Could we do more for Extract and Kit brewers?

[admin]

Seems to be very little talk of extract or kit brews on here. Could we do more to help? Suggestions?

[Partridge9]

Yeap - 100% agree

I am going to re-do Jacobs recipe article for extract brewers - I have only attempted a couple of extract brews so I wont be offended if some corrections pointed out.

[Spud395]

Yeah to make the site a proper brewing site I guess we do.

How I'm not sure, have very little experience with kits and none with extract.

Do we have any hardcore kit or extract brewers?

[Partridge9]

I dont mind starting a extract recipe section. I have tried extract and to be honest - if its done right
- the end result is very close to all-grain

[brenmurph]

I'd say for every potential 10 new members, 9 will be delighted to brew from a kit (walk before run) and enjoy the lovely beer that can be made from kits. I dont mind if you want to suggest a forthnightly kit brew day/ lessons for beginners Ill certainly help out there from my base in Kildare. ( Kildare may seem far but easily accessed by green bus or road). I brew every week anyway and half my brews are done from kit as its a great way to get beer ready easily and quickly for parties and sessions and besides most people I introduce to homebrew start with kits and move on when more confident.
Theres some fab kits that produce great session beers (mayby not competition winners) but beer as good as and better than smithwicks, fosters and budweiser, which is the tipple of many non-craftbeer people. Add some nice hops at a few stages and a bit of extract or spray and beer can be fantastic as most will appreciate.
A beginners section may be a good idea and push the 'meet up with each other' bit to get people sharing ideas to boost peoples confidence. I really think brew meet ups are the way to go, cant beat seeing the processes in action from someone more skilled.
Hope this helps your debate. Brendan

[DEMPSEY]

Since most brewers here are all grain brewers,perhaps a few could go and do some kit brews for a review page.

[IsMise]

Haven't done any AG brewing .... YET!, have a Coopers IPA with a Fuggles Hop-bag in the fermenter at the moment, almost ready for bottling... basic kit, but usually drinkable to my wizened and withered old taste-buds. (years of abuse by demonic diago drinkies)

I have tasted AG brews and they are superb, but would love to taste other kit brews, especially if there was some advice on tweeking with different malts, hops yeast etc.

What about the experienced brewers trying a kit-tasting evening? Would that be like falling off the wagon 

Is Mise

[IsMise]

Seems to be very little talk of extract or kit brews on here. Could we do more to help? Suggestions?

Just checking the pulse on this thread .... is it dead already???
Could the topic be promoted a wee bit more, like kept in the frame, or are threads dependant on popularism ie number of hits?? :-?

Is Mise

[IsMise]

Nice one Tube, haven't done extract in donkeys years either, but would certainly give this a go cos I love ales...
Problem with meself is the lack of knowledge around current equipment, what's needed for this stage etc, but I'm learning... yeah, sounds like baby-sitting I know

Is Mise

[MAF]

I'll add a few more extract and partial mash recipes if people are interested?

[ColinC]

Did I read somewhere here that the group brewing sessions were planning on doing an all-grain, extract & kit of a similar style to compare?

I reckon that'll go a good way to help out kit & extract brewers move on up.....maybe taste the finished products and see the benefits (or not) of the more complex and time consuming ways of brewing and get to see the equipment you need for each in action.

[edit] just thinking if we were going to do the 3 types of brewing together in 1 sitting would it be an option to do a few different types of kit for comparison? Like one plain 1 can kit with kit yeast & a kilo of dme, then another with some steeped crystal, extra hops & a specific yeast. Maybe add some extra stuff like orange peel and corriander for a wheat beer?

Compare them when they're done so people can decide if they want to move onto extract/all-grain or are happy with some tweaked kits?

[Rats]

I've done about 6 kits since I started in May and moved to AG.
Done about 4 AG and 2 wine kits.

[Padraic]

Did I read somewhere here that the group brewing sessions were planning on doing an all-grain, extract & kit of a similar style to compare?

I reckon that'll go a good way to help out kit & extract brewers move on up.....maybe taste the finished products and see the benefits (or not) of the more complex and time consuming ways of brewing and get to see the equipment you need for each in action.

[edit] just thinking if we were going to do the 3 types of brewing together in 1 sitting would it be an option to do a few different types of kit for comparison? Like one plain 1 can kit with kit yeast & a kilo of dme, then another with some steeped crystal, extra hops & a specific yeast. Maybe add some extra stuff like orange peel and corriander for a wheat beer?

Compare them when they're done so people can decide if they want to move onto extract/all-grain or are happy with some tweaked kits?

I think you're referring to the planned Capital Brewers first brew day, I think we'll be limited to doing the three brews one with each method, but I would like to see us do a night of different kit hacks as well to see how they turn out. These are the sorts of fun projects that we can do when we have the club up and running. And hopefully not just the Capital Brewers, I hope we have a club in every town experimenting and learning new processes!

[brenmurph]

I agree, as I posted elsewhere, kits can be great if you play around and experiement. Today I used a Geordie bitter kit and added chocolate malt, roast barley and a little EKG (5 min). Most people (other than serious all-grainers) wont know the difference, to them its a very dark ale/ porter/ stout, if they ask for a second pint then its good! Therefore the trial ye are proposing could yield interesting feedback, lets say a well brewed decent kit with additional fresh ingredients could be way better than a not so perfect mash brew.  Most people will devour most good kit produced beer if its brewed well. If I can be of help with any trials or if u need my Kildare venue just shout.

[Richie71]

I'll add a few more extract and partial mash recipes if people are interested?

Yes please.

I've just moved to extract from a year of brewing kits.  I bought a couple of extract brew kits from HBC but I'd be keen to start buying some ingredients in bulk and follow a few recipies.