BeerSmith Forums user recipe collaboration idea.

[Scott Ickes]

I would do it, but only with the right to object or override certain ingredients. For example, I am not a fan of coriander spice. If I agree to brew and someone suggest coriander I would lose interest even though I have already committed. Or perhaps someone suggest Mosiac hops, and yet they might be hard for me to get etc..

There are no adjuncts to be added to this recipe.  The purpose is to give insight to each other one why you chose a certain malt, hop your yeast.  Also to give insight on your suggested mash temp, etc.

It is intended to be a learning experience for both the new and old to brewing.

Also, just because a certain hop or malt is in the final recipe, it doesn't mean you can't change it up on your own.  I only ask that if you decide to brew this (with or without changes), you tell us about your experience and the results, including how it tastes compared to what you expected it to taste like.

Can I count you as in Grathan?

[grathan]

Sure, sounds good.

[Scott Ickes]

Thanks Grathan.  Welcome aboard.

Only three spots left.

[Brewmex41]

Beam me up scotty.
Sorry, I had to. im in.

[Brewmex41]

Also, scott, maybe we can do this as a homebrew club thing as well. Do you guys ever do competitions within the club?

[Scott Ickes]

Also, scott, maybe we can do this as a homebrew club thing as well. Do you guys ever do competitions within the club?

We've talked about it.  We're going to do a potluck party at my house sometime in the future.  We'll each bring a food dish to share and a beer ingredient.  We'll sift through the beer ingredients and come up with a beer to brew on my equipment.  We'll then bottle it and share it amongst ourselves at a future pot luck party.

We've discussed an in club brewing championship also.  Bring up any ideas you have at our monthly meetings.

8 down, 2 to go.

[all grain]

well so far so good. looks like where're almost there. I've got to say that the more I think about this idea the more I like it. one thing, the waiting is killing me. I have not brewed for all most 3 weeks and that's a 10 month record for me. been brewing every week or two for 30 batches now, so please someone jump on board so we can light this fuse.

[cmbrougham]

I'm mildly interested in this, simply for the challenge of it, but I've not had a great experience with collaborative recipe making in the past. I've almost exclusively designed my own recipes, sometimes using recipes I've found as inspiration or general guidelines, and I've never brewed a kit (at least not an AG kit).

When I participated in a community brew before, the beer ended up interesting but not very good--drinkable, but you had to have a real tolerance for weird. It was fairly universally panned by all who participated. So you have a potential here to create something fun to brew but too bizarre to drink... or you can create something entirely banal, and that's not very fun. As long as this recipe is created with an adventurous spirit but a heavy dose of reality and common sense, and a judicious blend of democracy (meaning the majority can overrule a truly off-the-wall suggestion if it clearly is not befitting of the greater good), then it could work.

My bigger concern is the suggestion that "you don't have to brew the recipe exactly as designed." If not, then why participate in this experiment at all? To me, the reason for this experiment is to establish a baseline from which everyone can share their experience and converse on it meaningfully. If we're all allowed to go off on tangents and change this or that in the recipe, what is the point of a collaborative recipe? Since the participants in the experiment are not likely going to be sharing their creation with all of the other participants, there is no frame of reference if you start talking about what your modifications did to the resulting beer. This isn't like a brew club meeting where you can take in your beer and get the collective opinions of your fellow homebrewers. The recipe is our "control," and it's our various equipment, processes and experience that should be the variables. An experiment like this is less about the end product itself and more about the perceptions of that end product--if that makes sense.

What I'm suggesting is that if you decide to change any ingredient in the recipe, that you don't participate in the conversation regarding the final beer. Certainly, anyone can brew anything they want, but if I'm going to participate in a collaborative experiment, it must be a true collaboration. Otherwise, I'll just go ahead and brew any old thing I want.

Thoughts?

[Scott Ickes]

My main goal is for us to pass down some of the thought processes we go through when designing our recipes.  There are always new brewers joining this forum that want to design their own recipes, but don't know where to start.

As for having the option to not brew the recipe, far be it from me to tell someone what they have to brew or not.  That is not my decision to make, nor do I want to create a rule such as that.  I do believe that many people will brew the recipe and we will get constructive feedback from those brewers.

This isn't about creating the perfect recipe.  It's about helping other brewers, be they new or advanced.  We can all learn from one another.

The guidelines were put in place so that we end up designing a "to style" recipe.  I hope that you or others will join us.

[BILLY BREW]

Can I play?

[Scott Ickes]

Can I play?

Absolutely!

9 down - 1 to go...

[cmbrougham]

Alright, just to say I helped get this project rolling, I'll volunteer as #10 (does that mean I'm first on the bench?). I think the idea is good here, but whether I brew it or not will depend on whether there is a quorum of others who decide to brew it as-is, so we can compare meaningful notes on our experiences.

Let's rock.

[Scott Ickes]

Welcome CM!

I'm going to put all the names in a hat and pull them out.  I'll post the order in a few minutes.

[Scott Ickes]

Here we go!

Here is the order, as I drew it out of a cardboard box.  I didn't have a hat handy.
DRB1215 -              Style of recipe to be designed.
Road Rocket -         Base Grain and quantity.
All Grain -               Specialty grain and quantity.
Scott Ickes -           Second specialty grain and quantity.
Brewmex41 -          Third specialty grain and quantity.
WinnepegFats -      First hop type, quantity and time added.
Billy Brew -              Second hop type, quantity and time added.
Bucknut -                Third hop type, quantity and time added.
Grathan -                Mash temperature.
CMBrougham -        Yeast selection.

dbr1215You're up.  Please select a style of beer for us to brew.  Please tell us why you'd like to design this style.  According to the rules, it has to be in the "Ale" category.  Once you've made your choice, it will be open for discussion. 

To all:Let's play nice here!  Try to keep your comments friendly and tactful with every step of the design.  If the style isn't something you normally brew or drink, think of it as a learning experience.  Once each decision is locked in, I'll move this along to the next contributor.

Also, please remember, there are other contributors coming up after you on grains and hops, so if you're first up, you don't have to necessarily get all of the gravity or bitterness with your selection. 

Once we've went through the entire recipe, we can make adjustments at the end, based on the opinions of the group.  The goal is to create a great beer recipe and have fun while doing it.

Sooooooooooo....Dan....what is your style choice?

[cmbrougham]

Thanks for setting this up, Scott--should be an interesting and illuminating process and experiment!