Section 4 - Formulating Recipes and Solutions

In this section, we learn how to design, improvise, experiment and troubleshoot. In Chapter 19, I will share some of my favorite beer styles and recipes with you, and attempt to convey a "big picture" of the world of brewing. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who cook by adding a pinch of this and a handful of that, so this chapter was difficult to write. In fact, the next chapter, Chapter 20 - Experiment! was even harder to write, because I had a hard time explaining how to proceed on intuition. But that is the intent of the chapter, to encourage you to try new things and tweak the things you are currently doing. It naturally follows that the final chapter is called Chapter 21 - Is My Beer Ruined? This is a frequent cry for help on the internet brewing forums. In this chapter I will try to coach you through some of the most common problems by examining the most common symptoms and their possible causes. I hope I can be of real service to you.