# What type of beer am I making? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [February 25, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087 "2008-02-25T15:52:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/1 "2008-02-25T15:52:36Z")
I have long since ditched following recipes to make beer. Instead, I have slowly been adjusting a single recipe into something I like. I have found one that is very nice, but I have long since forgotten what the original recipe was. How would I clasify this? 5 lbs dry light malt 1 1/2 cups honey 1/2 lb Cara-Pils (Crushed) 1/2 lb Victory malt (Crushed) 1/2 lb Chocolate (Curshed) 2 oz Saaz (2.4% AA, pellets) 2 oz Saaz “” Nottingham dry brewing yeast Boiled 3 gallons water then lowered temp to 180. Soaked grains for 30 minutes. Added malt and honey then raised temperature to boiling. Added 2 oz hops and boiled for 1 hour. Cooled wort in sink and filtered it into the fermentor. Added remaining hops in cheese cloth bag then added the yeast. I don’t know precisely what the fermentation temperature was, but with the heater I figure it was probably around 65˚F. Fermented this way for 1 week with frequent swirling to get the hops flavor distributed then bottled it with a little over 1/4 cup dextrose. Initial SpGr 1.044 Final SpGr 1.006 Oh yea, this made 5 gallons so someplace I added water. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/2 "2008-02-26T00:38:22Z")
I’m gonna cash in my free bump, hoping that there are a few more homebrewers online at this time. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/3 "2008-02-26T01:07:06Z")
Looks like a brown porter to me, based almost entirely on the chocolate and victory, and the fact that brown porter is kind of a dustpan taxon. If that doesn’t sound right, can you give us some flavor and color notes to work with? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/4 "2008-02-26T01:18:17Z")
It’s way too light to be a porter. I’m not into heavy beers. The chocolate is for a little extra flavor, but definitely is not dominant. I would say it has the color of a brown ale. I calculated the alcohol at about 5% by volume so it is not strong. That is the way I like my beers. It has some caramel flavors without being sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/5 "2008-02-26T01:24:45Z")
At 5% it’d be too alcoholic to be a mild, I think. If it’s colored like a brown ale, it probably is one - I forget the divisions right off the top of my head, though. If it were more copper-coloured with some chocolate malt flavor, I’d be inclined to call it an old ale. I am, of course, happy to be corrected. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/6 "2008-02-26T01:27:34Z")
Call it a brown. The category is wide open. I used to win regularly with browns that not only pushed the envelope, but licked and stamped it as well. It’s too lightly hopped to be much else than a mild, and too alcoholic for that category. Brown is Good. ---
**Author:** ![wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@wouldn\_t\_you\_like\_to\_know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wouldn_t_you_like_to_know)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/7 "2008-02-26T05:27:49Z")
i’d say it’s a honey brown - maybe a JW Dundee clone. To make sure, I recommend you send me a sample 6 pack so I can taste it and give a more definitive answer. 🙂 i gave up following recipes for home brew long ago. right now i’m sampling a raspberry wheat i made about 2 months ago. I think it needs a little more time in the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/8 "2008-02-26T14:25:53Z")
Your recipe sounds good. I’m new to brewing though so still on extracts. I wonder about this recipe business - when you’re learning the ropes is it best to stick to recipes do you think? My first 4 brews have been fine, I’m almost a bit disappointed at how easy it’s been - maybe that’s down to some excellent advice I’ve received off here 🙂 I’m wondering where to go next - try to experiment with stuff or stick to some tried and tested perscriptions. I’m not a man for the heavy, so I would love to brew a brown ale like **Christopher** describes. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/9 "2008-02-26T14:33:24Z")
The next step up from extracts is to try specialty grains and maybe a partial mash. Very easy to do, and not a big investment in new equipment or time. Make one of your regular beers and add some Crystal malt to the grain bill. Or some Cara-Pils. Both will add flavor and mouthfeel. Eventually you learn what works and what doesn’t, just like cooking. I haven’t followed a recipe in years. I just wing it. My friends call it Jedi Brewing, but it works for me. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/10 "2008-02-26T16:03:54Z")
[QUOTE=The Cocky Watchman] My first 4 brews have been fine, I’m almost a bit disappointed at how easy it’s been [/QUOTE] It can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be, but it’s really hard to make a bad beer. I don’t think I’ll ever do a full mash, but when my finances are better I intend to make a lambic. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-beer-am-i-making/439087/11 "2008-02-26T19:18:31Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] The next step up from extracts is to try specialty grains and maybe a partial mash. Very easy to do, and not a big investment in new equipment or time. Make one of your regular beers and add some Crystal malt to the grain bill. Or some Cara-Pils. Both will add flavor and mouthfeel. Eventually you learn what works and what doesn’t, just like cooking. I haven’t followed a recipe in years. I just wing it. My friends call it Jedi Brewing, but it works for me. [/QUOTE] I like to call it Zen brewing, but Jedi works, too. Of course, now that I’m doing partial mashes, I have to be a bit more careful with temperature control.