Simple trial and error, or waste of time?

[Ludesbrews]

Hey all,

My local HBS has LME at clearance right now, $9.99 for 3.3 lbs. Ive never built my own recipe, rather just used kits.

How would this work?

Grab a bunch of the LME cans, make different simple just LME batches while experimenting with different hop combos/add times.

What if I do the same with steeping different grains in addition to the LME and hops?

Will simply brewing with LME and hops produce a drinkable/alcoholic beer?

I feel like I can also work on raising the ABV by adding different fermentable sugars.

Just seems like a great way to learn/experiment without breaking the budget.

Thanks,
151

 

[VirginiaHops1]

Are they on clearance because they're old? LME gets stale faster than DME and when it does it won't make great beer.

Building your own recipes isn't hard though and it's really fun, so I would say go for that if you are so inclined.

 

[MGamber]

Agree with the above. Check or ask about how long they've been sitting around. If not too long, go for it. LME can make good beer and yeah, it sounds like a great way to experiment!