Ready to try something different

[gauthierk]

I have brewed two kits and kinda have a good working knowledge of how everything goes now. I was thinking about trying to experiment with some ideas. Let me see if I get this right. The "brewers best" kits are extract+steeping grains. For me to try and diddle with flavors and so fourth, I need to start changing the grains that come with the kit's right?

My second question. The grains that come in these kits, are they "mashed" already? I am still kinda fuzzy as to what is mashing/sparging and so fourth. Any good ideas or websites I can visit for more info????

 

[MrSaLTy]

Extract + steeping grains does not equal mashing. This steeping is adding grains to around 150 degree water and making a sort of tea to add more flavor to the beer. It will not yield more fermentables because these grains do not usually have any diastatic power..... i.e. they lack the enzymes to convert starch to sugers. Mashing or partial mashing for that matter means converting the starch in the grain to suger by the using the enzymes from grains with diastatic power(like 2-row or 6 row etc.) Eventually you will learn to distinguish between which grains have the proper enzymes to do the conversion. These usually make up the bulk of mashing grains. When extract brewing, the extract takes the place of these grains and the fermentable sugers come from the extract. Sparging is part of the mashing process and is the term used to 'wash' or 'rinse' the sugers out of the mash.

Here is a decent link to all-grain brewing.

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

Some decent books are out there that will teach you a ton on these topics. A few good examples are 'The complete joy of Home Brewing' by Papasian and 'How to Brew' by Palmer.

 

[Blender]

A fine explanation of making beer is John Palmer's site. -> http://howtobrew.com/intro.html He is publishing a new updated version in June which will contain more information but this has enough to keep you busy for a while.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Ya, Palmer's site is the first I ever visited, even before my first brew. I have never used a pre-made kit; I have always come up with my own recipes with help from this forum or LHBS. I always suggest the same to people starting out who say they use kits, try making a simple extract+specialty grain recipe on your own. There are plenty of these already floating around this forum to use to get ideas. Just do a quick search. Believe me, it'll be much more fun and interesting of an experience if you make your own recipe.

Half the fun is learning about different hops, grains and yeasts in the process!

 

[gauthierk]

That is what I am going for, to make my own beer. I figured the Kits were a good way to start out. They have given me a sort of blue print. Now, when you say extract+specialty grain, how is that different from what I have been doing with the kits?

 

[Desert_Sky]

Here is a decent link to all-grain brewing.

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

Thank you so much for that link

 

[david_42]

Sounds like your kits are extract + specialty grains. Specialty grains are for flavor and color, very little sugar is extracted during the steeping process. Changing the specialty grains changes the flavor. Adding two oz. of black patent to a stout kit would give you a darker color and a more "burnt toast" flavor.

The main difference between steeping and mashing: Mashing draws starches out of the grain and converts them to sugars.

 

[brewhead]

Any good ideas or websites I can visit for more info????

BasicBrewing Radio has a great podcast this week on mini-mash and what exactly is it. additionally i would recommend listening to the archived shows as well. great info

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Ya, those guys (basic Brewing) have a good video podcast that I subscribe to. Its worth watching once. If you want to work on your own recipes then just think about what beer you want to make next, i.e. style, color, bitterness, etc. Go online and look at other people's recipes for said beer and come up with your own recipe based on that. Do some research on homebrew supply websites like Northern Brewer, they have descriptions of grains, malts and hops.

For example, if you want a hoppy IPA or APA then start out with your basic Pale Ale recipe. If you want a certain aroma or flavor then read up on the different aroma and flavoring hops. Add them to your wort when you feel it necessary. I hope I'm not coming off as a guy who thinks he's an expert who enjoys the smell of his own farts but thats just my opinion on what I think you're trying to get at...

 

[gauthierk]

hahaha I love the smell your own fart quote. I figure anyone who has brewed beyond a kit is experienced more than I am. I've been checking out the links and have been given alot of info. My next batch I brew I think is going to be an original from my own head. The one batch that I just bottled is excellent. My custom brew is going to be even better... Thanks for all of the helpful links and so fourth.