Questions after several batches brewed

[kennya]

First off, I'm really enjoying this new hobby! I have brewed a Coopers Real Ale, Brewers Best Weizenbier, Coopers Wheat Beer and a Brewers Best Kolsch. I have a Northern Brewer Irish Red Ale and the Northern Brewer White House Honey Ale in their secondary's.

Each one has turned out great, friends love them and they don't last too long! Going through these processes have brought up some questions be I think this is the best place to ask.

First question I have concerns the boil. I have figured out from this forum that the reasons my first couple of batches were darker in color was because I boiled the LME for the full boil. So I started adding that later in the boil going against the provided instructions. My question is this though, once I have added the LME and/or DME, I don't let the pot go more than two minutes with out stirring it. Is that necessary? I am so concerned about the malt scorching on the bottom of the pot that I spend the full boil time stirring, not allowing me to get the next step in the process ready.

As you can see, I've done 6 kit batches, 4 complete, 2 fermenting. What's the next gradual progression in the home brewing field? Continue with the kits but try and understand each step better? Try my hand at starter yeasts? Understand specific gravity better?

Now's not the time for me to purchase all grain brewing equipment, but is that really the next logical step? I know I do not understand all of the nuances that go into brewing, I'm just not sure what I should focus on now.

Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Hammy71]

Once the LME/DME dissolves, the fear of scorching is pretty much passed. Sporadic stirring is a good thing, sorta like making spaghetti sauce or stew. But constant stirring isn't really necessary.

As far as the next logical step. Depends on you and your budget. Many are satisfied with extracts and never give a thought or care for changing anything. And that's perfectly OK. The possibilities are endless for you. Do some more research and see what fits in your budget, DYI skills, availability of space, and what you want to get out of this hobby. There is no wrong answer and no right one.

 

[McKnuckle]

One accepted next step is to begin doing extract brewing with steeping grains, where you get the bulk of your sugar from liquid or dry malt extract, and flavor/color/character from milled specialty grains. And you choose your own hops and yeast.

This gets you away from kits which are relatively expensive, have sometimes questionable ingredient freshness, and which leave little room for self-expression or experimentation in brewing.

Understanding the science involved in brewing, especially how to control fermentation, is really a continuous learning kinda thing that you'll hopefully always do. It's not mutually exclusive with the inevitable progression of moving your brewing process from kits towards AG.

Regarding the equipment needed for AG, I strongly feel that people in the homebrewing community are too zealous about recommending enormous capacity kettles and multiple vessel systems. If you look into Brew in a Bag (BIAB) and keep your batches in the 2-4 gallon range rather than 5 and above, you can to invest in far less gear - a single 5-8 gallon kettle will do.

I am still fairly new at two years in; I switched to AG very early on, and I still never regularly brew even 5 gallon batches. I vastly prefer having 50 bottles comprised of 5 different beers rather than a giant batch of something. Especially if I've never brewed it before. I do have the equipment for up to a 9 gallon batch, but in practice I rarely brew more than 3 gallons at a time.

 

[logan_the_huge]

Slowly upgrading your equipment was how I started out. I also started creating my own extract/partial grain recipes which sounds like it would be a good next step for you.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

My question is this though, once I have added the LME and/or DME, I don't let the pot go more than two minutes with out stirring it. Is that necessary? I am so concerned about the malt scorching on the bottom of the pot that I spend the full boil time stirring, not allowing me to get the next step in the process ready.

Now's not the time for me to purchase all grain brewing equipment, but is that really the next logical step? I know I do not understand all of the nuances that go into brewing, I'm just not sure what I should focus on now.

Once you are actively boiling, stirring kind of isn't really required as the bubbling tends to do your agitation. Does not hurt to do it every once in a while just so you know you are watching it to avoid boilovers.

Next step is one of following based off your preference:

Fermentation temperature control (anything from a fridge to swamp cooler to a brewbelt)
Yeast health (starters or aeration or harvesting)
Partial mash (just requires a bag and an accurate thermometer)

Formulating your own recipes is kind of your own pace type of thing.

 

[eadavis80]

I'd say after I got a half dozen extract kits (w/ dried yeast) under my belt, then I started feeling more confident in liquid yeast/making starters and washing yeast. Still not doing AG - don't have the time or space - maybe one day. The next step you should take depends on your time/budget/interest. The next step should be the one you're most curious about! Good luck

 

[Malty_Dog]

If you look at the top of this particular forum you'll see this stickied thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

For me, that was the logical next step after kits. It may or may not be for you, just a suggestion. That, along with full volume boils led quickly to better beer. If your pot isn't big enough for full volume 5 gal boils, just make 2.5 or 3 gal batches. Everyhting just scales down ingredient-wise. Again, just a suggestion. If you have a LHBS nearby it's fun to go weigh out your grains by hand, mill them there, then bring home to make beer. You feel a lot closer to or more a part of the process.

As far as the constant stirring, once you get it completely dissolved into the boil you'll have little chance of scorching. On your next batch back off on the stirring after it appears fully dissolved (3-5 min?) and then check the bottom of the kettle when you go to clean up at the end of the brew day. That will answer your question.