Confused

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
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Mo06

Confused

Post by Mo06 » Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:53 pm

I'm putting together my order, and since shipping to France adds a few quid to the costs, it seems sensible to order a few kits. And the Home Brew Shop offers the best prices.

Last time I used these people:

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/

So I'm ordering:

Cooper's Irish Stout x 2
Coooper's IPA x 1
Brewmaker victorian Bitter x 1

Now I'm getting confused regarding sugar/malt/spray malts, my last brew, a Brewmaker Irish Velvet Stout, turned out very well, I used Munton's beer kit enhancer instead of sugar.

What I wonder is, is this stuff essentially the same ?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... ml#a102361

And would I be better adding DARK malt like this ?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... tract.html

And do I still need to add brewing sugar ?

This tells me I do..

http://www.makebeer.net/item.asp?idProd ... Category=0

Thanks

mrmojorisin

Re: Confused

Post by mrmojorisin » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:18 pm

Think of kit brewing as having 3 levels.

The first and lowest is kit + 1kg sugar, it produces beer but will generally be lacking.

2nd is kit + BKE, this is what you used before and is more than capable of turning out a decent pint

Finally there's kit + malt extract, be it dry or liquid, this is considered to give you the best tasting pint whilst also adding to body and mouthfeel.

Obviously this is all subjective but as a rough guide it'll do.

Be it sugar, BKE or dry malt extract (DME) just use 1kg, LME needs a bit more.

Different malt extracts are for different brews, you wouldn't put dark malt with a lager for instance. For the stout go dark, for the bitter and IPA I'd suggest amber or medium (depending on manufacturer).

Also, for the stout, go for a "Ditch's" and add a good mug full of raw organic cane sugar as well as the dme :wink:

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Pinto
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Re: Confused

Post by Pinto » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:23 pm

^^^^^^^^ What he said :lol: ^^^^^^^^^

Yes and No.

A beer kit enhancer is a 50:50 mix of spray malt extract (SME) and dextrose (brewing) sugar - so the malts you've linked to are PURE malt with no sugar added. You can make your own BKE by cutting SME and dextrose, you can also use pure dextrose (at the cost of some of the body of the beer, as dextrose will completely ferment out and just create alcohol - malts add "body" and "mouthfeel" as they contain malto-dextrin, an unfermentable sugar) You can also use pure malt, and quite a few people prefer to do so - you just need to counteract the unfermentable elements of SME by using 20% more than the given quantity of sugar (eg: 1000g of dextrose is equalled by adding 1200g of SME)

So...

Use BKE in the quantities stated
Use Dextrose in the quantities stated
Use SME in the quantity stated + 20%

If you're going to use SME, select a colour nearest the finished colour of your brew - pale SME suits lagers and pale ales, Medium SME for bitters and heavy ales, Dark SME for Stouts and Porters

Hope this helps :)
Primary 1: Nonthing
Primary 2 : Nothing
Primary 3 : None
Secondary 1 : Empty
Secondary 1 : None
DJ(1) : Nowt
DJ(2) : N'otin....
In the Keg : Nada
Conditioning : Nowt
In the bottle : Cinnamonator TC, Apple Boost Cider, Apple & Strawberry Cider
Planning : AG #5 - Galaxy Pale (re-brew) / #6 - Alco-Brau (Special Brew Clone) / #7 Something belgian...
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Mo06

Re: Confused

Post by Mo06 » Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:49 pm

Thanks for the replies folks.

I just looked at Ditch's Stout recipie:

"One can of Coopers Stout.
*1 Kilo of Dark, dried malt. I used to use Medium. Ran out of source. Dark seems Ok..
Half a campden tablet.
Extremely soft tap water.
*One mug full of organic, raw cane sugar (This has become a later addition. Seems agreeable)."

So very little sugar added in that one (how much is a mug ....?).

I think I might try the 'Stouter Stout' on MakeBeer.net:

1.7kg Coopers Stout
1kg Coopers Brew Enhancer 2
Nothing Else!

Made to 18L

mrmojorisin

Re: Confused

Post by mrmojorisin » Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:13 pm

I only brew to 20l anyway, but I definitely honk you'll get th better pint with the Ditch's stout tbh, as I said DME>BKE.

EDIT thats think not honk!

spliffy

Re: Confused

Post by spliffy » Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:29 pm

If you want a stout go for ditch's. I have made it several times and its 1 idiot proof and 2 most agreeable. :)

Mo06

Re: Confused

Post by Mo06 » Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:25 am

Spliffy, how much sugar do you normally add ?

mrmojorisin

Re: Confused

Post by mrmojorisin » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:21 am

As the recipe,

1kg of dark dry malt (DME)
And 1 mug full of sugar

Mo06

Re: Confused

Post by Mo06 » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:03 am

Agghhh.....

How much is a mug in grammes ....?

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Re: Confused

Post by Monkeybrew » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:21 am

Mo06 wrote:Agghhh.....

How much is a mug in grammes ....?
It's not that crucial, 150-200g. :=P
FV:


Conditioning:
AG#41 - Vienna Lager - 5.6%
AG#42 - Heritage Double Ale - 10.5%

On Tap:
AG#44 - Harvest ESB - 5.4%
AG#45 - Amarillo Gold APA - 5.2%

Mo06

Re: Confused

Post by Mo06 » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:52 am

OK, will get the stuff ordered and give it a go.

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Re: Confused

Post by Ditch » Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:01 pm

Mo06 wrote:Agghhh..... How much is a mug in grammes ....?
:roll: Jesus christ, you're as bad as me! Never tell me to add a " Handful " or I'll be debating that amount for the rest of my life.

If it helps ye any; Use half a pint. That can be measured precisely in a jug, look. And it doesn't need to be organic. Though raw cane does have a flavour of its own. Second choice, I suppose, would be demerara.

Enjoy ye drink. Get pissed. Talk rubbish. I do.

mrmojorisin

Re: Confused

Post by mrmojorisin » Mon Apr 09, 2012 2:03 pm

Mo06 wrote:Agghhh.....

How much is a mug in grammes ....?
Lol, the largest mug you have, weigh the amount it takes to fill it....bingo! You now know :wink:

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Pinto
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Re: Confused

Post by Pinto » Mon Apr 09, 2012 3:52 pm

Ditch wrote: Enjoy ye drink. Get pissed. Talk rubbish. I do.
=D> Now there's a life motto....
Primary 1: Nonthing
Primary 2 : Nothing
Primary 3 : None
Secondary 1 : Empty
Secondary 1 : None
DJ(1) : Nowt
DJ(2) : N'otin....
In the Keg : Nada
Conditioning : Nowt
In the bottle : Cinnamonator TC, Apple Boost Cider, Apple & Strawberry Cider
Planning : AG #5 - Galaxy Pale (re-brew) / #6 - Alco-Brau (Special Brew Clone) / #7 Something belgian...
Projects : Mini-brew (12l brew length kit) nearly ready :D

Join the BrewChat - open minds and adults only ;) - Click here

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