Brewing kits short

[Scampy]

Hello
I have brewed a number of single-can bitter and mild kits to the full 40 pints / 22 litres. However, I find them lacking flavour and body. I use 500g of spray malt and 500g of brewing sugar for fermenting. Once fermented i bottle, priming first with fermentation drops.

To increase flavour and body, I thought about brewing short. Can anyone recommend an amount to brew, to improve the flavour of the beer?

Thanks

 

[An Ankoù]

Not an expert on kits, but I would think the limiting factor is the bitterness; if you brew it to half the length, it'll be twice as bitter. Some of this will be balanced by the increased sweetness and body, though. If it were me, I'd take a stab at brewing it at between two thirds and three quarters of its prescribed length.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I would brew a single can kit to either 15L or 12L.

 

[terrym]

If you are brewing 1.5kg one cans, as many do, Geordie, Youngs Harvest, Wilko etc, step up to more malt. Minimum 1.7kg. Brewing short is something many kit brewers do. I used to aim for about 21 litres, I even used to brew my Coopers stouts to 19 litre. But the less volume you brew with a kit the more you concentrate all the flavours and that includes bitterness, although that may not concern you.
Next you could also try more malt, substituting some or all of the dextrose with DME (I would avoid extra LME). And although one of the biggest improvements to a kit is a dry hop or a hop tea, adding liquor from steeped grains like crystal malt will also help.
And if you fancy a bigger step up why not try this
Simple kit plus mini-mash method to improve a kit

 

[kelper]

Or just buy two-can kits in future!

 

[Scampy]

Two can kits are better @kelper but most kits are only one can unfortunately.
@terrym why would you avoid extra LME? Would LME add extra flavour?
Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[Drunkula]

I've brewed Geordie Bitter kits to 9 litres and they weren't too bitter in the slightest.

 

[terrym]

Two can kits are better @kelper but most kits are only one can unfortunately.
@terrym why would you avoid extra LME? Would LME add extra flavour?
Thanks for your input everyone.

My experience is that DME is less likely to induce any hint of twang, so I would use it in preference to LME.

I've brewed Geordie Bitter kits to 9 litres and they weren't too bitter in the slightest.

That may well be, but not all kits are the same.
Coopers kits come with different IBUs. For example the AuPA comes with 340 IBUs in the tin, the Brew A IPA 830 IBUs, and if brewed to 23 litres that would be equivalent to 25 and 61 in the glass. So if you brewed an AuPA to 11.5 litres that would produce 50 IBUs which would perhaps be OK for most folks I suppose, whereas the Brew A would be 122 IBUs, and that would be noticeable and perhaps not very drinkable except for a few.

 

[Scampy]

I never thought of considering IBUs until reading this!

 

[kelper]

Scampy, where do you live?

 

[parpot]

I always brew Wherry short to 20ltrs, although a two tin kit and IMO makes it even better. 1.7kg brews I use all sorts to bring up the size, brewing sugar 1kg and DME 500g

 

[Scampy]

@kelper I'm in Dudley, West Midlands.

 

[kelper]

most kits are only one can unfortunately.

Well, there are loads of two can kits available! One-can kits weigh about 1.8kg and two-can kits about 3.6lg. See here, for example Beer & Cider Kits

 

[terrym]

Well, there are loads of two can kits available! One-can kits weigh about 1.8kg and two-can kits about 3.6lg. See here, for example Beer & Cider Kits

That's not strictly speaking correct. 'One can' kits usually start at 1.5kg LME and some go to 2kg perhaps more. Any additional adjuncts the brewer provides. Two can or premium kits usually have 3kg LME and if there is any additional weight of sugars going into the wort it's usually included as brewing sugar.
The advantage of a one can is you are to able to modify as you wish, and they usually end up slightly cheaper. The disadvantage is that the less malt in the kit especially the 1.5kg kits, the more you will need to do to get the kit up to scratch. The advantage of a premium kit is that everything is in the box and the product is usually better than an unmodified one can, but the disadvantages are they cost more, and you are usually constrained by what went into the box, unless you want to spend even more money and modify it (which is what some do to Wherry kits, which are at the basic end of the premium kit range).
So in general if you fancy experimenting with a beer kit buy a one can with more malt in it, and if you just want to brew beer as it comes buy a premium kit if you can afford it.

 

[Victor Churchill]

So in general if you fancy experimenting with a beer kit buy a one can with more malt in it, and if you just want to brew beer as it comes buy a premium kit if you can afford it.

Exactly what I have done several times. Bought a few of The Range's end-of-range MYO Bitter and IPA when they were on offer just before the brand revamp, one-can 1.7 KG tin; add 1Kg brewing sugar (or table sugar in one case) + 0.5 Kg dry malt extract (medium). With the given dry hops, makes a super pint.

 

[kelper]

Terrym, I was talking about the gross or shipping weight. It's an easy way for a shopper to tell if it's a one or two can kit.

 

[Scampy]

That's not strictly speaking correct. 'One can' kits usually start at 1.5kg LME and some go to 2kg perhaps more. Any additional adjuncts the brewer provides. Two can or premium kits usually have 3kg LME and if there is any additional weight of sugars going into the wort it's usually included as brewing sugar.
The advantage of a one can is you are to able to modify as you wish, and they usually end up slightly cheaper. The disadvantage is that the less malt in the kit especially the 1.5kg kits, the more you will need to do to get the kit up to scratch. The advantage of a premium kit is that everything is in the box and the product is usually better than an unmodified one can, but the disadvantages are they cost more, and you are usually constrained by what went into the box, unless you want to spend even more money and modify it (which is what some do to Wherry kits, which are at the basic end of the premium kit range).
So in general if you fancy experimenting with a beer kit buy a one can with more malt in it, and if you just want to brew beer as it comes buy a premium kit if you can afford it.

Yes - I've already found brewing a single can kit to the full 40 pints doesn't provide much body. I've tried adding 500g of spraymalt but it doesn't seem enough (along with the 500g of brewing sugar). I'm guessing (along with the sugar) I'll need 1kg of spraymalt added to a one can kit. Either that or some liquid malt extract.

 

[Brasseur français]

I have never seen them for sale in the UK but Brewferm 25kg kits give you a range of volumes from 150 to 250 litres. I brew the Abbey kit short at 120 litres and its a really nice drop. Though should carry a health warning. Its malty and sweet rather than bitter so works at this concentration, I would not brew a very bitter kit this short.

 

[Scampy]

I have never seen them for sale in the UK but Brewferm 25kg kits give you a range of volumes from 150 to 250 litres. I brew the Abbey kit short at 120 litres and its a really nice drop. Though should carry a health warning. Its malty and sweet rather than bitter so works at this concentration, I would not brew a very bitter kit this short.

Got to make sure you'll enjoy the beer before brewing that much!

 

[Brasseur français]

I just remembered the australians have a habit of brewing two coopers beer kits in one 40 pint batch. They call it a Toucan.