Recomend a canned extract.....

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BoxerDog

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Short on time and funds, I can pick at the local home brew between John Bull and Coopers canned extracts.

I like all types of beer, what is a "decent" canned extract and what yeast would you get with it?
 
Either of them will do as long as it's light so look for something along the pale ale line. Your yeast will determine the overall flavor of the brew.

Personally, I'd recommend Dry Malt extract over canned liquid. The canned stuff is already too dark, unless you're making a dark beer that is.

But if you want to make a light colored beer then Extra Light DME is the way to go.:D
 
Whichever canned extract kit you use(I'm assuming you mean the pre-hopped Cooper's, Munton's, John Bull, etc.), I would suggest following the "add additional extract" route as opposed to just adding 2-3lb. of table sugar or whatever they recommend...

So, basically, what I'm saying is don't cheap out and do the 3.3lb can of hopped extract and a ton of sugar. Buy a hopped can (3.3lb) and an unhopped can (3.3lb) for 5 gallons (6.6lb of extract is a good amount for this batch size). You could probably even do 2 hopped kits (3.3lb each) if you are a hophead...

Your price will definitely be more ($30 for two cans, as opposed to $20 for a can and sugar), but you'll have much better, fuller, all-malt beer as opposed to a 1/2 beer-1/2 cider hybrid.
 
At 3kg of malt, I'd say those canned kits are better than most... That's > 6lb (I think?) of malt extract, which is a pretty good amount for 5 gallon batches.

Most canned kits are 3-3.75lb (1.5ish kg), which imo is too little malt (and which is why most canned kit manufacturers suggest adding additional sugar or malt; ps - go malt!!).

If they are pre-hopped (I didn't read in that much detail), they probably have the correct amount of hops. Otherwise, I'm sure someone can help you out with hopping the beer appropriately...

EDIT: I read further and "Each variety has its own blend of hops to compliment the malt perfectly to give rich and malty beers of unsurpassed flavour and quality." So, you can ignore that last statement about hopping the beer...
 
Boxer - Your PM inbox is full so I couldn't respond to your PM. Anyway, here is my response for you:

A good place to start after canned extracts is with kits put together by AustinHomeBrew.com or Midwestsupplies.com. Both places will provide you a recipe with all the necessary specialty grains (steep in water), malt extracts, real hops, yeast, and any adjuncts in that recipe. You also have the options of dry v. liquid yeast strains... They will crush the grains for you and all and provide you an instructional DVD and the recipe for the kit on paper (they even give you grainbags, etc.).

I started on these type of kits and did 3-4 of them. Then I started modifying their recipes slightly by adding additional malt, grains, or hops to their recipes. I did 3-4 batches as such and then I started to formulate my own using BeerSmith and/or books (I have amassed 5-6 homebrew recipe books in the 4 months I've been doing this).

If you have a request for a specific recipe, I can export some of my recipes from BeerSmith into word and copy/paste them, however I think the step before formulating your own should be the Steeping/Extract kits from one of the sites above. I still brew some of their kits from time to time even now...

Just FYI, most range from $24-35 depending on ingredients included, but they both have a wide range to choose from and are a great place to start to learn steeping, using whole/pellet hops, etc. that you don't experience just doing pre-hopped can kits...

Good luck!
 
Ended up going with the John Bull Masterclass Porter, what I liked about it was it didnt require to add sugar and weighed 6.6 lbs, so it was perfect for a 5 gallon batch.

I took everyones advise about how 3lbs of extract equals cider beer when brewed as 5 gallons.
 
Around here locally we can get a prehopped no-boil light malt extract in a can. I've made 15 batches using this malt along with using table sugar, honey, raspberry extract and molasses in different brews, just experimenting. I've tried boiling the malt, but have found it tastes better not boiling it. The best brew so far seems to be the honey beer. I've tried using two cans of malt extract but that was the only one I didn't like. I guess I like lighter brews. Anyway...I enjoy my beer, as do the friends I've had come over, but there again, they're used to drinking BMC!
I'm sure that the more experienced brewers here would toss my beer down the drain, but I like it.
 
BoxerDog said:
Ended up going with the John Bull Masterclass Porter, what I liked about it was it didnt require to add sugar and weighed 6.6 lbs, so it was perfect for a 5 gallon batch.

I took everyones advise about how 3lbs of extract equals cider beer when brewed as 5 gallons.
That's NOT true! The bittering hops balance out the sweetness in EVERY BREW!!

It doesn't really matter how much malt you use as long as you balance it out with the right amount of hops.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
That's NOT true! The bittering hops balance out the sweetness in EVERY BREW!!

It doesn't really matter how much malt you use as long as you balance it out with the right amount of hops.

This is an accurate statement, however I don't think you can argue that a 5 gallon brew made with 6lb. malt and hops (100% malt for the fermentables), won't be better than a beer made with 3lb. malt/3lb. table sugar (50% malt for fermentables)...

Either way, they'll both make beer, and with the right hop schedule it will balance the beer, but the all-malt beer is going to be a fuller, more complex, better tasting beer.
 
I've used John Bull for stouts and lagers and coopers and muntons for lights and draughts and they came out great...I Used dark dry malt extracts for the stouts and light malts for the draughts and lights instead of sugar...Sometimes I split the diff and use 1lb corn sugar and 1 LB dry malt extract in the mix. :mug:
 
Ive used cooper s before and they come out great if you use 500g of light dry malt and 500g of dextrose. If you can get it the pale ale or the bitter are both nice brews
 
Dave R said:
I'm sure that the more experienced brewers here would toss my beer down the drain, but I like it.
I'm by no means more experienced, but in my opinion, if you like what you're brewing then you're doing it right!
 
CORRECT!!

If you like it, that is ALL that matters! People, we're making beers to please US, not the whole world.

(Yes, I've had a couple. Which is quite normal, for me.) :D:D

steve
 

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