What to brew next?

[booosh]

It's currently 5 days since I pitched the yeast on my first batch of beer (Cooper's English bitter). Fermentation seems to have stopped and my hydrometer has read the same two days running. I'm probably going to leave it at least another two days and then think about bottling it.

I have a premium kit lined up next which I plan on getting going straight away after bottling my first batch.

I like the idea of more creative freedom over my beer. I can't afford the equipment for a full all grain set up, so extract or boil in the bag brewing might be up my street.

Could anyone recommend me a simple recipe to ease me away from kits?

Are there any books that I must read, it's hard to paint a picture without knowing what colours you have available?

I have a ~2.5 gallon boiling pot, can I make a super concentrated wort and then dilute it down?

How did you guys get in to all grain / extract brewing?

Thanks guys.

 

[bobsbeer]

Graham Wheeler's book Brew Your Own British Real Ale is a must have. It gives different brew lengths for AG and extract versions.

 

[MyQul]

I'm still on kit's. Don't know whether I'll ever progress onto extract or even AG cuz of time/money/space but if I did move onto extract I think I'd probably start off on an extract receipe kit. That way I could just simply follow the instructions, do a couple of the kits till i'm familiar with the process then move on from there. Brew UK do em, there seems to be quite a number of different ones so I'm sure you could find one you like

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/brewextract.html

 

[dennisking]

Tell us where you live, there may someone near you who would be happy to let you join them for an AG brewday so can see how straightforward it is.

 

[Duxuk]

Extract is an excellent idea. And an extract kit would make it easy. I've done some nice extract brews with nothing bigger than a pressure cooker which is about 5l. I boiled the hops with some extract in that and filtered with a colinder. It would have been better to use a piece of net curtain as a filter, as I found since converting to AG.

 

[paddone]

If you don't want to take the plunge and go all out on big boilers and mash tuns, I would say extract is the way to have more freedom.

You can choose small quantities of specialty grains to give the beer character and then top up the sugar levels in the brew with your choice of malt extract. It also lets you choose your hop variety, quantity and when to add them. Not forgetting choosing a yeast to match your brew.

All this can be done in a big stock pot which can be cooled in the sink with some ice. You can brew up to 25 liters in the kitchen with pots and pans but over that you need to start thinking about splashing out on some big kit.

 

[Sandimas]

+1 for BrewUK recipe kits - I've done 10 of these, all have been very good to outstanding. You will notice a step up in quality from kits, I should really have gone AG by now but to be honest I'm very happy with the quality of Extract, which is as good if not better than most pub ales round here. Only extra kit you'll need is a large boil pan, £15 or so off eBay, although you might already have something suitable in the house.

 

[PD]

you will save yourself a fist full of money on each brew when you do go All Grain.

 

[booosh]

Cheers guys, just checking out BrewUK. Looks like exactly what I was hoping for!