I have not gone the traditional route with my beer brewing experience but jumped straight into trying to setup my own recipes. Probably not the best step on my part however I have seen that learning from experience is the best way to get your head around something so here goes.
- Take notes: this is one of the most important things I learned early on. Take notes of everything from what malts you put in, how long you mash, how much water you used, temperatures and I even go as far as to take notes on what I feel I could improve during my next cook. Maybe a step or a procedure that I could execute or plan better. Needless to say, when trying to come up with a recipe documentation also becomes your best friend - especially when it takes about a month to go from kettle to bottle...My memory is definitely not that good!
- Take risks: if you do not make mistakes you will never learn. My first batch of Pale Ale I made I was extremely bitter and almost undrinkable. Out of a 4.5ltr batch I did 5gr hop additions at 60min, 20min, 15min and 5min - bit of overkill in hindsight, but being a hop-head I thought it should turn out OK. Wrong! Now I know better though...
- Taste your malts before using them: If you are trying to come up with some recipes (or at least wish to do so one day) you have to smell it and taste it. Next time you go down to your grain supplier grab a pinch of that pale malt and chew on it, stick your finger in the chocolate malt and see what bittering this will add to your beer. Speak to these guys, they are pretty clued up and always willing to help.
- Do some reading: Do some homework on the malts available to you and how they can be used. Some malts - like pale malt - can be used for up to 100% of your grain bill. On the contrary something like Crystal malt should ideally only be used for a total of 5-10% of your total grain bill.This means if you want to use Crystal malts in your brew you can use a maximum of 100g if you are to use a total of 1kg of malts for example. This means the remaining 900g can/should all be pale malt as this can be used for up to 100% of the grain bill as mentioned earlier. The main reason for this is attributed to something called diastic power which in laymen's terms means "how much fermentable material" is available in the malt. Obviously to make beer you should aim to have as much fermentable material as possible which is why you should aim to stay within the guidelines for how much of what malt to use in your recipe .This is a topic that that gets very deep and very intricate, too much to elaborate here.
- Ask friends for honest feedback: true and honest feedback is invaluable. Generally I approach this with the sentiment "try and hurt my feelings". When I have friends over and I serve some of my beer I make sure to provide everyone with a printed review sheet and a pen. People that are not that into beer do not know about medicine cabinet or cabbage smell, or know how to express malty character or aroma. The sheet I print basically has all the general characteristics of judging a beer and the flavors/aromas that should/could be present simply requiring my friends to circle what they feel appropriate. There is also a large open spot for them to add any comments. Using a sheet like this and the little knowledge I have, I can check exactly what was circled and basically immediately know what to change in my recipe or brewing process.
Anyway, I hope these tips help you get on your way.
Salute!