Brewing kits

[Banbeer]

Has anyone tried the Mangrove Jack pink grapefruit IPA?

I've had the grapefruit IPA's from M&S and they're very good. Apparently this one is similar to Brewdog's Elvis Juice which I quite like.

I picked up a pack of it today and may make it up tonight.

Not tried the Grapefruit IPA but have just bottled (last weekend)and carbed a Mangrove Jacks juicy IPA which I tried last night and it was superb

 

[BridgeBrew]

The yeast supplied with the pale ale worked well so will probably try the Golden with the yeast supplied. With the pale ale did you use 1kg of enhancer plus a half kg of LME?

I supplemented the kit with 1.2kg of lme, and 500g of dextrose. I have used dme on lots of occasions, and to be honest i have never noticed a twang with dme, or lme. I ferment at controlled tempreture always re hydrate my yeast before pitching, the kit itself is hopped lme ? The most important ingredient in brewing imo is the yeast never had a twang with mangrove yeast. Had some real twang with coopers kit yeast.

 

[Kenboy]

I checked out the Young's American IPA kit which they say comes out at around 6.5% alcohol. I'd prefer something not quite as strong and quite like the sound of Mangrove Jack's pink grapefruit IPA which they claim is styled on Brewdog's Elvis juice which is really nice.

I suppose it's possible to reduce the amount of sugar slightly which should keep the alcohol content slightly lower - or not?

On the subject of sugar, I used to use castor sugar but I see dextrose sugar seems to be recommended now. What is the advantage of using this please?

I recommend the mangrove jack's pink grapefruit IPA, it's as close to breeding Elvis juice as you can get. I'm on my third batch. This time I added 25g of Azakka hops to it. Doesn't need it, I just wanted to add something extra.

I add less sugar and brew to 24 litres so I get my alcohol at 5%. Starting gravity at about 1050-52. Clears well and is drinkable after 2-4 weeks in the garage.

 

[Rich27]

I recommend the mangrove jack's pink grapefruit IPA, it's as close to breeding Elvis juice as you can get. I'm on my third batch. This time I added 25g of Azakka hops to it. Doesn't need it, I just wanted to add something extra.

I add less sugar and brew to 24 litres so I get my alcohol at 5%. Starting gravity at about 1050-52. Clears well and is drinkable after 2-4 weeks in the garage.

Thanks.

I've got that exact kit and plan to make it over the next couple. I planned to put an extra 25g of cascade hops in but, may just leave the first brew as standard and pimp the next one as recommended by a few members on here.

I plan to leave it in the garage too as my wife will only moan if the house is stinking of beer.

As the night are getting colder I'm slightly concerned about the effect on the brew though TBH.

 

[Rich27]

Quick update.

I bottled my pink grapefruit IPA today and it had developed a slight homebrewish smell and taste to it. I'm wondering if somewhere I'd let too much oxygen get into the brew or is that quite normal and just me being picky? Either way I've had worse pints from Wetherspoon's pubs.

It also didn't taste quite hoppy enough for my liking and when I make my American IPA tomorrow I'm thinking of putting the hops in from the start instead of at day 10 as per the instructions or would it become too bitter then?

 

[Slid]

Sorry, does the lme come with the kit?

Also, what's the difference between using dextrose and normal sugar?

Dextrose and Cane or beet sugar are chemically identical. If you get only partially refined sugar there will be differences from the impurities. If you cook the sugar a bit to make Golden Syrup or darker, there is some caramelisation and that makes a difference.

The idea that dextrose from corn is superior to that from sugar cane or beet is more a feature of belief than scientific fact.

 

[Drunkula]

I bottled my pink grapefruit IPA today and it had developed a slight homebrewish smell and taste to it. I'm wondering if somewhere I'd let too much oxygen get into the brew

I think definitely oxidation. We tried a few bottles after a few weeks and they were really good. Then one I bottled last and had loads of headspace in the bottle was rubbish compared to the other ones. The first lot didn't taste homebrewy at all but that one really did.

 

[Drunkula]

Dextrose and Cane or beet sugar are chemically identical.

Nah, sucrose is dextrose and fructose. Yeast needs to create invertase to split it before eating it. I've tried to find out if invertase has a flavour and that's what some people think creates a homebrew taste but I can't find a damn thing about it.

I did a "not a kit and a kilo" split test to see if adding normal sugar as 200g per gallon to a grain beer would create a homebrew taste. It didn't. It tasted like a typical pub pint. Even so I can't 100% rule out invertase having an effect, and I damn well want to.

One dayyy!

 

[Rich27]

I think definitely oxidation. We tried a few bottles after a few weeks and they were really good. Then one I bottled last and had loads of headspace in the bottle was rubbish compared to the other ones. The first lot didn't taste homebrewy at all but that one really did.

Yeah I thought so.

That's very disappointing. Maybe from opening the FV too many times to check the gravity and adding the hops.

When I bottled it, I used the trick of leaving an inch gap then squeezing the bottle till the beer reached the top before putting the caps on. Hopefully this eliminated nearly all the oxygen from the secondary fermentation.

Perhaps adding the hops from the start and leaving it until the primary fermentation has finished may cure this and also make it more hoppy?

 

[Slid]

Nah, sucrose is dextrose and fructose. Yeast needs to create invertase to split it before eating it. I've tried to find out if invertase has a flavour and that's what some people think creates a homebrew taste but I can't find a damn thing about it.

Yes I read that also. Turning sucrose into Golden Syrup before adding to beer (or Invert Syrup as the Old Recipes say) saves a few precious hours in a commercial beer. Makes little difference to HB'ers, but I enjoy making GS nonetheless!

What I do not understand is how adding acid and heat to dissolved sucrose syrup would create invertase. So, anyone have any more biochemical insight?

 

[Llamaman]

What I do not understand is how adding acid and heat to dissolved sucrose syrup would create invertase. So, anyone have any more biochemical insight?

It doesn’t.
It converts the sugar in a chemical reaction. Invertase does a similar job in a different way.

 

[Slid]

It doesn’t.
It converts the sugar in a chemical reaction. Invertase does a similar job in a different way.

Thanks, Llamaman! That is interesting.

 

[Paul Roberts]

Has anyone tried the Mangrove Jack pink grapefruit IPA?

I've had the grapefruit IPA's from M&S and they're very good. Apparently this one is similar to Brewdog's Elvis Juice which I quite like.

I picked up a pack of it today and may make it up tonight.

Im just about to bottle this kit, it's hoppy with a citrus note. Really tasty straight out of the fv

 

[Rich27]

Mine was tasty when I bottled it the other day but not as hoppy as I would like.

I'm making an American IPA kit in the next few days and considering putting the hops in from the start plus an extra 50g of Cascade.

If it turns out a hop bomb then I won't complain.

 

[Kenboy]

Yeah I thought so.

That's very disappointing. Maybe from opening the FV too many times to check the gravity and adding the hops.

When I bottled it, I used the trick of leaving an inch gap then squeezing the bottle till the beer reached the top before putting the caps on. Hopefully this eliminated nearly all the oxygen from the secondary fermentation.

Perhaps adding the hops from the start and leaving it until the primary fermentation has finished may cure this and also make it more hoppy?

Get yourself a tap on your fv and get a bottling wand. You can check gravity without opening lid and when it's bottling time it's so much easier and cleaner. Leaves the perfect head space too.

 

[cushyno]

Quick update.

I bottled my pink grapefruit IPA today and it had developed a slight homebrewish smell and taste to it. I'm wondering if somewhere I'd let too much oxygen get into the brew or is that quite normal and just me being picky? Either way I've had worse pints from Wetherspoon's pubs.

It also didn't taste quite hoppy enough for my liking and when I make my American IPA tomorrow I'm thinking of putting the hops in from the start instead of at day 10 as per the instructions or would it become too bitter then?

Give it 4 weeks to condition in the bottle and you'll notice a difference to the taste.
If you're thinking of dry hopping, it's better to wait until after the vigorous fermentation has died down, so after high krausen. Better for retaining the hop aroma, and hops can leave grassy tastes if left in the FV too long. If you only open the FV a crack to put hops in and there is still plenty fermentation left to do, any oxygen getting in will be flushed out again pretty quick by the co2 from remaining fermentation.

 

[Rich27]

Thanks for the input guys.

I've been out and bought a tap for my FV and will fit that tonight before making the brew.

 

[Kenboy]

Thanks for the input guys.

I've been out and bought a tap for my FV and will fit that tonight before making the brew.

Cool, the less times you open the lid the better. As a rule, only to add hops.

After Ive pitched the yeast, I fill the trial jar, then I always leave my trial jar with the FV, so it gives me a very rough indicator as to what's going on with fermentation. Other than that I leave for the 1st week until I'm ready to add hops. Either way I always leave for a full 2 weeks before racking to the bottling bucket.

 

[Rich27]

Cool, the less times you open the lid the better. As a rule, only to add hops.

After Ive pitched the yeast, I fill the trial jar, then I always leave my trial jar with the FV, so it gives me a very rough indicator as to what's going on with fermentation. Other than that I leave for the 1st week until I'm ready to add hops. Either way I always leave for a full 2 weeks before racking to the bottling bucket.

I left my grapefruit IPA in the FV for the full 2 weeks then bottled it.

I've put it in a warm room for 2 weeks then plan 2 move it to the garage for the final 2 weeks. The guy at my local home brew shop says the slight off flavour will mellow with time and it will still be enjoyable.

I'm looking forward to trying it.

 

[Rich27]

I made a 'Make Your Own' American IPA kit on Sunday and after about 12 hours the airlock was going crazy.

It stayed like that for about 24 hours but now there's no activity in the airlock that I've noticed. I've also noticed the temperature has dropped from 22c down to 18 but then our hallway is getting colder at night and we haven't put the heating on yet.

I don't think it's stalled as there is still a fair amount of co2 in the bucket as the lid is still quite convex and if I put slight pressure on it the airlock bubbles.

I've put a blanket around the FV but, I'm wondering, do I need to I need to artificially bring the temperature up a bit or is 18 fine?