Better Brew, IPA

Brew #14 for me, I'd done a Coopers IPA a while ago and while it was really good I brewed it to the instructions and since have produced much better beer through the use of spraymalts rather than sugar.

It's also worth noting that IPA is by far and away my favourite style of beer, I'm a hop head. I was determined to make something that made my pallette sit up and take notice. Having brewed and tasted the Better Brew Czech Pilsner I figured that this would be a really good base from which to start...

...how right I was!

Instructions safely in the bin (not physically as they're printed straigh onto the squidgy bag), and the requested sugar was replaced with a 1.5kg can of Coopers Light Malt Extract for maximum body and mouth feel - having had some great recent results with two can kits I figured this was a good way to go.

To that was added a generous handful (in a muslin bag with a weight... well a teaspoon...) of Chinook whole hops, probably around 40g in total.

It brewed out perfectly reaching 1.008 giving an ABV over 6%. I tried it as I bottled it and it was simply incredible.

It has now been in the bottle just over two weeks and it is nothing short of brilliant. The head is tight and clings to the glass all the way down the pint, the chinook dry hop goes right up your nose and gives a big grapefruit *ping* on the tongue, the mouthfeel of the beer is better than most I've bought in the shops, I can only imagine that it will keep getting better with time - if I can stop myself from just guzzling it!!! This is now (until I go AG at least) my staple IPA.

It's a full :thumb: :thumb: two thumbs up from me!!! This is *nothing* like old-school kit homebrewing, this is *proper* beer!

Got to agree with Callum, this is a fantastic beer, it was my first brew and I think there will be many more until the call of the Dark Side gets too strong for me to resist (my 2nd batch is already on!)

I made mine with 50/50 brewing sugar and light spray malt 500g of each, reading back through my thread it looks like it lasted me less than 2 weeks of drinking with SWMBO it was only in the keg for about 1 week before "sampling" made way for drinking and even at that stage it tasted lovley & got better the longer it was in the keg (I bet it would have been awesome if I had managed to leave it longer...)

I will definately be brewing this regularly until I move away from kits!

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I started one of these off last Saturday also adding a can of Coopers LME but made it up to about 25 litres as I figured the ABV maybe quite high and I prefer a session beer and not too hoppy.
It's fermenting quite well and I'll probably keg it on day 10 ,can't wait to try it.

Just had another taste of this after almost 2 weeks in warmth to carbonate. Put in freezer for a bit to cool down (impromptu needed beer ).

Poured, and created a nice head. Bloody clear considering it's only been bottled for 2 weeks. Yeast at bottom of bottom was very nicely settled...

As for taste, still not quite a perfect pint, but very good for it's age. Can see why BrotherMalice drank his all so quickly Head thinning out a little as it goes down the glass, but still staying there.

For a total outlay of about £18 (bag + dme + sugar) for 40 bottles, I think this is one of the best taste for value kits I done so far!!! Would definitely recommend.

The czech pilsner is currently fermenting at the minute ... can't wait for it to finish and bottle. Will then be ready for a good test when I get back off holiday :)

Ooooh, can't wait to taste this one! :grin:
Mine stopped after 2 weeks & I'm letting it settle for 5 days to let the trub solidify a bit. Will then be bottled with hopped spray malt.
I feel I'll be drinking it early as I'm running out of beer that's ready!
Great review Calum. :thumb:

Just bottled my 2nd batch, 2 weeks in the FV and all the **** at the bottom was really quite solid. I am hoping that this one will last a touch longer that the last batch....

BrotherMalice said:

Just bottled my 2nd batch, 2 weeks in the FV and all the **** at the bottom was really quite solid. I am hoping that this one will last a touch longer that the last batch....

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That's one thing that surprised me with this...

Removed from first fv, and had quite a good amount of trub at bottom of fv. Then, when i transferred to bottle, the secondary fv had a good amount of trub too... Think this shows the good yeast use in this kit (mebbe not, but makes me better thinking that :p, altho fact yeast solidified nicely at bottom of bottle helps to re-iterate that :p)

Bottled mine yesterday. Took ages!
I used the hopped light spray malt for carbonation & it frothed up in the bottles & had to wait to top them up.
Tasted pretty good. :party:

kegged mine on thursday using 100g of coopers enhancer , so far no sign of secondary fermentation starting even though i've got the brewbelt on the barrel.

Pearlfisher said:

kegged mine on thursday using 100g of coopers enhancer , so far no sign of secondary fermentation starting even though i've got the brewbelt on the barrel.

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Beginning to get concerned now 4 days and still no sign of pressure building up in the barrel.

How did you mix in the enhancer?

I dissolved 100g in hot water and put it in the keg first and then siphoned the beer in and then gave it a shake .

Tried it again last night ,still no detectable pressure from the tap , so I gave the keg a shake , the pin in the release valve shot up almost immediately and some beer started coming out of the valve .
I'm wondering if the barrel isn't holding the pressure? :hmm:

I dont know much about kegs but it the release valve went up immediately that may be the fault?

Yes , I've had to take the cap off to inspect it , the large white O seal was mis-shapen and the small black valve rubber didn't seem in the correct place.

I've added some more brew enhancer,given it a good shake and gassed it with a CO2 soda stream capsule , so far it's holding it's pressure .
I hope letting air in hasn't spoiled it though .

Kegs are great until you start getting problems with seals and valves , I advise anyone thinking of using them to get a good supply of seals , taps and caps to be on the safe side.

CO2 is heavier than air, so long as you were carefull I think you may be OK? - Not sure about the shaking though, I would have stired it in gently as frothing it up too much at this stage isny generally advised

Chaps, I had a sneaky taste this w/e & was rather disapointed. :shock: The taste is not bad for a young beer but it had absolutely no head at all
Not sure what's going on or if I've done something wrong. Got a feeling it's the froth while bottling? :hmm:

muddy90 said:

Chaps, I had a sneaky taste this w/e & was rather disapointed. :shock: The taste is not bad for a young beer but it had absolutely no head at all
Not sure what's going on or if I've done something wrong. Got a feeling it's the froth while bottling? :hmm:

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How long has it been bottled for? How much sugar did you prime with?

I just cracked one of these open earlier tonight for a taster... Was bottled on 3rd May. Key in warmth (before became so hot!) for around 2 weeks. Been in garage for just over a week (about 6 days at 12'c, and 4 days at 18'c). Put in cold all day, and the head on it is superb. Tried taking a pic, but flash on phone has turned off, as battery is almost dead... But, about 1/3rd left, and it has a good head on it. Batch primed with 115g of brewing sugar, and you can feel a slight carbonation, but not overly fizzy. Keeping head, and it's just a lovely taste in my opinion :thumb: :

Kegged this 12 days ago and had trouble with the seal , sorted it out and now put it in the coolest part of the house.

When I siphoned it , it tasted very bitter , so I decided to add about a tablespoon of wine sweetener and 100g of beer enhancer for secondary fermentation.
Also added another 50g of beer enhancer when I sorted the seal problem out 4 days later.

I've been trying a drop each day since moving it and although it's very lively and clearing well it is very sweet , just hoping some of the sweetness will mature out of it and hopefully end up with with a beer very similar to Batham's best bitter.

Tap also leaking about 50ml per day from spout , so it will need to be drank ASAP.

muddy90 said:

Bottled mine yesterday. Took ages!
I used the hopped light spray malt for carbonation & it frothed up in the bottles & had to wait to top them up.
Tasted pretty good. :party:

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Lovelldr, as above mate. Bottled on the 18th so 10 days ish in bottle. Still young I know. It had a little fiz but no head.
Also used spray malt in the kit instead of sugar. I'd have thought it would've been really creamy.