I'm still a newbie, having brewed less than a half-dozen batches which were all commercial recipe kits. The most recent is a 3 pound, 5 ounce can of Muntons Premium Bitter, with the enclosed yeast packet. This was about $10 cheaper than other, more complex kits I've tried. It consisted of a can of extract and the packet of yeast, no crystal malt or hops, and the enclosed instructions didn't even mention boiling the wort. I did anyway, adding three pounds of extra corn sugar and some leftover hop pellets I had lying around the refrigerator (about a tablespoon full). It just didn't seem like brewing without a hot break. Anyway, the instructions that came with this recipe kit came to "dissolve the extract and additional sugar in boiling water, add cold water to make 6 US gallons, and add the yeast." Can one really make beer that easily?
Karl S.