Just threw together this partial

[AidanMatthews]

No idea how its going to turn out but hey thats the fun of it

0.50 kg Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 14.93 %
1.70 kg Coopers Draught Extract (5.0 SRM) Extract 50.75 %
0.50 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 14.93 %
0.35 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (20.0 SRM) Grain 10.45 %
10.00 gm Pride of Ringwood [9.00 %] (30 min) Hops 7.9 IBU
5.00 gm Pride of Ringwood [9.00 %] (2 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
0.30 kg Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8.96 %
1 Pkgs SafLager West European Lager (DCL Yeast #S-23) Yeast-Lager

The yeast was 23/70 from memory it was a Pink Packet.

I actually Toasted 250gm of the pale malt in the oven for 5min at 177*C hoping to get a toasted aroma/flavour in the beer.

Crush grain was done pretty freaking randomly in a blender (next time ill buy grain pre crushed)
i messed up the mashing process as it was my first time at it.

I thought the "mash out" in beersmith was the sparge, it wasnt untill later i realised that "mash out" is when you bring your grain bed up to 77*C to stop the mash process.
then i was meant to drain and sparge after that, instead i sparged with 77*C water.

Shouldnt make a huge diff as it was a small partial with a kit.

But overall it was a good practise run and looking forward to saving up for my AG equipment and debut.

[Brewz 2 You]

Great to see brewers having a go at improving your beer and getting some fresh grain/malt into your brew.
It was brave of you to toast off your own grain. I'd personally just buy crystal or pre toasted malt. But good on ya!
Get you local Home brew shop to crack your grains for you or if you get postal orders make sure they crack and vac pack your grain.
Don't worry about making mistakes at first we all do at first...well I know I did.
You might end up with a really nice drop
Just make sure you keep that ferment temp down below 18C (15-16C best) and condition the bottles or 'lager' them for at least 6 weeks. I know it's hard to wait that long but try one after 3 weeks then 6 weeks and see/taste/smell the massive improvement.

Good on ya & happy brewing

James

[Bum]

Just make sure you keep that ferment temp down below 18C (15-16C best)

Isn't 15C the highest temp recommended by Fermentis for s-23? Pretty sure they recommend something like 11C/12C as being ideal. What's your reasoning for recommending higher than suggested temps for this yeast, James?

[AidanMatthews]

In the end the temp of the beer was 12 - 15'c
There are no odd flavours from higher temp that i can taste.

What i can say is when i first tasted it, it was very very bitter.
Now im about a month in and its starting to balance out as the malt flavors enhance with age.

I brewed this one for summer and a thirst quencher on a hot day.

By summer i reckon this is going to taste great.

Next time i think i might use a coopers lager tin or tone down the hop additions to make it a fraction less bitter

Edit
Also this was the first time i bulk primed with dex instead of coopers drops and i must say the difference is massive.
The head is thick and lasts to the bottom of the glass, the bubbles are very tiny. YUM