So.. Whats the difference?

So for my first batch of beer I am brewing an American Amber beer from Brewers Best.

Has anyone ever used their kits? Here is the typical inclusions for those kits:

Brewer's Best™ ingredient kits comprise all the necessary products to brew true-to-style beers. All kits contain base malts, hops, yeast, priming sugar and bottle caps. Most kits also contain crushed specialty grains and other brewing additives. More than 24 recipe kits are available including our Bold Series recipes and seasonal selections such as our spiced Holiday Ale. These kits make brewing a quality batch of beer easy.

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And now I am confused. I am looking at AHS and really want to try this:
Austin Homebrew Supply

What confuses me is this part:

Fermentable Sugars:
Extract: 7 lbs. Liquid Malt Extract, .5 lbs. Base Grains, 1.25 lbs. Specialty Grains.
Mini Mash: 6 lbs. Liquid Malt Extract, 1.75 lbs. Base Grains, 1.25 lbs. Specialty Grains.
All Grain: 10 lbs. Base Grains, 1.25 lbs. Specialty Grains.

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What would be the most similar to the Brewers Best kit I used?

I have no clue why I am so confused on this - but please bear with me as I am new..

Do the AHS kits come with all the hops, etc?

I may or may not have just answered my own question.

I think what I have brewing now is an Extract.

Whats so, then what is the benefit of the Mini-Mash, if any?

Yes, the AHS kits come with all the grains, hops, yeasts, extra flavorings needed to make the beer, plus the option to upgrade the yeast.

Personally, I much prefer the AHS kits because the ingredients are guaranteed fresh (each kit is made to order), while the brewers best always look like they have been sitting there for ages.

Yes, you did do an extract (with either the syrup, malt powder, or both). Read up here: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

Awesome resource, with everything you need to know.

Extract kit includes: priming sugar, milled specialty grains in a muslin bag, hops, and detailed instructions. Mini-Mash kits do not come with grain bags.

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That's from the AHB website. Kits usually have all the things you need to brew the beer, so I would imagine that the AHB kits are the same.

Is it worth it to upgrade the yeast? I've done the dry yeast - which worked fine so far. But I have heard there are benefits to the Liquid yeasts..

Bdub81 said:

I may or may not have just answered my own question.

I think what I have brewing now is an Extract.

Whats so, then what is the benefit of the Mini-Mash, if any?

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A mini-mash is more fun to do and gives you more control over your brewing process without requiring expensive extra equipment. You make part of the wort yourself instead of only using extract prepared by some malting company.

Bdub81 said:

Is it worth it to upgrade the yeast? I've done the dry yeast - which worked fine so far. But I have heard there are benefits to the Liquid yeasts..

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More than likely you'll want to make a starter with the liquid yeast. If using dry yeast, just get a cup or so of warm water and rehydrate 20 minutes before pitching.

IIRC, the main benefit to liquid yeasts is that you have a broader range of types/flavors to chooses from. Also, I think that lager yeasts are liquid in the vast majority.

Dry yeasts are good because they have a longer shelf life and higher viability. Also, dry yeasts do not need a starter.

Bdub81 said:

Is it worth it to upgrade the yeast? I've done the dry yeast - which worked fine so far. But I have heard there are benefits to the Liquid yeasts..

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Depends on the style and how comfortable you are with starters, which are highly recommended for liquid yeast.
For me, if there is a dry yeast out there that I think suits the style, I'll use it. If not, I'll go liquid rather than compromise on flavor.

Madman said:

That's from the AHB website. Kits usually have all the things you need to brew the beer, so I would imagine that the AHB kits are the same.

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Not exactly, AHS calls their partial mash recipe "mini mash". This is basically half way between AG and extract brewing.

Bdub81 said:

Is it worth it to upgrade the yeast? I've done the dry yeast - which worked fine so far. But I have heard there are benefits to the Liquid yeasts..

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Depends on the beer. If you are doing a Belgian, abso****inglutely, since most of the unique characteristics from those types of beers come from the yeast. The main advantage of liquid yeasts, is there is a huge variety.

If I were you, I would order an extract kit from Austin Homebrew Supply (AHS). Pick you favorite one (there are tons to pick from, and have never heard a single bad thing about any). It will come with better quality dry yeast than the brewers best kits, fresh malt, hops, and grains for steeping

Ok, final question for the day.

Is there any benefit (or particularly for the stouts) or is it necessary to use secondary fermenting?

The FAQ has a alot of good info for this type of question:

Do I have to use a secondary?

Genius!

Off to do some reading!

Bdub81 said:

Ok, final question for the day.

Is there any benefit (or particularly for the stouts) or is it necessary to use secondary fermenting?

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I would say, no. Leave it in the primary for 3-4 weeks and you should be good to go.

If IIRC, that pretty much sums up the linked thread.

I think that is what I will do for now. The american amber I am working on now has been in a little over a week - took the gravity yesterday and it looked spot on. It also had a great golden "amber" color. Surprisingly not as cloudy. I will be pulling that today probably and bottling.

Future ones will stay in longer - until I get a second fermentor.

Another benefit to "mini-mash" or extract + steeped grain brewing is that you get a more complex flavor than just extract brewing. Generally speaking "mini-mash" type kits start with a base malt extract (liquid or dry) and add flavoring grains from there. So for example, with a stout, you have a base malt extract that gives you all the fermentable sugars, then the steeped grains add flavor and color to the beer. You can do a stout with dark malt extract, hops and yeast, but it will be much more one dimensional than the beer produced by a kit that includes various grains to steep first.

I recently took a look at ahs too see if they had a lagunitas czech pils clone (nope... grrrr) and thats not how I saw the kits. There extract kits were extract+steeping grains. Mini-mash looked like cut back extract+mash malt+specialty grains, hence fermentable sugers being extracted in the partial mash and "topped off" with extract. I didn't read the mini mash as just flavoring grains

Ah, ok, I stand corrected then. I have looked at their kits, but missed the distinction. So maybe the AHS mini-mash kits aren't the best for a beginner? At least until they understand the difference between mashing and steeping.

As long as there are instructions..

Eh, true, I guess I'm just a geek like that. I have to have an understanding of what I'm doing.