How to make my own recipe

Hi all,

I am looking to make my own beer and wondered how i would go about doing this.

obviously i know that the colour and style is dictated by the grain used however How do I  know what hops go well together and what should not.

or is it just a matter of trial?

any pointers greatly appreciated.

Actually, weren't doing a recipe design thread in the recipe section.

Here is the link:

http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,10061.0.html

We have 10 brewers signed up and we're going to construct a recipe step by step.  You might want to follow that thread.  Earlier today we got the final volunteers to round out the 10 brewers.  We are now in the beginning stages.

Feel free to follow along, make comments, ask questions, etc.  The idea was to help people such as yourself.

I started by following some recipes from books, learning from them what different grains add and what the different hop additions add, and then started making up my own.

Also, I spent probably a year going to this big beer store that was nearby, and buying something different every week.

It's cheaper to buy a six or a bottle and discover it's not your preference than to make that discovery after making five gallons.

I agree with your beer shopping habits.  We have this huge wine and beer store near us.  I buy either something that I know that I love, or something in a style that I haven't experienced.  I travel for work.  This allows me to go to a lot of brewpubs, etc.  I always look for a beer that I haven't tried yet first.  If I've tried everything, I'll order something that I've enjoyed in the past.

You may also want to study the style you want to brew in the BJCP guidelines and/or purchase books which are dedicated to specific styles.

Good luck!

There are many great resources like John Palmer's how to brew, Ray Daniel's book, i think its called Designing Great Beers (brain fart, here) and Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil.

Take a look at the recipe section on here as well as Homebrewtalk.com and when you see a style you like to drink take a look at the types of grain, hops and yeast that are typically used in those styles.
When I first started brewing I blindly followed a couple recipes i had found, but i noticed a few trends in the styles I liked.