Opinions please

4 lbs Pale malt extract
1 lb honey
12 oz Molasses
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 oz Perle 60 min
1 oz Fuggles 10 min

safbrew s-33

lots of ky windage (primarily because I heard this ain't rocket science)

this is my first real attempt. no recipe. the kind lady at the home brew store recommended two alterations to my original recipe:

add honey
use perle for bittering and fuggles to finish. i had intended to finish w perle but i can't tell you why i made that decision.

i boiled the whole batch at once and toppped off with about a half-gallon of water. SG was about 1.055ish before adding the water.

i ran a gravity calculator against it and came up with:
Boil gravity: 1.051
Og: 1.046
SRM: 11

And calculated an IBU of 36.4

the yeast is supposed to survive 11% i'm just hoping for something big and chewy.

Few things to consider on all that simple sugar. There's nothing wrong about brewing with sugar, just gotta make a few considerations.

-It ferments out farther than just about anything else you can put in beer. This means a low final gravity and could mean a thinned out mouthfeel instead of the chewy beer you've mentioned.
-I'd stick with one type of sugar per beer, if any. That way you might get a tiny hint of the flavor that the sugar originally had. In most beers, using sugar is out of the style's norms.
-Watch the temperature of your fermentation closely. I can tell you from experience that hot fermentations and simple sugars don't seem to mix. Found that one out the hard way, 5 gs of imperial saison down the drain

Anyway, you've essentially got a "kit and kilo" beer on your hands there. People have been making and drinking them for years. I'd just encourage you to try making a couple of batches with steeping grains and malt extract and decide for yourself how you like to brew.

Jeez I'm a little longwinded tonight! Enjoy your beer, welcome to the hobby!

i'll do grain someday. for now i'm a dumb noob and need to produce something drinkable to boost my confidence and help keep the interest up.

i was worried about having too cold an environment for that yeast. i'm glad to find out that i may be wrong.

Certainteed said:

i'll do grain someday. for now i'm a dumb noob and need to produce something drinkable to boost my confidence and help keep the interest up.

i was worried about having too cold an environment for that yeast. i'm glad to find out that i may be wrong.

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steeping grains is mega simple...just put em in hot water for an hour then take the grains out and use the drippings...easier than making biscuits and gravy and if you are from KY ( like me) I KNOW you can do THAT!
mix the extracts with the drippings ( now called wort) and boil just like you did with this batch.

for temperature, steady mid sixties is best. lower than that and your yeast will quit on you

Where are you located in KY if I might ask?

I'm in shelbyville.

OBTW this batch is horrid. Absolutely terrible. I have a 12 pack left and I'll probably dump it.

Certainteed said:

I'm in shelbyville.

OBTW this batch is horrid. Absolutely terrible. I have a 12 pack left and I'll probably dump it.

Click to expand...

Chalk it up to a good learning experience! There are some great extract recipes on this site, check them out.
Watch your ferment temps, clean and sanitize everything good, wait at least 2-3 weeks for the primary ferment and the same for bottle conditoning.
You should have some great beer!
Keep on brewing, keep on reading this forum and asking questions!!
BTW, don't dump your beer yet, put aside for a month or so and try one then.
If it has not improved, then you may want to get rid of it!
Good luck!

Certainteed said:

I'm in shelbyville.

OBTW this batch is horrid. Absolutely terrible. I have a 12 pack left and I'll probably dump it.

Click to expand...

Probably the 12 oz. of molasses combined with the fact that 25% + of your fermentables were simple sugar. Next time keep the simple sugars to 10% (unless you're doing belgians), add some character steeping grains, and possibly change up the hop varieties (especially if you're used to American varieties).

i've since moved on to all-grain. its so much cheaper and the results thus far have been exceptional.