Brew enhancers or brewing sugars?!

[chairmanmaw]

Hello all,

I recently visited my local brew shop to pick up supplies for my next venture. I asked the guy in the shop whether he had any brew enhancers to add to my kit along with the brewing sugar I bought from the same shop.

The guy said that I should use EITHER brew enhancer OR brewing sugar. Never both.

I was confused by this but took his advice and left. He mentioned he sold a Muntons brew enhancer.

What is the score with this? is it either or both?

Thanks

Maw

[Dill]

Muntons brew enhancer is blend of dried malt extract and dextrose and is pretty expensive too because in my opinion you are paying for the name.
My supplier bags his own 500g of brewing sugar (glucose) and 500g of spray maltup and it is about half the price of muntons

[Dill]

The guy said that I should use EITHER brew enhancer OR brewing sugar. Never both.

Oops forgot to mention , I often add extra brewing sugar to my kit enhancer if I want to get a bit more ABV.
It seems to me that your supplier is talking out out of his arse

[Kristoff]

After years of kits brews, I did my last brew with a beer enhancer to get rid of that 'homebrew' twang - guess what? Still tastes like homebrew.
I've just done my first AG brew and am yet to taste, lets hope it's an improvement
As for your original question, just use the beer enhancer, it's 1kg which replaces 1kg of sugar, but as dill says, if you want more ABV, you can top up with brewing sugar. HTH

[Dill]

On second thoughts, perhaps he wasn't talking out his arse after all. Perhaps, he probably meant by quantity. I.E. 1kg of sugar or 1Kg Kit Enhancer. If thats the case I must apologise to your supplier. But you can still add a little more sugar if you are looking for a stronger drink
You also stated that you were confused by his advice, therefore you should have told him so. Never be afraid to ask him questions or to ask him to explain what he means, even if you feel a little stupid after all he his your supplier and wants to keep you as a valued customer and has probably heard them all before.

He who asks a question is a fool for a minute: He who does not remains a fool for ever - Chinese Proverb.

[Marts]

I see you're fermenting Brew Buddy Lager. What did you use for that?

If you used brewing sugar my suggestion for your next kit would be to do it again, exactly the same as the first time, but use beer enhancer or even all spraymalt instead of sugar. This will give you a really good benchmark for the differences.

[chairmanmaw]

On second thoughts, perhaps he wasn't talking out his arse after all. Perhaps, he probably meant by quantity. I.E. 1kg of sugar or 1Kg Kit Enhancer. If thats the case I must apologise to your supplier. But you can still add a little more sugar if you are looking for a stronger drink
You also stated that you were confused by his advice, therefore you should have told him so. Never be afraid to ask him questions or to ask him to explain what he means, even if you feel a little stupid after all he his your supplier and wants to keep you as a valued customer and has probably heard them all before.

Thanks for the clarity on the question guys. I now understand the difference. As for why I didnt ask the chap, he was instantly disgusted by the fact I was brewing lager and looked down his nose at me to be honest. he wasnt very forth coming with any help or advice what so ever. If I could have got the kit somewhere else (there and then), I would have.

I see you're fermenting Brew Buddy Lager. What did you use for that?

If you used brewing sugar my suggestion for your next kit would be to do it again, exactly the same as the first time, but use beer enhancer or even all spraymalt instead of sugar. This will give you a really good benchmark for the differences.

I used plain old sugar for my Brew Buddy Lager. It was a complete learning curve. first I have done. Since finding this forum though, I have managed to learn loads more about it . Im about ready to crack on with a Coopers European Lager kit, which I intend to ferment at a low temperature for a month or so with filtered water and brewing sugars. Ready for Xmas!!

Just to give you an idea of the attitude of the guy in the shop; when I asked him the difference between the coopers European and Bavarian kits, he snorted and said "Hah, there is barely any difference what so ever", in a tone infering the entire brewing of the kit would be a complete waste of time effort and energy. Each to their own, I suppose.

Doubt I will go back there. Shame though, good shop with loads of kit.

Cheers!

Maw

[Marts]

Just to give you an idea of the attitude of the guy in the shop; when I asked him the difference between the coopers European and Bavarian kits, he snorted and said "Hah, there is barely any difference what so ever", in a tone infering the entire brewing of the kit would be a complete waste of time effort and energy. Each to their own, I suppose.

What a prat.

[Dill]

Now this is a first, I have never known a homebrew shop that is not willing to offer advice and help, especially to a new customer, but to be fair he did give an answer to your question, (the difference between the coopers European and Bavarian kits) and in time, after you have worked your way through a few kits you will be able to answer that question for yourself. Then you will know if he answered your question correctly or not.

Maybe there is barely any difference because according to their website, Coopers have discontinued the Bavarian Lager and state that the European lager is a new brew.
Heres how Coopers describe them

COOPERS BAVARIAN LAGER –Straw colour with golden hues and a lacy white head. Slightly sulphur nose (dissipates with further bottle conditioning-'lager' means 'to store'), light in body and a subtle hint of malt, appropriate bitterness promotes a clean finish. A true European style lager.

COOPERS EUROPEAN LAGER -
Europe is home to a multitude of breweries and as such, boasts a greater variety of beer styles than any other region in the world. Europe, being the birthplace of lager style beer, is considered to be the heartland of premium lager. Coopers European Lager captures the style of the finest quality lagers exported from Northern Europe. Serve well chilled in a tall, narrow glass with a generous head of 5cm or so and savour the herbaceous hop aroma and crisp finish.

Doubt I will go back there. Shame though, good shop with loads of kit.

It also sounds as though he is the only shop in your area, and you said yourself that it was a good shop with loads of kit so I wouldn’t give up yet. Try him again perhaps he was just having an off day, which happens to the best of us. Its not worth cutting off your nose to spite your face.

And remember. There are loads of people on Jim's Forum with a massive amount of knowledge and experience who are only too happy to advise and help you

[chairmanmaw]

Now this is a first, I have never known a homebrew shop that is not willing to offer advice and help, especially to a new customer, but to be fair he did give an answer to your question, (the difference between the coopers European and Bavarian kits) and in time, after you have worked your way through a few kits you will be able to answer that question for yourself. Then you will know if he answered your question correctly or not.

Maybe there is barely any difference because according to their website, Coopers have discontinued the Bavarian Lager and state that the European lager is a new brew.
Heres how Coopers describe them

COOPERS BAVARIAN LAGER –Straw colour with golden hues and a lacy white head. Slightly sulphur nose (dissipates with further bottle conditioning-'lager' means 'to store'), light in body and a subtle hint of malt, appropriate bitterness promotes a clean finish. A true European style lager.

COOPERS EUROPEAN LAGER -
Europe is home to a multitude of breweries and as such, boasts a greater variety of beer styles than any other region in the world. Europe, being the birthplace of lager style beer, is considered to be the heartland of premium lager. Coopers European Lager captures the style of the finest quality lagers exported from Northern Europe. Serve well chilled in a tall, narrow glass with a generous head of 5cm or so and savour the herbaceous hop aroma and crisp finish.

Doubt I will go back there. Shame though, good shop with loads of kit.

It also sounds as though he is the only shop in your area, and you said yourself that it was a good shop with loads of kit so I wouldn’t give up yet. Try him again perhaps he was just having an off day, which happens to the best of us. Its not worth cutting off your nose to spite your face.

And remember. There are loads of people on Jim's Forum with a massive amount of knowledge and experience who are only too happy to advise and help you

Cheers Dill!

He's (fortunately) not the only shop in my area, but he's probably the best stocked. As it happens, me and my mate Jon thought, as we walked through the door, his misses was giving him a ear full. Baring in mind the guy was late 60's so he's probably had at least 40 years of SWMBO, so perhaps our timing was off

This site is amazing. Fair play. Ive only been on the brewing scene for a month now, but would be lost without it. I raise a glass to Jim and his web site.

Raise you're glasses boys!