Beersmith Follows

[madisonmasher]

Do any of you have a "must" follow on beersmith? I'm looking for more inspiration and want to go beyond the most commented, top rated...etc.

 

[Oginme]

I am not sure what you mean by 'a must follow'. If you want some more information about how the program works, what it does well, where it falls down, there are a few threads on HBT which you can search through. You can also connect with power users on the BeerSmith forum -- from home brewers to professionals.

 

[day_trippr]

Agreed, a bit of amplification is necessary here.

But...if I had to pick one thing that absolutely positively MUST BE DONE it is to get the equipment profile nailed.
Do that and the brew day process and resulting product can become highly predictable and thus highly consistent...

Cheers!

 

[madisonmasher]

I am not sure what you mean by 'a must follow'. If you want some more information about how the program works, what it does well, where it falls down, there are a few threads on HBT which you can search through. You can also connect with power users on the BeerSmith forum -- from home brewers to professionals.

Yeah, looking for great home brewers and professionals. I need to step my game up!

 

[Oginme]

OK. I guess I need to know just what you need to step up. If you want a "great" home brewer (not sure what constitutes being 'great' here), you can always ask. I bet fully a quarter of the forum would respond that they are great.

If you are looking for help with the software, you are probably looking for someone with a lot of process experience or experience with the software.

Again, a little more specificity would help on exactly what you are looking for and what aspect you want to learn more about.

 

[imasickboy]

If you're looking for people whose recipes you should be following, which is what I'm gathering from your post, start simple. Add the Northern Brewer recipes to BS via the add-ins. Despite the fact that NB is now owned by big beer, they have always backed their kits by a 100% money back guarantee. Brew some of their recipes, if you're looking for a solid starting point.

 

[mongoose33]

OK. I guess I need to know just what you need to step up. If you want a "great" home brewer (not sure what constitutes being 'great' here), you can always ask. I bet fully a quarter of the forum would respond that they are great.

My beer is great. I, however, am only mediocre.

 

[Oginme]

My beer is great. I, however, am only mediocre.

See, Proof already !

OP, It seems like you are looking for recipe help, maybe?

 

[madisonmasher]

See, Proof already !

OP, It seems like you are looking for recipe help, maybe?

Yes, I am. Sick of the same old same old.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

Well what do you like? Maybe we can help. Is there a style you want to try or styles you dislike?? What beers do you enjoy. Is there a hop you hate and/or one you love?

 

[beernutz]

Yes, I am. Sick of the same old same old.

IMO Brewing Classic Styles is a fantastic homebrewing recipe book with 80 different styles in it but if you really want to push the limits of styles then The Brew Your Own Big Book of Clone Recipes (300 Homebrew Recipes) might help. I own both and they're both excellent but I tend to go back to Brewing Classic Styles more often as a base for recipes I then tweak for personal preference.

 

[Oginme]

I will second Brewing Classic Styles. The recipes within are a great jumping off point to developing your own recipes. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is another classic. I is a bit outdated, but the ideas within still hold up. I found both Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher and Modern Home brew Recipes by Gordon Strong are good additions.

As you go through these, look for the thought behind how the recipes are put together, then look at the recipes. Randy's book is good for thinking a bit out of the box. Gordon's book is written kind of like you are sitting with him as he talks you through his process and how he puts the recipes together.

Daniels is more basic, talking about learning the ingredients and what they bring to the table and then analysis of the percentages which form a recipe for a given style. The methodology he uses is common when I tackle a new style, especially one that I don't have access to the real thing.

 

[kevin58]

I find that the recipes in Brewing Classic Styles are overly (and imho unnecessarily) complicated. Randy Mosher's, "Mastering Homebrewing" has some great tools for designing your own recipes. That book will help you understand what various ingredients do for you and what their limits are.

The problem I have with the recipes in Beersmith (and I've been a subscriber and user of the software for years) is that there is no way of knowing how good those recipes are. Sometimes the authors bother to put notes but more times than not they don't.

The recipe sections of this forum are a good resource because they nearly all have pages and pages of feedback and you can see what others think of the recipe... see comments from those who have brewed them... and many times follow ups from the original author. It won't take long to learn who to follow either (Yooper is a good one).

There is a recipe wiki at the American Homebrewer's forum too. You can't go wrong by following Denny Conn there or on any forum.

 

[Oginme]

I forgot about 'Mastering Homebrew', another good one for the how and why of ingredients.

The AHA recipes are about the only on-line recipe database that I kind of trust. At least these recipes are NHC winners, AHA developed clones, or recipes from pro and highly rated amateur brewers. The recipe database here is good only because, as kevin58 pointed out, you get feedback from people how have tried the recipes and can comment on them.

 

[doogster]

I will second Brewing Classic Styles. The recipes within are a great jumping off point to developing your own recipes. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is another classic. I is a bit outdated, but the ideas within still hold up. I found both Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher and Modern Home brew Recipes by Gordon Strong are good additions.

As you go through these, look for the thought behind how the recipes are put together, then look at the recipes. Randy's book is good for thinking a bit out of the box. Gordon's book is written kind of like you are sitting with him as he talks you through his process and how he puts the recipes together.

+1 for Gordon Strong's books. Brewing Better Beer, and Modern Homebrew Recipes.