Taking The Next Step From Kits

[mick]

Hi guys,

Iam ready to go to the next step in brewing ( i think ). the kits are fine but Im interested in making my own from scratch.

Im thinking my first batch will be

3 kgs of LLME or DME
25-50 gms of HOPS thrown in at different times while i boil the malt ?

then ferment as normal ?

is this any where near correct ? and does it end up cheaper this way ??

cheers

 

[joecast]

a good addition is to add some specialty grains for flavor/color. these will need to be cracked and steeped (soaked in hot water, not boiling, for 20-30min.). the grains are removed prior to adding the extract and boiling. malt extract is a good base to start with when moving up from kits. good brewing!
joe

 

[jayse]

I'am with Joe some fresh grains should go into all your brews.
A good place to start is caramunich which is also called caramalt.
Its a caramalized malt which adds a lot to your beer from foam stabitly to flavour and body plus colour.
200 g is a good starting point for pale ale.

with that and some cascade you'll be getting close to a LCPA type beer.

What yeast are you using?
If you haven't got any primo strains I would get some of them like wyeast 1272 or 1275 is my pick.
Remember to ferment reasonably cool ie 20c and airate like a demon.
The last few batches i have racked to another fermentor 12 hours after pitching to give the yeast some more O2 to grow.

Cheers Jayse

 

[Jovial_Monk]

WY 1028 London to emphasize maltiness

and work out a bittering/flavor/aroma hop schedule



Jovial Monk

 

[johnno]

temp control is everything

 

[Gough]

Mick,

Have made a lot of all extract/Extract and grain recipes his year and have had some really good results (at least I think so ). Email me and I'll send you some recipes if you like.

Shawn.