The next step from Kit brewing

[EG_Wanna_Be]

So my first kit has been bubbling away for six days now, and I have spent a large portion of those six days trawling through this forum, as well as other resources on the web, and whilst I have enjoyed the kit stuff, I don't know if I will be getting too excited to do it again.

I think the natural evolution in brewing would be to go to Extract, then Partial Mash, then All Grain, but I am wondering if in between Kit and then Extract, you could dry hop a kit with reasonable success?

Does anyone have any experience doing this, and if so, could you provide a bit of advice surrounding the specifics of dry hopping?

Perhaps I am biting off more than I can chew, but this is so much fun, and I want to have a little more control over the final product!

Thanks guys!

Evan

 

[EG_Wanna_Be]

Whoops. I had been looking for a post on dry hopping, and apparently glazed over this one... http://thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=7279

That sorts out the 'how', can anyone confirm whether or not it's feasible on a kit beer?

 

[BigYin]

You can dry hop really easily - just add hops to the fermenting beer - either after you've transferred to to secondary fermenter as per the guide you linked to, or you can just whack the hops into your fermenter right from the start - it's entirely up to you :thumb:

Must admit, I'm not a massive 'hop-head', and I'm also not inclined to let beer sit around in a fermenter for weeks at a time - I'd rather whack it in a keg and get drinking, so whenever I dry hop, I do so in the primary fermentation :thumb:

 

[jonnymorris]

Get yourself a big pot (15-20L), some LME/DME, hops and, whilst you're at it, some speciality grains and you'll be extract brewing before you know it. It's more involved and therefore more rewarding than kit brewing (IMO) and gives you more control over your beer.

Sounds like you're ready so what are you waiting for?

 

[pittsy]

+ 1 for that , i would as said take the next step using dried malt (or liquid ) a simple recipe with single hop used to get you into it . Maybe later add specialty grains (soak em in a pan etc ) It's more involved , more varied and better results , don't forget yeasts can make a big difference too , good yeast is half way to good beer .
even all grain is easy once you try it just have fun too

 

[dx4100]

After reading round a bit I came to the conclusion there was little point in stepping through the level as ultimately I wanted to brew the best beer I could and only all grain would really do that.

I looked into partial mash and it seemed about as much effort as doing the full on all grain.

My recommendation would be just to go straight into all grain. If you have nailed the fermentation and bottling process through doing kits then I would say you might as well just get yourself a mash tun and boiler and get on with all grain brewing. If you do batch sparging as well its pretty simple. Just need to do your research.

Good luck whatever you choose :)

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

I just thought sod it and went from kit to all grain. Spent a long time on you tube researching then got my wallet out and went for it. Never looked back. All Grain is more time consuming than kits and partial mash but after a while the beer that is brewed is excellent. Much better than you will buy in a bottle and in some cases better than you will find in a bar

 

[calumscott]

I'm now totally with robarwell on this.

You can go AG very simply. I'm building a full 3 vessel brewery but in the meantime, I've just brewed my first AG in what will become a 70l boiler. It's just a massive pot on the hob, fire up all the burners under it and your off and running!

So if you are going the full brewery route, get the pot for your boiler and do Brew In A Bag to get you started! You learn loads and you're producing proper AG beer for next to no outlay. (my 70l pot worked out about 40 quid, the muslin to make a grain bag a fiver...)

From there you can start to add stuff. For me it'll be a hole in my pot, a tap, and a false bottom. Then a similar set up in my mashtun (60 quid, 50l shiny thermopot), then it's just all about plumbing...

 

[Sandimas]

Get yourself a big pot (15-20L), some LME/DME, hops and, whilst you're at it, some speciality grains and you'll be extract brewing before you know it. It's more involved and therefore more rewarding than kit brewing (IMO) and gives you more control over your beer.

+1 - Extract is a nice step up from kits and will give you the beer quality you desire, I'm just drinking an extract clone of Old Peculier and my word is it good. I'd say that all my extract brews have tasted as good, if not better, than pub beers. Several firms out there make up extract kits so you don't need to source the individual ingredients.

I'm going to go against the grain (ha) regarding AG: undoubtably it gives you full control over your beer and produces the ultimate product, but if you're anything like me with very limited time to brew and little space to store kit, then extract seems to be a good compromise....just my opinion and I'm sure I'll get shot down for it. I will get to AG.....one day, if I ever get to retire and have more free time :whistle:

 

[EG_Wanna_Be]

Thank you guys so much for your feedback!

I have just gotten my kit in a secondary FV with a Cascade dry hop, and I need to do some thinking about where to go from here, but thank you very much for all the sruff to think about!

 

[mattrickl06]

I made the mistake of dry hopping my kit beer straight after adding the yeast which you are not supposed to do - however it is still fermenting like a steamtrain so hopeful that it has not had any negative impact so far.

 

[PD]

So did I.... don't worry about it. My Exmoor Gold had some strrian hops added just after the yeast went in... Now into its 2nd fv and its looking and tasting marvellous

 

[EG_Wanna_Be]

So did I.... don't worry about it. My Exmoor Gold had some strrian hops added just after the yeast went in... Now into its 2nd fv and its looking and tasting marvellous

Excellent! Thanks for the vote of confidence! Looking forward to a wee taste.

 

[calumscott]

So did I.... don't worry about it. My Exmoor Gold had some strrian hops added just after the yeast went in... Now into its 2nd fv and its looking and tasting marvellous

Me too, a Better Brew IPA into which went 40g Chinook right at the start. 2nd best beer to date... :thumb:

 

[mattrickl06]

Looking forward to a wee taste.

I am going to stick with the ale i reckon :party: