Beer kit recommendations

[Flan]

Im 2 weeks into my first ever venture into home brew, a youngs American IPA, I think it’s going well but as I’m new to it all i cant tell yet. I’m not ready to start brewing with recipes or mashing yet so I’m using kits for my first few until i get used to the process, i prefer IPA and lagers, i do like a German lager. I’m thinking of trying a Mangrove Jacks Helles for my next brew and was wondering has anyone tried this or has any other recommendations to try.

 

[soupdragon]

Did the MJ Helles last year but wasn't that impressed. I've never found a kit that actually tastes like lager.....
I can highly recommend the MJ Grapefruit IPA though. Top beer. Festival's Razorback IPA is another cracker along with Love Brewing's President's Sierra IPA

Cheers. Tom

 

[Flan]

Did the MJ Helles last year but wasn't that impressed. I've never found a kit that actually tastes like lager.....
I can highly recommend the MJ Grapefruit IPA though. Top beer. Festival's Razorback IPA is another cracker along with Love Brewing's President's Sierra IPA

Cheers. Tom

Thanks Tom

 

[Didge]

Well for a first brew you have set the bar very high. Based upon the reviews here and a little pre-bottling sample I tasted today, the Youngs American IPA is an exceptional brew. You will need to do your homework in order to maintain the same levels of satisfaction.

I can recommend the MJ Pink grapefruit IPA, and based upon reviews here the MJ Juicy sessions IPA and Tiny Rebel Cwtch are highly regarded. Unfortunately, in the current covid environment, the best kits are often the ones that are out of stock.

Just avoid the 1 can 40 pint kits because they wont come close unless you pimp them up with a Kg of extra fermentables and hops.

 

[parpot]

Well for a first brew you have set the bar very high. Based upon the reviews here and a little pre-bottling sample I tasted today, the Youngs American IPA is an exceptional brew. You will need to do your homework in order to maintain the same levels of satisfaction.

I can recommend the MJ Pink grapefruit IPA, and based upon reviews here the MJ Juicy sessions IPA and Tiny Rebel Cwtch are highly regarded. Unfortunately, in the current covid environment, the best kits are often the ones that are out of stock.

Just avoid the 1 can 40 pint kits because they wont come close unless you pimp them up with a Kg of extra fermentables and hops.

I agree with the MJ Juicy IPA my all time go to stock beer along with Woodfordes Wherry, Admirals Reserve & Nelsons Revenge

 

[kelper]

St Peter's IPA is very good.

 

[Libigage]

Festival new zealand pilsner is very nice, I put a mj helles on yesterday so I can't comment on that yet. I've done 2 of the pilsners so far, I kegged 10 litres and bottled the rest on my second batch. I drank the keg after 3 weeks but the bottles aren't ready yet but I might try another one tonight.

 

[Flan]

Well for a first brew you have set the bar very high. Based upon the reviews here and a little pre-bottling sample I tasted today, the Youngs American IPA is an exceptional brew. You will need to do your homework in order to maintain the same levels of satisfaction.

I can recommend the MJ Pink grapefruit IPA, and based upon reviews here the MJ Juicy sessions IPA and Tiny Rebel Cwtch are highly regarded. Unfortunately, in the current covid environment, the best kits are often the ones that are out of stock.

Just avoid the 1 can 40 pint kits because they wont come close unless you pimp them up with a Kg of extra fermentables and hops.

Well for a first brew you have set the bar very high. Based upon the reviews here and a little pre-bottling sample I tasted today, the Youngs American IPA is an exceptional brew. You will need to do your homework in order to maintain the same levels of satisfaction.

I can recommend the MJ Pink grapefruit IPA, and based upon reviews here the MJ Juicy sessions IPA and Tiny Rebel Cwtch are highly regarded. Unfortunately, in the current covid environment, the best kits are often the ones that are out of stock.

Just avoid the 1 can 40 pint kits because they wont come close unless you pimp them up with a Kg of extra fermentables and hops.

any advice for my first jump into home brewing, Youngs American IPA. I added the hops on Friday 27th after 8 days of fermenting, the gravity reading then was 1009, today Monday 30th i checked the brew and the gravity reading is 1004, the hops have spread out but cover the top of the brew, does this sound about right as i expected the hops to sink, I plan on taking another reading in 2 days time and if its still the same then move the fv to a colder place for 2 days, that means the hops will have been in for 7 days total and fermentation would be 2 weeks In the fv. I have now set up a single fridge in my cellar with a inkbird temp regulator hooked up so i can now regulate temp properly for future brews.

 

[soupdragon]

Yep, that's normal for a dry hop. Quite a lot of people crash cool the beer a day or two before kegging/bottling to force the hops to sink to the bottom. I don't have that facility but the supplied filter sock does a good job of filtering the bits out. It's worth washing and keeping it for future use.

Cheers. Tom

 

[Didge]

That all sounds like a good plan.

You will probably find that most of the hops will drop to the bottom as you move the FV in and out of cold crash. They just need a little agitation sometimes.

 

[Flan]

Yep, that's normal for a dry hop. Quite a lot of people crash cool the beer a day or two before kegging/bottling to force the hops to sink to the bottom. I don't have that facility but the supplied filter sock does a good job of filtering the bits out. It's worth washing and keeping it for future use.

Cheers. Tom

So to cold crash it what sort of temperature should i keep it at and for how long and then do i bottle/barrel straight away or let it come back to room temp. Thanks for all your help everyone it’s much more informative than just reading instructions from the kit.

 

[soupdragon]

As far as I know it's about 2c ish for a couple of days then rack straight to bottle/keg

Cheers. Tom

 

[jof]

I introduced my nephew to home brewing using a wilko cerveza kit.
Not expensive & I was quite impressed for a first attempt. A bit watery & bland, but hey, a lot of lagers are like that anyway :). Modern kits are much better than those I made as a student 30 years ago.
Told him to keep a few bottles so he can compare his future attempts with the first one.
I got him 100g saaz hops & another kit & told him to repeat & add about 1/3 of the pack as dry hop at the end of fermentation & see if that made it better.

Sometimes when you start its nice to see the effects of 'pimping' a cheap kit and comparing so you can work out what effect the changes make.

Later you can try partial grain or all grain in smaller batches that you can make on your cooker before making a plunge into big expensive stainless steel cylinders.

I'm on partial mash using a 10L stock pot, as I can't yet justify an all in one device on grounds of both size and cost.

 

[Slid]

Very decent beer indeed can be made with a 10-15L pot and a BIAB bag, and made up to a full length brew with a one can kit with little noticeable drop-off in quality. Here is what I had to say 5 years ago:

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/todays-one-can-partial-mash.53598/

 

[Didge]

Sometimes when you start its nice to see the effects of 'pimping' a cheap kit

I've been home brewing for years and I still love pimping cheap kits

I'm hoping to buy my oldest son a Youngs AIPA starter kit for his Christmas pressie. He loves his whisky but once that homebrew bug bites....

 

[Philip Dagnall]

Im 2 weeks into my first ever venture into home brew, a youngs American IPA, I think it’s going well but as I’m new to it all i cant tell yet. I’m not ready to start brewing with recipes or mashing yet so I’m using kits for my first few until i get used to the process, i prefer IPA and lagers, i do like a German lager. I’m thinking of trying a Mangrove Jacks Helles for my next brew and was wondering has anyone tried this or has any other recommendations to try.

Hi, I have brewed a few MJ Helles and found them to be ok. I have just kegged a Helles which i dry hopped with Saaz hops and the odd bottle that i sampled seems to have given the beer a little more "edge " so i'm looking forward to sampling it properly in a few weeks.

 

[Flan]

Hi, I have brewed a few MJ Helles and found them to be ok. I have just kegged a Helles which i dry hopped with Saaz hops and the odd bottle that i sampled seems to have given the beer a little more "edge " so i'm looking forward to sampling it properly in a few weeks.

Thanks Phillip, is it the MJ Helles that you dry hopped.

 

[Libigage]

Hi, I have brewed a few MJ Helles and found them to be ok. I have just kegged a Helles which i dry hopped with Saaz hops and the odd bottle that i sampled seems to have given the beer a little more "edge " so i'm looking forward to sampling it properly in a few weeks.

Hi Philip, what did you do with the hops that came with the kit? Also how much saaz did you add?

 

[Philip Dagnall]

Hi Philip, what did you do with the hops that came with the kit? Also how much saaz did you add?

Saving the hops that came with the MJ for another brew, i added 25g of Saaz . I usually mix the wort and then leave it about 24hrs in the place that i ferment, just so it acclimatises, then add the Saaz in this case and then pitch the yeast, i then took out the saaz after a week ( it was in a hop bag). I usually leave all of my brews for 14 days in the fv before bottling/kegging.

 

[Philip Dagnall]

Thanks Phillip, is it the MJ Helles that you dry hopped.

Yes i usually use the hops provided but in this case i experimented.