Basic Levels Of Brewing

[the_yobbo]

I'm just throwing it out there for some general advice.
What are the basic steps to go from a beginner doing a kit & kilo to making homebrew that is awesome.

I've done a few brews with the basic kit and a kilo of dex.
From there I started using kits with brew enchancers or pre-packaged brew fermentable bags.
I've now got put down my second brew involving 2 cans (standard kit and a light malt extract (LME?)) which I assume is what people refer to as toucan recipes.
I've done some very basic hopping using 12g cascade teabags in coffee mugs of boiling water.
I've got temperature under control using a tempmate and fridge.
And I've been bulk priming for the ease of bottling + bottle carbonation control.

All seems to be going well. But what is the next step. Have I missed any steps in the usual progression of homebrew hobbiest?
I'd like to think the next step isn't an expensive one. I was quite impressed with the ease of hopping, albeit a very primative method.

When do I stop buying basic brew kits (lager, draught, pilsner)? When and how do I start using DME's and Grains (looking at the brilliant beer designer speadsheet)?

And on that matter, looking at the forums, what are the basic catagories of brewing. I see the following headings are listed, but don't know what they actually specifically are (All Grain/Partials, Beginner Partials/AG, Kit & Kilo's). Am I still a K&K when I'm doing primative hopping and toucans?

What is the pinnacle of homebrewing? Stainless steel vessle with heating burner and cooling coils to create the wort. Is it all about grains, or all malts?

Heh, sorry, so many questions that have built up over time and just unleashed in a single post. (If there is an existing thread that covers these fundimental questions, please point me to it. I haven't found it myself).

Thankyou

 

[litre_o_cola]

Probably next to spice up your k&k you will want to change to LDME instead of dex, steep some specialty grains and better yeast.

 

[manticle]

Generally:

Kit and kilo = basic kit plus a kilo of sugar, dextrose, brewing sugar etc.

Kits 'n' bits = a kit plus some aroma/flavour hops, probably some malt extract and maybe some steeped specialty grains

Extract = unhopped extract plus your own hop additions for bitterness, flavour and aroma

Extract plus specialty = as above but with steeped specialty grains

Partial mash = some extract and some base malt are used to make up the fermentable sugars. Bitterness and flavour hops added, may use specialty grains.

All Grain = the majority of the fermentable sugars come from mashed base malts.

That's a nutshell but the pinnacle really is making beer you enjoy. You can be a great kit brewer and you can also be a crap all grain brewer. You can also be a great brewer and still make a shit beer (god knows I have).

All ingredients are important - hops, yeast, water, grain/malt. Experiement with each and learn what it brings to your brew and see where you want to head. Take your time.

Fermentation process are just as important (if not more so) than ingredients too.

 

[Nick JD]

Yeast. Beer is all about the yeast.

It takes a sugary syrup and turns it into beer - it's all about the yeast.

 

[bum]

When do I stop buying basic brew kits (lager, draught, pilsner)? When and how do I start using DME's and Grains (looking at the brilliant beer designer speadsheet)?

When? Since you're looking for better quality in your beers, feel like you're getting the best out of them that you can and want to learn more - I'd say now. How? Lots of stuff about the place - read, read, read then read some more. Don't read just one thread that explains the process. Even if it is a particularly good explanation of the process it is still just one person's method. Other methods might work better for you. Research is key.

 

[Hatchy]

I know this is obvious & I assume yr already doing OK but the number 1 really good way to bugger up what would be an otherwise good batch of beer is to not sanitise properly. The only reason I posted here is because I did a "ctrl f" on this page, typed "sanit" & nothing came up. I figure it should flag in any thread that has "newbie" in the title. Apart from that I'd agree with what the other guys said. I'd definitely recommend getting away from kit yeast if that's what yr using.

 

[the_yobbo]

Cheers for the feed back.
Yep, I've been buying seperate yeasts for a while now.
Sanitising has been pretty good, although got a bit slack recently and paid for it with an infection.

+1 to Manticle an Bum.

So I'm pretty much a Kits & Bits man atm.
And as far as where to go from here, there is no specific path to take. As long as I keep brewing beers that I (and others) enjoy, then all is good.

Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Sounds like your next area for experimenting is Partial mashes. There's a thread going on Partials at the moment, worth looking at. In fact the main reason I bought an urn and went AG was to recreate UK real ales. If my preferred style had been Aussie lagers then I reckon I would still be doing just partials with improved yeasts and hops. You can get great results using a bland beer kit such as Cerveza or Canadian, and go from there.

 

[Frag_Dog]

If they are avaliable in your area, try a Fresh Wort Kit. They make amazing beer, but do cost a bit more then the K&K beer.

I did two of these and went straight from Kit & Kilo to AG brewing. There was such a large different between FWK and K&K I couldn't go back.

AG is alot more work, but its worth it.

 

[RobboMC]

After kit's and bits the next step is to get away from the barley sugar they put into cheap kits.

The reason the expensive Muntons kits cost more is that they are made with 100% malt. So you can use the top line kits
or you can become an all-extract brewer ( why isn't this called AE ) and basically make your own kit.

Extract is easier as you can still dump some of the concentrates straight into your fermenter, whether it's liquid or dry,
and dissolve there. Once you start boiling bigger volumes you will be forced to learn how to transfer hot wort and cool hot wort.

I'm finding that moving from kits and lots of bits to partial mash is more about storing, handling and moving the bigger volumes of liquids than it is about brewing skill. Steeping 1/2kg of grain and boiling 10g of hops in a 2 litre saucepan is easy. usually
the normal kitchen already has the right sort of stuff.

Getting 25 litres of boiling wort cooled down to 25 deg C and poured into a fermenter is not so easy without the proper equipment.