What next?

[kgkraft1]

First time poster here and I'd really like to say thanks to everyone for the abundance of great information and advice on here. I've been lurking for a couple months now but haven't been able to think of a question that hasn't been answered in triplicate already. You all rock!

I scored a half price deluxe starter kit on groupon a few months ago and am getting ready to start my third box mix batch. This time I'm making an American IPA and am going to try a full boil. I feel like I'm getting the basics pretty dialed in at this point and after this run am going to be ready to learn some new tricks. So where do I go from here? I was thinking of just following a recipe next time but that doesn't sound much harder than a box mix. Should I try partial mash? Or a special technique like dry hopping/flavoring? Maybe some tougher to make style? Is there reading I should be doing? Any recommendations on a good progression towards advanced brewing would be appreciated.

Thanks all - K

 

[BillyBock]

Do you have "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing", by Charlie Papazian? If not, get it. Also, "How to Brew" by John Palmer is a good one. Once you get your technique down, "Designing Great Beers" is a book that has lots of good info on different beer styles and lots of recipes to play with. I would definitely try a partial mash.

 

[Scruffy1207]

Great question, I'm at the same point you are k. I am getting a keg system next and going to start playing with fruit, dry hopping, and partial mash next.

Edit: also to help with exp portion, imma start doing 5-1g batches at a time, lock in some technique

 

[h22lude]

I find How To Brew to be one of the best books out there. It's something you can read a few times and each time come away with more information. I would say start with that. Then you can move onto books devoted to one thing like Designing Great Beers or Yeast.

In terms of what do you do next, there are bunch of options you have. You can keep doing partial extract boils and start using a brew software like BeerSmith to change it up a little. Learn how adding hops at different times effects the beer or late extract additions effect the hops utilization.

You can do partial mash or go all-grain. That is completely up to you. I personally like learning first then moving on. So I started with a basic starter kit, then I got bigger kettles and better equipment. Now I'm building a keezer to keg my beer and a wort chiller (which is a good thing to have with full boils). Once I get those two built and tweaked the way I want them, I'm going to move onto all-grain and build a MLT.

You basically have unlimited options right now.

 

[Brasco20]

Just have fun with it. Try something that interests you. Even adding a small variable thats different is fun, especially when it turns out great. When that happens, you think, hmm, im pretty good at this. One thing i havent done yet, but want to, is add some vanilla beans to the primary with a blonde or some lemon zest to a wheat. Get beersmith, its a great program, easy to use.

 

[JonM]

Once I get those two built and tweaked the way I want them, I'm going to move onto all-grain and build a MLT.

Building the MLT is a fun project. You can use the MLT for partial mashes and when you go AG. Both PM and AG will open lots of possibilities beyond what boxed kits offer. Happy brewin'!

 

[erikpete18]

Well, if you're brewing an IPA already, you can cross dry-hopping off your list if you've got an LHBS nearby. Figure out what hops the kit is using for late addition (or experiment and try something different) and grab a couple of ounces. All I do is ferment out the IPA completely (3-4 weeks) then dump the pellets right into the primary. Let that sit for another week or two, bottle, and you've dry hopped!

Other than that it sounds like you are well on your way! By "the basics" you have down I'm assuming your sanitation, boiling, and ferm temps are all pretty good. From there, I'd definitely try partial mashes. It lets you do something new, but you can still use a tried and true recipe if you don't want to design your own. Of course, the next step is to design your own recipe, so feel free to skip that part! If you want an easy way into partial mashes, do some research on BIAB. You could even do no-sparge BIAB AG in your kettle right now for the price of a paint strainer bag (~$5), or look up Deathbrewer's easy stove-top partial mash for a partial boil version.