BeerBorg

RonD wrote: Hi to all... I am a BrewDemon newbie looking for suggestions for ciders and beers. Also looking for information on the BrewDemon discount available to members. Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

Ron

Hello Ron and welcome to The Borg
We all love brewing and drinking good beers, so don't be afraid to ask questions or join right in....
Good Luck and Happy Brewing

CowboyKyle wrote:...I think anyone who wants to continue brewing beyond the first 6 months to a year likely moves into partial mash and All Grain... right? I plan to. I am sure it is the natural evolution for most...

Anyone can move at whatever pace they wish. Some people actually move to all grain within a few months while others are brewing extract batches for years.

I do mostly all grain brewing now-a-days but while I was making 5 gallon extract kits with steeping grains and hop boil I was very happy with many of those brews.
Looking at my brew books I was about a year and a half to go from Mr. Beer stuff (some tweaked) to extract kits with hop boil and steeping grains to all grain.

Whamolagan wrote:Hope you got temp control. Makes all the difference.

for fermenting? yes! got a nice 4.4 cu. ft. mini fridge on CL for $50 and assembled a temp controller from amazon to run it. I just bottled two MB lagers last weekend that ran at 55F for 19 days with a d-rest and cold crash. Hoping they turn out nice!

I've put together some equipment, I think i'm gonna work on BIAB next...

CowboyKyle, it seems you're taking the same path I did. Little by little, step by step, moving from HME recipes to adding hops and specialty grains, then formulating my own recipes using DME and specialty grains, and eventually moving into AG. Whatever works. Take it at your own pace, do your research, ask questions, and have fun with it. You'll get great advice and support from The Borg, that's for sure.

CowboyKyle wrote: I think anyone who wants to continue brewing beyond the first 6 months to a year likely moves into partial mash and All Grain... right? I plan to. I am sure it is the natural evolution for most.

3 years, all extract brewing. Steeped grains, LME, hops. Just cloned Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Fat Tire. Pick the method that produces beer that you enjoy. Homebrewing can be as complex or as simple as you like.

RickBeer wrote:

CowboyKyle wrote: I think anyone who wants to continue brewing beyond the first 6 months to a year likely moves into partial mash and All Grain... right? I plan to. I am sure it is the natural evolution for most.

3 years, all extract brewing. Steeped grains, LME, hops. Just cloned Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Fat Tire. Pick the method that produces beer that you enjoy. Homebrewing can be as complex or as simple as you like.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^
From all the posts I've read I got the impression that new brewers feel a sense of urgency and obligation to move into PM or all grain brewing.

I don't know if there is something not getting passed along that really good beer can be made by non-hme extracts or that there is still confusion about HME vs. extract in the way it gets explained to "brand new" brewers.

The greatest thing about home brewing as a hobby is precisely that it is so versatile and the final product is equally rewarding.

Brewbirds wrote:

RickBeer wrote:

CowboyKyle wrote: I think anyone who wants to continue brewing beyond the first 6 months to a year likely moves into partial mash and All Grain... right? I plan to. I am sure it is the natural evolution for most.

3 years, all extract brewing. Steeped grains, LME, hops. Just cloned Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Fat Tire. Pick the method that produces beer that you enjoy. Homebrewing can be as complex or as simple as you like.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^
From all the posts I've read I got the impression that new brewers feel a sense of urgency and obligation to move into PM or all grain brewing.

I don't know if there is something not getting passed along that really good beer can be made by non-hme extracts or that there is still confusion about HME vs. extract in the way it gets explained to "brand new" brewers.

The greatest thing about home brewing as a hobby is precisely that it is so versatile and the final product is equally rewarding.

^^^ what they said ^^^

I started off around 20 years ago as AG right out of the box. Because back then extract came in a can and it was probably a year old. And it didn't make the best beer. I then too took a long brewing hiatus due to various reasons which you can find if you search old posts.

I came back with very little time to brew, so did HMEs and some extracts and steeps. I discovered that modern fresh bulk extracts are nothing at all like the stuff in a can was back in the "old days", and that I can make beer as good as my old AG days with them. Better actually because I'm a better brewer now from an overall process standpoint.

I now am back to doing some AG, some PMs, and still also extract batches and extract/steep batches - it all depends on how much time I had to brew.

If I gave you one of my extract or AG beers and didn't tell you which was which you likely wouldn't know.

AG is less expensive, but more time consuming. You can get more control with AG, but whether that matters really depends on what you are brewing, and you can brew a lot of things with PMs and modern extracts. Some styles that were impossible before - rye and munich based beers, or beers with authentic british/continental malt vibe for example - are no longer out of the realm of extract brewing.

I like spending the time doing AG/BIAB when I have it, but I like saving the time when I don't. My time saved is worth the extra money, as long as I'm making good beer.

So really, what it comes down to is brew however you like as long as you are getting the results you want.

If you poke around, you will see a few listings of brews we've made. That would include ciders. That comes with the how to and what withs.
Like we always say, look, listen, learn and ask. We all like to share, and learn as well.

What they said. Go as fast or slow as you like.

Ciders are super easy too. Search for the Stupid Easy cider on here and enjoy.

Welcome to the obsession!

my next batch will be a cider from BD. Im looking forward to doing a "no Boil" kit from BD, I also have a Milk Stout kit in the same package ordered. This will make batch 3 & 4 respectfully for me. The first 2 kits were Extract / Partial mash. My goal is to have several home brews to choose from for consumption, giving away, and have a stash of various types on hand to enjoy, depending on the mood, atmosphere, ect....

The Cider kit will be made when it hits the door of my house, should be done about the same time my Imperial IPA is ready to consume.