Homebrew twang with kit beers

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
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timtoos
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Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by timtoos » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:03 am

Does anyone else get the ‘homebrew twang’ when making kit beers?

I have made loads of kits but nowadays I generally produce AG beers. Whenever I make kit beers nowadays I always get that familiar twang. I ferment both kits and my AG brews in the same way, in a stainless fermenter with temperature control and always use a quality yeast.

The kit dates are always good (BBE of at least 12 months, usually more) and I always age and don't rush beers in the primary to allow the yeast to clear up - Usually 40-50 days from brew day to glass.

It doesn’t matter if I keg and carb or bottle either. In fact I'd say that kegged beer kits have a less pronounced twang - but only marginally.

The only kit beers which don’t have this twang are kits which include dry hops. But as the dry hop aroma and taste dissipates I can then begin to sense that familiar twang in the background.

It doesn’t bother me loads as the kit beers are usually given away to my in-laws but I would love to know if it’s my palate becoming more susceptible to dare I say, inferior beers, or if it’s a production issue at my end.

Kit beers always sound great but I always have that familiar taste. No matter what style or manufacturer. Id love them to be better as AG brew days for me are hard to find with family and work life.

What are peoples thoughts/advice?

Cheers

MTW
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by MTW » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:16 am

Almost always a twang in my experience of 40 or 50 of them, at least with liquid kits. Dry hops help a bit, but not always, and not every style wants dry hopping anyway.

I did a couple of them after starting all grain too, with full care and attention, and the twang was still there. I wish I could be enthusiastic about them, but my advice is to skip them if you possibly can. If I'd tasted an AG home brew early on, I would never have persevered with kits.
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tomgardner
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by tomgardner » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:39 am

[quote="timtoos"]Does anyone else get the ‘homebrew twang’ when making kit beers?

I have made loads of kits but nowadays I generally produce AG beers. Whenever I make kit beers nowadays I always get that familiar twang. I ferment both kits and my AG brews in the same way, in a stainless fermenter with temperature control and always use a quality yeast.

The kit dates are always good (BBE of at least 12 months, usually more) and I always age and don't rush beers in the primary to allow the yeast to clear up - Usually 40-50 days from brew day to glass.

It doesn’t matter if I keg and carb or bottle either. In fact I'd say that kegged beer kits have a less pronounced twang - but only marginally.

The only kit beers which don’t have this twang are kits which include dry hops. But as the dry hop aroma and taste dissipates I can then begin to sense that familiar twang in the background.

It doesn’t bother me loads as the kit beers are usually given away to my in-laws but I would love to know if it’s my palate becoming more susceptible to dare I say, inferior beers, or if it’s a production issue at my end.

Kit beers always sound great but I always have that familiar taste. No matter what style or manufacturer. Id love them to be better as AG brew days for me are hard to find with family and work life.

What are peoples thoughts/advice?

Cheers[/quote]I know what you mean, I used to get that too. I take it these are all-malt kits and not the ones with lots of sugar? What about liquid vs dry extract? I've always thought it was due to some oxidation of the malt in the preparation, but that's a guess. I do know that I've had some excellent kit beer in my homebrew club that none of us would have guessed was not all grain; it may have even got voted beer of the night.

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timtoos
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by timtoos » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:51 am

I'm glad its not just me. I'm sure its something to do with the BBE or storage conditions of the LME but that's out of my control. When I first started brewing I thought kits were superb - but maybe it was me wanting this so I forced the thought!

The kits I have tried are LME kits. Usually 2 can types (but single can kits with sugar additions still give the same twang profile).

On another note, the wine kits I have made (both red and white) seem to be excellent. I usually go for Kenridge Atmosphere (or similar). The missus loves them and the latest Malbec I did turned out superb. No wine twang on these at all. But, Ive never made a fresh wine from pressed grapes. I maybe wont either at the risk of getting a wine twang.

I think I will stick to AG from now on. Its cheaper anyway :-)

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IPA
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by IPA » Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:02 am

It's called more correctly "malt extract twang" and the only way round it is to brew all grain beer. I have been brewing for a long time, 40 years, and last year I tried a kit beer for the first time just to see what it is like. The result was a drinkable beer with a pronounced malt extract taste. But there again it was far superior to a lot of so called "Craft Beers" that are hood winking the beer drinking public at the moment. If you don't mind the twang carry on making it especially if you have limited time to brew. You could of course hop it to death and call it "Craft" =D>
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by Kev888 » Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:41 pm

Beer kits can be pretty impressive these days, especially the more modern ones. Earlier this year I tried a festival IPA, and it was considerably better than the kits of old, as I remember them anyway. If you consider the process they go though, especially the dehydration and storage time, and the amount of work that isn't involved in using them, then the results are excellent.

But yes, it is still hard to reach the standard of a good all grain brew. With freshly infused grain that is mashed, boiled and hopped to ones own preferences and without commercial time or money constraints, and made directly to around the required volume on the day. It is usually cheaper for ingredients, but many AG home-brewers still wouldn't spend several hours and cope with all the equipment and cleaning unless the results actually warranted it.
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brewpete
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by brewpete » Thu Nov 30, 2017 7:28 pm

nothing quite had a tang like boots budget beer kits 30 year ago

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cwrw gwent
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by cwrw gwent » Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:47 am

I stopped using liquid malt extract many years ago when I noticed a particular taste which was not to my liking. I don't have a problem these days as for single can kits I use either 500 grams Spraymalt with a similar amount of sugar or a kilo of Spraymalt.

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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by wolfenrook » Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:16 am

Some kits are worst than others for sure, the ones where the wort comes in a pouch seem not to be quite as bad for example, where the ones in cans have been nigh on undrinkable for me. The one exception was the Wilko's golden ale I did, tweaked big time with a nice dry hop... A one can kit with the smallest amount of twang in the end product that I have experienced.

I tried fielding a theory that maybe it was something to do with the cans or canning process elsewhere, but this wasn't a popular suggestion at all... You have to wonder though, after all a lot of beer tastes awful from cans, but ok or nice for the same beer bottled or draught...

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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by Fil » Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:40 am

Perhaps just plan on 'maturing' your kit brews a bit longer, when brewing the kits of the 70's n 80's 4-6months in the bottle usually ensured the diminishing of THBT to a level below my taste threashold.
ist update for months n months..
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by wolfenrook » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:46 pm

Fil wrote:
Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:40 am
Perhaps just plan on 'maturing' your kit brews a bit longer, when brewing the kits of the 70's n 80's 4-6months in the bottle usually ensured the diminishing of THBT to a level below my taste threashold.
I'd rather just not use kits to be honest. AG tastes considerably better, plus I get to feel some pride in crafting the beer myself. Sure it's more work, but that just gives me something to take pride in. :wink:

MTW
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Re: Homebrew twang with kit beers

Post by MTW » Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:04 pm

As a small aside, I used Nottingham yeast for the first time in all grain brews recently. The smell of the fermenter and the tight, dark brown globules took me back to my kit days, when I understand many of the yeast sachets would have had Nottingham in them. It certainly seems like it. The beer, being all grain, has no 'twang', but the fermentation was so distinctive.
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