As a homebrewer, I love to experiment with a wide varieties of homebrew beer recipes: ginger beer, various SMaSH beer recipes, attempts at gluten-free beer for my girlfriend. Experimentation is a great way to learn about homebrewing ingredients and the processes, but it’s also important to make beer that is guaranteed you’ll like to drink. If all you do is experiment all the time, chances are that you’ll have to stomach your way through some very.…interesting beers.
There are thousands upon thousands of homebrew beer recipes that you could make: clone recipes, SMaSH recipes, extract recipes, all-grain recipes, IPA’s, double IPA’s, dark beers, light beers, hard recipes, recipes for beginners. It is truly and endless list. With all the chatter it’s hard to choose.
With that in mind, here are three homebrew beer recipes that I would recommend for the regular rotation.
Homebrew Beer Recipe #1
AMARILLO PALE ALE
(five-gallon batch, extract partial mash recipe)
This recipe produces a solid American pale ale. Malted wheat and carapils give this beer some body and a solid white head, while the Amarillo hops give it a bright citrus character.
Specs
OG: 1.059
FG: 1.016
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: 31
SRM: 6
Ingredients
1 lb. Carapils malt
1 lb. White wheat malt
6.6 lbs. Light Malt Extract
4 oz. light brown sugar (late addition)
1 oz. Amarillo hops at 60 mins (8.6 AAUs)
.5 oz. Amarillo hops at 20 mins (4.3 AAUs)
1 tsp. Irish moss at 15 mins
.5 oz. Amarillo hops at 5 mins (4.3 AAUs)
Wyeast 1056: American Ale Yeast or Fermentis Safale US-05
Directions
If using liquid yeast, prepare a yeast starter the day before brewing. On brew day, steep crushed grains in three quarts of water at 152˚F for 60 minutes. Strain out grains and rinse with hot water at 170˚F. Add liquid malt extract and enough water to make three gallons of wort and bring to a boil. Add hops and Irish moss according to schedule above. At end of boil, mix in brown sugar. Chill wort to 70˚F or below and mix in enough cool, clean water to make 5 gallons. Pitch yeast and ferment at 65-70˚F. Bottle or force carbonate for ~2.5 vols CO2.
Homebrew Beer Recipe #2
BIG MIKE’S BIG BROWN ALE
(five-gallon batch, all-grain recipe)
This beer recipe makes a fairly stout American brown ale with a heavy dose of hops.
Specs
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.017
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: 62
SRM: 30
Ingredients
9.5 lbs. Two-row brewer’s malt
1.5 lbs. Caramel 60L malt
.75 lbs. Chocolate malt
.5 lb. Belgian aromatic malt
1.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops at 60 mins (7.5 AAUs)
1 oz. Willamette hops at 30 mins (4.5 AAUs)
1 tsp. Irish moss at 15 mins
1.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops at 10 mins (7.5 AAUs)
1 oz. Willamette hops at flameout (4.5 AAUs)
Fermentis Safale US-05 Ale Yeast
Directions
Mash crushed grains at 152˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect seven gallons of wort in the brew kettle. Bring to a boil and add hops according to schedule. Chill wort to 70˚F or below and ferment at 65-70˚F. Bottle or force carbonate for ~2.4 vols CO2.
Homebrew Beer Recipe #3
SUMMER SAISON
(five-gallon batch, all-grain recipe)
When temperatures start to rise, it’s time for saison. Not only can the saison yeast handle the higher temps, the citrus flavor and dry finish on this beer are very refreshing. This is a wonderful homebrew beer recipe that I’d wish every brewer would try.
Specs
OG: 1.061
FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 31
SRM: 6
Ingredients
8 lbs. Two-row brewer’s malt
1 lb. Caramel 20L malt
4 oz. Flaked oats
1.5 lbs. cane sugar (late addition)
.5 oz. Northern Brewer hops at 60 mins (3.9 AAUs)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops at :30 (2.5 AAUs)
3 grams fresh ground coriander at :20
.5 oz. Kent Goldings hops at :15 (2.5 AAUs)
1 tsp. Irish moss at :15
3 grams fresh ground coriander at :10
1 oz. Kent Goldings hops (dry hop)
Danstar Saison Yeast
Directions
Use relatively hard water for the mash. Mash grains in about 11 qts. of clean water at 148-150˚F for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect 7 gallons in the brew kettle. Bring to a boil. Add hops, spices, and Irish moss according to schedule. At end of boil, mix in cane sugar. Chill wort to 70˚F and transfer to fermenter. Pitch yeast and ferment at 70-75˚F. Dry hop for five days at 68˚F. Bottle or force carbonate for ~2.4 vols CO2.
These are a few of my favorite go-to homebrew beer recipes that I brew on a regular basis. Which beer styles are part of your regular rotation? Feel free to share the recipe in the comments below!
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described “craft beer crusader.” He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.