Jim's Beer Kit

I have liked the couple of Olicana beers I have tasted, in the pub. It's different from your average Anglo-hop, fruity in the newer way, without obvious spice or earth, but it's gentle, not intense at all. No grapefruit. No pine. Been a year since I tasted it but, from memory, maybe a bit like Summe...

86% seems really high to me, I'm in the mid 70s with it so far OK. Interesting. My FG reading was 1006 - but it was my first use of a new hydrometer and I used a trial jar, rarely bother, wonder if I got a fake reading? The beer is 10% crystal, i'ts not super dry but it's dry for a beer with 10% cr...

I've just started drinking the first brew I've made with CML kolsch. My view is that this is a pretty good yeast, on first inspection. It's not giving me any off putting flavours, it has produced a crystal clear beer with no finings of any sort. It attenuated 86%, so beware. The beer has good mouthf...

I can't help much sorry, though I reckon the Lancashire yeast must come from the Thwaites brewery. Sussex is believed to be a single strain from the Harveys yeast. They have a custom section on the website ordering page. You can call them and discuss what you want. They will match as closely as poss...

A very solid start you've made there. In my experience of messing with kits, you get a big return for making the effort to improve the malt, hops and yeast, generally speaking. Steeping a little grain, adding some hops, and maybe using a better yeast. Hops is very little work so is a no brainer. Ste...

Simcoe is a good hop choice in my opinion. Some Amarillo on top would be the icing.

American Brown Ale is a style I really like, hope this turns out well for you. I'm sure it will. A good style for kit modding I think, the grains and the hops will transform it in to a quality brew I reckon.

I have stopped relying on the no rinse steriliser I had been using, which came from the Maltmiller, their own brand. I have now gone back to my previous regime. I rinse bottles after pouring beer from them, wash them up next time I wash up, dry and store them, then soak them in water containing abou...

I think it would make sense for MM to not automatically publish every recipe generated by people using the recipe builder. It's just a monster that's out of control. I'd just get someone experienced to publish a selection of trusted recipes and occasionally add to it. For those who want to hand pick...

Wales and Jim might contradict each other but I sort of agree with both of them! Like Jim says, I think a really good all grain beer will always beat a kit beer. But as Wales says, if you steep some grain and add some hops you can make really good beer with kits. I took two bottles of beer to a guy ...

The Fuller's NEIPA is a collab with Cloudwater, I see, so possibly just a one off?

How long before Cloudwater flogs itself to the highest bidder?!

Cheers Wales. No grains in the house? I always have a bit of a stash of specialty grains. Maybe not always the right ones I guess.

I've not got your kit pimping expertise and experience but with the kits I have done I am pretty sure a bit of grain steeped makes a big difference for very little effort. Steep some grains, steep some hops, hey presto, nice beer! No?

It sounds more like a fault than a bitterness thing to me - what temp did the brew get to during fermentation? What yeast did you use? Solvent-Like Tastes/Smells Like: Paint thinner, nail polish remover (acetone), harsh, sharp, in extreme cases can cause a burning sensation of tongue and throat, com...

I've started using Crossmyloof, on Facebook, their prices include postage and the hops are all pellet and always in great nick, and they also do some very handy dried yeasts at incredibly low prices.