what should i brew next?

[PEZ]

i want somethin thats gonna be at least 5% and preferably a bitter or an ale but open to offers on a lager with actual taste
- please help me choose my next brew!!!!!:
this is my local shop and what they stock so my options are limited to these, waddaya reckon?
http://www.hopshopuk.com/categories/vie ... cider-kits

[Benson_JV]

I Quite like Edme Bitter, i think i got that to around 5/5.5% with a kilo of sugar. Tastes damn nice too, especially for a brew with sugar.

[mat69]

if ya fancy a lager go with coopers european its the best one can kit (in my opinion) never let me down

[PEZ]

your reply suggests the two can kits are better so i am more inclined to go with them??

[KevP]

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't touch a two can kit for any money, they are all Munton brewed and canned, and you'll be lucky to get a spraymalted two can kit past 1015.

[mat69]

my reply didn,t say two can kits were better,i just said the coopers euro was the best one can kit..

[PEZ]

ok sweet, thanks for the replys people. this learning curve is vertical!!!!!!!!!

[mat69]

you'll get there mate just stick at it..by the way i'm fermenting my first two can kit so we'll see if they are better or not..

[PEZ]

nice let me know!

[Mogwyth]

For what it's worth I have done (2) 2 can kits and (5) 1 can kits. All the single can kits reached the expected OG no problem, the two can kits even with assistance didn't get close, still nice beers but a bit disappointing.

[mattfuzzy]

done the woodfordes wherry before (2 can kit) and was amazed, kegged it at around 2 months old into a corni keg and at 3 - 4 months old it hit me "damn this is better than anything iv tasted from the supermarket" doing admirals ale at the moment.

think half the reason the 2 can kits wont ferment to expected gravity (or brews consisting of malt extract, dried or liquid) is because the malt isnt as fermentable as sugar is, so you'd need to use more of it to get the % up, though im sure this would leave more unfermentable malt in the brew too (sweeter taste if im not mistaken) would also add more body.

by the way, my admirals reserve is expected to be around 5%, if you like em strong (and choose 2 can over 1) bung in 500g to 1kg of spraydried malt extract, if you choose 1 can you will need to add around 1kg of malt or sugar (fermentables) anyway to get to around 5% then more for higher %.

from the website you listed id be more inclined to choose from:
Coopers.
Woodfordes.
Muntons.
Milestone.
Brupaks.

in no specific order ofcorse, and i havent done a brew i havent enjoyed
(always do more than one at any given time though)
-matt

[PEZ]

thats brilliant cheers people.

[rollin danny]

I just bought a admirals reserve kit from woodfordes .No instructions inside but on the box itself it says when the beer has reached 1.020 or lower you can keg/bottle.I wonder if they have changed that because on the wherry it says the beer should come down to 1.014 and a lot of people have found that it it finished much higher

[mattfuzzy]

im sure you have read about the 2 can kits not fermenting down to what they should be, now i admit i feel much better about my admirals reserve finnishing at 1.015 (ish) as all mine have finnished around 1.012 before, though i keg and prefer semi flat anyway

[PEZ]

ok after sampling numerous bottled and draught ipa's i decided they are all different but i liked them all.. so.. i bought this

http://www.4u2brew.co.uk/product_details_230.htm brewmakers ipa and i added sugar and some of that brupack cheap little 3 teabag of hop and grain
i've stuck it in a presure barrel this time rather than bottles and even though its basically flat still 3 weeks into secondary ferm its tastin lovely!