Recipe formulation

[quixoticgeek]

I find myself pondering ideas for different beers I would like to make. Coming up with a grain bill is proving relatively simple (well my first attempts seemed to come out ok). But I am struggling to work out which hops to choose. There are so many to choose from, and while some are relatively obvious in when to use them (Citra, Amarillo) a lot of the others just make the mind boggle.

Has anyone written an idiots guide to hops?

J

[wjohnson12321]

This is a superb idea I think. I tend to find that for the grain bill itself overuse of Crystal Malt and darker malts (And it can be sometimes by only a few grams) can really change the finished product. I've also found that the usual array of pub cask ales you get these days are usually very VERY hoppy. In fact so hoppy that the bitterness on your tongue can almost give it a carbonated feel!?!? maybe that's just me?

But yeh I can honestly say that my best beers have been light in colour and heavy on hops! (And these are the beers which seem to sell in the pubs at the mo)