Simple Extract Method Help!

[Tree]

Hi folks,

Could anyone please give me some advice? I am new to brewing, done 1 kit and want to turn my hand to a simple extract method that I've found:

1. Mix the cracked grains with about 1 litre of water and bring to the boil.

2. Boil gently for 20 minutes then add the hop pellets and turn the heat off at the same time. Let the hot mixture stand for about ten minutes.

3. Pour the hot mixture through a fine strainer into the fermenter. Gently pour some hot water through the collected grain to rinse all the goodness into the fermenter

4. Add the other ingredients to the fermenter plus some hot water if necessary and mix thoroughly.

5. Add cold water up to the 23 litre mark and stir well.

6. When the temperature is below 30 deg.C. Add the yeast and make your beer the usual way.

I am planing to use a mix of LME and DME, so according to this method they would be added straight into the fv onto the steeped grain mixture.

Does this sound like a reasonable way to make a beer, or should I do things differently?

Cheers.

[Clibit]

I wouldn't boil the grains, and you don't mention hops, are you using hopped malt extract? it sounds like the instructions for simply modifying a kit by using some steeping grains to add some malt flavour.

A genuine extract brew is more involved and looks like this...


19 LITRE EXTRACT BREWING

1. Gather all equipment and ingredients, recipe and instructions.

2. Collect, treat and heat 10 litres of water to about 65*C.

3. Pour crushed steeping grain into a mesh bag and tie the open end in a knot. Steep for 20 minutes and then turn the heat on again. When the water reaches 78°C remove bag and discard grains.

4. Bring to a boil, remove the kettle from the burner and stir in the extract.

5. Return wort to boil. The mixture is now called “wort”, the brewer’s term for unfermented beer.
- Add hops at times determined by the recipe.

6. Cool the wort. When the 60-minute boil is finished, cool the wort as rapidly as possible. Use a wort chiller, or put the kettle in an ice bath in your sink.

7. While the wort cools, sanitize the fermenting equipment – fermenter, lid or stopper, fermentation lock, funnel, etc

8. Put about 9 litres of cold water into you fermenter, then pour in the cooled wort. Leave any thick sludge in the bottom of the pan.

9. Add more cold water as needed to bring the volume to 19 litres.

10. Aerate the wort. Seal the fermenter and rock back and forth to splash for a few minutes, and/or stir/whisk like mad and/or use a sanitised jug to lift and pour the wort from a height.

11. Measure specific gravity of the wort with a hydrometer and record.

12. Add yeast once the temperature of the wort is down to pitching temp, around 20*C.

13. Seal the fermenter and install airlock if you use one.

14. Move the fermenter to a warm, dark, quiet spot until fermentation begins.

[Tree]

Thanks very much for your reply, it's a great help.

You are right, the method i posted was essentially a modification to a beer kit (Coopers), but i was going to use an unhopped liquid malt extract instead of the kit and add some hops to the steeped grain mixture for around ten minutes. The recipe is as below:

1 can Coopers Real Ale
2 kg Light Dry Malt Extract
500g Glucose or Dextrose
200g Cracked Crystal Malt
50g Cracked Black Malt
100g Cracked Chocolate Malt
20g Hersbrucker Hop Pellets

I will follow your sound advice instead though!

[Clibit]

Don't boil the grains, take them out around 78*Cish, Then boil the liquid for 15-20 mins to sterilise it, with the hops if you want additional hop flavour. MYour bitterness and most of your hop flavour will come from the Coopers Real Ale can. Or you could just add the hops into the fermenter when the initial fermentation has died down and leave for 3-4 days, if you just want an aroma hit. A lot of kit brewers do this, but you have to get the the hops out before bottling, so maybe use a hop bag. I've not used pellets though, they may drop to the bottom. Good luck.

[Tree]

Thanks,

My intention is to come up with some sort of Bock style brew, I'll let you know how it turns out.


Cheers.

[Clibit]

Never done a bock, think they are pretty tricky. Just make it the best you can and you'll get a nice beer, whatever it is. Using lager yeast?

[Tree]

Was planning to use Nottingham yeast, as I understand that it can work at pretty low temps. I'm not going to larger the beer, as I don't have the equipment, rather just keep it in my shed to ferment out.

[DaveyT]

Just seen this thread. Clibit seems to have covered all bases there. Excellent post!

[timbo41]

The recipes from the coopers website normally turn out well
For the cost of the real ale kit, already nicely hop balanced , I wouldn't mess too much with a long hop boil
but certainly a steep around 80°c will add a big flavour boost
+1 to all clib's pointers