Need a Recipe

[thencamebronson]

I'm new to this so I may ask a stupid question. For Christmas, SWMBO gave me a brewing setup she got at a garage sale for $10. Included a 6 gallon fermenting bucket, airlock, sanitizer, corn sugar, bottle capper, caps, bottle filler, racking cane, hoses and a 3.3 lb can of John Bull Light LME, hopped.

I used some of the stuff with a refill kit I got at Wal Mart on sale. I figured I couldn't lose, and the first batch of "Irish Stout" turned out pretty good. Not great, but still better than anything from the store. Another gallon of "Australian Lager" is bottled and the gallon of "European Dark" is fermenting. I know it sounds hokey, the refills are from Mill Valley Farm or something but the price was right.

Anyway, I hate to let this can of John Bull go to waste. I know I probably need some kind of milled grain, yeast, and maybe some hops for the second hopping or whatever the technical term is. I also don't know how old this can is but I assume at least 6 months, maybe more. So, anyone have a recipe I can use? Or should I just get another kit?

[barley ben]

Refill kit? Not sure what you mean by that.

As far as the John Bull extract, it should be fine. You could use it in many different batches. Best bet would be to tell us what you would want to make next. Someone could give you a recipe using it. Do you have a homebrew store in your area. It is good if you do, but you could also order what you need online. And you are correct, you will need additional ingredients, none of which are expensive.

edit... And by the way, welcome to your soon to be obsession. There are no stupid questions here. Everyone has to start at the beginning.

[Jughead]

Welcome aboard Bronson.

You might want to have a look at www.howtobrew.com

It's a free book on the internet that will take you through the various stages of learning to brew. If you have a look at it, you can figure out what kind of brewing you want to tackle - kits, extract, extract and grains, etc.

Cheers

[thencamebronson]

The refill kit was for a brewing kit sold seperately. The brewing kit had a "cubitainer" looked like one of those collapsible water jugs and an airlock along with other stuff. I do not have that kit so I just used a 1 Gallon jug I cleaned and sanitized. The refill had DME, hop pellets, and some grains. Also sugar and an envelope of gelatin for "clearing".

I would really prefer a darker beer but will make the John Bull just for the experience. Yes there is a brewshop in the area. So, any recommendations on grains to add, and what type of yeast?

TIA

[sallad]

i'd go with another can of john bull light (or possibly amber), 2oz galena hops, and wyeast 1028 (london ale).

bring extracts to a boil in 2-3 gallons of water, add 1oz hops
boil 40 min, add .5 oz hops
boil 15 min, add .5oz hops
boil 5 min, then rapidly cool
top up to 5-5.5gal in your fermenter, aerate, and pitch yeast.

you've got yourself a quick and easy english-style bitter!

[Jughead]

Hey Sallad, he says his extract is already hopped. If he doubles it and adds another 2 oz, will it be too bitter (I have not done much extract brewing)?

[sallad]

he says his extract is already hopped

doh, my bad! missed that part. so, pobably go with about 1/2 oz bittering hops (if the other can is not already hopped!)

[thencamebronson]

Thanks guys, I'll try it with one can of unhopped and 1/2 oz of bittering hops. Any recommendations on yeast? I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Sunriver]

If the can of extract does not include a yeast packet then I would go with a Dry packet from the brew shop OR if you feel like going all the way progress up to a liquid yeast strad from Wyeast or white labs. I recommend West coast ale for wyeast.
Good luck