Gimme some good extract ideas

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shok

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I just finished my first brew (amber ale) using Bierkeller liquid extract and it all came out perfect.

I need ideas for my second beer.

Ideally i would like to do a lighter beer this time but I do not have the ability to Lager, so this beer will have to ferment in the 65-75 degree range.

Gimme some ideas.
I love hefeweizen's and mexican style beers...Im open to ideas
 
I agree, if you like them then Mexican style and hefeweizen are definatley worth a go.
I wouldn't bother if you don't like them though.
I do the beer I like, never bothered with the ones I don't.
I find the beer more enjoyable to drink that way.
 
You should brew 10 different, subtly distinct, batches of Orfy's Hobgoblin. ;)

Hey, that's what Orfy's doing with his Maris Otter and Fuggles. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right? Right?

:fro:
 
OK, I know you guys are playing with the noob but I think he might actually try a mexican style lager if he knew that you can make a reasonable lager copy using a Neutral ale yeast.

shok: check the recipe section. Use a neutral ale yeast (saf 05, nottingham, etc) if you want to try a lager style. A hefe requires a hefe strain though. So you need wyeast or whitelabs yeast strain for that. ie http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=135
 
hey I just did an extract hef that came out amazing. It was as follows: 6lb alexanders wheat extract, 4oz caramunich I(steeping grains), 0.5oz fuggles(5%) for 60 min, and pitched a tube of whitelabs german hef IV, and a tube of whitelabs belgian wit(because they only had 1 german hef tube) The resulting hef is outstanding and loved by many. Its good and inexpensive to put together.
 
I was hoping for some recommended extracts.

Yeah Im a noob at this, thats why Im asking you guys.

Like I said, I cant lager, so is mexican beers out?
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
OK, I know you guys are playing with the noob but I think he might actually try a mexican style lager if he knew that you can make a reasonable lager copy using a Neutral ale yeast.

shok: check the recipe section. Use a neutral ale yeast (saf 05, nottingham, etc) if you want to try a lager style. A hefe requires a hefe strain though. So you need wyeast or whitelabs yeast strain for that. ie http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=135

great info thanks!
 
Mexican beers (Tecate, Carta Blanca, Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, etc.) are vienna lager style beers so you might want to try some wheats until you can lager.
 
shok said:
I was hoping for some recommended extracts.

Yeah Im a noob at this, thats why Im asking you guys.

Like I said, I cant lager, so is mexican beers out?
Your question is way too open-ended, and it appears that you answered it for yourself in the original post. Narrow your question down a little, give us more information about your desires, and maybe do a little searching for recipes you might like to try. Then we can help.

Denny already answered your question about mimicking a lager with ale yeast.
 
Yeah, Kolsch is a style you would probably like. Need a liquid yeast from wyeast or whitelabs.

I usually make "lagers" that are actually "ales". (I have no room for another fridge for lagering.) Use a clean ale yeast and try and keep the temps on the lower end of the yeasts recomended temp range and you'll get reasonably close. Then once your bottles are carbed, fridge 'em for a few weeks.

If you don't have air conditioning in the summer use mauribrew ale yeast, it's some weird yeast from Oz and it works really clean quite warm. I highly recomend this yeast for the temperature challanged.

heh, I make a czech "Pilsner" that my Czech neighbor swears is as good as the "old country" and it's technically an ale. lol

Saddly, with the lack of saaz hops this year it will now be made with tettnager.
 
6lbs DME
3AAs of Hallertau hops
Any German Hefe weizen yeast will work.

Make a yeast starter the day prior to brewing.

I put 4 gals of water in the freezer for 4-5 hours prior to brewing.

I boil 1.5 gals and add 1 lb of malt and the hops. Boil 45 mins. Remove from heat. Add remaining malt 1 lb at a time and dissolve before adding the next pounds. Steep for 15 mins. Pour into primary. Top off water to 5.25 gals. Stir well. Take temp and gravity readings. If it's under 75 degrees pitch yeast. Ferment for 10 days in the primary. It's done. Bottle and age for 2 weeks then 1-2 days in the fridge.
 
One of my linked recipes is a clone of Dos Equis made using ale yeast and extracts. As noted above, it (like other Mexican style beers) is a pretty straight-forward central European lager. Using ale yeast is obviously a compromise but it came pretty close for me. One big difference, mine held a head. Dos Equis is nicely carbonated but the heads never seem to hold up for some reason.
 
My second batch, which is still in the secondary, is a Bitter. Instead of doing an English Special Bitter (not to be confused with the English Extra Special Bitter), I did an American Special Bitter. How did I make it "American" you ask? well, instead of using 5 lbs of dry extract i used 4 lbs of dry extact and 1 lb of rice syrup solids! Thus, making it "American" :D
 
Aclay said:
My second batch, which is still in the secondary, is a Bitter. Instead of doing an English Special Bitter (not to be confused with the English Extra Special Bitter), I did an American Special Bitter. How did I make it "American" you ask? well, instead of using 5 lbs of dry extract i used 4 lbs of dry extact and 1 lb of rice syrup solids! Thus, making it "American" :D
Not enough rice...wait...wouldn't that actually be an Asian? :drunk:
 
eh... maybe. I figured "American" because I got the rice syrup solids from an "American Light" kit someone had given me. I didn't want to make the American light so I went and bought a 3 lb bag of dry extract to add to the other ingrediants. Because it wasn't a strait English "Special Bitter," but used some of the American "Light" adjuncts I called it an American Special Bitter!:cool:
 
Denny's Evil Concoctions said:
You need some corn in there to make it american. So dump in some corn sugar or syrop.

Why then does the American Light kit come with Rice syrup solids. Depending on how the recipe comes out I may add some corn sugar to make it more "American." I'm bottleing Tomorrow.
 
if you like lagers but you can only brew ales, make a Cream Ale.

the Cream Ale i brewed was my best beer to date...hands down.

you'll need to do a minimash, though, with some 2-row and flaked corn.

not a big deal, though...you can do it just like you were steeping, just with a smaller amount of water and better control of temp.

PM me if you would like advice for a Cream Ale in regards to brewing method and recipe. I think everyone should try this style.

:mug:
 
Sorry about that, thought you'd see the tounge in cheek. :)

Like I said ANY lager recipe can be done with a NEUTRAL ale yeast and only the purists will care that it wasn't a lager yeast.

"American" lagers tend to use corn sugar or rice because the first brewers in North America were short on grains and used a lot of corn because it was cheap and plentiful at the time. Budweiser started using rice.

Today the megas use corn sugar or syrup (bud still uses rice) because they are cheap and they make more money off the beers. The taste is an issue with corn and rice so thus the marketing campaign of "ICE cold beer" where colder is supposed to be better. There is a reason megabrew beer taste like crap when even slightly warm.
 
Shok,

I've been brewing (for the second time) since June and by far the best one I've done has been a Sierra Nevada clone out of Clone Brews. It is very easy to make and it has been very consistent for me. Their Red Hook ESB is pretty good as well and uses the same yeast so you can reuse. Let me know if you like these styles and I'll give you the recipe.

Regards,
Al
 
Sorry Denny. Sarcasm doesn't come through so well in writing short. Context helps a lot. You can see however why I called the special Bitter "American.":p
 
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