Total newb.. Lots of questions.. Brewcraft kit

Hello all, for xmas my fiancee got me a Brewcraft Starter Brewery and it did not come with any instructions at all.

I am a total newb and I have no idea what to do. I know I like drinking beer, and I want to get started, but after lots of searching and googling, I have not found much info about what to do with this specific kit.

The kit includes:

2 Plastic buckets
1 lid with airlock
1 Hydrometer
1 Syphon
Steralizer
Stainless steel boiling pot
Specialty Extracts
Hops (English Mild Ale)
Specialty Grain (English Mild Ale)
and Brewing Yeast

My question is, what the hell do I do with all this stuff.. Everything I have found says to add sugar/Malt/corn syrup as the "fuel" for the fermentation process. Do the "Specialty Extracts" contain a malt or other sugar for the yeast?

Here is what I am working with for ingredients, minus the yeast:


PLEASE HELP!

hi there. welcome!

this is a great wealth of information to look at before you open the schawgg.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

the powder is Dry Malt Extract (dme). it is what provides the sugars in the beer and feeds the yeast in order to create alcohol and co2. you will want to read the section about extract brewing with grains. http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/index.html

HAHA!!! I am in the middle of reading this as you posted.

My main question is what about the sugar? Is it incorporated with the "Specialty Extracts" mix? Or do I need to add a dextrose sugar or similar?

Thanks for the link!

you might be thinking of "priming sugar" with is typically corn sugar and is used at bottling time to renew a small-scale fermentation to produce co2 to carbonate the beer. if you add any type of sugar or honey in addition to the dme, it will boost the alcohol content and not much else... they are up to 90% fermentable. the malt extract has sugars that yeast can eat, as well as sugars it can't eat. so the residual sweetness is then balanced with the hops, so as to not taste like kern's nectar beer.

SVThuh said:

I have no idea what to do. I know I like drinking beer

Click to expand...

.....:rockin:

PS mordantly is it necessary to have a signature that is a page long

how much dried extract/specialty grain/hops do you have there? are there any names on them?

buffalobrewer said:

how much dried extract/specialty grain/hops do you have there? are there any names on them?

Click to expand...

Whats written is :

Specialty Extracts (about 2-2.5 lbs)
Hops (English Mild Ale) (about a handfull of hops)
Specialty Grain (English Mild Ale) (about a pound)

It also came with some cheesecloth socks. Im guessing that Im supposed to boil the extracts with the hops and grain in the sock and let it steep like a teabag? How long do I boil for?

Im sorry for all the questions, its just that this kit came with ZERO instructions and I cant find any kit specific instructions anywhere online.

Thanks for all the help!

This link will take you to the page (Costco site) that has your brew kit:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11300955&whse=BC&topnav=,&cat=79163&hierPath=3605*79163*&lang=en-US

If you go down to the "Product Details" and click on the link for brewing instructions it will give you a PDF of the instructions for your kit.

As one noob to another - gl and have fun!

Down and dirty extract instructions.

Place grains in sock and place in pot with 1 gallon of water. Turn on the heat and bring the temperature to 150°. Adjust heat to hold at that temp and steep at 150° for 30 minutes. Remove grain bag and drain without squeezing the bag.

Add another gallon of water, mix in extract, stir and bring to boil. When you achieve boil add hops and set timer. Add additional hops if indicated at appropriate times. You can use a hop sock if provided but make sure you leave lots of room in the bag for expansion.

SANITIZE ANYTHING THAT WILL BE TOUCHING YOUR BREW!

After the 60 minute boil, remove pot and place in ice bath to cool. While cooling, hydrate dry yeast in a cup of warm water.

Pour your wort into primary and shake the crap out of it to aerate. Take a sample of wort and use for hydrometer reading. Add yeast and airlock and place fermenter in 65° to 68° dark space. After three weeks, take hydrometer to ensure final gravity is reached. Bottle, place bottles at room temperature for 3 weeks, chill and drink.