Here's a great way to formulate a new recipe!

[FedoraDave]

Simply screw up an existing recipe.

No, seriously. Here's what I did -- I have a recipe for a nice, simple amber ale. I call it Fogbank Amber Ale. Well, the recipe I made is for 2.5 gallons, but I decided to double the recipe and make a fiver to kick off the new brew season Labor Day weekend. But the thing is, when I got to my LHBS and looked at my recipe, I had a brain fart and thought the half ounce of chocolate malt should be a half pound of chocolate malt.

I went ahead and brewed it anyway, figuring it would be beer, even if it wasn't the Fogbank.

The thing is, I've been struggling for a few years now to get a really nice recipe for a brown ale that I can add to the stable. I never seem to get the beer I'm envisioning. But this mistake is probably the closest I've come. I took a sample today, and FG is just fine and dandy, and I drank the sample, and it's pretty darn good. I'm giving it another week to clean up before I keg.

I'll most likely make some changes to the recipe, and use an English hops instead of the Hallertau, and I may even go with Maris Otter and 2-row, instead of the Munich and Victory. And it's possible I'll try a kettle caramelization with some of the first runnings, to give some extra richness.

But here's the lesson, boys and girls: You may think you made a mistake, but if you keep your mind and your options open, you might just find out that you've discovered something new and wonderful.

I hope you took notes, because this will be on the final.

[evily]

Ah, the serendipitous happy little accident! That sounds like a mighty tasty brew, Dave! Enjoy!

[Brewbirds]

I'm sure you'll keep us posted when it gets to drinking stage.
You may even have hit on a third, German style, brew sneaking into your line up since your grain bill and hops would work there.

Happy Brewing is always happening in Dave's kitchen folks.

[FedoraDave]

Hey, look how popular The Hat is with the ladies!

[FedoraDave]

I'm sure you'll keep us posted when it gets to drinking stage.
You may even have hit on a third, German style, brew sneaking into your line up since your grain bill and hops would work there.

Happy Brewing is always happening in Dave's kitchen folks.

The Fogbank isn't exactly a German style, but I did use German hops and Munich malt. I was originally looking for a nice, mellow amber ale. The small amount of chocolate malt is mostly for color and a little flavor to round out the base malts. With this new recipe, since I inadvertently used a ridiculously high percentage of chocolate by comparison, it took over and is now defining the beer. I'll be kegging it this weekend, and I'll report back on my perceptions, with an eye toward refining a brown ale recipe.