Kit Enhancements

[BigStripeyCat]

I'm new to this game, only on my second brew and I was wondering how I get to learn what I can add to the various kits to enhance the flavour, body etc?

There's a recipe section to this forum but that seems to be for the AG guys (I hope to be there one day), but for me it would be good if there was a section dedicated to brewers' kit enhancements (no pun intended).

Am I right in thinking that such a section doesn't exist on this forum, I've looked but cannot find.

[orable]

Guess a lot depends on what you mean by 'enhancement' and what kit you start out with in the first place and what you want it to become. Essentially the permutations are such that it's impossible to give generic advice.

Kits that require you to add sugar can be enhanced by using brewers sugar or better still beer kit enhancer / spray malt. You can also change the colour by adding wort from steeped grains and change the bitterness by boiling some of the wort with extra hops. Kits can also be dry hopped, or use different yeasts to change the aroma, flavour and change the sweetness / dryness of the beer. The temperature you pitch the yeast and ferment at can also play a part.

[Preid]

Its all so technical

[Waffty]

Its all so technical

It doesn't have to be

If the kit is made up of say less then 3kg of extract concentrate, then you'll usually be required to add sugar, if this is the case, simply replace the specific amount of sugar with dryed malt extract (DME), as this will not only give you the alcohol you require + also give the beer extra body, as not all the sugar turns into alcohol & therefore gives the brew body.

As for flavour, you buy one of Brupaks flavour packs from Hop & grape, they do one for ale & lager. In essence, they are tea bags made up of hops & grain. Then when you get into it, you can make your own up.

Then the next step is to buy none hop'd extract & boil up your own.

Kits like brupaks pride of Yorkshire are made up of 3Kg of extract + a flavour bag, which you can use for aroma or extra bitterness etc.

Darren.

[macleanb]

I'd second what Wafty said. It can seem a little technical at first, but most of the concepts are pretty easy to uderstand in principal. It seems like a lot at first, but you'll soon pick it up.