Moving on from kits

[The Roost]

I've been brewing from kits for the last six months. I've done about five 5 gallon batches and all have turned out really good. I think now that I'm comfortable with the process I'm ready to move on to brewing without the kit and just getting all the ingredients and making it my own. I'm sure I'll be hitting you all up for advice on that.

 

[brewbama]

Get a sack of base malt, depending on what you want to brew: two pounds of Cara-Pils, three pounds of Med Crystal, two pounds of Dark Crystal, two pound of chocolate, and a pound of roast malt. With that 60# stash you can brew about 4 or 5 (depending of OG) of just about any style of beer out there using hops and yeast for the style.

* Blonde: base malt plus a half-pound of Cara-Pils
* Pale: base malt plus a half-pound of medium caramel malt
* Amber: pale ale plus a half-pound of dark caramel malt
* Brown: pale ale plus a half-pound of chocolate malt
* Porter: amber plus a half-pound of chocolate malt
* Stout: porter plus a half-pound of roasted barley

For example, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: https://sierranevada.com/blog/pale-ale-homebrew-recipe/

10# Two-row Pale
.5# Med Caramel

Cascade | 0.5 oz. 90 min
Cascade | 0.75 oz. 60 min
Cascade | 2 oz. 30 min
Cascade | 2 oz. 0 min (flame out)

California ale yeast, AKA Chico ale yeast