jweese74
Active Member
I've just emptied out my primary, cleaned it, and put it away and I thought -- "Self, don't put it away, it'll get lonely! It needs some warm, lovely liquid to keep it happy" so I decided to come here.
My first brew was a kit "Coopers Real Ale", and the LHBS tossed in a bag of powder that premixed (I think it was some sort of DME, some hops, some dex, although not 100% sure) because they didn't have a kit of Coopers Brew Enhancer for it. Regardless -- it turned out nicely.
My second brew was a "Muntons Blonde", I added the DME, Honey, and Dex myself to it - still waiting to taste the results.
So, you might ask - what's with the topic "Making the Leap...". Have I made the leap, at least partially to extract brewing by going outside the bare kit? If so, what are the next steps to lose the kit entirely?
I'd absolutely love to try a milk stout (had one a number of years ago that was sweet, and tasted of vanilla - unfortunately I don't remember the name), or a Pilsen Urquel clone (yeah, broad spectrum). Are such brews even possible using extracts alone?
I understand you have steep grains, then add hops, etc. during the process, but is there some sort of how-to manual for timing, etc? Or recipes for morons?
So many questions - I'm definitely hooked, I just want to get bigger / better.
My first brew was a kit "Coopers Real Ale", and the LHBS tossed in a bag of powder that premixed (I think it was some sort of DME, some hops, some dex, although not 100% sure) because they didn't have a kit of Coopers Brew Enhancer for it. Regardless -- it turned out nicely.
My second brew was a "Muntons Blonde", I added the DME, Honey, and Dex myself to it - still waiting to taste the results.
So, you might ask - what's with the topic "Making the Leap...". Have I made the leap, at least partially to extract brewing by going outside the bare kit? If so, what are the next steps to lose the kit entirely?
I'd absolutely love to try a milk stout (had one a number of years ago that was sweet, and tasted of vanilla - unfortunately I don't remember the name), or a Pilsen Urquel clone (yeah, broad spectrum). Are such brews even possible using extracts alone?
I understand you have steep grains, then add hops, etc. during the process, but is there some sort of how-to manual for timing, etc? Or recipes for morons?
So many questions - I'm definitely hooked, I just want to get bigger / better.