Hey guys. First time posting in the homebrewing section though I have a couple of extract batches under my belt. Gonna do my first all-grain a week from today however. Curious as to your process for developing a recipe. I always appreciate any random other advice. I did well with the extracts and I'm ready for the big leagues. Also want to say I lurk around here enough and love all the support. Good group of people here it seems. Sorry if this topic has been posted before I didn't see it in any search. Thanks!
Here's a starting point http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/recipe-advice.89167/#post-1303811
Work backwards on what you want, and go from there. Pick a style, decide what you want it to taste like and then search what certain malts can do. Starting simpe with 1-3 different grains, such as base two row, wheat and crystal, and then decide on the hops based on your goals to the style.. Look at other recipes and see what normally goes with what, and experiment.
A few points. 1. For your first few all-grain beers, I would advise using a tried-and-true recipe rather than designing your own from scratch. A lot of people have done well brewing recipes from Zainasheff and Palmer's Brewing Classic Styles. Alternatively, use a recipe from this website (the crowd-sourced ones have been popular I believe). Or use a clean (non-sour) recipe from Mad Fermentationist, which is @OldSock's blog. He has put stars next to the recipes that worked out particularly well, but you can also read his tasting notes for most (all?) of his recipes - just look for a link at the bottom of the recipe. However, some of his methods may be a little advanced or may require equipment that you don't have. I'm not saying you should always use other people's recipes - recipe design is a big part of the fun for me. But early in your all-grain career, I would make sure my procedures are up to snuff before trying to design a recipe. That way if your beer isn't satisfactory, you will know the problem isn't the recipe. Another advantage is that you will learn what to expect from different ingredients, techniques, etc. There is plenty to learn even if you have a good recipe. (For instance, you will need to learn water adjustments - which aren't that hard! - even if you are using someone else's recipe, because your water will likely be different and will require different adjustments.) 2. When you feel ready to design a recipe, I would recommend Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels. I would also recommend starting out the design process by taking known recipes and tweaking them to achieve the desired result. That oatmeal stout was great... what if I added coffee? That brown ale was great... but what if it were a bit more malty and full-bodied? Another approach would be to brew a historical recipe from something like @patto1ro's book, which is not a beginner-type activity because the recipes are often vague on key points and involve tricky judgments. In other words, once you've gotten a sense of how all-grain brewing works, and how the variables affect the final product, then you are probably ready to navigate one of @patto1ro's historical recipes. 3. When I'm designing a recipe, I first spend quite a bit of time mulling over exactly what it is I'm trying to achieve. This is not as straightforward as it sounds - there's a reason styles have emerged, they tend to occupy felicitous points on the spectrum, and so it can be hard to beat just using a good, pre-existing recipe. So usually I end up back at (2) above, starting with a good recipe and changing it to suit my taste. But sometimes I ignore existing styles/recipes and just try to fit things together that I think will work. For instance, after I had a smoked porter that tasted almost meaty, I decided to try to make a smoked porter with maximal bacon character. It didn't quite work out the way I planned, but it was a pretty clear goal and I had a lot of fun trying to achieve it. But honestly, I think you'll find that recipe design comes naturally once you've brewed a few times and gotten a sense of how it all fits together. Edited to add: And of course feel free to post a recipe on these forums and see if people have comments or suggestions. People here are pretty good at spotting potential issues and steering you toward good choices.
Welcome to the Homebrew section. Experience will help you make your own recipes. I'd stay away from a lot of clone recipes. There are too many ingredients in most. For your first all grain batch I'd go with something simple and something that others have tried and had lots of success with. Make sure this is something you can choke down. Focus more on the process than the recipe. Stouts and porters are very forgiving to unknown water profiles.
Also, don't be shy to post back a recipe, procedures, and other concerns. I think I usually get a response within about 10 minutes with most of my posts. Very handy for the Oh Shits that occur on brewday.
I agree that starting with something proven is a good idea. You'll see what you put in and how it turned out. Find a recipe you like, then decide what you want to be different and make some changes. I did that for a while and now I can just pull recipes out of my ass and nail exactly what I want on the first try. Still shocks me everytime though!
When I first started creating recipes, and when I am doing new styles, I will look at recipes from the AHA recipe database, as well as the ones posted in the annual NHC winners in Zymurgy or Jamil's ones in BYO. From there I will review the malts used, percentages, the ounces of hops, etc and get an idea for what I want mine to have. Eventually I got a feel for what works on my system, and hopping rates, and started going off the cuff. I am more comfortable with certain styles than others of course.
