Make Your Own Craft Beer Kit - Brown Ale. Thursday, June 14, 2018
Carboy 5.5 gallons
Easy kit to do, but a pain to get the temperature right to pitch the yeast. I can't add boiling water to my plastic carboy. I don't have a food grade pail for beer, only wine. I heated up the DME in 3 gallons of water to around 170 F. Too much water. I then added the kit and stirred it a lot to get it all mixed in. It was still too hot. I used a cold water bath and it was taking too long. Kitchen was being used of course, so next time do it when it is empty. Next time I will use an ice bath to cool it down and when I add the rest of the spring water, I can pitch the yeast right away. Use your own yeast next time instead of this mystery yeast. I am getting some extract twang, or is it the stupid late hop addition they had in their recipe. Don't do that again. Should of used just corn sugar and maybe a hop tea in the primary for those hops.
4 lbs. Brown Ale Craft Kit
2 lbs. DME
5 gallons Spring water ( You need more than this. Buy a further 11 L )
Target hops for day 7 -
NOTES
First the wort was too hot, then too cold. Pitched @ 5 pm on Thursday, June 14 and it never took of until Sat June 15 when I got up. Fix that next time. The kit says to pitch at 26 C. Way too high. I will definitely use my own yeast if I ever buy this kit again. I need another carboy or better yet, a 30 L wine pail I bought which is food grade. I can then bottle condition this kit and not worry about an extra gallon of beer going to waste. Has to be good though, or just drinkable. I do hope that the extract twang is low. When I get my robo brew I most likely will not have to buy this again. I do think I will buy this for the summer just to have beer.
O.G. - 1.040
F.G. - 1.014
% - 3.4
COST
Brown Ale Kit - $30.00
2 lbs. DME - $11.40
Spring Water - $5.00
$46.40 = $23.00 a case compared to $52.00 store bought.
Saved - $29.00 and it was all tax free. $15 a case for my own all grain system. For the money this is worth it.
Add hops on day 7 and keg when done. Still active 4 days later though. I can keg tomorrow - June 25th. I need the keezer for my Pub Ale which I can just squeeze in for July 20.
KEGGED ON JUNE 25
Very good for an extract kit. No extract twang at all. Kind of bland though. Will buy this kit again. A good compliment ( Robo Brew ) during the winter where I can toss the carboys on the bench for 2 weeks with little work.
Update on July 27
Had this out of the fridge for awhile to allow other kegs in. The extract twang is gone now after a month in a keg. I still can taste a slight late hop addition but not that strong. However, if I ever buy the blonde ale and they say to do that, do not do it. All in all, yes, I would buy this again.
Easy kit to do, but a pain to get the temperature right to pitch the yeast. I can't add boiling water to my plastic carboy. I don't have a food grade pail for beer, only wine. I heated up the DME in 3 gallons of water to around 170 F. Too much water. I then added the kit and stirred it a lot to get it all mixed in. It was still too hot. I used a cold water bath and it was taking too long. Kitchen was being used of course, so next time do it when it is empty. Next time I will use an ice bath to cool it down and when I add the rest of the spring water, I can pitch the yeast right away. Use your own yeast next time instead of this mystery yeast. I am getting some extract twang, or is it the stupid late hop addition they had in their recipe. Don't do that again. Should of used just corn sugar and maybe a hop tea in the primary for those hops.
2 lbs. DME
5 gallons Spring water ( You need more than this. Buy a further 11 L )
Target hops for day 7 -
NOTES
First the wort was too hot, then too cold. Pitched @ 5 pm on Thursday, June 14 and it never took of until Sat June 15 when I got up. Fix that next time. The kit says to pitch at 26 C. Way too high. I will definitely use my own yeast if I ever buy this kit again. I need another carboy or better yet, a 30 L wine pail I bought which is food grade. I can then bottle condition this kit and not worry about an extra gallon of beer going to waste. Has to be good though, or just drinkable. I do hope that the extract twang is low. When I get my robo brew I most likely will not have to buy this again. I do think I will buy this for the summer just to have beer.
O.G. - 1.040
F.G. - 1.014
% - 3.4
COST
Brown Ale Kit - $30.00
2 lbs. DME - $11.40
Spring Water - $5.00
$46.40 = $23.00 a case compared to $52.00 store bought.
Saved - $29.00 and it was all tax free. $15 a case for my own all grain system. For the money this is worth it.
Add hops on day 7 and keg when done. Still active 4 days later though. I can keg tomorrow - June 25th. I need the keezer for my Pub Ale which I can just squeeze in for July 20.
KEGGED ON JUNE 25
Very good for an extract kit. No extract twang at all. Kind of bland though. Will buy this kit again. A good compliment ( Robo Brew ) during the winter where I can toss the carboys on the bench for 2 weeks with little work.
Update on July 27
Had this out of the fridge for awhile to allow other kegs in. The extract twang is gone now after a month in a keg. I still can taste a slight late hop addition but not that strong. However, if I ever buy the blonde ale and they say to do that, do not do it. All in all, yes, I would buy this again.
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