BEER RECIPE DESIGN

Five Things You Should Know

TOPICS

• The Five:Recipe Construct (refresher)Imagine the AdjectivesRealize the AdjectivesBalanceDialing In

RECIPE CONSTRUCT

RECIPE CONSTRUCT (REFRESHER)

6%6%

11%

78%

1. Base Malt or DME

2. Specialty Malts

Grain Bill Adjunct Yeast

FlavorAttenuation

CO2

Hops

BitternessAroma

Balances Malt Sweetness

CornRiceRyeOats

WheatSugarHoneyFruit

Fermentable SugarsFlavorColorBody

< 10% Fermentable SugarsFlavorColor

Bittering

Aroma

IMAGINE THE ADJECTIVES

IMAGINE THE ADJECTIVES

• Toasty

• Smokey

• Floral

• Fruity

Aroma Appearance Flavor Mouthfeel• Malty

• Toasty

• Smokey

• Bitter

• Sour

• Sweet

• Bready

• Carmely

• Choclolatey

• Toffee-like

• Peppery

• Light Body

• Medium Body

• Full Body

• Alcohol Warmth

• Creamy

• Silky

• Astringent

IMAGINE THE ADJECTIVES - BEER FLAVOR WHEEL

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/infographic-day-beersci-edition-beer-flavor-wheel

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES - BASE MALT CONTRIBUTION

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES - SPECIALTY MALT CONTRIBUTION

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES - HOP CONTRIBUTION

https://www.hopunion.com/aroma-wheel/

Hop Union Handy Hop Flavor Chart

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES - YEAST CONTRIBUTION

• Flavor: Yeast add lots of character to beer. Esters, Phenols, Alcohols

• Attenuation: Dryness vs Sweetness

• Flocculation: High = Clearer Beer; Clumping Causes Yeast to Fall Faster

• Alcohol Tolerance: Fermentation creates alcohol and alcohol kills yeast. Higher alcohol beers ferment better with yeast that have higher alcohol tolerance for this reason. Keep this in mind when creating your recipe.

Know Your Yeast

REALIZE THE ADJECTIVES - YEASTWhite Labs’ Handy Chart for Yeast Selection

http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/yeast-style-charts

BALANCE

BALANCEBU:GU = Bitterness to Gravity Ratio

Bitterness Unit

Gravity Unit

Hop Bitterness vs. Malt Sweetness

IBU = 25 OG = 1.050

GU = The last two digits of the OGBU = IBUs

EXAMPLE

BU = 25 GU = 50BU:GU = 25 / 50 = 0.5

The Higher the BU:GU the more bitter the beer1.0 = Highly Bitter | 0.5 = Balanced | 0.1 = Low Bitterness

NOTE: ATTENUATION LEVEL WILL AFFECT BU:GU

Low attenuation will reduce perceived bitterness

http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2012/11/forgot-ibu-think-about-bugu.html?m=1

DIALING-IN

DIALING IN

Try Different Yeasts

Adjust Specialty Grains

Adjust IBUs

Different Hops

Aroma Appearance Flavor Mouthfeel

Adjust Adjuncts

Trial and ErrorChange Base Malt

Revisit Adjectives

EXAMPLE RECIPE DESIGNED BY ROB MORELAND

BU = 12 GU = 77 BU:GU = 12 / 77 = 0.15

REFERENCES• Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels: Chapter 13 , Page 125

• Standard Method Reference(SRM): TwoBeerDudes.com: http://www.twobeerdudes.com/beer/srm

• How to Brew by John Palmer, Chapter 5, Hop Varieties: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-3.html

• Forget IBU, think BU:GU: PencilandSpoon.com: http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2012/11/forgot-ibu-think-about-bugu.html?m=1

• Beer Flavor Wheel: popsci.com: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/infographic-day-beersci-edition-beer-flavor-wheel

• Aroma Wheel: hopunion.com: https://www.hopunion.com/aroma-wheel/

• Yeast Style Charts: whitelabs.com: http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/yeast-style-charts