Brupaks - Beers of the world. (Czech Pilsner)

[Phil_MG]

I'm on my second of the brupaks beers of the world kits now. I'm using the brewbox which came supplied with the first kit (London bitter).

Has anyone else tried these and been a bit underwhelmed? My first one was a bit of a disaster in that I didn't bottle condition it, and drunk it straight from the bag. I don't think it had fully fermented either, or had become stuck. Anyway it was flat as a fart and very much on the malty side.

I'm on my second one anyway now (the czech pilsner). It's fermented fully this time so it seems (it was bubbling away well for about 5 days or so) with the supplied lager yeast and I've got a bottler so plan to bottle condition this one. I've tipped the bag into it's dispensing position and I've given it half an hour to get the worst of the muck to the bottom and thought I'd have a little sip just to see what it's flavour was like at the moment. I'm a little disappointed to say it tastes almost identical to the London bitter I made originally. Very malty, albeit this time with plenty of fizz in it. I've also taken a photo of it so you guys can take a look at the colour of it. Personally I don't think a Pilsner should be so very dark? I thought they were much paler?

Anyway, I plan to continue in the hope that it might improve. I'm going to give it a week or so before emptying it out and bottling it along with a teaspoon or so of glucose powder I found in the cupboard.

Just wanting to hear everyone elses experiences of these kits.

I'm thinking next time I might be better off getting a 40pt fv and a barrel. Possibly go for the wherry kit?

 

[markp]

Time and patience Phil......easier said than done, especially with your first few brews.
A pilsner should be malty, so I don't think you've anything to worry about there

Beers tend not to taste great when they've just finished fermenting as there will be a lot of fermentation by-products present.....the yeast will continue to work and mop up these fermentation by-products which can greatly affect the flavour of the beer.

How long ago did it finish fermenting?
General rule of .....a week to ferment out and then leave it another week for the yeast to mop up.....then look to bottle or put the beer in a keg for dispense.

Bottle your pils with your priming sugar and then leave in the warm for a week.....then trasnfer somewhere cold to condition.
Keep trying a bottle every week or so and you should be able to detect the flavour changes as it matures. The carbonation will improve with time also.

The colour doesn't look too bad.......beer in bulk will always look much darker than a small amount poured in to a glass.

I would definately get a more rigid fermentation bin......that polycube looks a nightmare to handle tbh.
Also, get a hydrometer so you can keep a check of fermentation progress and measure the OG and FG.

Give it time Phil and try not to get too disheartened in the meantime.

ATB

 

[Phil_MG]

Hiya Mark, cheers for the advice! Yes you're probably right, I do need to have a little more patience! It's difficult for newbies though as we don't have the backlog of stuff to be drinking like you guys do. I'm planning on getting a fv sometime soon as like you say, the poly cube isn't the best for handling.

I'll probably keep it still though as I can use it for smaller batches such as some of the infamous fiery ginger beer.

Cheers anyway though!

 

[Phil_MG]

To say it's only two days later, I've had another taste today and it's totally different. Miles less malty and the flavour of the hops is coming more much more prominently, who'd have thought just a couple of days and it would make such a massive difference.

I've noticed too that now it's stopped fermenting and bubbling so much, everything's settling out into the bottom and it's a fair bit clearer at the top, although still quite murky towards the bottom. Suppose I'll give it another 3-4 days of clearing and then I'll get it bottled. Just looking forward to drinking a pint of it now :drink:

 

[cask is best]

Hi Phil. Where did you get the kit. I had one years ago got it bought as a Crimbo present and it was one of the best pints i had had but i haven't been able to find any since. That's if it's the same sort of kit. Mine was a newton and ridley [Coronation st] Porter but all you did was add water leave it to ferment and draw it straight from the bag [Think it was called brew bag] into a pint glass and enjoyed. Don't think it was for bottling. It was a bit of a novelty but as i said the pint was excellent.

:

 

[Phil_MG]

Hi Phil. Where did you get the kit. I had one years ago got it bought as a Crimbo present and it was one of the best pints i had had but i haven't been able to find any since. That's if it's the same sort of kit. Mine was a newton and ridley [Coronation st] Porter but all you did was add water leave it to ferment and draw it straight from the bag [Think it was called brew bag] into a pint glass and enjoyed. Don't think it was for bottling. It was a bit of a novelty but as i said the pint was excellent.

:

Lots of places seem to stock them now. It's made by brupaks and it's called the brewbox. It's basically a polycube, and although doing it all in the polycube isn't the best, I'm let to believe the ingredients are top notch stuff. I bet it would be far better off being done in a proper fv and bottled.

 

[Phil_MG]

Well the pilsner is clearing up quite well. Unfortunately I've had to chuck about 20% of the brew as tipping the polycube just disturbed a load of stuff inside it and ended up with loads of black bits and sediment floating around in the last few bottles. I don't think the poly cube is much good really as an all in one kit, but I'll keep it anyway. I might do some smaller brews in there at some point.

Anyway...moving on from that. I've had a little bit of a spending spree today.......

Oh dear...it's getting addictive :shock:

 

[cask is best]

Does your lass know you have got that much money left at the end of the week to spend enjoying yourself :)

 

[Phil_MG]

Does your lass know you have got that much money left at the end of the week to spend enjoying yourself :)

Well I worked 70 hours last week so I was entitled to do as I pleased with the disposable cash. She's already had words with me about where I'm going to put all this when we move into our new gaff (two bed end town house with no garage). :whistle:

 

[shocker]

Polycubes are a good bit of kit - in their place .They make a good secondary resting vessel and a useful temporary container for bottling and suchlike .Dont rate them much as an all-in-one though.

Back in the 80s ,before health and safety ruined our lives ,shops sold sherry and wine by the pint or litre from cardboardbox'd polypins/cubes ,and were glad to give away the empties .So many of us made extensive use of them .Come to that brewers like Fullers would sell 40pts of ESB or whatever in them ,leaving you with the container. The proper vinyl ones tend to sell for a lot of money now ,saw one on e bat for £18+p&p .Most you see now are polythene bags in a box and not so re-user freindly but much cheaper .Come to that ,the old ones with the cardboard box made a fair mash tub .

Dave lines gave a recipe for ESB made and dispensed in a polycube years ago ,so there are many uses for them but there are better ways to use them than an all in one .Get yourself a FV bucket to start out in then use your poly to rest the beer after fermenting in the bucket ,with an airlock on .Then its an easy job to bottle or keg from the cube . And from what you say ,thast resting period is just what you are needing .Never mind the instructions on miracle kits - they always focus on how quickly you can have your beer as they see this as a selling point .One just has to accept that the first brews are going to have to be waited on ,but this should get you into the habit of getting a batch on every 2 to 4 weeks to ensure that in the future you have a constant supply.

One trick when starting out is to split the brew into several demijohns after the primary fermentation....this way you have a chance of having some turn out ok if part of the batch goes wrong. Gives you the chance to try dry hopping different portions to get the taste you want .And it will improve with waiting .Good luck ,mate !

 

[plumpton]

Glad you have invested in a proper set-up as I am sure you will be able to achieve the results you are striving for.

That Woodfordes Wherry kit is an amazing pint!

I bottled mine 10 days ago and its clearing nice, I may have had a cheeky bottle yesterday to check it :whistle:

You will have to keep us all informed on how you get on with this brew and I am personally interested in how your beer king keg works out.

:drunk:

 

[Phil_MG]

Glad you have invested in a proper set-up as I am sure you will be able to achieve the results you are striving for.

That Woodfordes Wherry kit is an amazing pint!

I bottled mine 10 days ago and its clearing nice, I may have had a cheeky bottle yesterday to check it :whistle:

You will have to keep us all informed on how you get on with this brew and I am personally interested in how your beer king keg works out.

:drunk:

Do you have a keg then or are you interested in getting one?

Main reason I got one is that bottling can be a little time consuming. Although it's probably necessary if your brewing a lager. I haven't really got space for the empty bottles either so it just makes things a lot easier.

It's still bubbling away nicely and I've had a check of the gravity. We're at 1020 from 1039 SG and that's only after two days so going well so far. Smells delish too after carefully removing the lid for a few mins. I'll be quite happy if it gets down to 1010 but that might be a bit optimistic looking at everyone else's reviews. I think I should perhaps have brewed it a bit shorter than what I did but nevermind.