Whats a good, full flavored easy to brew beer kit?

[jcs401]

I have just brewed my first beer of octoberfest and it is currently fermenting. I had a few troubles such as slightly burned malt, and dumped all the sludge(hops) from the wort into the fermenter because I was not told to NOT do that. I am looking where to buy easy,but good beer kits.

 

[BlackGoat]

For newbies, I'd just try to keep it simple. Pale Ale, IPA, brown ale, heffe etc are simple straightforward brews. That said, brew a style that you'd want to drink.

 

[stevehardt]

Midwest has good kits with clear cut directions

 

[sweed]

Hefes are easy. There is a simple hefe recipe in the recipe data base forum I did last year that turned out great.
Making a Belgian wit this weekend, that's an easy recipe. Both great for spring time. I have the 15 minute cascade pale ale fermenting/ dry hopping right now, another easy beer that'll be great for spring.
Btw I dump all my wort/hops into the fermented.

 

[Malty_Dog]

My buddy's first kit was a brewer's best brown ale and it was quite delicious in taste tests right beside a Dogfish Head Indian Brown ale. My first brew (2 years ago) was exactly what you did - Octoberfest, burned malt, dumped trub in fermenter. Also fermented WAY too hot (in August no less ). It was pretty nasty. Of all the issues though I think the temps were the worst contributor to off flavors, so yours might end up A-OK.

 

[BlackGoat]

trub in the fermenter isn't really much of a biggy, many brewers do it all the time and don't care. Of course it's better not to, but its the least of your concerns when you're just getting started. Burned malt is obviously a bigger one. And Malty Dog is right, fermentation temps are hugely important.

 

[sethlovex]

Isn't Oktoberfest a lager?

 

[Fennis]

I'd say go for an Irish Red Ale, Pale Ale, or an IPA. Midwest, Northern Brewer, and Austin Homebrew Supply all have a huge selection of kits with great instructions to follow in their kits. My first batch of beer was AHS's Texas Blonde Ale. It has a well-rounded flavor, malty with a slight earthy hop flavor to it. I've enjoyed that kit enough to brew it a couple of times. An Irish Red Ale is also a great choice if you are looking for more body and flavor. Midwest has a nice little rating system for their kits that give you an idea where the recipe falls-malty, hoppy, dark/light color.

 

[hehawbrew]

My first kit was a Brooklyn Brewery Everyday IPA. Came with a carboy, thermometer, tubing,etc along with grain, hops, and sanitizer for 38$ on Amazon. It is only a gallon kit, but it was easy, fun, and tasty!

 

[jcs401]

Awesome!! Thanks for the replies. On another note, any suggestions of a good way to never burn your malt??

 

[aiptasia]

Two tips: Buy a thermometer (candy thermometer or meat thermometer with long probes, and preferrably a metal clip) and always remove your wort from the heat when adding extracts. A lot of extract brewers will add 1/2 of their extracts at the beginning of the boil and the other 1/2 around 15 minutes left in the boil to avoid malliard reactions.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I also liked using the paint strainer bags to hold my grains during the steep. That and taking the pot off of the heat during it. Plus it helps filter all those grains out of the wort.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Agree with the Hefeweizen recommendation.

Simple grain bill. Simple hop schedule. Forgiving fermentation temperature range. Hazy by style. Great drinking beer. Score!

 

[Wingnutt73]

So I use Brewers Best they have a ton of diffrent kits ranging from new brew to advance. I would suggest the English Brown.
As far as how not to burn your malt Stir stir and more stir. You should have some type of "Mashing Paddle" with holes in it. When adding the DME choke up on that and kind of wisk it into the Wort. Adding the LME just keep that paddle on the bottom and keep stirring. Hope that helps.