next step from kit to extract? or ???

[Titch]

right i have done a cider kit and a vimto wine
i have 2 TC resting

but i feel my FV are waiting for the next thing, BEER

so do i go extract or a better kit?


can anyone recommend a kit for either
commercial beers i drink are boddies, brains (when i can get it here in manchester)
or any of the bottles i aquire at christmas

recommendations on the next step please people

Titch

 

[The Ginger Ninja]

I vote Extract. An easy step upand very rewarding. Plus you can start making your own recipies!

 

[bomberns127]

consider going all grain, its not a scary step just different, and once you are there you will never go back, i have been doing kits on and off for years and only went to all grain last year, what a revelation, i wish i did it years ago!

 

[Titch]

Been looking but funds are limited. So will have to aquire stuff over a period of time.

 

[abeyptfc]

if you like heavy sort of brews maybe give the coopers stout a go, thar gets good reviews using either 1kg of dark malt extract of 500g dme and 500g sugar, that will get u started and will give u an idea of what u like.

 

[MikeB]

Don't bother with kits, go straight to extract as I found that the extract brews I did taste like proper beer, whereas the kits, though much improved from when I used to brew, still taste like 'homebrew'.

Extract is hardly any extra hassle than a kit anyway, and only slightly dearer.

And once you've done a few of these you won't even be asking 'should I go all grain?' because the answer will be immediately obvious - and the difference is once again absolutely incredible. My first two AG's are amazing...

 

[SamWise72]

I did one kit (Muntons Docklands Porter), and found the process boring and the results unspectacular. Moved on to extract and made Spiced Honey Beer, the recipe for which is on BrewUKs site. All I needed were some muslin bags and a big pan. It was much more fun and creative, you're only talking about boiling for an hour, and the results have been fantastic rather than just "fine". I won't buy another kit. All grain sounds fun, but the space needed for gear plus the greatly increased length of brewday rule it out for the moment.

 

[Bribie]

Titch, if you look around some of the other forums as well, you can check out "Brew in a Bag" or BIAB, which gets you into all grain for minimal cost and can produce award winning beers as good as any traditional three-vessel system.

BIAB is a one-vessel system and you can start small and cheap with a 19L pot on the hob, or can go in at the "top end" and get something like a 40L Buffalo water boiler.
You would have all the necessary equipment already such as fermenter, hydro and thermo (perhaps) etc etc.

 

[Titch]

Thanks for that I have been reading. BAB is my next read. As I now have a small baby burco. It is either that or a false bottom.