BEER KITS WITH A BIT MORE KICK

[delboy]

I have found a cheap & nasty bargain brew kit and im planning on brewing something strong with it. Would 500g of dark malt and 1kg of sugar be enough for a potent brew?

I'd probably do it the other way round 1 Kg of spraymalt and 500 of sugar, thats more likely to give you something thats reasonably potent and drinkable.

[dean_bpm]

Nice one. I'll use that along with some nottingham yeast as recommended by DaaB.

[steve_flack]

I'd probably do it the other way round 1 Kg of spraymalt and 500 of sugar, thats more likely to give you something thats reasonably potent and drinkable.

I guess that depends on your definition of drinkable.

[Doug]

HI FOLKS, I HAVE JUST GOT BACK INTO HOME BREWING AFTER ALONG TIME. REMEMBERING WHAT I DID AS A LAD AND PEPPED IT UP A BIT WITH A BIT MORE SUGAR I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THE RECIPE ON A BITTER KIT BUT THROW IN A BAG OF SPRAY MALT AS WELL AS THE KG OF SUGAR. THE RESULTS WERE . TRIED IT WITH STOUT AND HAVE JUST FERMENTED 3 KG OF ORDINARY SUGAR WITH A 1.8 KG YOUNGS LAGER KIT. IT HAS FERMENTED THE SUGAR RIGHT OUT WITH THE YEAST THAT CAME WITH THE KIT EARLY SIGNS ARE IT TASTES LIKE SPECIAL BREW. I THINK THATS A GOOD THING DUNNO IF YOU AGREE

Although a noob brewer of only 3 years my objectives are and always will be the Tennant Super/ Special Brew arena ie around the 8 to 9% abv.

Conterary to popular opinion the heavier brews I still consdier session beers, just by the end of a session I maybe thinking fulid and co-herrant to me but to others I appear as a dribbling mess shouting at pidgeons.

In my travels I have found my ideal base for such. very simlar to having the basic building blocks of life, to make a fine strong, mans beer! Not the usual boys FHM readers type beers at 4 - 4.5% phaa wheaning beers so readily drunk pre breakfast, pre real drinking.

I appalaud you for your enlightened view of home brewing. But I word of advice from a Tight Northern Drunk who loaths to spend money.

Once you have have consumed your initial outlay for whatever you have brough to start kit brewing go for the better more expensive base Malt Kits.

I usually use Woodfordes Headcracker as the starting base then add and mix others to make 40 pints. It's always bar non worked and the threshold from junior beers >7%abv to 9.5%abv have always been met without the loss of that heady quailty the real mans beers require.

Especially when I have woken up in the conservatory on a December morning wondering why Mandarke our cat is sat on my head without any feeling of cold and discomfort.

May your quests for a decent pint lead you to the light.

But really I am just green with envy that I neither have the guts or the equipment or the time to do an AG else I would.

Doug

[dean_bpm]

HI FOLKS, I HAVE JUST GOT BACK INTO HOME BREWING AFTER ALONG TIME. REMEMBERING WHAT I DID AS A LAD AND PEPPED IT UP A BIT WITH A BIT MORE SUGAR I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THE RECIPE ON A BITTER KIT BUT THROW IN A BAG OF SPRAY MALT AS WELL AS THE KG OF SUGAR. THE RESULTS WERE . TRIED IT WITH STOUT AND HAVE JUST FERMENTED 3 KG OF ORDINARY SUGAR WITH A 1.8 KG YOUNGS LAGER KIT. IT HAS FERMENTED THE SUGAR RIGHT OUT WITH THE YEAST THAT CAME WITH THE KIT EARLY SIGNS ARE IT TASTES LIKE SPECIAL BREW. I THINK THATS A GOOD THING DUNNO IF YOU AGREE

I usually use Woodfordes Headcracker as the starting base then add and mix others to make 40 pints. It's always bar non worked and the threshold from junior beers >7%abv to 9.5%abv have always been met without the loss of that heady quailty the real mans beers require.

Do you have a recipe using this method? I'm after making a strong beer myself.

[delboy]

I'd probably do it the other way round 1 Kg of spraymalt and 500 of sugar, thats more likely to give you something thats reasonably potent and drinkable.

I guess that depends on your definition of drinkable.

I had thought of typing 'possibly drinkable'

At least this way round its better than the orginal 1 kg sugar and 500 g spraymalt that would have been a recipe for windolene

500g added to a cheapo kit with a kilo of spraymalt probably comes out close to about 20 % of the fermentables.
Personally i wouldn't be adding that much but i do seem to recall a winning recipe being discussed that had a similar percentage of sugar so maybe it can be done.

[dean_bpm]

I'm going to give it ago this saturday. That bargain brew is beckoning me to do something nasty to it.

[Doug]

to make 40 pints of what I drink and it's a month 4 weeks from begining to totally mouth watering. However after the week in the barrel you can sup it ok.

1 x Woodfords Headcracker Kit the whole lot ie both tins of malt
1 x Youngs Barley Wine
1 x Dark DSM
2 x packets of Nottingham Ale Yeast
1 x 500g of Sugar (for priming in barrel)

Do your wort and add some sugar at barrel time i usuallu use 1/2 a teaspoon per pint for the barrel.

As easy as any other kit and makes a smashing winter warmer. Or good for weather proofing your decking.


Doug

[Doug]

DSM

Dry Spray Malt Stuff

Content deleted in accordance with forum rules.

[ambler]

I have found a cheap & nasty bargain brew kit and im planning on brewing something strong with it. Would 500g of dark malt and 1kg of sugar be enough for a potent brew?

i have just finished two cheepo's one one stout and one mild both were 1.8 kg 40 pint kits, both got the same treatment bung the kit, a 1 kg bag of sugar and a 1 kg bag of spray malt in the fermenting bin disolve with a couple of kettles full of boiling water (from a tap) by stirring like billyo top up with cold tap water to just over the 40pt mark chuck in the standard yeast lid it up leave 7 or so days under the kitchen bench till its stopped get 11 two litre pop bottles sterilized and syphon the beer in add a table spoon of sugar 1 by 1 and get the lids on good and tight before it fizzes over keep em in the kitchen for a week the bung em in the garage where its cool.

the final result is 1 bottle gets me quite tiddly, two bottles gets me that monged that i talk to myself on the way up the stairs to bed and have trouble with the world the next day. oh and they both taste v nice

[Doug]

more commonly known as DME (dry malt extract) or simply spray malt.

That's the abbreveation I was looking for DME LME. Working in the NHS I just love me abbr's.

[The Cardinal]

Could I replace the yeast in a standard beer kit with a wine yeast in order to brew myself something akin to special brew/tennants super, or would it completely change the flavour?


On a side note, this debate reminds me of my student drinking days when we used to drink 'big mans shandy' - 50% Special Brew and 50% alcopops like 2 Dogs or Hooch (whatever happened to them...?)

[bitter_dave]

btw the nanny state either banned of discouraged the production of Hooch

good

[steve_flack]

Agreed...it was foul.

[booldawg]

I reckon it was better than the modern alcopops mind you, the back current hooch tasted just like Ribena to me.

Like that Jacques fruit cider that pubs are selling at 6 quid for a 75cl bottle. On closer inspection of the label its basically cider with squash in it. I made 3lts of my own for 2.50 using tescos own cider and tescos 'fruits of the forest' high juice. Tastes pretty much the same