New brewer adding extras to extract kit

[bigbrewer]

Hello all, I've been a member for a little bit now. Mostly I just read, but today I've got a question. I'll be brewing my 3rd extract kit this weekend, it's the raspberry wheat from Jaspers. Well i was thinking about adding something to it, maybe a pound of honey at the end of the boil? The kit already has steeping grains, i was thinking maybe adding a half pound of crystal/caramel (not really sure what the numbers mean, like 20L) to the steeping grains. Should I do both the honey and the grains, one or the other, or just leave it alone and follow the kits instructions? Any other suggestions maybe?

 

[Pappers_]

Hi and welcome. I don't know what is in the kit, so it's hard to comment on the possible additions. I can tell you that 20L denotes the color of the malt, with 20 being lighter than 40, etc.

 

[foley178]

Too be honest I don't think they would clash but honey would probably add to your alcohol content

 

[Sailingeric]

Dont do it, it will disrupt the balance in the universe
http://youtu.be/ct1-zq8gf_0?t=54s

 

[bigbrewer]

Hi and welcome. I don't know what is in the kit, so it's hard to comment on the possible additions. I can tell you that 20L denotes the color of the malt, with 20 being lighter than 40, etc.

The kit has:
6.6 wheat malt extract syrup
7oz Munich malt
4oz cara red

1oz Willamette hops

And then raspberry extract a day before bottling

 

[bigbrewer]

Dont do it, it will disrupt the balance in the universe
http://youtu.be/ct1-zq8gf_0?t=54s

Not gonna lie, that was hilarious

 

[Pappers_]

From looking at the recipe, it seems like they are going for a dry, easy-to-drink, refreshing beer. In that case, I wouldn't add any caramel or crystal, which will make the beer sweeter and more caramelly. Adding honey would increase the ABV as mentioned above, which again would work against making this a light, dry, easy-to-drink and refreshing wheat fruit beer. If it were me, I'd consider brewing it as is once before making any changes.

 

[bigbrewer]

From looking at the recipe, it seems like they are going for a dry, easy-to-drink, refreshing beer. In that case, I wouldn't add any caramel or crystal, which will make the beer sweeter and more caramelly. Adding honey would increase the ABV as mentioned above, which again would work against making this a light, dry, easy-to-drink and refreshing wheat fruit beer. If it were me, I'd consider brewing it as is once before making any changes.

Perfect, that's what I was looking for! I'll leave the recipe as is. I wanna start making my own recipes eventually, but I need to figure what goes well with what. The only reason I got into homebrewing was cause a friend gave me a coopers diy kit, did that, the beer turned out pretty good and I'm now hooked. Thanks for your input

 

[filthyastronaut]

On one hand, it is probably best to brew a recipe once without substitutions, but you have as much or as little wiggle room as you like. A huge part of the journey in this hobby is figuring out which ingredients and styles you really like, and experimentation is a good way to do that.

The thing about honey, is that its practically pure sugar and its flavor is delicate enough that it's difficult to have it stand out in a beer. It would make you beer drier and have higher ABV, though just a pound isn't going to make it super boozy. Throwing those ingredients with honey into a recipe utility, you would end up a touch higher than 5.5% ABV, but that also depends on your yeast.

With those steeping grains, you could make a small addition extra without making it too sweet, but for the intentions of the original recipe you don't need to bother changing much. If you wanted to try honey, however, I would recommend adding 4 oz. of honey malt. It's quite pleasant in small amounts and I've heard good things about it bringing out the honey character when adding honey. It's not a huge specialty addition as is, and the dryness from the honey should balance it out nicely.

If you want to start making your own recipes, I'd recommend getting a recipe utility like Beersmith or Brewer's Friend (there are many others as well), and read up on styles, individual ingredients, and hop varieties. My first batch was just slightly changed from an online recipe but my second was all mine. Making recipes is the most fun for me personally, so I would get it into it as soon as possible!

 

[Jimbodaman]

Absolutely add 1 lb of honey and say .5 lb of say "crystal 60" . You will definitely get drinkable and probably damn good beer

 

[Jimbodaman]

The honey contains mostly fermentable sugars and will actually thin out the mouthfeel of the final product. However adding a bit of Crystal malt will actuallty increase sweetness, darkness and thicken the mouthfeel of the beer. Just go for it That's what homebrewing is about. Don't worry I promise those two additions will not ruin your beer, and will more likely enhance it, although that's purely subjective.

 

[bigbrewer]

The honey contains mostly fermentable sugars and will actually thin out the mouthfeel of the final product. However adding a bit of Crystal malt will actuallty increase sweetness, darkness and thicken the mouthfeel of the beer. Just go for it That's what homebrewing is about. Don't worry I promise those two additions will not ruin your beer, and will more likely enhance it, although that's purely subjective.

All right I'll give it shot. I wasn't too worried about ruining the beer. Off to the home brew shop tomorrow

 

[ChrisVZ]

I'm in the camp that says experiment away. I rarely brew a batch exactly the way it's recipe calls for.
I would suggest you use a light flavored honey though, something like clover or orange blossom. Darker, more flavorful honeys may dominate the flavor profile in a wheat beer. The clover honey would probably have the least effect on flavor, but the orange blossom can impart a citrusy floral character that would work well with the raspberry flavor.