Kits,Extracts, Partials.....Where Are You At ?

velophile · Post by **velophile** » Monday May 15, 2006 12:55 pm

I'm doing kits with extra hops & specialty grains ie, dark cyrstal, roast malt/barley, chocolate malt etc. Also recultured some Coopers Pale Ale yeast. I bought some really cheap Tooheys kits ($3.15 each) & used these to experiment. I'll be doing a partial/extract soon but can only mini-mash in a 6 pack esky at the moment.

I'm slowly getting more gear together.
In addition to a basic starter kit & bottle tree/washer, I've bought 2 extra fementers, a digital thermometer, 15 litre SS pot, large strainer to suit pot, 5 litre measuring jug.

Still to get some decent scales & a better way to control fermentation temps...... then a bigger boil pot & mash tun.... kegging setup..... dedicated brew shed.....etc

Rubber.Piggy · Post by **Rubber.Piggy** » Monday May 15, 2006 2:01 pm

ACTbrewer wrote:A question out of ignorance...
If the kit makers (brew companies) have access to good ingredients and good techniques, why would doing the same thing at home be better? Is it all in the fact that the Kits need to be dehydrated at the factory, and this lessens the end product?
Just wondering as I have only ever done Kits and hops etc, and can't compare.
Cheers

I wouldn't claim that AG beers were better than well made kits. If you enjoy making and drinking your kits and don't wanna go any further, that's great.

For me the gradual move towards AG brewing is an increase in freedom, creativity and control. I find it a little bit boring making up kits or other people's recipies. I like thinking up a recipe of my own, brewing it from scratch (well as close as I can get) and then tweaking it to improve it or make different varieties.

gregb · Post by **gregb** » Monday May 15, 2006 3:12 pm

For some debate about AG vs Extract etc see this thread:
http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/vi ... php?t=1880

Cheers,
Greg

Tipsy · Post by **Tipsy** » Monday May 15, 2006 7:46 pm

velophile wrote:I'm doing kits with extra hops & specialty grains ie, dark cyrstal, roast malt/barley, chocolate malt etc. Also recultured some Coopers Pale Ale yeast.

I'm at this stage too. I'm going to do an extract soon but don't ever see myself going AG.

count_andy · Post by **count_andy** » Thursday May 18, 2006 9:30 pm

G'day all

Until stumbling across this forum I have only ever done kit & kilo (the only variance has been adding brew enhancers/ honey) and a dozen or so of my mates have no complaints drinking it whenever they come around.

Now I am starting to add hops and different yeasts - tried a Redback clone last week and about to do a Czech Pilsener. Have picked up a lot of useful ideas from this forum (Racking, yeasts, hops, bulk priming etc).

I guess its a natural progression through the stages depending on individual tastes.

Cheers

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Friday May 19, 2006 1:33 am

Some great posts happening here guys, keep em coming !!

Thanks for your efforts. Top stuff !!

BeerFrenzy · Post by **BeerFrenzy** » Friday May 19, 2006 9:06 am

Kit and kilo here...well...kit and a kilo and a half of liquid malt extract. Hoping to play around with grains soon....also might switch to dry malt extract to see what difference that makes- Ive only done three brews so far

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday May 22, 2006 5:04 pm

Well i have just embarked on my first partial mash brew, thanks to a lot of guidence from Grumpys.

A Boston Cream Masterbrew, along with 2 1/2 kilo of crushed grain, and the appropriate bittering hops for the mash liquor.

It really wasnt that hard, but took some time. And you definately need some basic equipment.

What i enjoyed most was the participation. Your always doing something, to get this brew off the ground. I know you All Grainers are having a bit of a snicker.

But i really enjoyed it. The smell from the mash was something else to behold.

It took me from about 1.00 pm in the afternoon till about 5 pm to get the sucker in the fermenter. But it was a huge learning curve.

For those that are interested. I ended up with about 1.048 OG, with 2.5 kilo of grain and the Masterbrew bag. No idea of my mash efficiency, but i mustve done something right. I tasted the first runnings from my mini tun.....very sweet, very nice.

I'll be an All Grainer oneday. Its my destiny.

Tipsy · Post by **Tipsy** » Friday May 26, 2006 9:34 pm

Paleman wrote:What i enjoyed most was the participation.

I enjoy the anticipation most

tazman67 · Post by **tazman67** » Friday May 26, 2006 9:46 pm

For me just Kit & kilos for me.Done a boil on a Stella with Saflager yeast fermented at low temp come up a treat.Want to go all the way and brew my brand of brew. Your info on site has guided me on my way to my perfect BREW.

Lukejones01 · Post by **Lukejones01** » Saturday Jun 03, 2006 6:14 pm

I've just started and am currently on my 3rd brew (a cider for the missus). Actually my other half actually got me started with a basic Coopers kit. Then I found a recipe for a 2 can brew using yeast from a couple of coopers pale ales. I guess I'll keep reading and learning different options online. Thank God for the internet!!! Hopefully I'll graduate to bigger and better things but for the moment I'm happy just using K&K and learning.

Hrundi V Bakshi · Saturday Jun 03, 2006 9:48 pm

ACTbrewer wrote:A question out of ignorance...
If the kit makers (brew companies) have access to good ingredients and good techniques, why would doing the same thing at home be better? Is it all in the fact that the Kits need to be dehydrated at the factory, and this lessens the end product?
Just wondering as I have only ever done Kits and hops etc, and can't compare.
Cheers

Why to bother baking a cake from scratch when Greens have packed one into a multitude of powders in a box? Why bother squeezing your own oranges when you can buy concentrate at the supermarket? Indeed, why bother making curry mixes when Keens have put it all in one tin already?

The concentrating then rehydrating detracts from the freshness. Indeed the number of kits with fresh hops inside is negligible. Kits are mostly being produced with isomerised extract of hop. Extract of barley malt is not being at all the same as a freshly run off sweet sweet wort.

All grain beer smells heavenly, but mostly I brew this way for the complete control of the flavour, aroma, strength and individuality of the beer. It is certainly time consuming and costs some energy (to boil the wort for one hour) but the end result is treasurable. Certainly it is not for everyone.

Choco · Post by **Choco** » Sunday Jun 04, 2006 11:27 am

So far i'm on K&K, i have brew #4 in fermenter. Got a Stella kit to do next, so that will be my start into experimenting.
Haven't got the space and time to get "full on" yet. Moving in a few months to larger house with a good size shed.
Then the fun will begin.

Paleman · Post by **Paleman** » Monday Jun 05, 2006 4:18 pm

Hrundi V Bakshi wrote:
ACTbrewer wrote:A question out of ignorance...
If the kit makers (brew companies) have access to good ingredients and good techniques, why would doing the same thing at home be better? Is it all in the fact that the Kits need to be dehydrated at the factory, and this lessens the end product?
Just wondering as I have only ever done Kits and hops etc, and can't compare.
Cheers
Why to bother baking a cake from scratch when Greens have packed one into a multitude of powders in a box? Why bother squeezing your own oranges when you can buy concentrate at the supermarket? Indeed, why bother making curry mixes when Keens have put it all in one tin already?

The concentrating then rehydrating detracts from the freshness. Indeed the number of kits with fresh hops inside is negligible. Kits are mostly being produced with isomerised extract of hop. Extract of barley malt is not being at all the same as a freshly run off sweet sweet wort.

All grain beer smells heavenly, but mostly I brew this way for the complete control of the flavour, aroma, strength and individuality of the beer. It is certainly time consuming and costs some energy (to boil the wort for one hour) but the end result is treasurable. Certainly it is not for everyone.

Nicely put. H v B.

Ive just taken a gravity from my beforementioned partial, its ready to bottle.

Anyway, i swigged what was in the hydrometer vessel. Its like nothing ive ever tasted straight from the fermenter. Has a very fresh, almost premium taste. Its gunna be a great beer. One to savour.

HopsAlot · Post by **HopsAlot** » Tuesday Jun 06, 2006 4:37 pm

Put me down in the Carbonator category, K and K so far, and "back-to-basics", and after 6 batches I am still experimenting and some of my experiments are "interesting". I want to get down to a reliable consistent K&K drop - a clean crisp lager - then move to all-grain...great thread - thanks.

Duane · Post by **Duane** » Thursday Jun 08, 2006 4:48 pm

Ive done 4 partials with extract and grain, and im on the move to AG this weekend

A Tooheys Old clone for the old manon Sat. and a Bohemian Pilsner for me on Sun. Woo Hoo.. bring it on

Krusty · Post by **Krusty** » Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 1:42 am

I am still kit & kilo. Only recently found that the instructions in the brew kits are not neccessarily right. Eg: brewing temps. I'm just trying to keep it fairly simple and make good beer with minimal time and effort. I'm just starting to use hops and I'd like to try using some grains in my next few brews. I'd like to crawl before I run. The temptation's always there to try some far out stuff, though.

Growler & 1/2 Pint · Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 8:37 am

I just found this forum and it made my day. My wife and I have just started down the obsessive road of homebrewing and are still making Kits and K&K, but we are already trying to find a way to fit a kegerator into the apartment. AG is the goal and the trip is going to be half the fun!

Mearesy · Post by **Mearesy** » Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 5:56 pm

Done 4 partials now. Have only been brewing since the start of the year, done 12 brews so far. Ive even won a couple of awards in the local show!

My next brew will be an AG. When the bug bites, it bites hard

BierMeister · Post by **BierMeister** » Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 8:59 pm

Growler & 1/2 Pint wrote:I just found this forum and it made my day. My wife and I have just started down the obsessive road of homebrewing and are still making Kits and K&K, but we are already trying to find a way to fit a kegerator into the apartment. AG is the goal and the trip is going to be half the fun!

Just wanted to say good on yer. To help you on your way and others out there who are interested go to http://www.howtobrew.com and learn from the master John Palmer. This is a brewing book on the net (Hes an American and all measurements are yank but there is metric converstions) and I found it as I was moving on from partials to All Grain recently and was looking for a mashing tun design. I learnt so much more. If you ever wanted to learn why, how and what is happening to your home brew from K&K to AG this is the book for you and it costs absolutely nothing. Thats right Zip, Zilch, Nadda. I have copied and pasted the entire text and pictures onto a word document (200 odd pages) and if I ever figure out how to up load 3.44 mb with a dial up quickly I'd be more than willing to pass on my editing effort to the masses.

I have since made my mash tun from scratch and am waiting for the results of its first brew. Not my first AG but definitely the easiest and most controlled to date. Next step is to get a bigger wort boiler and to make a Wort cooler. (luckly there is a design in this book)

So an AG I am, but I constantly do partials in between. It depends on time factors but I would have to say that any amount of mashing/steeping is far better than K&K as it adds freshness that can't be kept in a can.