Beer kits keep failing!

[Sandimas]

Geordie and Wherry are both made by Muntons and are notorious for sticking around 1020:
http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/other-products/other-branded-homebrew-kits/

I find that use of a teaspoon or two of Yeast Enhancer helps prevent sticking and/or use an alternative yeast, as suggested. The Wilko Gervin Ale yeast is a re-branded Nottingham yeast and is very good. Wherry is very nice if you can prevent it from sticking.

 

[Toredan]

Wow, so many responses! :P Thanks guys, was a good read this morning. Always been tempted with AG and have read that post a few times but as of yet not bought a 15L stockpot. Noticed one on amazon delivered for £18 so may take the plunge. Will have to visit a decent LHBS to get some stock as my closest is a pharmacy that sells a few bits, then Wilko and Tesco is all there is around here. (Worcester) Maybe I'm better off ordering grains online. I am about to drive down to Devon for the week so when I get I'll be one of your testers MyQul, see if it'll work in fixing the current mess. Finally, trust me pms67 when I say my purse strings are thoroughly worn out. New parent, home owner and full time worker, my purse just isn't holding enough yet to spend more on brewing. :)

@Tony1951 - thanks for the checklist mate, it seems my mistakes were two-fold. I pitched the yeast in dry and didn't aerate the canned wort. There is a ring of krausen around the top of the fv but not a huge amount of it so I guess the ferment started but stopped early. Live and learn I guess :)

 

[Tony1951]

- thanks for the checklist mate, it seems my mistakes were two-fold. I pitched the yeast in dry and didn't aerate the canned wort. There is a ring of krausen around the top of the fv but not a huge amount of it so I guess the ferment started but stopped early. Live and learn I guess :)

It could be more than that Dan - someone else who knows those Geordie kits mentioned that they are notorious for sticking. It could be to do with the materials provided to you in the kit. I brewed a couple of Geordie Beer kits about forty five years ago - no experience of them since. They were terrible then, but that isn't a comment on the current production - never touched them since. I'd try a different kit like the Cooper's stuff - the materials work and use best practice in your brewing. Bound to be all right then. You can move towards AG as time and finances allow.

Check out Darrellm's post above. He has some answers there for you.

 

[Toredan]

Ahh, ok so it's a well known issue. Guess I made multiple mistakes :/ oh well, half the fun is in the learning :) After having another almost full read of clibit's AG brew thread I think I'll take the plunge and give it a try! Guess I need to get a few sachets of the better yeast this time! Thanks again gang, really appreciate all the info!

 

[clibit]

Worcester Hop Shop sells grains, hops and yeast, their address is...

Hillside
Withybed Lane
Inkberrow
Worcs
WR7 4JL

 

[Sandimas]

Although I'm now an All Grain convert, I'm really glad I did some kits before jumping into AG - you learn the basics with less variables. I'm with one of the other guys who posted, get yourself a decent 2-can kit, use yeast nutrient and/or a separate pack of yeast, and you should be fine. Or if you're brave enough, just go straight for AG.

Although it's still a Muntons kit, I found the Premium Gold 2-can kits (Smugglers and Midas Touch) to be really good.

 

[Toredan]

Have seen Worcester hop shop but was under the impression that it was online only :)

 

[Toredan]

Picked up a box of Wherry from Abbots HBS yesterday and had a good old chat about AG brewing. Going to borrow a couple of clibits recipes and put a shopping list together. Things looking up!

 

[clibit]

Have seen Worcester hop shop but was under the impression that it was online only :)

Give them a call and ask if you can collect.

 

[Toredan]

Sorry for pics being out of order but I've not used this uploader before. Anyway, decided to try MyQul's suggestion on my stuck beer kit and thought I'd post the pictures of my progress.

Pic 1: stuck brew at 1.022
Pic 2: Yeast and 1L of 1.040 water made with DME
Pic 3: 12 hours after pitching yeast
Pic 4: Spare yeast sachet I had, not the best quality yeast I know but my LHBS is a pharmacy and only really stocks young's stuff.
Pic 5: Just dumped the yeast into the stuck brew, now I guess I wait :)

On another note my Wherry is bubbling away nicely and I've got myself some grains and hops ready for my AG experiment. Just need to get a large pan now (biggest is only 4L).

Bought the following,

Crystal Malt 3kg
Marris Otter 3kg
Pilsner Malt 500g
Cara Red Malt 500g
Crystal Rye Malt 500g
Cherry Wood Smoked Malt 500g

Challanger
Northern Brewer
Fuggles
Galaxy

So I'm sure at some point my next picture heavy thread will be my first ag! :P excited.

 

[MyQul]

I'll definately be interested in the result. Hopefully it'll kick off again :thumb:

 

[Cwrw666]

You won't regret moving on to all grain, I know I haven't:

1. It's way more fun and satisfying to do.
2. The beer you'll produce will actually be better than you can buy.
3. And it's about half the price of buying kits.

The only down side is it takes so much longer to make than doing a kit, but of course most of the extra time is just sitting around waiting for things to happen so you can do other things at the same time.

 

[Toredan]

You won't regret moving on to all grain, I know I haven't:

1. It's way more fun and satisfying to do.
2. The beer you'll produce will actually be better than you can buy.
3. And it's about half the price of buying kits.

The only down side is it takes so much longer to make than doing a kit, but of course most of the extra time is just sitting around waiting for things to happen so you can do other things at the same time.

Yeah very much looking forward to it, just need to find a decently priced pan to boil my wort in. Think best I've found so far was a 15L from amazon for £18 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003DC88FQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20).

Problem is my hob is a solid plate hob so not sure it'll bring 10L to a rolling boil.

 

[Redron]

Yeah very much looking forward to it, just need to find a decently priced pan to boil my wort in. Think best I've found so far was a 15L from amazon for £18 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003DC88FQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20).

Problem is my hob is a solid plate hob so not sure it'll bring 10L to a rolling boil.

I have that pan from Amazon and currently doing partial mashes until I run out of kits and then it's AG for me. The pan wouldn't work on my induction hob so I now use a robust camping stove and butane gas in my shed (doors open of course !). After mashing in the pan it takes a good half hour for the wort to get up to boil though it does maintain it very well and is probably more controllable than a solid plate hob...

 

[auralabuse]

I'm now all grain but like most, I started on kits. The Woodford wherry was by far the best kit but does not come close to AG. The all grain mash kits from home brew company are a fantastic way to learn all grain. 2 or 3 batches and you will be brewing beer your local offy can't come close to

 

[needabrew]

Its probably something to do with the yeast. Yeast that comes with these kits is stored a room temperature which is not the best. The general advice is yeast should be kept in the fridge. Also if the yeast is highly flocculant it may have dropped out of suspension before fermentation is reasonably complete. I would suggest buying a separate sachet of yeast and storing it in your fridge until brewday. And also you could try making a yeast starter culture the day before brewday.

 

[Cwrw666]

Yeah very much looking forward to it, just need to find a decently priced pan to boil my wort in. Think best I've found so far was a 15L from amazon for £18 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003DC88FQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20).

Problem is my hob is a solid plate hob so not sure it'll bring 10L to a rolling boil.

I bought a 30L Ace boiler which works well enough but the element is either on or off so the `rolling boil' is more than a bit violent. With this experience I'd say best bet is a big stainless steel pan - absolute minimum 30L and better if it's bigger, for a 23L brew - and a decent gas burner so there's nothing to go wrong with it and you can turn it down to control the boil better.
Oh, and don't brew in the house - a rolling boil for an hour generates many litres of steam that's going to condense probably in your kitchen!

 

[DanST]

I've been looking at this on ebay 360970532712

Comes with a lid, I've checked with the seller

 

[Toredan]

That is a nice price, Dan! Tempting indeed! As an update for MyQul, the yeast i pitched 5 days ago has made a very slight difference as the SG has gone from 1.020 to 1.018. Will leave another week and see if it will go a little longer. If not I'll bottle this and leave it for a couple months and revisit. My Wherry has finished fermenting in 5 days but i'll leave it in the FV another 10 or so before bottling and leaving for a couple months. Now to buy a pan and start the AG fun.

 

[kev192]

hi Toredan, ive just come acroos your post.. i too use geordie yorkshire bitter
kits and have had no problem with them at all.

in fact some peopel that tried it said it was very good.

i heat up a small 5 gallon container for the water
add the sugar to the fv add the hot water to it to get it to dissolve, then pour the tin into this after heating it in a pan of hot water to make the stuff run like smooth honey.
give it all a stirr and then add water to get it to 22 deg ish
pouring from a great height to get bubbles.
i then pour the yeast on top , close and put an air lock on.
1 week later its reached its sg, keeping at 22 or so, sometimes u may need to use a heating belt , i then bottle or keg. adding the right amount of sugar for 2nd carbonisation. i only use table sugar too, ive not had one bad batch yet. ive ventured into all grain as well and the taste is different.