Brewing Beer and Cider with Extract Kits

Many homebrewers start with extract kits before venturing into brewing with fresh ingredients. Extract brewing is a super simple method for brewing your own beer and cider!

Quick, cheap, and easy

Some might argue that extract brewing will never be as good as brewing with grain. A few years ago, this claim might have held true, but today, extract kits are of a much higher quality. If the brewing process is done correctly with good temperature control, these kits can yield a complete beer.

There are several advantages to using extract kits for brewing: it's time-saving, you need less equipment, and extract brewing is budget-friendly.

The only challenge that can be mentioned with extract brewing is that there are fewer opportunities to modify the beer as you wish. It is, of course, possible to add more hops, fruit, essences, or other additives, but it will not be possible to remove anything from the finished kit.

What equipment do I need?

To get started with brewing extract kits, we recommend Basic Starter Kit. The package contains almost everything you need, except the extract and beer bottles. Alternatively, we can also offer the starter kit Simply Brew, which includes equipment to serve your beer directly from a keg instead. This also comes with an extract kit to get started.

In short, you need the following equipment:

1. Fermentation bucket with airlock.
2. Bottling bucket with spigot and bottle filler, which is an extra bucket to separate your finished beer from the yeast and sediment, and then to bottle the beer.
3. Siphon: To transfer the beer from the fermentation bucket to the bottling bucket.
4. Thermometer: To control the temperature before adding the yeast.
5. Hydrometer: To read the amount of sugar in the beer before fermentation (OG), and to check that it has fermented out as it should after fermentation (FG). With these numbers, you can also calculate how much alcohol is in your finished beer. We'll get back to this.
6. Brewing spoon: To stir the malt extract.
7. Caps, bottles, and capping machine.
8. Bottle brush, cleaning agent, and disinfectant. Thorough cleaning of all equipment is extremely important to avoid an infected beer with off-flavors.
9. Carbonation drops or sugar solution.

Method for brewing beer with extract kits:

1. Fill a couple of liters of water into the fermentation bucket, and a splash of Star San (disinfectant). The amount of Star San is stated on the bottle. Put on the lid and shake well. This is to remove bacteria. Feel free to place everything that comes into contact with the beer in the same bucket to disinfect it at the same time. Let it sit for a few minutes and drain the liquid.
2. Boil a few liters of water. The amount is stated in the instructions that come with the extract kit. Pour this into the fermentation bucket along with the extract, and mix it well.
3. Add cold water until you have the specified amount in the fermenter according to the instructions.
4. Stir well, and take a measurement with the hydrometer to check how much sugar you have. You will need this number (OG = Original Gravity) later to calculate how much alcohol is in the beer.
5. Check that the temperature is correct according to the included instructions, and sprinkle the yeast that comes with the kit.
6. Put on the lid and shake well to incorporate the yeast. Then attach the airlock filled with sterile water or Star San solution, and let it sit for at least two weeks. Ensure that the temperature remains stable throughout, so that the yeast can work under the right conditions.
7. After the fermentation time is complete, you can take a new measurement with the hydrometer. Check the instructions to see what number it should end on (FG = Final Gravity). This may be a few points above or below, but to be absolutely sure, it is recommended to take measurements 2-3 days in a row. If it has not changed, the beer is fully fermented and ready for bottling.
8. Repeat the disinfection process with Star San, but this time on all bottling equipment. Remember the bottling bucket, bottle filler, and not least bottles and caps.
9. Use a siphon to transfer the finished beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Avoid splashing, as this can lead to oxygen in the beer. If you are bottling with sugar solution, it should be gently stirred into the beer now. For simplicity, we will discuss carbonation drops further in this article.
10. Place the bottling bucket on a table edge and attach the bottle filler with the spring-loaded tip. Place the bottle on the filler and fill it all the way up. When you remove the filler from the bottle, it stops automatically, and you get the perfect filling level in the bottle.
11. Place a carbonation drop in each bottle and put on a sanitized cap.
12. Now the beer needs to mature and carbonate. The yeast will consume the small amount of sugar added by the carbonation drops and produce CO2/carbonation in your beer. Let it sit for at least two weeks at room temperature.
13. After about two weeks, you can chill a bottle and taste your very own homebrewed beer!

How to measure alcohol in beer?

To measure how much alcohol is in your finished beer, you need to use a hydrometer to measure the sugar content (gravity) of the beer. This is called an OG measurement (OG stands for Original Gravity). You must also take a measurement of this after fermentation. This measurement is then called FG (Final Gravity). There are several calculators online that can do this for you, unless you want to do it manually with the following formula: (OG/FG)/7.6=ABV%.

Sugar or malt extract

Some extract kits, for example Youngs, come complete, and you don't need any extra additives. Other types, such as Mangrove Jacks Craft Series, require extra malt extract or sugar to reach the correct alcohol percentage. For beer kits, we recommend using malt extract. It is perfectly possible to use sugar for this, but one must remember that pure sugar will ferment out and only add alcohol. This can make the beer thin and often a bit "spirited" in taste.

Mangrove Jacks malt extract comes in two sizes: Malt Extract 1200g and Malt Extract 600g, and will always be the correct amount for the kits. These also contain malt sugar, which the yeast will not consume. They will therefore yield a fuller and more flavorful beer. Refer to the specific kit to find out how much you need. If you are brewing one of our gluten-free extract kits, sugar should be used, as Mangrove Jacks malt extract contains gluten.

Extract kits for cider

Cider extract kits have exactly the same method as for beer kits. The difference is that we do not recommend malt extract, but instead use sugar or Mangrove Jack's Cider Enhancer, which adds more mouthfeel and flavor.