What should I brew next?

[Ian_James]

Hey guys,

I'm new to homebrewing. I have only brewed two extract beers and a couple of experimental wild sodas, ginger beers, and ciders. I'm interested in brewing some more proper beers (I only have the equipment to brew extract recipes for the time being), and I'd love some suggestions for easy, rewarding extract beers. My first two brews were an english porter and an oatmeal stout respectively. They both turned out pretty good, I think.

Let me know what you recommend! I'm thinking about doing an amber ale next... not a huge fan of light beers.

 

[AlexKay]

The good news is that darker beers are the best ones to start with! What to do next depends mostly on what you enjoy drinking, but I'd recommend an American stout, a hoppy one. Or if you want to head (slowly) towards lighter styles, an American Strong Ale. That will be more fun than an amber, and less like what you can find commercially.

Edit: if you want to stick to British styles, a strong Scottish ale or an ESB, maybe?

 

[DBhomebrew]

For an extract brewer, you won't go wrong checking out @D.B.Moody's I Brewed A Favorite thread. Many simple and delicious styles. Be sure to catch his 30min process.

 

[Rish]

I think an amber ale would be a good choice, but agree with @AlexKay that a Scottish ale is also a good option. My favorite homebrew that I have in the fridge right now is a Scottish ale that I made a couple of months ago that turned out really tasty. Good luck!

 

[hotbeer]

I think you should just decide what you think you want to drink. I would still try to keep it simple for a time. Not too many ingredients and not a lot of special adjuncts and such that sometimes come with the darker stouts.

Look at some of the ingredient kits that are available for various beers. If you understand their names you can figure out which are a clone of commercial beers you might already enjoy.

I started with all-grain kits, 1 gallon. Then and now I still prefer the light and pale ales. I just did my first stouts this last winter, and I wasn't impressed with my results. Only just now after 8 months are the few remaining bottles of stout are beginning to taste decent to me. It'll probably be another year or two before I try stouts again.

As for whether dark ales are easier or not to brew... I don't know, I've never tried.

Again, I think you should let your taste lead you to your next beer. But K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The book Brewing Classic Styles is a good source of quality extract-based recipes (the recipes also include an "all-grain" option).

And be sure to check out @D.B.Moody's I brewed a favorite recipe today thread.

 

[camonick]

I particularly like MoreBeer’s Irish Red Ale kit. I’ve always used Nottingham yeast and it’s a great beer.
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I see you live in Denver. Welcome from the far northeast corner of the state.

 

[OleBrewing]

the stouts, browns, and reds were my best extract beers back in the day. lighter beers didn't quite hit the mark and they were not quite right. could've been water used etc. of course this was 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then in brewing practices and ingredients.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Mr. Moody and I each did some non-scientific A/B brews of simple extract beers. We agree Munton's has a clear advantage in the flavor department over Briess. Probably doesn't matter much for beers with plenty of steeping grains.

 

[zasada]

Do a dark munich smash with favorite hops and yeast suits yours temperature range.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Muntons DME: About a month ago, Home Brew Ohio and Yakima Valley Hops had in stock at a reasonable price.

MoreBeer and RiteBrew didn't stock it (at that time).

A couple of other places did have it at a much higher price.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

the stouts, browns, and reds were my best extract beers back in the day. lighter beers didn't quite hit the mark and they were not quite right. could've been water used etc. of course this was 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then in brewing practices and ingredients.

Minerals in the source water will have an impact - and each brand of extract probably has different amounts of minerals as well.

HtB, 4e has good advice in chapter 1 (simplifying source water) and chapter 8 ("seasoning to taste").

The idea of "season to taste" is also discussed in "I brewed a favorite recipe today ..." and a couple of other topics mentioned in that topic.

 

[Brewdog80]

Extract, stay on the medium to dark in my opinion, a good red is nice.

 

[D.B.Moody]

Muntons DME: About a month ago, Home Brew Ohio and Yakima Valley Hops had in stock at a reasonable price.

MoreBeer and RiteBrew didn't stock it (at that time).

A couple of other places did have it at a much higher price.

Label Peelers carries Muntons cheaper, but they somnetimes don't have product. Right now, for instance, you can get 3lbs of Mutons amber for 13.99 from Home Brew Ohio. Label Peelers is out of 3lb. bags, but has one lb. for 4.57 which is only 12.71 for 3 lbs. Their 3 lbs would go for 12.08, if they had it.

The book Brewing Classic Styles is a good source of quality extract-based recipes (the recipes also include an "all-grain" option).

And be sure to check out @D.B.Moody's I brewed a favorite recipe today thread.

I can't help but mention Charlie Papazan's The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, which many of my recipes are based on. Since you've made ginger beer and a couple of dark ales, @Ian_James, you might enjoy his Vagabond Gingered Ale.

 

[nvbeerpirate]

I came across this the other day while trying to figure something to brew: Random BJCP Style Picker. Ended up brewing a Scottish Light (14a) aka 60 Schilling, something that I thought I would never brew. It definitely got me out of my comfort zone and kept things fresh in the brewhouse. Might be worth a shot for anyone who is looking for something new.

 

[landmissle]

I particularly like MoreBeer’s Irish Red Ale kit. I’ve always used Nottingham yeast and it’s a great beer.
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I see you live in Denver. Welcome from the far northeast corner of the state.

I've only brewed six batches of beers so far and More Beers! Irish Red extract with Nottingham yeast has been my favorite. I've liked all the beers I've brewed, but this was the best. It gets better too as it ages.