Hi Hughezy,
I've only done 4 AG batches (5th is mashing as we speak). Prior to that I was doing partials using about 3kg of grains and it was pointed out to me that I was being an idiot, just start using another kilo or so of grain and be done with it!
If you like the American Pale Ale style there are a heap of rippers on the database, but as MLP pointed out you can't go too far wrong with something super basic. You can use the recipes as a starting point and just "dumb them down". I do that out of necessity due to the availability of various products.
Someone made a valid point that for learning purposes an english pale ale is the way to go because you can't hide mistakes behind a wall of amarillo....but I haven't got the guts to learn how crap I am so I stick to the big hop flavour haha.
I am halfway through a mash at the moment and it is based on the SKunk Fart ale which I had to try based on the name alone. As it is a bit of a low cost experiment I am trying us-05 with it instead of my standard wyeast 1056. But bugger me sideways - the jump in flavour in AG has been awesome so I figure that I'll still be well impressed regardless of the change in yeast.
Short answer: Find an american pale ale on the recipe db, mess around with the variety/styles of malt (dumb it down), buy 80 gms of Amarillo and go your hardest. Maybe not ideal, but if you are a bit isolated like me and making the best with what you've got it's a great place to start.
Good luck!
