West Coast IPA - Festa Brew - Tuesday, November 26, 2024 - Very Good Beer

This is a good choice because I don't have to do anything but pour into a carboy and add yeast. I bought this in Lindsay and the price is $45 for this kit. Others are $40. This is more expensive than making my own of course, but is a good kit if all you want is beer with no mess. I will certainly think about this when I get older or just don't want to make my own beer any more. This is half what I would pay at the Beer Store. Actually less than half price. Most IPA cases are around $60 - $78 or more a case. That is $120 for 2 cases and this kit makes 2 cases for $45. Big savings where there is never any savings in this idiot province or country

 Putting this kit altogether and pitching the yeast.  Foam, foam, and more foam. Fermcap did little to help, so I am waiting between dumps of wort to add more. This will take awhile.

I do love the smell of this wort. I tasted it and it was pretty good. I may go back to making 

this style if I can figure out the hop schedule without spending $20-$30 just on hops. No dry 

hopping with this one and I think it will be okay, wait and see. I did read that they use Cascade hops.

Going online to the Beer Store is a real pita. They don't show you the full price until you get to the till and then it is too late. The price can be figured out online. The prices are just crazy. I can't believe a 24 of beer can be around $80. Yea, Busch beer is $20 cheaper, but it sucks. Making my own beer has never been more important than it is now. The hell with buying it anymore.

                                          PITCHED YEAST AT 11 AM

Next Day - Full krausen but not an active bubbling. I do think that one sachet is not enough.

Day 2 - Starting to pick up activity. Temp is up, down, up, etc.

Day 4 - Slowing down. 67F. Keg around Dec. 10. 

Dec. 3 - Still some activity, one more week to go should do it.

Dec. 4 - Same.

O.G. - 1.058 ( their website, I didn't take one )

F.G. - 1.012

SRM - 14 ( more like Promash 9 )

BU - 46

                                        Check Gravity Before Kegging

                                                 KEGGED ON DEC. 8

O.G. - 1.058

F.G. -  1.012

% -     6

Tasted quite good on kegging day. Perfect colour. I had to leave 2 - 3 litres behind as the keg is only 5 gallons. They assume everyone is bottling it. I haven't bottled in 25 years. I will bottle my Stout when I get around to making it next year. Hope mine tastes like this one. There was lots of foam when I trasnfered to the carboy and lots of foam in the keg and lots of foam in the gravity sample. 

                                                    ADDED GELATIN ON DEC. 9

Checked my previous notes on Festa Brew and they were not great. That one was the Pilsner which I will not make. Will see now how this one is. It is quite good. Hope it keeps the hop flavour until boxing day. Sometimes it doesn't last and you get a rather dull tasting beer. That is when I have to figure out my own recipe and change the amount of brewing salts.

Seems clear, but not real clear. Day 7. I have had that gelatin for quite awhile now. Maybe it is time to buy some new stuff.  Bulk barn has it in a bin so idea how old it is. Buy it at Sobeys in sachets so it will be fresher. Tastes great which is real nice to see.

I thought I was all done. Beer in keg and all cleaned up. But no, went down there and saw beer all over the floor and around the sink. Transferred to another keg but it was still leaking until I was done. I must of lost 2-3 litres at least. Hell, even more. Another keg that is screwed. I think I have 3 now. I will have to in the new year bring them out and see if I can get them fixed up. One needs a new beer dip tube which may be hard to find. It wasn't on OBK.

                                 SAVING THIS BATCH FOR THE WORLD JUNIORS