Is it me or the beer kits?

I need some creative criticism on my brewing technique, my beers seem to lack flavor and I'm unsure if it's me or the beer kits, so here's how I recently brewed a Porter. Any and all feedback is welcome.


Steep grains @ 155-165, 30 minutes in a ratio of 1lb of grains to 1 gallon water.....Bring to boil.....Add 1/2 MLE.....Add 2 gallons of water.....Bring to boil.....Add Bitter hops, Boil 60 minutes.....Last 20-30 minutes Add remaining 1/2 MLE.....Last 2-5 minutes add Aroma Hops.....ICE BATH, usually cools to 80 degrees in 20-30 minutes.....Pour into glass 6.5 carboy.....Hand aerate for 3-5 minutes....Pitch Yeast....Primary 7-10 days, secondary 7-10 days, then Keg (carb at 12 psi).....Store at 40-50 degree temps.


MIDWEST KIT ESTIMATED SG: 1.063-67 ----- FG: 1.012-15

3 gallon tap water, 2.2 gallon filter ice

London Ale Wyeast Activator

6 lbs of Dark malt extract
3.3 lbs Light malt extract
4 oz. Black Patent malt
4 oz. Chocolate malt
8 oz. Caramel 120°L. specialty grains
1 oz Challenger bittering hops
1 oz. Glacier aroma hops

What I produced: SG: 1.064 ----- FG: 1.015

Krausen within 36 hours

what style of beer is it supposed to be?

you'll have no real hop flavor, just malt flavors.

Hopping is nominal for a Porter. Check it in 4-6 weeks.

Seems like a lot of Extract and very little Specialty grains - only 1 pound??

I would think more then 9% of the Grain bill should be Specialty.

Make sure you wait at LEAST 4 weeks before making a real judgment but I
m not real excited about a kit with 9.3 lbs of Extract and 1lb of grains.

+1 more specialty grains. Change the dark extract to light and use more specialty grains to bring in the color. You will get more flaver as well as a result.

Yea - I've never seen an extract recipe with only 9% of the grain bill with in Specialty grains.

Maybe some Pale Ales or lighter ones but a Porter I FEEL needs more then just a ton of extract.

The Extract is just the basement of which all else is built on. You have a GREAT basement but pretty plain upstairs.

The 8 oz. Caramel 120° is OK but PERSONALLY I would use 12oz of Chocolate and 8oz of the Black Patent - at least looking at comparable recipes for a Robust Porter.

The GOOD thing is that the Hops are paired up with the grains so it's not over hopped. The others mentioned lack of hops but with the lack of grains the hops fit nicely (in a odd sort of way LOL)

waterse said:

+1 more specialty grains. Change the dark extract to light and use more specialty grains to bring in the color. You will get more flaver as well as a result.

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I agree. The dark extract is probably why there is such a small grain bill. Your getting alot of your color from the extract when it should be coming from the specialty grains only, IMO. I'm sure this brew will be great with time, but I believe you should use light extract and get your color and flavor from grains.

so, the short answer is it's the beer kits. Your process looks fine, I would poke through the recipe section and start putting together your own kits.

Hand aerate for 3-5 minutes

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Seems a little overkill if you ask me but process looks fine!

I aerate for at least 5 minutes usually. Overkill? Maybe. Will I have incomplete fermentation? Not a chance.

+1 on putting together your own recipies. There's a learning curve to it, so your first recipie might not be as good as one of the better kits, but you'll be able to produce much better beer after a couple.

If i were you i would buy Designing Great Beers by Daniels. He gives you guidelines on how to recreate styles based on NHC 2nd round entries and commercial beers.

I'm no expert, but I'd bump up the primary and secondary to 14 days each minimum. It improved my Midwest IPA a great deal.

HOOTER said:

I agree. The dark extract is probably why there is such a small grain bill. Your getting alot of your color from the extract when it should be coming from the specialty grains only, IMO. I'm sure this brew will be great with time, but I believe you should use light extract and get your color and flavor from grains.

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+1 ^^^^^^^

I think this beer is going to be on the mellow side of a Porter. Its not going to compete with an Edmund Fitzgerald for flavor. If you want to up the flavor in this recipe add about a 1/2# of chocolate and/or another 4-8 oz of Black Patent.

Big porters will usually improve with time and will be better at 2 months than at 1.

Many kit manufacturers tend to aim a little low on the flavor component. That means less ingredients and less likely to turn off a brewer unused to big flavors. The kits may still be a good starting point and you can "bump them up" with a little more extract, specialty grains or hops.

Craig

CBBaron said:

The kits may still be a good starting point and you can "bump them up" with a little more extract, specialty grains or hops.

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I have done this and it works great. For example, I ordered Northern Brewers extra pale ale kit (3 oz. Cascade pellets, 6 lbs. light LME, 1 lb. caramel pils, American ale yeast) and added another ounce of hops and a pound of DME. The price of the kit was far cheaper than buying the ingredients separately but I wanted a bit more ABV and IBU'S. This will give you a semi-custom recipe at a great price.

Thanks for all the input.

@ OHIOBRIT - I'm going to increase the primary and secondary times for two weeks each respectively. I have a IPA sitting in the primary now.

@ HOOTER - I like your idea of adding to a kit, that leads me into my question. I already have a Raspberry Ale Kit and would like to add some grains or hops to improve the flavor, any suggestions anyone?

The Raspberry Kit includes:
6 lbs. Gold liquid malt extract
2 oz. Special B
12 oz. Caramel 40°L
2 oz. Roasted Barley specialty grains
1 oz. Glacier Bitter hops
1 oz. German Tradition Aroma hops
4 oz. Raspberry extract

American Ale Wyeast 1056

A porter usually has some extras as well. I make mine with only 6 lbs of extract and add 1 cup of brown sugar and 16 oz of honey.

After 2-3 kits from the store, you need to start pulling recipes from websites and go on your own. The store kits use the cheapest ingredients. My beer always tasted the same until I bagged the kits and made my own recipes. Also, stick with the liquid yeast, it makes a world of difference. PS- see the raspberry ale recipe from Steve, you're not going to taste any raspberry with that.