Extract brewing

[Linalmeemow]

After taking the plunge into kit brewing a year ago with varying results (all drinkable just about, but some far better than others) I decided to venture a bit deeper and try my hand at extract brewing with this recipe:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6q2GBHKZAxUX203SDhjeEJmZ2s/edit

Tried my first one last night 12 days after bottling - impatient I know, but I was dying to see how it had come out. The results are far better than I expected and a giant step up from kits, and genuinely wouldn't be out of place on the shelves of a decent beer shop. I'm glad I did kits for a while as I learned a lot about the brewing process and hygiene but I'm kicking myself for not moving on sooner.

Now the point of the post (I'm not just here to blow smoke up my own arse...) - would anyone be kind enough to share their favourite extract recipes? Do you have any nailed-on foolproof brews that should be all brewers repertoires? Any and all input would be much appreciated!

 

[Sandimas]

The results are far better than I expected

Yep - I'd say Extract is much closer to AG than kits, I did Extract for years (and still do occasionally) before I moved to AG.

My favourite recipes are in Graham Wheeler's book, the recipes are AG but many of them also have Extract equivalents. The Theakston Old Peculier clone is one of my favourites. I'm loathe to re-post here due to copyright.

BrewUK do a range of Extract recipe packs and their St Austell Proper Job one is awesome and spot-on.

 

[chub1]

Hi
Been doing small batches(6 litres or so) of various extract brews with really very good results so far. Have done a few hoppy IPA's ,A hoppy APA, one stout(coffee) one porter type brew(chocolate) and a really nice 'ordinary bitter'. All of these i would have been happy to drink in a pub quite honestly.Use the recipe builder on here,easy peasy lemon squeezy:mrgreen:
:thumb:

 

[dad_of_jon]

I do mainly extract with a few speciality grain steep/mashes but here's a extract I did with no grains

brew 14. Hoppy new beer
16/01/2016
MJ's west coast yeast re-hydrated.
1kg dme
1kg dwe
450g golden syrup
500g clear candi sugar
Boiled for 15 mins in 6 litres water
1.050 adjusted
100g moteka 20 min boiled in 2 litres of water (for bittering - removed before fv topped up)
topped up in fv to 21.5 litres
added 50g simcoe

21/01/2016
removed hop bag with 50g of simcoe
squeezed bag very promising although a bit spicy atm.
27/01/2016
added 50g amarillo & 50g simcoe dry hopped pellets

bottled on 31/01/2016

6.04%

 

[chub1]

Hi
Been doing small batches(6 litres or so) of various extract brews with really very good results so far. Have done a few hoppy IPA's ,A hoppy APA, one stout(coffee) one porter type brew(chocolate) and a really nice 'ordinary bitter'. All of these i would have been happy to drink in a pub quite honestly.Use the recipe builder on here,easy peasy lemon squeezy:mrgreen:
:thumb:

Actually just had a pint of my coffee stout, nice aroma, coffee taste now almost noticeably gone but what an excellent pint of stout:thumb:

 

[steveh2112]

what's the difference between extract and kits? aren't kits just extract with the hop pellets, grains and yeast included? i looked over the OP recipe and there are a lot more hops and hop times than in a typical kit, but besides that, it looks pretty much the same as any kit process.

not trying to be confrontation here, just wondering if i'm missing something?

 

[Linalmeemow]

Kits are prehopped malt extract syrup - you don't boil a kit as it destroys the hop flavours already in the extract. The recipe above uses DME (which I've found not to give the "homebrew twang"), and uses fresh hops so you control the boil yourself. The others I've got on the go at the moment also include steeping grains for added flavour. It's essentially "real" brewing only the mashing of grains is replaced with the use of dry extract for the fermentables.

Unless of course I've completely misunderstood. It wouldn't be the first time!

As I said though, the results from the recipe I included are in an entirely different league to any kit I've done (and I've probably done 15-20 since I started brewing a year ago). This tastes so much fresher and hoppier than any kit I've had, and is very, very similar to the Kernel beer it's based on.

 

[terrym]

'Here's one I did earlier' from my notes...

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Target Driven Extract Bitter[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1.8kg H&B Liquid Malt [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]250g Pale Malt*[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]100g Crystal Malt *[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]100g Torrified Wheat*[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]* Minimash in 1.5 litres[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]25 g Target - 60 min boil [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5 g Target + 5 g - Celeia 10 min boil[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]To 16.5 litres [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]OG 1.043[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]IBUs (using assumed 10% AA for Target; packet 2.3%AA for Celeia) = 41 (ish)[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hop boil used minimash plus 250g LME to 4.5 litres [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yeast 1698 culture (3rd generation)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Started 9/4/16[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7 days in the FV.[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Rack off [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dry hop with 40g Celeia. [/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3 days @ 19*C[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3 days @ 12 �" 16*C[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]FG 1.008[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Bottled 22/4/16[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1.75 tsp sugar / 2 litres
[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Outcome -it has turned out really fresh and hoppy. A light refreshing bitter.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Will do it again and might try different hops next time [/FONT]

 

[Sandimas]

Kits are prehopped malt extract syrup - you don't boil a kit as it destroys the hop flavours already in the extract. The recipe above uses DME (which I've found not to give the "homebrew twang"), and uses fresh hops so you control the boil yourself. The others I've got on the go at the moment also include steeping grains for added flavour. It's essentially "real" brewing only the mashing of grains is replaced with the use of dry extract for the fermentables.

Unless of course I've completely misunderstood. It wouldn't be the first time!

No you're spot on: extract misses out the mash stage by using malt extract (dried or liquid). Another difference is that extract boils are generally smaller volume, topped up with cold water once complete, so you don't need a long cooling stage. Consequently an Extract brew can be done in less than half the time of an AG brew.

I'm an AG brewer now but I still swear by Extract and do it occasionally when I don't have the time for an AG brew. Quality is much closer to AG than kits.

 

[terrym]

Next time I order some supplies .....
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/light-premium-liquid-malt-extract-15kg-p-2284.html

 

[Jon75]

Just wanted to say thank you for this thread, I will be reading with interest as I am thinking of starting extract brewing.

A quick question if I may? I am looking at some extract recipes at brewersfriend. Specifically, when it states boil size, am I right in assuming this is the volume of the boil in the pot, which is then added to the FV and topped up with water to the batch size?

As to the original post and question, brewersfriend seems to have loads of extract recipes, once I work out how to follow them I will get round to trying some and posting my results.

 

[Linalmeemow]

Next time I order some supplies .....
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/light-premium-liquid-malt-extract-15kg-p-2284.html

I've read that the LME is the source of homebrew twang - does anyone have any experience of this? I've been using DME and my first batch has had no sign of twang, but I have no idea if this is the reason why...

 

[Linalmeemow]

Just wanted to say thank you for this thread, I will be reading with interest as I am thinking of starting extract brewing.

A quick question if I may? I am looking at some extract recipes at brewersfriend. Specifically, when it states boil size, am I right in assuming this is the volume of the boil in the pot, which is then added to the FV and topped up with water to the batch size?

As to the original post and question, brewersfriend seems to have loads of extract recipes, once I work out how to follow them I will get round to trying some and posting my results.

All the recipes I've done so far have been from the Brewersfriend site and I've already compiled a list to try as the fermenters become free. I've boiled at the volume stated as the boil size myself as I can't think what else that would mean, then cooled the wort with a water/ice bath and topped up with water to full volume / pitching temperature. This worked well for my first batch.

 

[Ale]

I would like to give this a go, but I would like to do so before I pay out for equipment only to find I dont think its worth the extra effort and stick with kits (of the ones I've done about a third have been very nice and all of them drinkable, except one that I think got contaminated and I threw away). I have a 5 litre stock pot at teh moment and would like to try a small brew using that. Is that feasible or will I need a have to get a bigger pot?

 

[dad_of_jon]

I've read that the LME is the source of homebrew twang - does anyone have any experience of this? I've been using DME and my first batch has had no sign of twang, but I have no idea if this is the reason why...

I use DME mainly but have used LME on occasion and I've never had a twang.

 

[steveh2112]

Kits are prehopped malt extract syrup - you don't boil a kit as it destroys the hop flavours already in the extract. The recipe above uses DME (which I've found not to give the "homebrew twang"), and uses fresh hops so you control the boil yourself. The others I've got on the go at the moment also include steeping grains for added flavour. It's essentially "real" brewing only the mashing of grains is replaced with the use of dry extract for the fermentables.

Unless of course I've completely misunderstood. It wouldn't be the first time!

As I said though, the results from the recipe I included are in an entirely different league to any kit I've done (and I've probably done 15-20 since I started brewing a year ago). This tastes so much fresher and hoppier than any kit I've had, and is very, very similar to the Kernel beer it's based on.

thanks for clarifying. i bought 4 kits recently, one was pre hopped LME, the other 3 have both DME and LME, a bag of grains, hop pellets (one type only), priming sugar and yeast, so closer to what you are doing. next time i'm shopping for ingredients, i'll try your recipe, see how it works for me.

by the way, i bought my kits in the US (amazon) although i'm making them at home in Thailand, but i priced out the ingredients for the OP's recipe and it comes out slightly more expensive than this kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SSDIXM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
which includes everything, even maltodextrin

 

[BeerisGOD]

got a couple more kits to do before the end of summer, (festival IPA, coopers stout)
but I've been looking at the brew UK extract recipes and reading specific threads on the subject (really great links I must say) and am considering going for one, all I want to know at this stage is do I need anything other than a larger pot for the job?
I've already got a stock pot and casserole pot, sieve, muslins all used on previous kits and partial mashes
if this is all I require I can't see any problems taking the next step!

cheers

 

[BeerCat]

Next time I order some supplies .....
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/light-premium-liquid-malt-extract-15kg-p-2284.html

That's quality. Done some really nice 15l brews using a tin of this. 1kg pale malt mash in a 7l pot or use a bit spray malt.

 

[BeerCat]

Do you have any nailed-on foolproof brews that should be all brewers repertoires? Any and all input would be much appreciated!

There are loads of free recipes on here http://www.brewersfriend.com/search/ And Home Brew Beer by Greg Hughes has extract versions of many recipes. Its about �£6 of Amazon.

 

[strange-steve]

Brewing Classic Styles is full of great recipes, it has an extract and AG version for every style.
Something to consider though, if you have the equipment to do extract brews then all you need is some muslin cloth and you can do AG brew in a bag. Because of that I never bothered with extract, just went straight for AG.
That being said, it is possible to make really great extract beers. AG I think just gives you a bit more variety and control.