than I have ever brewed!

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Hawkbox]

If you're buying a new one from scratch you honestly can not go wrong with a robobrew(Brewzilla). It removes a bunch of the tedious fiddly bits my cobbled together over 3 years system required and while it is limited to 5 gallons for the smaller one they are fantastic little devices.

If I lost my equipment in a fire or something and had to start over I would honestly buy one myself.

As for recipes, I just find a beer I like and search for a clone recipe. Then go from there.

 

[Saarland]

Hello. My name is Tylor Miranda, but you can call me Ty. I am new to brewing, but I have attended a one-on-one brew day with a local brewery. It was a lot of work, and very fun.

Every since then, I have wanted to brew beer at home. Honestly, being a brewer wouldn't be so bad either, but I have some disabilities that would keep me from doing that job.

Right now I'm studying a lot and saving for a brewing system. I'm formulating recipes based on my knowledge in the food and drink industries. The way I formulate recipes is:

- I see another person brewing a beer or read about a brewery's beer that interests me.
- I find recipes from trusted brewers and home brewers.
- I compare and contrast the recipes, and take what I find smart or interesting and start to build my own recipe.
- I think about the flavors, mouthfeel and body, five tastes, purpose, and chemistry of each individual ingredient and begin to formulate each weight.
- I revisit my recipes for a few days until I can't find a fault in them (on paper).
- I like to compare my beers with BJCP guidelines because the BJCP styles are tried and true drinks based on the world's knowledge and love of beers.
- If a beer is not yet listed in the style guidelines, I turn to the industry to determine a generalized set of rules for how the beer should be styled, then I break the rules if necessary.

Nice to meet you. I look forward to sharing in your knowledge, and I hope to bring something to the table as well. Thank you for your valuable time.

Cheers,
Ty

Hello Ty,
I've been homebrewing for more than 36 years and counting. A few thing to consider as you create your recipes while being a new brewer.
Water: First thing is get a water report for your tap water or water source you plan to use. That will help you determine the styles of beer you can brew without doing water treatments. You can also order a Brewers Water Test Kit from Ward Labs for $45.00. This will be a huge benefit for your brewing needs.
Extract or All-Grain: If you plan to brew just extract you can get away with using distilled water for the boiler and top up in the fermenter with tap water that is corrected for pH. Most extract recipe kits suggest using distilled water for brewing and top with boiled and cooled tap water for final fermenter volume.
Equipment: Buy good equipment once. Over the years I have upgraded my equipment many times costing $$$$. I'd suggest a 10 gallon system. Sometime on the internet you can find good used equipment.
Books: There are a lot of reading material out there and I would suggest John Palmer's "How to Brew 4th edition" I use this book as a guide. He covers everything from water, extract and all grain brewing, fermentation, etc with many recipe examples. A well known home brewer and author. There are many other great books out there as well.
Good luck with your endeavor.
Cheers
-Richard

 

[wallyLOZ]

Welcome from Missouri, neighbor.


I'd like to suggest a slightly different approach. Start with one gallon extract batches. You'll still learn the process, much less expensive to start out, and you'll still be making beer. If it turns out that brewing is not for you, the investment will be small. Most of the large online providers offer one gallon starter kits that include one recipe as well as the equipment needed. (More Beer, Northern Brewer, Midwest Supply, and many more) I still make use of the one gallon equipment for experimental batches of beer and cider.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Zambi]

Ty started this thread in 2020 and as far as I know, we haven't heard from him after that....