Change extract kit recipe

[jcounter]

Hello all,

New Brewer here as some of you know I'm sure haha, still fermenting my first brew and already planning my second. Here lies my dilemma, I was gifted all of my brewing supplies and a few extract lots for Christmas. The person gifting did an awesome job, I've always wanted brew and now I can. It's going to be a long hobby haha. The last of my kits is a Midwest Oktoberfest extract kit. From what I can gather it requires a lot more skill than I currently have, more equipment (secondary fermenter), and better temperature control for lagering and what not. Things I cannot accomplish at the moment. I do not want it to go to waste. So I ask forum members is there a way to frankenkit this and make it an interesting brew by changing the yeast or adding some other specialty grains or other malt extract additions? I'm still so new I'm not sure what the best route is. I don't have the full list of what the kit includes but I can post tomorrow. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BigMack]

There are a ton of Mocktoberfest recipes on here. Check out Biermunchers Oktoberfast or others like it. If you use a really clean ale yeast you can at least get something similar to a true oktoberfest.

 

[jcounter]

Do they allow me to avoid secondary fermentation as well as skipping the lagering (obviously)? I really just need a solid yeast recommendation if I go that route. Something that will dominate between 60-65

 

[GrogNerd]

I brewed a mock Maibock using WLP060, fermented as low as I could (high 50s, 10° lower than WL says is optimum for the strain) and while it didn't win, it scored high in brew club competition and judges had no clue it wasn't a lager, one even said it was better than the calibration beer (Gordon Biersch Maibock)

also, ain't no law says you can't lager in the bottle

 

[BigMack]

Yes, a secondary fermentation isn't ever really necessary unless you are adding fruit or flavoring to the beer or are aging it for an extended amount of time. If you use an ale yeast you would let it ferment out and then bottle, no extended aging/lagering would be necessary.

The yeast is a matter of preference. If you want to use dry yeast I believe many of the recipes use Nottingham. I personally prefer to go the liquid route and use WLP 001 or Wyeast 1056 if I want to make a clean lager like beer.

You could also use something like Wyeast 1007 which is their german ale yeast.

 

[jcounter]

Perfect! It will just be a strange brew haha. I am a couple months out from brewing it. I still need to modify my big mouth bubbler to allow the new universal lid to fit so I can finally get a solid seal.

 

[jcounter]

I eventually will get a secondary for kicks, do you guys recommend glass or the BMB 5 gallon plastic?

 

[BigMack]

Go with plastic. Too many horror stories of people dropping glass and getting really badly injured.

 

[CorneliusRox]

I eventually will get a secondary for kicks, do you guys recommend glass or the BMB 5 gallon plastic?

I've got two plastic ones that both cracked around the spigot. I've got four glass ones that I love. I'm still relatively new to all this, so maybe some of the more experienced guys could chime in, but so far, I love the glass!

 

[jcounter]

I plan to use the malt extract kits for a while until I really have a firm grasp of all the process's including secondary fermenting and mastering the hydrometer haha. Then I plan to formulate some recipes using extracts. What is the best way to go about figuring out how to make recipes, like what extracts to use, what grains, hops, additives and what yeast? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

 

[eadavis80]

If you can use WYeast 1007 and keep it at the low 60's, I think you'll be happy. I did that with NB's Oktoberfest and served it at a wedding. The 5 gallons was gone 90 minutes into the reception.

 

[BigMack]

I plan to use the malt extract kits for a while until I really have a firm grasp of all the process's including secondary fermenting and mastering the hydrometer haha. Then I plan to formulate some recipes using extracts. What is the best way to go about figuring out how to make recipes, like what extracts to use, what grains, hops, additives and what yeast? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

The best way to figure out what to use is to brew. I know thats not the most helpful answer, but all the advice in the world won't replace the knowledge of having brewed with an ingredient to know what it will bring to the beer. A great way to figure out how different hops work in beer is to brew SMaSH (Single malt and single hop) beers that will really let that one hop shine through. You could also make split batches (make one five gallon batch and split up 2.5 gallons into separate fermentors) and use two different yeasts on the same wort to see how they turn out.

I would also recommend looking through some of the popular recipes on here. Many of them have extract recipes posted along with the all grain version. This will give you a great starting point to brew and then venture from there with substitutions.

And there are no dumb questions at all so ask away, but also search around on here because most questions have been answered time and time again.

Happy brewing!

 

[jcounter]

I've read the wyeast 1007 is pretty cloudy, would you recommend whirfloc? Or just let it sit an extra few days cold for stuff to drop?

 

[CJ-3]

I've read the wyeast 1007 is pretty cloudy, would you recommend whirfloc? Or just let it sit an extra few days cold for stuff to drop?

Whirlfloc works well, and so does Irish Moss, which I think is partly what whirlfloc is made of. If it's nit too late to make another yeast recommendation, you may want to consider US-05 which is a clean dry yeast that us pretty forgiving.

 

[jcounter]

Hmm well now I'm not sure which one to use haha. They both seem to have a relatively low ferment temp which is what I'm going for. Roughly 60-65 degrees. It seems like either will work well. Help me out haha.

 

[BigMack]

Again, everyone will tell you something different, but I'm personally not a big fan of the S-05 especially when fermented at the low end of its range. I much prefer the liquid alternative (Wyeast 1056 or even Wyeast 1272) for a clean american strain, and I don't use starters on low/medium gravity ales and I have never had an issue. A smack pack should be more than capable of getting the job done if your OG is less than 1.060. Thats just my $0.02

 

[IslandLizard]

You're in Michigan and it's Winter, don't you have an area in your home that's cool, like a closet along an outside wall, basement, mud room, garage, etc? With a little invention you can maintain the cooler temps needed during the fermentation, even lagers. Read around.

One thing about using liquid yeast, they all need a starter, do not pitch them straight out of the package. Making a starter is not difficult but it is another process that requires some planning ahead of time (a few days to a week), probably some extra equipment, and a meticulous sanitation regimen. Dry yeast is much easier for your first few brews, leaving fewer variables.

As said before, you need to brew to learn, but you also need to read and learn to brew. One applies to the other.

If you've never brewed before, extracts are the easiest most straight forward. A good kit is an excellent start. Ignore secondaries, they are not needed, regardless of kit instructions. There are some exceptions, but you shouldn't brew those more advanced beers until you know when and why you have a need for a secondary.

As to brewing with extracts, plenty of good recipes out here, look for feedback. The best recipes are those with steeping grains. Buy your loose ingredients, no need for "kits." As you brew more, you may want to venture into partial mash or all grain at some point, but that requires additional equipment and understanding of more processes.

 

[jcounter]

Could I just double pitch the 1007 to skip the starter? Not sure I trust myself with the starter yet.

 

[BigMack]

What is the OG of the recipe? I really think double pitching would be over pitching.

 

[jcounter]

It says sg is 1.064-1.066 on the box label.

 

[brewprint]

Here's a great recipe:

http://brulosophy.com/recipes/moktoberfest/

It just uses White Labs Kolsch yeast and is fermented at ale temps. He won an award for being in the style guidelines and no lagering was done.

Just a suggestion so please don't take offence. Look into BIAB brewing to give yourself more versatility with recipes.

It sounds like you're already going to be a dedicated brewer who will inevitably be brewing all-grain in the future. It takes approximately 30 minutes longer than extract and requires minimal extra equipment.

 

[IslandLizard]

It says sg is 1.064-1.066 on the box label.

It really needs a starter, 236 billion yeast cells. IF the yeast is really fresh, less than a month old, even 2 smack packs is barely enough.

Read up on how to make a starter, and see if it's doable for you.

You'll need a large jar or jug, a gallon size is good, and DME (200gr). Since you don't have a stir plate, it needs to be swirled as often as possible. Anyone can do that when they walk by.

 

[jcounter]

Here's a great recipe:

http://brulosophy.com/recipes/moktoberfest/

It just uses White Labs Kolsch yeast and is fermented at ale temps. He won an award for being in the style guidelines and no lagering was done.

Just a suggestion so please don't take offence. Look into BIAB brewing to give yourself more versatility with recipes.

It sounds like you're already going to be a dedicated brewer who will inevitably be brewing all-grain in the future. It takes approximately 30 minutes longer than extract and requires minimal extra equipment.

No offense taken. Always open to suggestions and new things. I will for sure look into it. Thanks for the tip. Once I get past the kits I was given as a gift I'll make my way towards bigger and better things.

 

[brewprint]

No offense taken. Always open to suggestions and new things. I will for sure look into it. Thanks for the tip. Once I get past the kits I was given as a gift I'll make my way towards bigger and better things.

Some people on this site get extremely offended if they're shown the light of all-grain.

I can attest that extract has a taste that the craft brew that you've been buying before you started brewing does not have.

Extract has a taste...there is no doubt about it. I could pick it out of probably any beer except for a heavily hopped IPA. Even then I may be able to. It's not necessarily bad, it's just extract.

My suggestion is to save the money that you were going to spend on carboys and get a larger pot (10 gallon or larger). Get a propane burner and a Wilser bag. You'll save money immediately buying straight grain.

 

[jcounter]

I actually have the darkstar 2.0 from Midwest just haven't gotten around to bringing it into use yet. I will for sure transition to all grain at some point. All in due time. My wife may kill me if more brewing stuff shows up at the house haha.

 

[jcounter]

I'm really trying to get away from doing a starter on this next Oktoberfest conversion because I don't think I fully have the know how and tools to do it correctly. Direct pitch sounds so much more appealing haha.

 

[brewprint]

I'm really trying to get away from doing a starter on this next Oktoberfest conversion because I don't think I fully have the know how and tools to do it correctly. Direct pitch sounds so much more appealing haha.

Buy the dry yeast on ebay for the style you want. I do starters and reharvest yeast. However I recently bought around 20 packs of different varieties of dry yeast on ebay because I need a change. Mainly because I'm just being lazy.

The only reason that I would even do starters is to save money by reharvesting the yeast. Those calculators are over rated IMHO.

On ebay the yeast is around $3/pack and less if you buy more. I also don't rehydrate. Wow I bet I sound insane to some people reading this

 

[jcounter]

Sounds good to me man, I like the thought process haha.