how to step up extract brewing

[darrenbrews]

Hi Folks,

Over the past month I have done two brews with my MR Beer kit, a pale ale and winter ale, the pale ale turned out fine, the winter ale is still fermenting but I believe it's going to be fine. But I thought it's time to move onto something more advanced like all-grain, so I'll be making a mash tun and cooler in January. But until then I'm wondering if there is a way to step up my extract brewing by adding hops, flavoring or some other way.

I'm not even sure what I want to do different with my extract kit but definitely want to individualize it somehow. I'm looking for something with some bite to it, something that would make good football watching beer.

Any suggestions?

-Darren

 

[SudsyPaul]

Look up the recipes section in here, there are several good extract recipes.

My first beer was an extract recipe that involved steeping some crystal malts, adding honey and some cascade hops.

You can forego the all-grain setup and just use malt extracts (unhopped) and steep some grains and toss in your own hops as you please.

My first year of brewing is going to be extract-only, and when I buy my new house, I'll step up to all-grain, since I'll have a bigger garage and more work-space.

 

[ZombieBrew83]

I just started brewing in February and now have over 25 batches under my belt. There are numerous techniques in extract brewing to learn. I have to ask, if you are happy with your final product, why the change? I'm planning to step up to BIAB in the new year to better control my wort fermentability and understand my base grains.

I'll second Sudsy and recommend you try a few batches using extracts plus steeping grains. This is how I've done all my beers so far. You can produce a beer from any style you can imagine using this set up. If you are looking for a recipe with some bite I highly recommend Yooper's Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA clone. There is an extract version listed in her thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/dogfish-head-60-minute-clone-ag-extract-25709/
For a "football watching beer" ( I assume you mean a session beer) I recommend Edwort's Haus Pale ale. It's a very quafffable, balanced beer.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

 

[darrenbrews]

I have to ask, if you are happy with your final product, why the change?

Brewing with a Mr. Beer kit definitely has it's limitations. Boil some water, add the HME & LME to the boil, transfer to keg, add yeast. The whole process takes less than an hour. And yes so far the beer has been good but I know it can be better with some extra effort.

Also with Mr Beer you don't really need to take gravity readings and dont learn anything more advanced at all, and you are limited to 2 gallons. So I guess what I'm really asking is how to step up Mr Beer kit brewing?

Anyhow I like your suggestion of the Dogfish Head 60 Minute Clone. I just found out I have some brewing equipment coming for Christmas so I'll be able to try something like the Dogfish head.

thanks for your replies,

DZ

 

[RedDraw]

I just started brewing in February and now have over 25 batches under my belt. There are numerous techniques in extract brewing to learn. I have to ask, if you are happy with your final product, why the change? I'm planning to step up to BIAB in the new year to better control my wort fermentability and understand my base grains.

I'll second Sudsy and recommend you try a few batches using extracts plus steeping grains. This is how I've done all my beers so far. You can produce a beer from any style you can imagine using this set up. If you are looking for a recipe with some bite I highly recommend Yooper's Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA clone. There is an extract version listed in her thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/dogfish-head-60-minute-clone-ag-extract-25709/
For a "football watching beer" ( I assume you mean a session beer) I recommend Edwort's Haus Pale ale. It's a very quafffable, balanced beer.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

Looks like a nice suggestion for the Edwort's Haus Pale. With the thread being 262 pages long, can you reveal if they came up with a substitution for the Munich LME for the original extract recipe?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RM-MN]

Your Mr. Beer will hold 2 gallons, correct? Why not buy some unhopped malt extract and some specialty grains, choose a hop that might fit a recipe and go from there. Now you don't have to use a hydrometer to find the OG because you are still using extract but your beer will be more complex with the addition of the specialty grains and hops.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Brewing with a Mr. Beer kit definitely has it's limitations. Boil some water, add the HME & LME to the boil, transfer to keg, add yeast. The whole process takes less than an hour. And yes so far the beer has been good but I know it can be better with some extra effort.

Also with Mr Beer you don't really need to take gravity readings and dont learn anything more advanced at all, and you are limited to 2 gallons. So I guess what I'm really asking is how to step up Mr Beer kit brewing?

Anyhow I like your suggestion of the Dogfish Head 60 Minute Clone. I just found out I have some brewing equipment coming for Christmas so I'll be able to try something like the Dogfish head.

thanks for your replies,

DZ

I brew extract with a beer making kit I purchased from my local home brew kit. It is not a 1 hour brewing process for me. My batches are 5 gallon batches. Gravity isn't really 100% necessary but I do it because at some point I will need to learn those processes and it lets me get my beer into bottles quicker since the Hydrometer tells you when your fermentation is done.

I have this kit (you can find others that are cheaper and have less stuff or more expensive and have more stuff) from my local homebrew place

http://www.love2brew.com/Complete-Beer-Making-Kit-p/bbek002.htm

So for me my brewing day consists of steeping grains in about 3 gallons of water for 30 minutes or so, adding the DME, adding the hops through the boil, etc. Then I have to cool it fast (in under 30 minutes) to about 75 degrees or so get it to the fermenting bucket pitch the yeast and let it sit and after some enjoy the bubble show in my fermenter. When the show stops for a bit (usually wait for the small bubbles to go away) I do my hydrometer testing. If it's ready then I bottle it. It's way more involved than Mr. Beer and something I'd probably recommend because it gets you a little more involved before all grain since the basic difference between grain and extract is in all grain you make the extract.

With extract kits that you can make a bunch of varieties, with my carboy I can secondary ferment (like Dry hop for an IPA, and a variety of other things)

One of the other brew shops near me has 177 Ale extract kits and 69 Lager extract kits. So you can find a ton of fun in extract as you get used to other processes in brewing before making the all-grain jump.

 

[ZombieBrew83]

Looks like a nice suggestion for the Edwort's Haus Pale. With the thread being 262 pages long, can you reveal if they came up with a substitution for the Munich LME for the original extract recipe?

Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure. I get my materials from Midwest Supplies and they have Munich LME so I never gave it a thought.

 

[RedDraw]

I'm not sure. I get my materials from Midwest Supplies and they have Munich LME so I never gave it a thought.

Jeez, I feel stupid. Looked in the wrong spot at Midwest and didn't see it originally. Thanks for making me look again.