Better Brew Bandit Beer(lime&tequila flavour)

[AllvinStraight]

hi, Ive just finished setting up this kit(its supposed to be similar to desperados lager) I used roughly 1.6kg of brewing sugar and filled to 5 gallon(just under 23litres) my O.G. was 1050 and pitched the kit yeast at about 22c I've left it now with a heat belt around it to try and keep it at around 20c for primary fermentation,

has anybody else made this kit up, what can I expect, any tips?

I like to dry hop, does anybody know what hop may go well with this kit?

this is only my 3rd home brew, coopers euro lager and coopers IPA where my 1st two brews, the Ipa has been in the keg for almost a month and tasting good(for a 1st attempt, the euro lager was batch primed and bottled yesterday(took a sip and it tasted good to me)

thanks in advance for any advise,

david

 

[drago-mir]

hey david if you can get amerillo hops that would be a good one to use. i have a link for you though then you can choose. There are hop tea bags that are great to use in the cheaper brews like these. https://byo.com/resources/hops
hope this helps
p.s. keep us upto date with how it taste cos im curious to see if it comes out nice and how similar to desperado's it tastes

 

[thebarnsleybrewer]

This looks like it could be a decent kit if the Czech Pilsner reviews are anything to go by. The other Better Brew kits are usually a 2.1kg Malt kit, you add sugar to, this is a 1.8kg kit and says add 1.5Kg of sugar to make it up.

Any pictures AllvinStraight?

what was the SG when you kicked it off? Despirato is pushing 6% so its got some to go to get to those heights.

I was thinking if i was to do this kit would it be possible to do 2 kits in 1? effectively giving me 3.6kg of malt extract and make it up to say 25-27 litres? or do you think the other hop, lime and tequilla flavours in the kit etc would be over powering?

 

[AllvinStraight]

sorry no pics, its just slowly(but surely)fermenting away in a standard 25ltr fermentation bucket, so nothing of interest to show.

is "S.G" not the same as O.G.? my o.g./s.g. was 1050, day 6 now and ive just taken my 1st gravity reading just to check that the yeast is doing the business, its now down to 1020/1018 so going ok, I took a sip and its still very sweet so still a lot of sugar for the yeast to scoff up yet, the lime&tequila flavour is definitely there but hopefully it wont be to prominent once its conditioned, think ill give it at least another 10 days in primary and at some stage I think ill dry hop it with an Amarillo(thanks for the recommendation drago) hop tea or maybe some dry hops in a muslin bag(depending on which I can get hold of 1st)

cheers

p.s. I'll be happy if the abv gets anywhere between 5-6% and I think im easily on course for that.

 

[AllvinStraight]

I've just ordered 100g of Amarillo hops from ebay for £4.95, should arrive next week, hopefully just in time for me to add during the final stages of primary fermentation,

the seller has a really good looking range of hops(I also ordered 100g of tettnang to put in I wheat beer which I'm preparing as my next brew)

for anybody interested this is the ebay seller/store that I purchased my hops from- ramengltddean (512)
100% positive Feedback, the Mandarina Bavaria, german hops sound good, I may give them a go in something soon(they may go well with the wheat beer kit that im doing next)

 

[AllvinStraight]

just a quick update-

added 50g of Amarillo dry hops(in a muslin bag) a few days ago(day 12)

took a hydrometer reading this evening (day 15) and gravity is now at 1008, im happy with that as it means roughly 5.6%ABV, but if it drops a couple more points ill be very chuffed(I think desperados is 5.8%)

its still gently bubbling away though, so ill leave it until bubbling has pretty much stopped, hopefully that will be by this Friday and I can then batch prime & bottle it up at the weekend,

taste wise it has improved, the flavours have mellowed out, it tastes like you'd expect(lager with squeeze of citrusy/lime taste and a hint of tequila sourness) should be a very refreshing summer drink once its carbonated, conditioned and chilled.

 

[drago-mir]

thanks for the update i think ill defo have to buy this for summer, let us know what you think when you have a proper drink of it

 

[the_kitchen_brewer]

I did one of these, I didn't add any hops or anything, but I did add the juice of 3 limes because someone mentioned the lime flavour is very subtle - it's now far from subtle :)

I left it in the shed for a couple of weeks, and first impressions were that it was ok but nowhere near as nice as the Pilsner, but left a few more weeks and it's a really refreshing brew particularly if it's well chilled.

I'd definately do this one again for a refreshing summer drink (but I'd probably go a bit easier on the lime juice next time!)

 

[AllvinStraight]

Hi,
sorry with the delay, I should have done a follow up sooner,

pretty much the same as the above reviewer though, I was a little unsure of it to begin with, but after about a month it cleared completely and the flavours blended together perfectly with very good carbonation, this is a very refreshing summer drink, mine was a bit on the strong side( but hey!) because of the extra sugar I added, the lime and tequila flavours are very much there(I definitely wouldn't add any extra lime that's for sure)

very impressed with this better brew range, ive currently got their pilsner fermenting, the spiel that they give regarding sourcing better more suitable quality ingredients according to the beer seems to be genuine, I also find the packaging they use far more practical than the normal large tins that every other kit maker uses and at £12.99 its a steal.

Ill try and post a pic when I get chance,

any questions please ask..

D

 

[AllvinStraight]

Please excuse my kecks on the line

 

[segovia]

I made this last year and it was fantastic, it was my first attempt at home brew and was that impressed by the results I caught the bug.

There was plenty of natural gas in the barrel so I didn't have to top it up much, it was very clear and very palatable. The only downside was it can be a bit sweet after your 3 or 4 the pint and it is very strong

I was thinking on buying the bitter kit by the same supplier, does anyone have any feedback on this ?

 

[AllvinStraight]

I've done a few more of the better brew kits since having excellent results with the bandit beer, I've done the export lager and the Czech pilsner, bother absolutely spot on, best range of one can(or sachet in this case) kits around imo and cheap, also plenty of flavour and aroma so no need to dry hop or any of that palaver

 

[nickb007]

I made this earlier in the year, and everyone that came to our house warming preferred it to Desperados, so i will defiantly be doing this kit again