can you recommend me a starter extract brew

invaderzimirl

OK ive been brewing for a little while now and im thinking its time i move off Kit beers i have 6 kits ill still brew and prob keep going with some kits but i want to get more into the Beer making instead of just mix and wait (not to over simiply the kits)

so on to my question can somebody recommend me a starter extract beer, im thinking starting small batch in case something goes wrong. how much should i brew 5L ? more ?

also what new equipment do i need?

i think ill have to make some sort of worth cooler, maybe just copper pipe/fittings and hose connections will work for this. (i have hose i sanitize to fill my brew buckets)

where should i get my ingredients? HBW? any others i should try?

also any pitfalls i should be aware of?

drumswan

Heres a nice illustrated guide from beoir.

http://www.beoir.org/index.php/brewing-knowledge/extract-brewing-mainmenu-47/56-extract-brewing-an-illustrated-guide

BeerNut

invaderzimirl wrote: »

can somebody recommend me a starter extract beer, im thinking starting small batch in case something goes wrong. how much should i brew 5L ? more ?

5L is easy because it doesn't take long to chill, you can ferment in a stock pot and you can scale down 20L extract recipes (like this one) easily. Divide every quantity by ~4 except the yeast.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

what new equipment do i need?

You'll need a stockpot to steep and boil in a muslin cloth or cheesecloth for the steeping grains, a sieve or colander to hold the grains in after steeping while you sparge, a big measuring jug for sparging out of, and you may want a smaller fermenter -- I tend to use a stockpot for fermenting small batches.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

i think ill have to make some sort of worth cooler

For 5L batches you'll likely get away with a bath of cold water for chilling.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

where should i get my ingredients? HBW? any others i should try?

It's been a while since I've looked, but TheHomebrewCompany.ie tends to have the best selection of hops.

It's well worth investing in some brewing software to help put your recipes together.

invaderzimirl

Interesting. so i could use a 6/7L stock pot for example i can just leave the cover on it and it will be sealed enough to keep sanitized for brewing.

something like this would work for a stock pot (6.3 liter) for €13.99

Then i wouldn't need to make a chiller, and i could do almost everything from the pot. maybe id need a lager stock pot? to allow for grains?

From the other thread (don't want to resurrect an old thread), can i just use a funnel and a muslin/cheesecloth into a 33L fermentation bucket and then re-sanitize the stock pot to ferment in ? would the brew head over flow the pot while fermenting?

Well i have 2 raspberry pi's doing nothing i might make up some PiBrew's up

BeerNut

invaderzimirl wrote: »

Interesting. so i could use a 6/7L stock pot

The bigger the better. If you're in Dublin, Living Island on Talbot Street do 19L stockpots for €18.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

for example i can just leave the cover on it and it will be sealed enough to keep sanitized for brewing.

For fermenting, you mean? Yes.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

can i just use a funnel and a muslin/cheesecloth into a 33L fermentation bucket and then re-sanitize the stock pot to ferment in ?

A sieve is faster, but yeah, I think that should be OK. Usually you want to avoid unnecessary transfers due to the risk of oxidation, but before pitching the yeast it should be OK.

invaderzimirl wrote: »

would the brew head over flow the pot while fermenting?

Not if your pot is big enough. You might get away with 7L if it's wide enough. My smallest pot is 8L and I've fermented 5L batches in it OK.

invaderzimirl

ok ill be in town tomorrow ill look in Living Island see if i can get one.

yes i mean fro fermenting sorry for confusion.

i didn't think of a sieve, im assuming a metal one is the best option.

and as for hops would "Apollo (USA) - 100g vacuum packed Alpha Acid 19.0%" be a good one to pick (as stated above my first extract to brew. (im ordering enough or everything to make 2 full 20L in small batches to get it right when i order it)


and as always thanks for your help Beernut, hopefully it will go well

BeerNut

invaderzimirl wrote: »

"Apollo (USA) - 100g vacuum packed Alpha Acid 19.0%" be a good one to pick

Might be a bit strong for a flavour or aroma hop, but I've never used it. Summit and Galaxy are two of my favourite all rounders.

invaderzimirl

BeerNut wrote: »

Might be a bit strong for a flavour or aroma hop, but I've never used it. Summit and Galaxy are two of my favourite all rounders.

ok how about
Galaxy (AUS) - 100g vacuum packed Alpha Acid 15.4% 2013 Harvest
and
Summit - 100g Vacuum Packed Alpha Acid 18.5% 2012 Harvest

then, im going to do a few small batches to get the feel for the extract brewing
and ill try the different ones maybe mix in a few (i plan to record everything if i want to repeat/ NOT repeat ive all data of every batch i have made to date )

tteknulp

invaderzimirl wrote: »

OK ive been brewing for a little while now and im thinking its time i move off Kit beers i have 6 kits ill still brew and prob keep going with some kits but i want to get more into the Beer making instead of just mix and wait (not to over simiply the kits)

so on to my question can somebody recommend me a starter extract beer, im thinking starting small batch in case something goes wrong. how much should i brew 5L ? more ?

also what new equipment do i need?

i think ill have to make some sort of worth cooler, maybe just copper pipe/fittings and hose connections will work for this. (i have hose i sanitize to fill my brew buckets)

where should i get my ingredients? HBW? any others i should try?

also any pitfalls i should be aware of?

Its not as big a step up as u think ,u need a good pot 10ltr you will get by , bigger is better ,i would do 23ltr brews as same effort nearly , i will post a nice pale ale recipe ,i did recently citra and cascade it is very nice

tteknulp

Citra & Cascade

brewed to 23ltr

2 x 1.5kg Golden Light LME
250g Crystal Malt Steep 30 mins at 65c
500g Dextrose
Safele s05


HOPS

Citra 30g 10 min Boil end

30g Cascade for 5 days in secondary or after ferment slows in primary

O.G. 1048

invaderzimirl

ok got myself a 20L stock pot in Living Island today for €18, think ill nail down the recipe ill use, and get ordering :-) thanks all for your help

MANUTD99

Jumping in on this.

Is it possible to buy an extract kit in Ireland which comes with everything (grains,malt extract, hops, bags for steeping)

BeerNut

HBC has these. adamski8 did the Discover America one a while back and it was beautiful.

MANUTD99

BeerNut wrote: »

HBC has these. adamski8 did the Discover America one a while back and it was beautiful.

Thanks BeerNut. Would you recommend buying 2 cans of malt extract or 3Kg of dry malt extract (and if so would it be light dry malt extract?)

BeerNut

I use light DME in everything, but if the LME is way cheaper go for that.

MANUTD99

BeerNut wrote: »

I use light DME in everything, but if the LME is way cheaper go for that.

Thanks Beernut. Looking at a lot of videos and people when adding the hops are just throwing them into the boil without being in a muslin bag. Will this not create a lot of sediment later on bearing in mind I wouldn't be transferring to a secondary

sharingan

invaderzimirl wrote: »

ok how about
Galaxy (AUS) - 100g vacuum packed Alpha Acid 15.4% 2013 Harvest
and
Summit - 100g Vacuum Packed Alpha Acid 18.5% 2012 Harvest

then, im going to do a few small batches to get the feel for the extract brewing
and ill try the different ones maybe mix in a few (i plan to record everything if i want to repeat/ NOT repeat ive all data of every batch i have made to date )

Ooh. 2013 Galaxy. I would be seriously keen on that. There's a great australian pale ale by Stone & Wood that is all Galaxy (all late additions too). Fantastic beer.

Trying to get a bit of practice making flavour-hop forward clones like it at the moment.

Also, if you want an all-in-one package for extract/AG brewing, have a look at:
http://www.massivebrewery.com/
~ £100 and you get everything you need for stove top extract/AG brewing

BeerNut

MANUTD99 wrote: »

people when adding the hops are just throwing them into the boil without being in a muslin bag. Will this not create a lot of sediment later on

Sediment, break material, whatever, can be dealt with. If you're boiling in a stockpot, strain the wort into the fermenter through a sieve and that'll take a lot of the bits out. With a boiler you'll usually have a hop strainer behind the tap, which itself is a centimetre or so above the bottom of the bolier, so the bits get left behind. If using pellets you can whirlpool to keep them out of the way of the tap. Any bits that do get through to the fermenter will sink to the bottom of it anyway so should get left behind with the dead yeast when you bottle.