I've realized after several years of brewing that I have a good deal of book knowledge on hop and grain varieties, but with complex recipes (like 5 grain and 4 hops), it's quite difficult to put my finger on individual ingredients and their contribution to the final beer product, save for a hand full of hops and grain that are fairly overpowering on their own.
It also occurred to me that when I got into all grain brewing, I borrowed a lot of tasty, complex recipes from members of this forum. After some time, I began throwing recipes together myself, and haven't looked back since...
Well, here I am a few years later, and I've decided to take a complete 180 in my recipe formulation as I think it's about time that I learn first hand individual hop and grain contributions to the final product.
So, to begin, I've selected nothing but 2-row for grain and 1 type of hop.
First batch was 15 gallons of 2-row with Simcoe. This is not an IPA, but just enough hops to give a low-medium bitterness, flavor and aroma.
Results:
Sweet baby jesus! Very impressed with the malt flavor of just 2-row. I now finally know what character 2-row, on it's own, gives the final beer product.
I also have an appreciation for Simoe hops, from their use for bittering, to aroma and dry hopping.
This beer is very drinkable, and I've had lots of positive feedback from it so far. I explain how I made it, with simplicity, and what I'm trying to accomplish. My friends really take to being a part of experiments and education. They feel they are becoming more educated on beer in general, as do I, with these type tests.
My plan for the near future, is to make regular "house" pale ale with nothing but 2-row and a different hop each time. in the long term, I will chose my favorite hop, then add 1 additional grain to the recipe to get a feel for each specialty grain.
So, I've realized that I started making beer ass backwards. I should have started with simple recipes like this to build my knowledge of the various ingredients used in more complex recipes. But hey, that's the fun of brewing at home and with all of you...the experimenting, learning, refining, and sampling of all our great beer.
Thought I'd share.