First Brew Recommendation (all extract)

If you don't mind steeping some crystal malt, here's one...
Averagely Perfect American IPA - The Recipes

 

Why not start with a kit so that you have all the ingredients and instructions all in one purchase? Just an idea. I've brewed 4 batches (the 3rd in the keg carbonating, the 4th in the fermenter) and all have been boxed kits. Nothing wrong with this approach as it makes it just that little bit easier to stay organized an on target on brewing day. My 2nd batch has been a great success, taste-wise. It's a Stone IPA clone. I bought a bomber of it and poured one glass with it, one with my copy. It holds up well!

 

one more vote for a kit. Northern Brewer kits are very good, so are Williams. an extract IPA kit is going to get you a fine beer with minimal head ache.

if you want to design your own you need to know a little bit about hop additions and selection. there are plenty of extract IPA kist and recipes. probably the most popular design there is.

by "help you out" we can critique your ideas and offer some advice. so offer up what you got.

maybe for an IPA, 10 pounds light DME, 1 pound amber DME. 1 ounce Chinook for 60 minutes, one ounce Chinook at 10 minutes maybe 1 ounce at 0 minutes.
ferment as close to 68 or so with Safale S01 dry yeast. use two packages.
it will be fine. but you may as well use a kit.
Cheers.

 

If you are not convinced by the posts above to start with a kit then I'll suggest picking up the book "Clone Brews" so that you can choose a recipe of a commercial beer that is available in your market and have a comparison of it to your finished product. Or you can find other clone recipes for many popular beers by using Google, etc.

 

"How to Brew" has good tried-and-true IPA recipes ideally suited for beginners.

 

I would second getting a Northern Brewer kit...besides the simplicity of having everything taken care for you, it is cheaper to buy the kit than to buy individual ingredients and build your own kit. I still brew these guys from time to time because they're affordable, quick and come out great. Even had several home brewing buddies like the results better than their own favorite all grain recipes.

 

Wheat beers are pretty forgiving and are ready to drink within a month of brewing them. It'll give you a quick beer to bottle up so that you can brew again soon.