any good IPA's in kit form?

[real ale rascal]

Hello Chaps,

Does anyone know of any good IPA's in kit form, that are worth doing.
I fancy brewing one now that the warm weather is here (for how long it last is another question)

Any advice gratefully received

Real Ale Rascal

 

[Muddydisco]

All I can say is don't go with the Milestones one. It's not as good as I hoped when I did it :nono:

 

[Lurch]

Is there any such thing as a good kit?
I've tried a few of the premium ones and found them to be mostly mediocre at best.
Had I realised the results possible with AG and how easy it was I'd never have bothered with kits.

 

[corby_brewer]

Ive read a couple of good thing about the John Bull IPA kit.

Had I realised the results possible with AG and how easy it was I'd never have bothered with kits.

Kits are what got 99.9% of us into brewing. Altho i agree AG results are far better than any kit on the market.

 

[mrfrosty]

I've just bottled another Heart of England Design-a-Brew this time a much paler ale and it tastes cracking straight from the FV. It's a kit with a twist and can't recommend enough if your not quite ready for AG

rob

 

[unclepumble]

I did the Brupacks IPA, and 4 weeks in keg it tasted like *****.

3 Months in keg and it was passable not a bad drink, but miles away from an AG IPA, for the extra amount you will spend on a bit more kit its well worth it in the long run, I will never brew another kit as long as I Live.

UP

 

[Lurch]

Kits are what got 99.9% of us into brewing.

True, but how many people have tried kits and given up home brew as a bad job?
I used to do the premium kits and tell myself they were good, I was kidding myself frankly.
At the cost of 50p a pint they are very poor value indeed.

 

[real ale rascal]

Thanks Guys,

that's put a dampner on it then.

I have ask on other posts, what is the approx cost of setting up AG brewing then, what would i need.are there any links on here which show or tell you what you need?

Real ale rascal

 

[Lurch]

that's put a dampner on it then.

I feel like a right ****** now.


The thing is I believed all the fluff about how much better kits are these days, tried the expensive ones (more than one type) and found them lacking.
If you want to have a toe in the water then kits are a start but don't expect fantastic beer 'coz you won't get it. It'll be drinkable and rewarding to have brewed your own but if you think you're going to be in it for the long term then consider it a stepping stone and don't be too disappointed when it isn't first class real ale.

 

[Ned Lud]

I did an Edme IPA kit a few months ago. I threw in a Geordie bitter kit in the FV in anticipation of a low bitterness level from the "IPA" kit (difficult to predict IBUs from the mixed kits) and 1kg of BKE for good measure - brewed with 2 x fermentis USO5 up to 25l at 20 deg C. It turned out remarkably well, 6.7% ABV with a high level of bitterness. A hint of grapefruit but not much else in the way of aroma. It had just about cleared when I had finished the barrel.

I've switched to AG brewing now but otherwise would not hesitate to brew that one again. Very full-bodied due to the massive malt content. If you decide to brew it I would make sure you use a yeast capable of a high level of attenuation or you will end up with beer syrup. Nottingham might be interesting. The only drawback was the cost - £25 including the yeast, hence the switch to AG.

 

[31bb3]

you could try a designer brew like these
http://www.hamstead-brewing-centre.co.uk/itmidx19.htm

 

[simonb_13]

I did a couple of kits and then went for extract brewing. There is a really simple example on the Brew UK website called Way to Amarillo IPA. It's straightforward and you just need a biggish pot to boil the extract (we're only talking about 6 litres of water in the pot and I bought a 11 litre one).

It's not much more effort than a kit.

Mine's fermenting at the moment so not sure of the results but it smelt very good.

Give it a go.

PS - I've now bought a 27 litre boiler from Lidls so I'll use that next time. I'm thinking of it as my first bit of AG kit but using it for extract brewing!

 

[zigga]

Hey,

Just to put my 2-penneth in...

As a newby brewer I didn't have the confidence to go with full AG brewing and thought I would plump for a kit. I had a good look around and went for the Coopers Pale Ale kit.

You can check out how this is going by looking at my blog below... :)

Suffice to say I am very pleased with the results after primary fermentation. It finished up with FG of 1012 after a week and was steady for 3 days so decided to rack to a pressure barrel for conditioning. I took a sample last night (check out the photo) which was obviously still cloudy but tasted pretty good. I obviously don't have a full AG beer to compare to but comparing to commercial ales it don't taste too bad.

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