3 beer recipes and beer styles for amateur brewers
You are ready to brew your own beer at home, but which beer recipe to choose? That is a good question. With so many beer recipes available, you may feel a bit lost. Some beer recipes are specifically meant for amateurs, and some for experienced brewers. So how to find beer recipes for beginners? The best way to start is to choose a beer style you want to brew but know that some styles are easier than others.
What makes a beer style easy to brew?
When you are looking for an easy beer recipe and a beer style to brew, there are a few things you need to consider.
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Brew beers that do not require second fermentation
Secondary fermentation requires more time and patience. If you are a beginner, you are most likely eager to get your first brew ready fast. We completely understand the excitement and would not want to wait any longer than necessary. Thus, it is good to start without it. Though, secondary fermentation does not mean a second fermentation process. It is simply putting the beer into a fermentation vessel to finish up fermentation. For some styles, it adds unnecessary complications. Others, like lagers, can benefit from secondary fermentation.
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Use beer recipes for beers with a basic and strong flavour profile.
Use recipes for beers with a recognizable flavour profile. This way you can evaluate your end result properly. If you choose a beer style with complex flavours, it is hard to notice if you managed your first brew well or not. A flavour you are familiar with is best to start.
Additionally, it is good to choose a beer style with strong flavour profiles. Dominant flavours can cover up any off flavours from your first brew. People often think it is best to start with simple tastes and a light beer. There is a higher risk of ending up with a beer with unwanted flavours.
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Use a beer recipe for darker beers
Another risk for amateur brewers is ending up with a hazy beer. Even though there are styles, like hazy IPA, where the look is cloudy on purpose, this is not easy to start with. As a beginner, you have less control over your brew as you are still discovering and experimenting. Thus, your beer might end up hazy in the first place. A darker colour will cover up that cloudiness.
Top 3 beer recipes and styles for beginner brewers
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Porter
Porter beers are one of the easiest beers to brew as a beginner. That is because the style is not strictly defined. Some of the first porter beers made in England may now fall more under stout style. Other porters may be considered more as brown beers. Porters have a history of being mixed beers in a mug. However your first porter beer turns out, no one can make any strong arguments against it.
Porters are also not so sensitive to water quality. If your tap water is hard, you can still use it for a porter beer and no need to get bottled water.
Porter beers come in dark colours but with a lighter body than a stout beer and are easier to drink. Similar to stouts, porter beers can often have tastes and aromas of coffee and chocolate.
Want to brew a porter beer? Click here to see the full beer recipe for a porter.
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Saison
Saisons are known as farmhouse beers and are one of the oldest styles brewed in Belgium. It might sound like a fancy and complex suggestion for a beginner, but there are some advantages to brewing a Saison.
Firstly, the description of the characteristics is quite wide. That is because various additions can be added to a Saison, including herbs found in the brewers' garden. Because of that, you may have heard people describing saisons in various ways, like fruity, hoppy or spicy.
Secondly, saisons have a strong flavour profile and naturally strong yeast aroma. That can cover up any mistakes from your first brew.
Interested in a Saison beer recipe? Click here to get the full beer recipe for a Saison.
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Stout
As we mentioned before, the darker colour and the stronger the flavour profile, the easier it is for beginners. Stout beers match these criteria, unlike lagers with simple and clean taste where you can easily notice any mistakes. Another advantage of stouts is that they can tolerate a wide range of fermentation temperatures. When you are new to temperature control, a stout beer will be more forgiving.
There are also several stout styles to choose from, like an oyster stout, imperial stout, oatmeal stout, and many more. Thus, you have more options as a beginner.
Ready to brew a stout beer? You can try out the beer recipe for a coffee stout, a beer recipe for an oatmeal stout, or a recipe for an imperial stout.
Bonus beer style - your favourite style!
Your favourite beer might not be considered the easiest to brew, but it has a flavour you know well and love. You can not go wrong with that. A flavour you know well gives you the advantage to assess your beer correctly and learn from it. And if you love the taste of a specific beer style, even if it does not turn out to be perfect, you will still enjoy it.
In the end, it is more important to enjoy the process than aim for perfection. If there is a beer you really love, you are guaranteed to have fun making it!
Final tips
Before you start brewing your beer at home, make sure you have all the knowledge. You can see our complete home brewing guide for beginners for more information.
Also, if you are missing a beer brewing kit, see our article about brewing kits to get a better idea of how to choose one for yourself.
You can also learn more about one of the main ingredients of beer, hops, here.
And learn further about another main beer ingredient, malt, here.
Let us know which beer recipe you used!
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