New to Brew

[kellsean]

Hi, everyone--Sean from Boston here. I've brewed cider and extract kits, but I'm looking to get a little more creative with all of your help.

For starters, could anyone tell me a simple way to jazz up an extract kit and make it a little more "my own"?

Thanks!

 

[bradsul]

Welcome to HBT!

If you're doing those kit-in-a-can kits, I would suggest finding/creating a nice extract+specialty grains recipe. If you're ordering kits from any of the various suppliers, try swapping out the hops for a different variety, or change some of the steeped grains or yeast for something different. That's one of the great things about the hobby, you can tweak pretty much anything.

 

[Evan!]

Welcome to The Obsession. Just so you know, it will consume you---so if you're not ready, tell us now

There are tons of things that I wish I had known when I first started. Here are a few pointers:

• Get Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing. The recipes in there are pretty cool. BYO magazine also has a back issue that has 150 clone recipes (including extract versions) for commercial brews. These options are much better, IMHO, than using kits from homebrew suppliers.
• When you start to craft your own recipes, the hobby will get infinitely more rewarding. This can only really be done (unless you are masochistic) using a brewing program like ProMash (which I use and love) or Beersmith. Coupled with Ray Daniels' book, "Designing Great Beers", you can make up your own recipes and revel in the glory of creating something all by yourself.
• Move to partial mashing as soon as possible. The sooner you do that, the sooner your brews will improve, IMHO.
• 2 other things will improve your beer: aerating your wort, and keeping your fermentation temperature under control. For most ales, this means under 70f.

Good luck, and if you don't have a hydrometer, now would be the time to get one.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Welcome from your neighbor down south!

I would follow Bradsul's advice as far as making a recipe more your own. I have been doing my own extract +steeping grains +hop recipes for about a year and the difference is pretty noticeable. I am about to take the next step and move into partial mash with my next brew, just gotta finish getting the additional equipment together.

 

[JavaBeans]

Welcome. And since you are a fellow Bostonian you should look into the Wort Processors. They have a meeting comming up soon. Hope I'll see you there.

www.wort.org