Well, I have just cracked a bottle of my fourth brew. Brewers Best Oktoberfest kit, I must say, I like it! It has only been in bottles for 2 weeks, but I couldn't wait. I am nervous about breaking away from the kit method because of how easy they are. I do have an English Brown Ale, but I added 4.5 oz of crushed roasted barley to it, that will be in bottles in a week. How soon has anyone else started experimenting with recipes without the box kits?