Step by Step First Extract Brew

[WeegieBlue]

I really want to make a nice extract beer. The kits I've done are OK but after reading the stories on here I know I'm missing a trick. There's no chance on this earth that I can go AG, so extract will do for now. I've ordered Wheeler's book from Waterstone's and that should be here this week, but I wanted some forum advice. I read through all of the extract posts and didn't really get a simple "How To" guide, but if there is one, please point me in the right direction.

Firstly, what's the smallest pan I can get away with using? I'm happy to buy a new stock pot for this, but I don't want to buy something I could sit in if the floods come in!

Secondly, does anyone have a nice simple recipe for a decent amber ale with an ABV of circa 4.5%? I'm not technically minded about brewing at the moment, so although I know adding certain things at certain times affects aroma and bitterness, I'm not 100% sure what and when!

Once I've done my first one, I'll be able to taste it and say "hmmm, I think I would like more bitterness/aroma/flavour, etc" and then refer back to this and ask what I can do to improve. But I need to take this first step, and someone from Jim's will need to hold my hand!

So, who's up for mentoring me through this brew?

[RichardG]

Well Weegie, like you I've just moved to extract from kits, and for the same reason. So we can probably learn together as we go along! I have, however, actually done my first 'pure' extract brew which is fermenting now. You might want to have a look at my comments here;

http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... =3&t=20167

In terms of kit, I have a 3 gal stock pot which from my reading, both books and on here, seems to be the minimum size to use. There not that expensive and are a good investment in my opinion. Before we move on, can you confirm what equipment you already have?

[WeegieBlue]

Well Weegie, like you I've just moved to extract from kits, and for the same reason. So we can probably learn together as we go along! I have, however, actually done my first 'pure' extract brew which is fermenting now. You might want to have a look at my comments here;

http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... =3&t=20167

In terms of kit, I have a 3 gal stock pot which from my reading, both books and on here, seems to be the minimum size to use. There not that expensive and are a good investment in my opinion. Before we move on, can you confirm what equipment you already have?

Hey Richard.

I have a couple fo FV's and the usual bumph in terms of hydrometer, spoon, little bottler etc. Nothing to heat anything with.

Chris - I'm not too keen to buy another FV as SWMBO will prolly go ape at me - she'll just see it as another big bucket! If I buy a decent sized stock pot I can use it as a storage vessell for my bits and bobs too so that should appease her a little. I was having a look on eBay and was thinking of getting something like a 15l pot or even a couple of maslin pans (used to make jam) as they have a pouring lip which would make it tons easier to handle. Maslin pans only hold around 6l though so not sure about that.

That recipe looks like a good starting point although how easy is it to convert that from a boiler to an 'on the stove' version? The other problem I'd face is the cooling. If I have a large pan, I can pop it in the sink and pack it with ice to cool. A boiler would need the whole copper coil thing and that's more money and more stuff for the missus to gripe about, so there's another reason I'm not keen to go that far yet.

I am in the process of upgrading my shed for a little wooden 6x4 to a nice metal 6x8, after which I will have a bit more space to spread out. Could I brew outdoors using some sort of gas burner and a big pan? Not sure about airborne debris landing in the wort.....sorry, thinking out loud here....!

Thanks for your help both of you!

[RichardG]

As to equipment, I have two fermentation buckets (FV's) both with taps fitted. I use one to ferment and the other as a bottling bucket (BB). A siphon tube to get beer from FV to BB, hydrometer, bottle capper etc. As to boiling I use an aluminium stock pot, 3 gals, or 12 Ltrs. This was fine for my last brew. I also have a wacking great sieve which fits nicely over the FV to both strain and aerate the wort; £4.88 from Lidl! As to cooling, I do as you suggested and place the boiling pot in an ice bath. Cools it nicely. Chris-X1 is a mine of useful info, so listen to what he and others have to say.

You've talked about an 'amber ale'. My recipe is quite pale, so you may want to use a can of pale and can of amber extract, but I believe it's always good to steep specialist grains as well. Do you have any particular beer you like?

[WeegieBlue]

I use my tapless one for fermenting and then syphon off into the other to allow it to drop and to add finings if needed and then bottle from there. I think I might just invest in a 3gl stock pot and a massive sieve and then crack on from there. I'll have another scan through your recipe and maybe give that a shot. I really need to get the boiling times sorted in my head and know what to add and when. From there I'll be alright - I used to be a chef so I'm fine in the kitchen, I just need the knowledge!

I like beers like Tangle Foot if that helps....

[Waffty]

Well Weegie, like you I've just moved to extract from kits, and for the same reason. So we can probably learn together as we go along!

Count me in too, as I did my first Extract brew on Sunday, which is happily fermenting away as I type. Like Richard, I went for a large 3 gallon stock pot or be it, I only used a 10L boil but I ran into problems 'driving' the boil, as the combination of large pot & gas cooker, couldn't get the temp past 85 degrees, until I removed 3L of liquid, which is all documented here.

Anyways, I've done the calculations out of John Palmers book (how to brew?) & also on Beersmith (great program by the way) & with a bit of luck, the relativley low initial boil gravity, combined with relatively large quantity of hops (with strong AA %) 40g at 7.5 to 8.5% AA, SHOULD give me a decent session bitter but I guess, only time will tell.

For my next brew, I'll be looking to use another similar sized stock pot or be it, of a thinner material, having said that, I've done a fair amount of reading on this too , & it is possible to get a decent brew, out of smaller stock pot i.e i.e 7L (or above) but you have to ensure, you use a lower starting gravity to ensure a decent hop infustion i.e I put 500g of DME in my initial pot size of 10L, then removed 3L, so when I did my hop boil, the gravity would have been around 1013 (to 1020), which on a 30minute boil, would have given me an efficiency of 0.213, which against my hop strength, whould have returned an IBU of 31 or so.

Can't wait until, next week/4 weeks later.

Darren.

[RichardG]

Maybe we should start a new topic, 'Trainee extract brewers'! Seriuosly, it might be worth starting a thread on here where newbies like ourselves can exchange our ideas and experiences.

Waffty, I've got Palmers book as well. Interesing read I found, even with the American measurements! We must have a powerful gas hob as I had no problem with my boil; I guess it's a case of going with what you can. Let us know how things progress as I think it'd be great if we can share our experiences. Have to say, I'm loving this extract stuff, it's really good to have a sense of being in 'control' (I use the term losely in my case!) of the end product.

[Waffty]

Maybe we should start a new topic, 'Trainee extract brewers'! Seriuosly, it might be worth starting a thread on here where newbies like ourselves can exchange our ideas and experiences.

Sounds like a plan, as there's at least three of us now & whilst there is info out there for the 1st time Extract brewer, it's not quite an idiots guide, which is what I really needed

Waffty, I've got Palmers book as well. Interesing read I found, even with the American measurements! We must have a powerful gas hob as I had no problem with my boil; I guess it's a case of going with what you can. Let us know how things progress as I think it'd be great if we can share our experiences.

Palmers book is excellent but it my mind, you have to have some previous knowledge (gained from the good folk on this board) for it to make any real sense i.e Chris (from here) advised on using limited DME on a small volume boil, to get a better hop efficiency, which kinda made sense but on reading the section in Palmers book, it makes perfect sense (So thanks Chris & John P).

If you get 5 minutes, then a play with BeerSmith is also very useful, especially when 'playing' around with styles/strengths/bitterness etc, as it gives a good understanding of the relationship between boil water volume, boil gravity, Boil duration, hop weight & hop AA rating. You can also choose to add 'bulk' of the DME later in the process, if you only have a small pan or in Chris's suggestion, there's nothing to stop you using 500g DME for the initial Boil/hop flavour part of the process & simply add the remaining DME (with doesn't need to be pasterised) to the ferementor directly & simply 'top' up with your hop flavouring later.

Have to say, I'm loving this extract stuff, it's really good to have a sense of being in 'control' (I use the term losely in my case!) of the end product.

Agreed, I don't think for one minute my 1st Extract brew will tick all of my expectation boxes but since I know how I got there (in terms of boil, ingrediants etc) + have an understanding (or be it a limited one), then I should be able to adapt/refine it, until I do.

I'll post back soon, when I know if my Dudley Best Bitter is a drinker or a thower

[dibsthenog]

Could become 4 very soon
Just need to finish the brew in my barrel first
any 1 got a easey stout/porter recipe???

[RichardG]

Welcome one and all! I may have a porter recipe floating around. If I can find it I'll post it on here.

[badgerdan]

Now 5
I've only done two Coopers kits but am now ready for Extract as my local HB shop only do Coopers kits wine kits, nothing else but am coming home to England in a few weeks so am waiting to buy my ingrediants then to help save on postage to here in Norway.
All I've done since is read all the new topics in the Extract brewing section so now have a bit of knowledge from reading everyones processes, troubles and all the success storys and can't wait to get started on my own I'm going to try and do a brown ale for my first as I love Newky so much and here it's about £3.40 a bottle in the supermarkets and £6.60 in the pub; would be excellent to be able to make my own that tastes the same or close to that

[RichardG]

Christ weegie, what have you started! Welcome to badgerdan.

dibsthenog, do you have John Plamers book 'How to Brew'? It has a recipe for stout, porter and brown ale, though these will be more for the American market. However, if anyone wants them, I can post them here (will be away watching the footie soon though! ).

[WeegieBlue]

I'm really glad this thread has taken off. I was a bit worried I'd be ignored or just referred to another post somewhere! We should all bookmark this post and use it as a diary of our successes and failures as I think there's a demand for having more control of your brew but not having to spend a half day and x amount of cash on it too.

First things first, I'm going to buy a nice big pan this weekend. Secondly, I'm going to read my copy of Wheeler's book, as I still don't know exactly what the whole aa% and ABU stuff is all about. I've scanned over it, but to be fair, I've been at work skiving, and it's not the best place to absorb this knida stuff!

Then I need to get myself a decent step by step recipe for a good ale - from putting water on the stove to popping the airlock on the FV. It doesn't have to be a simple one as I'm happy to have to pay attention and make sure all is well, but once I have the first done, I know I'll be looking to dive into the second, third, fourth.......

I have about 35 pints of wherry in the loft and around 40 of Muntons Gold Pilsner conditioning. My wife is actually going to kill me when I start my next brew!! Ah well!

Welcome to the gang, one and all!

[LunaKat]

I have been dabbling in Jim's Beer kit and reading everyone else's comments, but i figured why not dive in.
I haven't done what you guys did, i have instead jumped right in with both feet.
a first extract brew and skipped the kits. Started with a recipe i found on another forum called crushed toad ale which mixes two kinds of malts, and kinda deviates from the normal but i have a tendency to jump in with two feet.
The good news is that it is bubbling away happily in the corner (much to my cat's confusion).

My biggest problem i think will be bottling. I don't really want a second bucket just second fermentation or for bottling right now. How did you guys get along with that? I also don't have a spout attached to my bucket, hoping to siphon. I have bits (a hose and a from the starter kit... but i don't know if that will be enough.

Getting enough bottles also has me worried. but one thing at a time!

[LunaKat]

WeegieBlue -
If you go to More Beer! in concord California's website
http://morebeer.com/search/102144/beerw ... rmentation
and click on "click here" in the top bit, than it will give you a stupendous step by step checklist for what to do. its not perfect, but it kept me sane