I've got my first batch of ale maturing in my keg at the moment. I've gone for Woodforde's Wherry, because I was planning on starting with a nice expensive one. If it tastes any good I will make more, but I would like to use something a little cheaper
I'm considering trying John Bull Standard IPA next.
Has anyone tried this?
The Masterclass has 3.0kg of malt extract and the standard has 1.8kg. Is there any other difference?
Is it worth paying the extra for John Bull Masterclass IPA?
Can anyone reccomend any other kits for less than a tenner?
Or is everything in this price range rubbish?
Do you actually get what you pay for?
I've read somewhere that replacing the sugar with spray malt in the John Bull IPA can improve it.
Does this actually make enough difference to justify spending £5.50 on spray malt, over 72p for a bag of Tate and Lyle?
What's the most cheaper website for buying the kit from?
Cheers in advance.
Chink chink
Stu (the tight fisted git)
Budget Beer Kits
-
Orfy
-
PieOPah
I agree that you do get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap kit then the only way you are going to get a reasonable beer is buy using extra spraymalt and probably some speciality malts and some extra hops. By the time you have done this you may as well have bought the decent kit.
It is cheap kits that give homebrewers a bad name.
It is cheap kits that give homebrewers a bad name.
-
chopperswookie
as long as you don't use normal sugar the lower priced kits are ok. i've done a coopers stout with dark spary malt and also a Geordie lager kit with brewing sugar. the geordie was suprisingly good (and was only a seven quid from Wilko). another tip with cheap kits is don't do them to the max, eg a 40 pint kit only do it to 34, even 32. i find this "concentration" with proper sugars and malts does the job. also bottle it don't barrell it.
-
Orfy
-
Hoppkins
-
sparky Paul
I used to brew the cheap kits with sugar when I was into brewing many years ago. The results were not good, but after reading forums like this and returning to the brewing fold recently, I can confirm that brewing using 100% malt extract really is the answer.
Even a cheap kit can be made into a reasonable pint using malt instead of sugar. If you like a dark stouty beer, try two cheap bitter kits brewed together without anything else - I did it with two old out of date kits and the results were surprisingly good, like Mackeson's...
Cheapest place I've found on the net for stuff is BrewGenie, but like many others, you have to spend a reasonable amount (£65) to get free p&p.
http://www.brewgenie.co.uk
Most of the good kits are a few £££s cheaper than retail. They also sell cheap Vina kits (made by the same manufacturer as the John Bull kits) as low as £24 for 6! These are similar to the ones I used for the two-kits-in-one-brew experiment - for only £8 all in, I'd definitely brew it again...
However, if you're spending £7-£9 on a cheap kit, then another £5 on malt extract, you must consider Orfy and PieOPah's argument that another few quid will buy you a high quality kit which contains everything you need - BG sell both the Woodfordes and Muntons Gold kits for £15.45.
By the way, I've brewed both John Bull Standard and Masterclass kits - they are both okay, but neither is very special.
Even a cheap kit can be made into a reasonable pint using malt instead of sugar. If you like a dark stouty beer, try two cheap bitter kits brewed together without anything else - I did it with two old out of date kits and the results were surprisingly good, like Mackeson's...
Cheapest place I've found on the net for stuff is BrewGenie, but like many others, you have to spend a reasonable amount (£65) to get free p&p.
http://www.brewgenie.co.uk
Most of the good kits are a few £££s cheaper than retail. They also sell cheap Vina kits (made by the same manufacturer as the John Bull kits) as low as £24 for 6! These are similar to the ones I used for the two-kits-in-one-brew experiment - for only £8 all in, I'd definitely brew it again...
However, if you're spending £7-£9 on a cheap kit, then another £5 on malt extract, you must consider Orfy and PieOPah's argument that another few quid will buy you a high quality kit which contains everything you need - BG sell both the Woodfordes and Muntons Gold kits for £15.45.
By the way, I've brewed both John Bull Standard and Masterclass kits - they are both okay, but neither is very special.
-
chopperswookie
-
oblivious
chopperswookie wrote:interesting, don't add any sugar or malt? is it alcoholic? might experimentsparky Paul wrote: If you like a dark stouty beer, try two cheap bitter kits brewed together without anything else - I did it with two old out of date kits and the results were surprisingly good, like Mackeson's...
.
Will the bitterness not be double what you want it to be?
-
sparky Paul
No sugar or malt, the two 1.5Kg cans in 5 gallons provide all the malt required, just like a 3Kg kit. OG was over 1040 and finished at just over 1010, so it shoud be around 4%, maybe a bit more...chopperswookie wrote: interesting, don't add any sugar or malt? is it alcoholic? might experiment
Well worth trying, but be warned - it is very dark and malty, nothing like the bitter the kits were supposed to be.
It does turn out more like a stout, i.e. more bitter, but I suspect that the use of cheapo kits helps stop the result being over hopped.oblivious wrote:Will the bitterness not be double what you want it to be?
Mine tasted pretty good...
-
ColinKeb
-
Seveneer
-
sparky Paul
AG has got to be the best way to go, I hope to set up my AG operation in an outbuilding this summer... However, not everyone has the time, space or equipment on hand. I daresay it would be quite daunting for many too.
Having said that, the point you raise is the very thing that puts me off the the most expensive kits - knowing that you could almost certainly make do a better AG version for less money... and even better, make just what you want.
Kits are easy and fun though!
Having said that, the point you raise is the very thing that puts me off the the most expensive kits - knowing that you could almost certainly make do a better AG version for less money... and even better, make just what you want.
Kits are easy and fun though!
-
ColinKeb
-
chopperswookie