Admiral's Reserve

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
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CliffEdge

Admiral's Reserve

Post by CliffEdge » Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:56 pm

Just come back from the shops with a smile on my face - a general store selling 'out of date' Admiral's Reserve, shelf price £22, for £5.00!! Checked the expiry date, and it was last Saturday - 30/9/2017. So I pounced!

Never brewed this before, can anyone add any hints, or is it sufficient to brew as per instrutions to 32 pints? I've bought Nottingham yeast to use, and plan to keg half (got 9ltr mini kegs), and bottle the rest.

Cheers.

WalesAles
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Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by WalesAles » Sat Oct 07, 2017 8:31 pm

You lucky, lucky bstad! :D
Did you clear the shelves? [-o<
I`ve never brewed that one, so I can`t help you.

WA

Sent from my Sofa.

CliffEdge

Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by CliffEdge » Sun Oct 08, 2017 4:12 pm

There were three on the shelves, but being a Yorkshireman and a kind soul, I looked at my money and thought ..."Well you've got to give someone else a chance" :lol: :lol:

rootsbrew

Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by rootsbrew » Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:09 am

If that's the Woodroofe's one - do as it says and brew both cans to 19 litres. At 23 litres, it's got alcohol but not much else. As far as how to modify, some boil goldings + more when racking to a settling vessel (keeping hops out of the main fv, makes the yeast easier to clean up and re-use) - that should make it like a supercharged Ruby but might take a few months to come round (?Christmas?).

By the sound of it you've got a lot of experimenting to do, so have fun!

Dodeth

Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by Dodeth » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:03 am

I'm still new to this game and would like some advice if possible. I've had Admiral's Reserve in the fermentation vessel for the recommended 6 days and the SG this morning is 1020. Based upon a starting SG of 1045 this gives an alcohol content of around 3.25. I'm assuming that fermentation is not yet complete so I'll leave it for a few more days to see if there's any progress. My question is though, if there is no further drop in SG is there anything I can do as drinking beer with such a low alcohol content seems to me to be slightly pointless!!

kendizle
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Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by kendizle » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:17 pm

Hi Dodeth,

Ignore the instructions that came with the kit. I brewed this at the start of the year and naively read the instructions and expected that it would be done in 4-6 days. Having read a lot of posts on here etc, I learned that two weeks is about right for fermentation. I actually got stuck at about 20, so gave it a stir and upped the temp ( was brewing at 19c). I managed to get it down to about 1.12-14 if memory serves me correctly.

If I brewed this again, Id brew at 21-22c as 18-20 like on the instructions I feel is too low, compaired to the other brews that I have done since.

I left inside to carbonate for 2 weeks and used 20% less sugar than recommended (following tips on here). I tasted it early, as in after 2-3 week and it definitely wasnt ready. It is a beer that definitely improves with age, as its been over 2 months now since I had it in the garage, and its clear as crystal and the flavour is amazing. I'm actually down to my last 4 bottles!

Good luck. Leave it at least another week

sandimas
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Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by sandimas » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:48 am

Dodeth wrote:
Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:03 am
I'm still new to this game and would like some advice if possible. I've had Admiral's Reserve in the fermentation vessel for the recommended 6 days and the SG this morning is 1020.
Oh dear, it sounds like you have the classic Woodfordes "stuck brew": Woodfordes kits are well know for it, especially the Wherry, they get down to 1020 and stop. Dissolve 200-300g sugar in a little boiled water, chuck it in and given it a good stir, and warm the whole thing up to 22/23C if you can.

What temperature did you ferment at? Usually it's a combination of fermenting a bit too low say 16/17C and the Woodforde's yeast that causes stuck brews. Many of us substitute the yeast in Woodfordes kits as the kit packet is just too small and not really enough for a 23L brew.

Admiral's is a pretty good kit in my opinion, I've brewed it a few times, last time with some Fuggles and Golding boiled for 10mins and steeped to give it a bit more flavour. I do mainly AG brews and after a decent conditioning time this brew was actually pretty good in comparison.

Dodeth

Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by Dodeth » Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:56 am

Thanks for your responses, much appreciated. I brew in our utility room which has a fairly large domestic boiler situated in it. The temperature gauge (one of those you stick on the side of the vessel) indicates a temperature of around 20/22. I'll leave a few days and, if no progress, I'll try the boiled sugar solution. Thanks again.

Manngold
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Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by Manngold » Sat Apr 28, 2018 1:57 pm

Dodeth wrote:
Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:56 am
Thanks for your responses, much appreciated. I brew in our utility room which has a fairly large domestic boiler situated in it. The temperature gauge (one of those you stick on the side of the vessel) indicates a temperature of around 20/22. I'll leave a few days and, if no progress, I'll try the boiled sugar solution. Thanks again.
I normally let my beers ferment for between 2 - 3 weeks. Even after it reaches the desired gravity there is no harm in letting the yeast clean up before bottling or kegging.

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privatewiddle
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Re: Admiral's Reserve

Post by privatewiddle » Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:24 pm

I've gotten around the stuck fermentation problem by using Nottingham along with the kit yeast.

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