What to brew next?

[Chedderbrew]

I haven't been brewing for long but kind of got a bit carried away recently. I ended up in a brewing frenzy bottling a chinook IPA, festival german weis and headcracker all in the same week! All seem to have worked out well so far. I'm think about what to put on next, I have a cwtch kit waiting to go on and i fancy trying a belgium beer, has anyone had any particularly nice kits? Thanks for any suggestions i'm really enjoying this hobby i can see myself moving to all grain later next year, just have to get a wedding out the way before i can invest in new equipment.

 

[Dutto]

At this time of the year I like to brew a couple of Milds. For me a pint of Mild goes down really well when sitting next to a nice warm fire on those long, dark and chilly night!

I know Mild is considered "old fashioned" but it's still a great beer!

When you get round to doing an AG you might like to kick off with the Marsh Mild kit from Fulstows Brewery via Grimsby Homebrew Centre.

The kit contains everything you need for an AG brew and you can even go down to the Gas Light Lounge in Louth to try one direct from the brewery before you try and emulate the experts.

Enjoy.:thumb::thumb:

 

[Brewmarc]

Rather than jump straight to all grain which imo you will never look back from the quality is really that much better. Why not think about creating your own style of beer using DME or LME with the addition of some steeped speciality grains & your own hops. A jump too far".............
You have a kit to hand? Again you could use your imagination & steep some grains & use a quality yeast instead of the supplied package, you might need some additional equipment not a great deal more but you will notice a huge difference the possibilities are endless.

 

[Brewmarc]

At this time of the year I like to brew a couple of Milds. For me a pint of Mild goes down really well when sitting next to a nice warm fire on those long, dark and chilly night!

I know Mild is considered "old fashioned" but it's still a great beer!

When you get round to doing an AG you might like to kick off with the Marsh Mild kit from Fulstows Brewery via Grimsby Homebrew Centre.

The kit contains everything you need for an AG brew and you can even go down to the Gas Light Lounge in Louth to try one direct from the brewery before you try and emulate the experts.

Enjoy.:thumb::thumb:

Mild, what a cracking pint. Iv got to brew this soon low ABV malty dark ale :thumb::thumb:

 

[Callumbo]

If your thinking all grain you can get the kit together pretty cheap if money is an issue.

Cooler £10
Tap £7-8
Big plastic bucket and the heating elements from 2 cheap kettles £20
The rest is probably in your house. Like jugs, scales, thermometer.

Or just do small batches in a pan on the stove with a BIAB and you only have to buy a bag.

Just depends on what scale you want to brew.

I would however recommend a cooper's stout kit with enhancer. Mine just finished conditioning and it is awesome

 

[Chedderbrew]

I'm still really new to this! I'm not really sure what steeping grains is or DME/LME? I have bought some different yeasts and hops but i'm unsure what the yeasts would be good matched with, for instance i have a bavarian wheat yeast and a belgian tripel yeast ,some light spray malt (not too sure what this is) and a coopers lager kit. Could i just combine these ingredients to make something up?

 

[Dutto]

Chedderbrew, check out the link to "Glossary" at the top of the page to find out what DME and LME are all about. :thumb: :thumb:

Sorry, just checked and LME isn't in there ...

... but it stands for Liquid Malt Extract or Light Malt Extract. :thumb:

 

[Callumbo]

I'm still really new to this! I'm not really sure what steeping grains is or DME/LME? I have bought some different yeasts and hops but i'm unsure what the yeasts would be good matched with, for instance i have a bavarian wheat yeast and a belgian tripel yeast ,some light spray malt (not too sure what this is) and a coopers lager kit. Could i just combine these ingredients to make something up?

If your new to all this then have a read of James Horton's book "brew". It really fills you full of enthusiasm and tells you all about dme and lme. Also has really useful pages on yeasts and what beers they go with and what you can use as an alternative.

 

[Chedderbrew]

Chedderbrew, check out the link to "Glossary" at the top of the page to find out what DME and LME are all about. :thumb: :thumb:

Sorry, just checked and LME isn't in there ...

... but it stands for Liquid Malt Extract or Light Malt Extract. :thumb:

Ok great so i have some of that, do you have any good recipes as i'm unsure of quantities and how much water to add etc?

 

[IainM]

I second Dutto's suggestion of doing a Mild. The description of the style didn't appeal to me, it was too weak, but a couple of months ago I ended up at a pub and was driving, so curiosity got the best of me. It blew me away. The high dose of dark crystal malt really worked, making it a very satisfying drink despite the low abv. Since then I brewed one of my own, and it is just as good as the one I was served in the pub. Mine was all-grain, but if you want to give this a go with extract, try this for a 23L batch:
500g extra dark crystal and 100g chocolate malt, steeped at 60-70C for 30 mins. Add 2kg DME, and boil. Use 30g EKG hops for 45 mins, and add an extra 20g at flame-out. Ferment with an English ale yeast like S-04, MJ Empire Ale. Will be a cracking pint!

 

[Chedderbrew]

If your new to all this then have a read of James Horton's book "brew". It really fills you full of enthusiasm and tells you all about dme and lme. Also has really useful pages on yeasts and what beers they go with and what you can use as an alternative.

Great i'll give this a whirl, i really am keen to learn.

 

[Dutto]

Personally, I mix and match my brewing (Extract Kits, AG Kits and AG plus Cold Hopping) depending on what I have on and what I feel like when the shelves start to look a bit empty.

However, I have only used AG for my Mild brews but I like the look of IainM's recipe above. :thumb:

The recipe also gives you a gentle introduction to the land of "Grain" which can only move you to "AG" that bit quicker. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Brewmarc]

I'm still really new to this! I'm not really sure what steeping grains is or DME/LME? I have bought some different yeasts and hops but i'm unsure what the yeasts would be good matched with, for instance i have a bavarian wheat yeast and a belgian tripel yeast ,some light spray malt (not too sure what this is) and a coopers lager kit. Could i just combine these ingredients to make something up?

Light spray malt is DME or dried malt extract LME is concentrated Liquid malt extract, comes in tins both of which needs dissolving in water, to produce Wort, unfermented beer. Steeping grains is just about getting som specioality malted grains such as crystal malt & mixing with hot water about 66C a bit like making tea & adding the liqure ( not the spent grains) to the brew.
Sure you can combine these ingredients to make something up it's your own beer, a bit of imagination can produce something special:thumb:

 

[Chedderbrew]

Light spray malt is DME or dried malt extract LME is concentrated Liquid malt extract, comes in tins both of which needs dissolving in water, to produce Wort, unfermented beer. Steeping grains is just about getting som specioality malted grains such as crystal malt & mixing with hot water about 66C a bit like making tea & adding to the liqure ( not the spent grains) to the brew.
Sure you can combine these ingredients to make something up it's your own beer, a bit of imagination can produce something special:thumb:

Great! Thanks for the advice.

 

[DoctorMick]

At this time of the year I like to brew a couple of Milds. For me a pint of Mild goes down really well when sitting next to a nice warm fire on those long, dark and chilly night!

I know Mild is considered "old fashioned" but it's still a great beer!

When you get round to doing an AG you might like to kick off with the Marsh Mild kit from Fulstows Brewery via Grimsby Homebrew Centre.

The kit contains everything you need for an AG brew and you can even go down to the Gas Light Lounge in Louth to try one direct from the brewery before you try and emulate the experts.

Enjoy.:thumb::thumb:

A good mild is an absolute joy to behold, love a nice chewie dark mild.

 

[evolram]

The festival Belgium pale ale is a nice beer.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[teadixon]

Great i'll give this a whirl, i really am keen to learn.

I second this!

It's a great book - got me doing All Grain BIAB after trying 3 kits. Lovely recipes in there too. Enjoyed his Session American Wheat Ale this evening.

 

[terrym]

Since then I brewed one of my own, and it is just as good as the one I was served in the pub. Mine was all-grain, but if you want to give this a go with extract, try this for a 23L batch:
500g extra dark crystal and 100g chocolate malt, steeped at 60-70C for 30 mins. Add 2kg DME, and boil. Use 30g EKG hops for 45 mins, and add an extra 20g at flame-out. Ferment with an English ale yeast like S-04, MJ Empire Ale. Will be a cracking pint!

I used to drink mild years ago (good old M&B) so I fancied doing this since I have never brewed a mild in all my years of brewing and had a few things to try/use up.
I have followed and more or less pro rated your recipe :thumb:but made a few tweaks here and there.
So based on a 1.5kg can of HBC LME (approx 1.2 kg DME) I did
1.5 kg DME
300g Crystal Malt
60g Choc Malt
18g EKG for 60mins
12g EKG for 5 mins
To 12.5 litres
OG 1.040
OG may be a tad high compared to a traditional mild but hey ho.
'Weakest link' may be the left over Wherry kit yeast I used but since its only a 12.5 litre brew I'm hoping it copes :pray:
It's now all now tucked up at 19*C in my water bath so watch this space.

 

[Clint]

I've got two fv's on the go atm,one taking its time..4 weeks of time! I hope I've enough reserves with a few bought bottles to last me through Christmas and into the new year. I have a festival pale to do but otherwise the cupboard is bare! Probably be brewing next in the new year. ..I think I may look into partial or biab. .

Cheers

Clint

 

[IainM]

I used to drink mild years ago (good old M&B) so I fancied doing this since I have never brewed a mild in all my years of brewing and had a few things to try/use up.
I have followed and more or less pro rated your recipe :thumb:but made a few tweaks here and there.
So based on a 1.5kg can of HBC LME (approx 1.2 kg DME) I did
1.5 kg DME
300g Crystal Malt
60g Choc Malt
18g EKG for 60mins
12g EKG for 5 mins
To 12.5 litres
OG 1.040
OG may be a tad high compared to a traditional mild but hey ho.
'Weakest link' may be the left over Wherry kit yeast I used but since its only a 12.5 litre brew I'm hoping it copes :pray:
It's now all now tucked up at 19*C in my water bath so watch this space.

Sounds good. Let me know how it gets on, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. The wherry yeast might actually work to your advantage, as low attenuation is exactly what you want for the style.