Extract brewing without the Mini Mash

[aero-spaced-out]

Hello all,

Context:
After what I thought was a joking conversation, turns out my boss is willing to pay for equipment for me to brew small batches in work for us all before a night out to enjoy once its finished.
I'm thinking of going with a 10L Keg king kegmenter, Mini360 reg and sodastream setup as its small and can be very easily packed away. This should allow for LOW2 brewing. Considering chancing my arm and asking for a small 10L stainless steel keg too so that I can transfer and get it off the yeast cake once fermentation is complete.

No real requirements for temp control as there is general temp control, keeping the area between 18-22°C. I'm okay with this but will still use a RAPT Pill for temp tracking to see how much higher it gets with fermentation taking place. It'll be in the kitchen so likely lower temps anyway.

I want to do it using Malt Extract for ease of being able to throw together a recipe in work.
My problem right now is that all the recipes and methods for extract brewing I've researched, they require a mini mash and tbh, that's not really an option for me in work.
Because of the size of the kegmeneter, I'd prefer to have control over the volumes of everything going in rather than using a kit.
I'll really just be brewing one type of beer for them as they're not fussy when it comes to lager/pilsner styles just not PAs or any overly hopped beers so at least I know my audience and what required beer style is.
It was because of this I was wanting to do extract only as it seems that this should be very attainable without a mini mash...

Does anybody have any experience with extract (LME/DME) brewing WITHOUT the mini mash and could give some advice?

Cheers

 

[MrRook]

Pale ale extract with East Kent Goldings = a nice best bitter.

 

[MrRook]

Dark extract with EKGs = a nice mild.

 

[obscure]

A simple smash (with LME or DME instead of grain) and a hop like Citra or Mosaic give a nice easy drinking beer.

 

[Nucbrewer]

have you considered using hop oil instead of a dry hop?

 

[dmtaylor]

Are you opposed to steeping some specialty malts for a few minutes? You can add a lot of flavor and color that way without a full-on mash. Doesn't really take any extra time, just a small grain bag for steeping a few ounces.

Best advice I can give is to plan on using distilled or RO water, because extract contains all the salts you need from the manufacturer.

My standard guidance for extract brewing:

 

[aero-spaced-out]

Pale ale extract with East Kent Goldings = a nice best bitter.

I'll probably try this myself at some point but they wouldn't drink it
I've set other styles of beer in front of them that isn't a lager and theyve let the pint sit until it was taken away or somebody else drank it. They'd not be interested in that. I'll give it a give myself sometime however.

 

[aero-spaced-out]

A simple smash (with LME or DME instead of grain) and a hop like Citra or Mosaic give a nice easy drinking beer.

Noted thank you. I've never worked specifically with LME or DME outside of kits that are ready selected. This one I'd be looking to have a whirl myself at selecting an appropriate extract for the beer I want to brew.. Any recommendations?

 

[aero-spaced-out]

have you considered using hop oil instead of a dry hop?

This could definitely be an option for the hopping side of things absolutely.
Never something I've ventured into myself. I'll do a bit of research into it because it would not only be useful for this project but also for my own setup. I'm about to pull the trigger on a larger fermentation only fridge so I can add a hop bong but also start into the world of wine kits. My current setup doesn't allow for large demijohns, glass or plastic.

 

[aero-spaced-out]

Are you opposed to steeping some specialty malts for a few minutes? You can add a lot of flavor and color that way without a full-on mash. Doesn't really take any extra time, just a small grain bag for steeping a few ounces.

Best advice I can give is to plan on using distilled or RO water, because extract contains all the salts you need from the manufacturer.

My standard guidance for extract brewing:

It's not that I'm opposed to it. It's just that it's not my facility. I have no means to do it without bringing my own gear in to do so or askng my boss to spend more money, and I don't want to take the mick with it. So if I could stick solely with malt extract without any hot steeps or mini-mashes, it'd be ideal.

 

[obscure]

Noted thank you. I've never worked specifically with LME or DME outside of kits that are ready selected. This one I'd be looking to have a whirl myself at selecting an appropriate extract for the beer I want to brew.. Any recommendations?

Assuming you are planning to do a boil with hops any basic unhopped LME or DME should work, I would tend towards light DME. If you haven’t brewed outside of using hopped malt extract kits before consider getting a book like Greg Hughes Home Brewed Beer which is good to have on hand as a reference.