The first beer I did back in June was a Morgans Pilsener plus a 1.5 L can of Coopers liquid malt extract plus a Saaz hop teabag and it turned out amber coloured and really smooth, malty and fragrant. I've kept a bottle and about to crack it this afternoon with a mate - I've kept a reference bottle of every brew for its three-month tasting and today is the day :icon_drool2: . It truly is a beer that would suit anyone who also likes JS. but I would probably hop with POR or cluster for a more 'Australiana' feel.
If you are going the full extract route you might want to try as above, using suitable kit for the base bittering, plus a can of additional malt extract plus hops for the aroma plus maybe some steeped grains for extra body and head retention. Then when you have nailed down a good recipe, try to replace that kit with malt extract and bittering hops.
Actually even though I am now doing partial mashing I still often put in a 'bland' kit as an ingredient because IMHO you are getting a good dose of malt extract in the kit plus a hit of bittering hops, so I've got that out of the way with minimum effort, and can then concentrate on the fun stuff like improving the grain, flavour, head, body and aroma of the beer. It's a good way of getting 1.7L of goo for ten bucks.
