Improving Next Kit

[escapizm]

Folks

Ive nearly finished off my Brewmaker IPA, never added camden tablet so attibute this to the TCP taste, however i did try a taste of my #2 Woodfordes Wherry and at a week old it tasted great despite again no camden tablet, very hoppy.

Im going to try Brewmaker IPA again (bought 2 kits at once so ive got to really) but this time intend to use ASDA smart price water. 13 x 2 litre bottles at 13p each = 1.69!!!!

I also bought 2 x 500g of medium (is medium ok) DMA instead of the previoulsy used table sugar.

Q) Can i expect it to much much better than my first attempt witch is a bit rough but drinkable.

Thanks

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Using spraymalt instead of sugar will make a massive difference. I expect that at least some of the tang you got was from the household sugar.

Edit: I'm not convinced that the spring water will make much improvement over tap water though.

[boingy]

Expect it to taste noticably better but don't expect the greatest beer ever!
The reason AG brewers use Asda water is because it has been shown to have a good balance of minerals to make the mash function better. The advantages of using this water for kit brewing are much less proven but it's not a lot of money and you can use the bottles for the finished beer. BTW, you only need 12 two litre bottles - 5 gallons is 22.5 litres.

Spray malt is a great kit upgrade but be sure to check the overall price of your ingredients. You may be able to get a 2 can kit for the same money.

[rollin danny]

Dont forget that the volume of the kit itself and fermentables is about 1 ltr.I always use ten 2ltr bottles of spring water to make the brew and I get ten and a half once fermented.This gives me about 21 litres for a bit more body and stength.

[escapizm]

HI

If I wanted to further tinker with my IPA kit (great thread on here for modifying kits) what would be best type of hops to add to give taste you get form the wherry, that dry hoppy taste..

Whats difference between drying hopping and just steeping XX quantity of hops for XX mins and adding to the fermentation vat. Am I right in thinking if I dry hop I put in muslin bag and let soak for fermentation period.

This brew has cost same as two can kit but I’m trying to get most of the IPA as the first one was not to clever. In future ill stick to 2 can kits but may try a spell as extract brewer as I like the flexibility it gives whilst I’m accumulating AG kit.

Thanks guys

[OldSpeckledBadger]

You could try making up a "hop tea" with some Goldings. Not sure of the amount you'd need but maybe something like 10 grammes boiled in a few litres of water for 10-15 minutes. The use this as part of the boiling water you use in the usual way.

[escapizm]

Good info i found here on hopping!!!



http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/05/2 ... ops-aroma/