New to grain

[alawlor66430]

So I always use a can kit, it's easy, fun and I've made some nice beers, some stinking ones to though.
I've got a 40 pint kit of Scottish heavy sitting in the cupboard and to push myself a bit further this time I've ordered 500g of crystal malt and 500g of chocolate malt and I was gonna make a wort to add my kit to in the hope that it fills in all the blanks and leaves a nice full tasting beer with lovely after tones but I've only got a vague idea what I should be doing, I was going to put the crystal malt in and keep it between 60 and 70 for 30 mins then add the chocolate malt and simmer for s further 30 or 40 mins but I don't know amounts to use of grain or of water so I need some advice, and should I tinker with hops and how do I do that if I want to

 

[c_burgess]

Crystal and chocolate will add flavour, if you over do the chocolate you might get a nasty bitterness though. Do you know the colour rating of the crystal you have? Crystal malt can vary greatly in colour.

If I had a Scottish heavy kit I would lean more to using hops to alter the flavour because its already a dark coloured beer but let's have a go with the grains you have.

Steep for 30 mins 65-70 c
200g crystal malt
50g chocolate malt

There is no need to separate the grains, put them both in for 30 mins, as for the amount of water, simply put, the more the better. Find the biggest pan you have and fill it about 3/4, if you have a grain bag use it but if not a sieve will be needed when you dump into your fermenting bin.

These grains will add flavour and colour to your beer so I would brew to the full length (40 pints) but don't be surprised if the beer is bordering on black in colour.

If you want to play with hops then steep the grains for 30 mins then remove the grains (this is why you need a grain bag or 2 pans) and bring the wort to a boil. Boil 10 grams of fuggles for 20 mins then throw in another 10 grams for a further 5-10 mins. Don't boil for longer than 30 mins or you will extract extra bitterness from the hops which isn't needed as your kit already has enough bitterness. Add this wort to your kit and brew as normal, if you don't have a second pan or a grain bag then sieve the wort to your fermenter after you steep the grains then pour it back into a pan to boil the hops.

Sorry if this is a long post but another great (but expensive) addition to kit beer is simply buying better yeast, wlp028 would suite this brew. By the time you start putting this much time and effort into improving kits you may as well start extract brewing.

Good luck

 

[pittsy]

i would follow the above advice too , well said. :thumb:

 

[cwiseman77]

As said above if you're thinking about starting to use speciality grains and hops, you should try extract, it's real easy. BrewUK have recipe packs which come with everything you need and full instructions, pretty good way to get the hang of the process :thumb:

 

[alawlor66430]

Cheers for the advice that helps allot, so what is extract brewing then ?

 

[alawlor66430]

I don't know what kind of crystal it is I just ordered it from balihoo I really didn't know what I was buying I just know I want to end up brewing good all grain beer one day and seen this as a natural progression, hopefully ill learn a bit from this try and learn a bit more from the next

 

[jonnymorris]

so what is extract brewing then ?

Brewing with malt extract and hops to make your wort rather than buying pre-made hopped wort in a can.

 

[alawlor66430]

I just watched a video on you tube about it, it looks good definitely what I want to get into, I'm gonna need a bigger pot though lol

 

[pittsy]

yes a bigger pot , that is the only real reason that i can see why every house hold doesn't brew . As long as you have a big enough pot , beer is easy to make really once you see all that confusing science isn't so scary , extract is great to do and is some much better than most kits.

 

[alawlor66430]

Cool ill order up some extract then for my grain instead of putting it with the heavy kit, I might try some extra hops and my new yeast that was suggested to me with it instead, I'm looking forward to this now

 

[alawlor66430]

Can I use dry malt extract ?

 

[c_burgess]

I prefer dry extract, others prefer liquid. Dry extract is easier to measure and to store once opened, that's my main reason. If I design a recipe and it needs 2.4 kgs of dry malt I can use two 1 kg bags and one 500g bag.The liquid tends to come in amounts of 1, 1.3 or 1.5 litres.

 

[alawlor66430]

Aw good, the dry seems to be allot cheaper to

 

[pittsy]

have a look at the home brew company 3kg for around £14 , my local sells it over £4 for 500g

 

[alawlor66430]

Wow that's good, ill have a look

 

[cwiseman77]

As well as the malt extract many recipes have you steep some speciality grains first, chocolate malt, crystal malt etc... These add a bit more body and depth to the beer. You don't want many, about 5-10% the amount of malt extract depending on the recipe. You basically infuse them like tea, in a grain bag or tied in muslin cloth in water 65-70C for 20-30mins and then remove, dissolve your dried malt extract, bring to boil, start adding your hops...easy peasy.

 

[alawlor66430]

I've order some crystal and some chocolate and also some fuggles and some ale yeast that someone suggested so I'm looking forward to it all coming now

 

[cwiseman77]

Sounds good. U source the dried malt extract yet? Are you working off a recipe or wingin in?

 

[alawlor66430]

I've not sourced it yet, wasn't sure which one to buy i was thinking just a light one as using chocolate but maybe ill go for medium to achieve a bit of a richer colour.
c_burges recommended using 200 g crystal and 50g chocolate hold at 65 for 30 mins then remove and bring to the boil the add 10g fuggles for 20 mins and another 10g for a further 5-10 mins, I think I've got it all straight in my head now so it seems less daunting would I need a kilo of dry malt with this ?

 

[jonnymorris]

would I need a kilo of dry malt with this ?

Depending on your intended volume, desired style of beer and ABV you're probably going to need nearer to 3Kg of DME (for 23 litres). You might consider buying Graham Wheeler's book - lots of recipes in there (including extract versions).