going to restart homebrewing soon

[studentofbeer]

my friend and i are thinking of homebrewing again (at least until i leave chicago in a couple of months) but i just tasted a bottle of previous home brew from about a year ago that we did, and it's not good. im hoping perhaps i can get some hints on rectifying any problems.

i believe this beer was supposed to be a pale ale, but ended up dark, super malty (like gross malty) and just not drinkable. We used an extract kit from midwest supplies that included grains for steeping. its possible we added more dme to the recipe, which was probably a bad idea, but hops seem to be very missing from this brew, and im wondering if it's possible i did something wrong when adding them. i dont think there is an infection or anything like that because it doesnt taste weird and sour, just kinda nasty sweet canned maltyness.

the kit came with hop pellets. i dropped them in a nylon bag and dropped that in the brew kettle during the boil, but id always get this weird gunk lining the rim of the kettle, which i assume is expanded hop pellet. is this normal? is there a better way to deal with the hop pellets during the bittering stage, as well as the last few minutes of aroma hopping stage?

i feel like it should be possible to make decent tasting beer with an extract kit, but the last couple times we really didn't. any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

[Tweek]

Not only is it possible to make good beer from kits, but a lot of guys do it all the time.

When buying kits you need to make sure you are buying them fresh. If you want to just stay away from kits you have a great resource here for recipes. There is no reason you cant make good beer with extract. You either need to find a kit that you like or like I said tell us what you want to brew and one of us can come up with a recipe for ya.

[jmassey]

I find one of the best parts of homebrewing is being able to come up with your own recipes. I look at the recipes that people have posted or are listed in books, then modify the grains/hops/yeast to get the flavor I desire.

It's fun, because if there is something you like about the recipe you just made, or if there is a flavor you want to change, you make a simple change on your next batch.

I've never made a beer from a kit, I just read Charlie Papazian's brew book, designed my first recipe, and went with it.

I've had beer sit in bottles for over a year, and they tasted fine. As long as you keep them out of light, they should be fine.

[S.F.B.]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
i feel like it should be possible to make decent tasting beer with an extract kit, but the last couple times we really didn't. any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

Absolutely it is possible to make good beers from extract. I have made some of the best beers I have ever had from extract and specialty grains. I have friends who regularly buy the ingredients and ask me to "brew them that one beer for me". Come to find out it is an extract brew.

Don't give up on the hobby. The rewards are many.