Dried Extract Types

[beerfountain]

Hello All

I just have a couple of questions I haven't been able to find the answer to by Googling.

I've done a couple of beer kits and have also done a SMASH all-grain brew, which was great but time consuming.

I don't have a lot of time really but I've got some Fuggles hops left over and at some point in the future would like to try doing a 10 litre brew with some dried extract.
I might not use steeping grains (at least not this time round) as I am aiming to keep it extra simple and reasonably quick.
I'm sure that using steeping grains would make a better beer, but apart from it being a bit quicker to make without them, I'm also really interested to see what it tastes like with just the dried extract and hops.

I'm thinking of making something like an English Bitter and have been looking at the types of DME available.
The questions I have are:

- Could I use all medium DME instead of pale or does that end up being too overpowering? Would I be better off using half pale and half medium or something like that?

- I probably won't use any dark DME this time but I am wondering, if I ever wanted to do an all extract porter or stout with no steeping grains, could I use 100% dark or would that be too bitter? What is the maximum you should use of either dark or medium?

 

[Dutto]

WOW! I'm afraid that's a "How long is a piece of string?" question.

It all comes down to personal taste. I've made oatmeal stout that friends have thought "too sweet" and "bitters" that friends have thought "too bitter" - plus almost all brews will change if they are conditioned for a few weeks or months.

My advice is "experiment"; but as I am still "experimenting" with a Barley Wine I brewed in March 2016 I have to point out that experimentation has its dangers! (The latest incarnation of the Barley Wine is as a "Mars Bar Stout" - which is looking hopeful!)

 

[Sandimas]

Yes, you can make a beer out of DME and hops - BrewUK's Extract range are all made using this method
https://www.brewuk.co.uk/beerkits/craftybrews/brewextract.html

I've been brewing Extract for years but never used Medium or Dark - I'm not sure what the point of them in, colour presumably? But for the sake of an extra 30mins steeping some crystal malt I'd rather do that and get some extra flavour too.

If you want to keep it simple, here's a quick 10L recipe that'll give you an English Bitter similar to Donningtons (Cotswold beer) OG1043. You should be able to do this in a small stockpot with a reduced-volume boil, say 4 or 5 litres.

• 1kg Dark or Medium Malt Extract (depending on how dark you want it)
  
• 150g dark brown sugar (to bump the ABV up a bit)
• 22g Fuggles boiled for 60mins - no late hops

 

[beerfountain]

Thanks for the replies
A Mars bar stout sounds great Dutto lol. Yeah I definitely need to do some experimenting when I get the chance.
Thanks for the recipe darrellm, it's just what I'm looking for, I will probably go with that or something similar when I get the chance to do my next brew.