Beer brewing short cut?

Their are no real short cuts when brewing beer, its a 3-6 hour process no matter the equipment, style or ingredients. Using a extract kit is the quickest and easiest. Using DME ( dried malt extract) or LME ( liquid malt extract) cuts out the grain grinding and mashing process. This shaves at least 1 hour and in most cases around 2 hours with a brew in a bag/basket all in one system.

Both systems brew better beer than the store bought beer.

The limiting factors using DME or LME kits is the malt extracts varieties are some what limited vs the all grain method. Their are many different base grains, over 100 from barley to wheat and rye from many different maltsters. Each maltster has their own unique take on what a pilsner malt is - that is how it is roasted.

Base malts

Base malts will make up the majority of your malt base for making wort.

• Barley malts: pale malt, Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, Munich malt, mild ale malt, and more

• Non-barley base malts like wheat malt and rye malt (more on these in "Other Malts")

• High-kilned malts: responsible for the dark, malty lagers of Europe and have also found a home in some ales because of their unique character. Munich and Vienna malts are the prime examples 

• American base malt is generally mild and fairly neutral; British malts tend to be maltier, bready, and biscuit-like.

Then we move on to:

Caramel & Crystal Malts

Crystal malts are steep-able and generally used to add sweetness and color to both extract and all-grain brews. These malts are generally used in small amounts of a few ounces and up to 10% of the base malt you are using, much more and the start adding astringency to the beer. As a general rule, the lighter-colored crystal malts are more "sweet," while darker crystal malts add roastiness or nuttiness in addition to sweetness. Their are over 36 different caramel and Crystal malts, each again has its own unique flavor profile. A little can go a long ways in the flavoring and color of your beer.

Lighter crystal malts you will get caramel flavor and in the darker varieties the flavors change to toffee and then some really great plum and dark fruit characteristics. An added bonus to the color and flavor is added mouthfeel and body.

Adjuncts

• Flaked Maize ( corn ) - adds mild, neutral flavor in small amounts, moderate sweetness at higher percentages. Higher amounts add a somewhat corny flavor.

• Flaked Wheat - Add head retention and body

• Flaked Oats - Adds body and creamy texture

• Flaked Rice - Lightens the body and increases crispness of a beer.

• Flaked Barley - adds body, creaminess, head retention and a grainy taste.

• Flaked Rye - adds crispness and a rye flavor along with body

• Rice hulls - add nothing, they are used during the lautering process - keeping the grains from binding together resulting in a stuck mash. A mash that you cannot pump water out of or through.

Adjunct use can ranger from 8% to 40% of your grain bill.

Kilned & Toasted Malts

Are malts such as biscuit, amber, special roast, and aromatic malts. Usually used in low quantities to contribute unique flavor (half a pound or less for a 5 gallon batch). A little goes a long way. You want to add finessed flavors not hit em in the mouth and put them out flavors.

• Biscuit malt contributes a light, "saltine cracker" flavor, while aromatic malt is deeper and maltier.

• Brown and amber malt are similarly toasted, but the similarities end in the toasting process. Brown is darker and more toasty/bready and amber has less of a pretzel-like flavor.

• Victory malt is light option that sits between biscuit and amber, with characteristics of both.

• Special roast is fairly unique and will impart a slightly darker, reddish color and has a fairly strong tangy, berry, deep flavor. 

Roasted Malts

Roasted malts are any malts or grains that are roasted to a very high degree. Dark, deep, bready, delicious. Can be steeped for extract brewing or mashed for all-grain, and add a lot of complexity and color in very low quantities. The three most common varieties are:

• Black malt (sometimes called black patent malt), chocolate malt, and roasted barley.

• Weyermann® range of Carafa® malts

• Kiln-coffee malt

• Distaff cousins like de-bittered black malt and pale chocolate. Roasted malts can

Roasted malts are delicious, provided you don't go completely overboard: 10% of your total grain bill is about the most you would usually use. Stay below this amount for just a teasing flavor that will bring you back for more sips.

For a extensive list of malts from various maltsters see this link, the information from this link is used above as their is no use me re-inventing the wheel.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/blogs/beer-recipes-ingredients/grain-guide

As you can see their are many different grains NS Vrioua roasts and malting methods that you can use to flavor your beer. With the exceptions of the base malts all can be steeped in DME/LME kits while doing your boil.

DME/LME Kits

These kits as I said knock hours off your brew day. Will you make good beer with them? You bet, this is what I started out with each one was very crushable and better than any store bought beer. They require no research except deciding which one you are going to try. Helles, Pilsners, Ales, Belgians, IPA’s etcetera are all available in these kit forms. They even have yeast suggestions to pick from.

The kits take the recipe building and guess work out of the equation. Decide what you would like to drink order the kit and get ready for some delicious crushable beer that you have made yourself.

I have made some really good Kolsch’s, Marzens, New Zealand IPA ( I was never a IPA fan until I made this Northern Brewer KIWI IPA - it grows on you from the first sip. ), American ales - brown and red, German Ales and lagers, and Wheat beers.

Thee kits are nearly fool proof and oh some much better than the kits I purchased in 1980 when home brewing was made legal.

As I have said I have used both kits and all grain. Kits are easier, they are nearly fool proof vs all grain, where a few ounces too much of a roasted or crystal malt can make the beer barely drinkable.

I have never screwed up a kit beer, I have screwed up all grain. My most recent was a Vienna Lager in which I got distracted ( in a hurry) and instead of .25 lbs of Carafa 3 I put a whole pound in. I did not realize what I did until I drew the first draw from the keg. It was black instead of ruby red. I mean black, and oh it had some biting roasted flavor. Well I thought I have room so I’m just going to let it set and lager for a couple months. The flavor settled down finally and its a pretty darn good beer. Will I make it again? Hmmm I don’t know, its good but I have others to make and have made that are better. Yet it is still better than store bought beer. Even my son that likes macro brew of store bought swill likes it - so its must be onay. We will see if I make it again. I have around a 1/4 keg left and am letting it age some more to see what that brings.

Currently I have a Kolsch aging and a Helles that is nearly ready. I have made these both in kit forms, and this is a first for all grain on these two. So far the Helles is very good - better than the kits but barely. I need to do some work on my recipe. We will see on the Kolsch as the kit beer I made was a knock out so anything less with this all grain will be a disappointment.

Up next are Schwartzbier, Italian Pilsner and that New Zealand IPA. The Italian Pilsner and New Zealand IPA are all grain which I put the recipe together from scratch. I am using some different base grains with unique profiles so time will tell if they are crushable or failures.

I like the challenge of all grain, I like being able to put the grains, hops and yeasts together to get the flavor profile I would like. Sometimes it works and sometimes it barely works, sometimes a mistake ends up being a pretty good beer.

Their are many variables in all grain brewing vs the DME/LME kits. I would start with the kits and the brew system linked below. Its as low of cost system as you can get and still have good equipment that is easy to clean, carry and use.

Brewing your own beer is a great hobby that is enjoyable and provides great beer at a reasonable cost. I’ll provide some recommendations for styles in a future stack. When home brewing you want to be able to have great beer for family and friends, that means in most cases a cream ale or a lighter colored or red ale. Lagers are great but they require proper equipment and you really do not want to start spending time and money on lagering and extra cooling until you have some really great ales under your belt.

Meanwhile check out northernbrewer.com. morebeer.com, greatfermentations.com, windriverbrew.com and most of all support your local home brew supply store. These are small businesses that are supporting their families, your community and have a passion for home brewers. That is not to take away from the suppliers above, I have used them all and all are great suppliers, but still like going to my local home brew shop and checking out their grains, yeasts, hops and supplies.

See this stack for the equipment needed to do all grain and kit beers.

Thank you for reading my stack, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy putting them together.