I was in the Local Wilko yesterday and noticed they were selling the Geordie beer kits even cheaper than usual so having never tried one before decided to buy a "Scottish Export". I also bought a bag of Geordie beer kit enhancer to go with it.
Now I am not expecting great things from this but for a few quid thought it was worth a try.
Unless I am very much mistaken the instructions give no indication of alcohol volume. Any ideas what this will be anyone?
Also as well as the kilo of enhancer I wanted to throw in some tate & lyle. How much will I be able to get away with do you think?
Cheapo kit
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Chris The Fish
muntons scottish export (also a cheepy) gives a rating of about 1038, so if you aim for around this mark you cant go wront.
Instead of using tate and lyle, but also keeping cost down id opt for glucose from the nearest co-op (1.10 odd for 500g i think), this wont give you as rounded a flavour as spray malt, but for a fraction of the price will certainly give better results than everyday sugar and will complement the beer enhancer (which is essentially a spray malt and dextrose mix).
if you want to improve it further, try dry hopping the keg (if you do keg your beer) at 3 quid a pop for a vacuum packed block that would last for at least 3 or 4 brews its still in the bargain bucket of beer enhancers.
btw, dont be worried about cheap beer kits, if you want to spend a fortune on beer, by it by the bottle thats what i say!
Instead of using tate and lyle, but also keeping cost down id opt for glucose from the nearest co-op (1.10 odd for 500g i think), this wont give you as rounded a flavour as spray malt, but for a fraction of the price will certainly give better results than everyday sugar and will complement the beer enhancer (which is essentially a spray malt and dextrose mix).
if you want to improve it further, try dry hopping the keg (if you do keg your beer) at 3 quid a pop for a vacuum packed block that would last for at least 3 or 4 brews its still in the bargain bucket of beer enhancers.
btw, dont be worried about cheap beer kits, if you want to spend a fortune on beer, by it by the bottle thats what i say!
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mctoon
Chris,
Deja Vo, I bought the same yesterday in my local wilcos (25 mile away if thats what you calll local!!), No more extra sugar for me but i will make mine up to only 30 pints to see if that will give it some more oomf. BTW i like Chris`s idea of dry hoping too, Im supping a Werry that i dry hopped and wow, the dogs doo dars.
Cheers Mal
Deja Vo, I bought the same yesterday in my local wilcos (25 mile away if thats what you calll local!!), No more extra sugar for me but i will make mine up to only 30 pints to see if that will give it some more oomf. BTW i like Chris`s idea of dry hoping too, Im supping a Werry that i dry hopped and wow, the dogs doo dars.
Cheers Mal
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james_m_r
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Chris The Fish
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Stonch
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Chris The Fish
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Chris The Fish
All depends on what you want to achieve.
Id say add a little (150-200g) to bump up the alcohol volume a tad, however you may want to see what your SG is with the enhancer alone is first. If it hits the mark your after without the addition of the extra dextrose then all the better, if not then id have it on standby to add to the wort to get you in the right ball park.
When i make a kit up it rarely hits the correct SG so i tend to add the extra to ensure i get there, then a little more, normally about 200g in total.
im still new to this game but it normally works out ok in the end.
Chris
Id say add a little (150-200g) to bump up the alcohol volume a tad, however you may want to see what your SG is with the enhancer alone is first. If it hits the mark your after without the addition of the extra dextrose then all the better, if not then id have it on standby to add to the wort to get you in the right ball park.
When i make a kit up it rarely hits the correct SG so i tend to add the extra to ensure i get there, then a little more, normally about 200g in total.
im still new to this game but it normally works out ok in the end.
Chris
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BarryNL
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james_m_r
I made this one up yesterday with the bag of beer kit enhancer + 250g of glucose (don't laugh).
I mixed the BKE in with 2 ltrs of warm water & brought to the boil. I stress that this was mixed in very well.
Before I pitched the yeast I took a s.g reading which was a very dissapointing 1.035 or therabouts.
Any ideas why this was so low?
I mixed the BKE in with 2 ltrs of warm water & brought to the boil. I stress that this was mixed in very well.
Before I pitched the yeast I took a s.g reading which was a very dissapointing 1.035 or therabouts.
Any ideas why this was so low?
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Chris The Fish
a couple of things i can think of is that the beer kit 'au naturale' would be quite thin; the spray malt side of the beer kit enhancer with the 250g would actually give you the equivalent using 1kg of glucose (so no extra was added in effect), or that the mix wasnt mixed properly and you got a watery sample (but you yourself discount this)
anyhow, dont stress too much, even at 1035, it you get it to 1000 you will have about 4.5% beer
im still a bit new to this lark myself so i may be talking utter shite, hope not mind!
anyhow, dont stress too much, even at 1035, it you get it to 1000 you will have about 4.5% beer
im still a bit new to this lark myself so i may be talking utter shite, hope not mind!
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james_m_r
One thing I have noticed about this brew is the foam head on top has been nothing like as thick and healthy looking as the past few 2 tin kits I have brewed.
Is this normal for a 1 can kit? After only 2 days it has died down to almost nothing. S.G reading now 1.016 down from 1.035 ish (the sample in the test jar tasted surprisingly good I would like to add).
What are your thoughts on this?
Is this normal for a 1 can kit? After only 2 days it has died down to almost nothing. S.G reading now 1.016 down from 1.035 ish (the sample in the test jar tasted surprisingly good I would like to add).
What are your thoughts on this?