Recipe for My First Attempt at Brewing

I have decided to start with a recipe from a book called Radical Brewing that the author Randy Mosher describes as simple enough even a numb nut like me can have success with it. The beauty of this recipe is that the Hop and Malt quantities are listed as ranges so you can dial in the taste to what you like most. Think of it like having a scale where all the way to the left is the hoppy-est beer you have tried, like a microbrew IPA. And on the right side of the scale is the maltiest beer you have tried, like many dark ales. The learning curve will be reduced with each brewing of this recipe as I slide a proverbial tab left and right to get the right hop/malt combination.



I am going to start with this random quantity of ingredients because I happen to have the ingredients on hand. On my second attempt I will order the exact quantities I want. Just for the record, the book says 8oz to 24oz of crushed crystal malt, and 4oz to 8 oz of hops.

5 lbs - Unhopped Pale Dry Malt Extract
12 oz - Crushed Crystal Malt (8 oz 60L/4 oz 20L)
4 oz - Hallertau Leaf Hops
1 pkg - German Ale Yeast

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my laboratory. Since beer brewing is such a complex and intricately detailed process, I will need to keep meticulous records of all of my recipes and methods. This blog will serve as a journal for that (somewhat) scientific process I will use in learning how to brew beer.