Gozdawa beer kits

[MattL]

Hi newbie member here. I have successfully brewed 12 different kits over the last 8 months with no real issues. Most have been Coopers kits but I have also tried one or two others. I got a Gozdawa Vienna lager kit at Christmas which I put in the FV on the 28th Dec. The SG was 1.04 (so not really gonna be a strong one!) but 8 days in it seems stuck at 1.02. Anyone else tried these kits? Had any problems with them? It's sat at around 18/20 degrees so that shouldn't be an issue. Also does anyone know if it's lager or ale yeast in these kits? I can't seem to find much out about them. Cheers . Matt

 

[clibit]

Hi Matt, I'm not a kit brewer so I don't know that kit, but they seem to have appeared recently. Some kits are notorious for sticking around 1.020, Woodfordes Wherry for example. People avoid this, with kits that are known to have a problem, by using a different yeast, and usually a bigger packet of yeast. Or by adding another packet of yeast, usually a different yeast. You really need 11/12g of yeast, and even then the yeast in packets attached to kits are often in bad condition because of sitting on a shelf in a shop.

A possible solution could be to buy a packet of Gervin ale yeast from Wilko, it's a very reliable yeast with a very neutral flavour. Add that to the beer. It's not guaranteed to work, but it might, and it's only about ��£1.75. Home brew stores sell it too, usually for less, like ��£1.25 to ��£1.50.

Another option is to raise the temperature - up above 20C, it's ok at this stage to raise it. The yeast must be an ale yeast as lager yeasts need much lower temperatures. And give the FV a swirl, to get the yeast back into suspension in the beer.

 

[MattL]

Hi clibit ..cheers for that. I might bang another yeast in. One question: would it matter adding an ale yeast if the original yeast was a lager one? There isn't much info on the packaging or on the t'internet so I'm not sure which it was. The temp guide was a bit ambiguous too !

 

[clibit]

If the instructions said 18-20C, or similar, it's an ale yeast.

And it won't matter anyway. Keep it cool, under 20C, and Gervin yeast won't affect the flavour much if at all.

 

[pms67]

They have a website, the beers look good (they always do!) and i think they have some info on their yeast.

 

[Drzava]

I was one of several people to review different Gozdawa kits for an Irish homebrew site. The overwhelming consensus was that the kits were rubbish. IIRC the person who made the dunkelweiss (and maybe cider?) was happy, but everyone else thought they were pants. Mine (Milky Stout) eventually went down the drain. I wasn't the only one to do so! Apparently they have a bad rep on Polish sites too.

 

[clibit]

Godzawful?

 

[Drzava]

By coincidence, just this afternoon on another forum another poster has consigned his Gozdawa kit (Belgian ale) to the drain!

 

[MattL]

Oooo that doesn't sound good! Cheers for the info. I'll post my feedback once it finishes (if ever) and its bottled.

 

[MattL]

Bottled this 2 weeks ago and I've just tried one....Not too bad - very clear , very little sediment, good head retention....not very strong and the taste not fantastic but it may improve with age. Not completely derserving of all the negativity surrounding these. I may try another before making my mind up on this range.:grin:

 

[Gaspode]

These kits are currently 70% off, so 40 pints for just over 8€

https://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/beercider-kits-gozdawa-connoisseur-34-kg-beer-c-1_259.html

Maybe the price drop is as a result of the bad reviews and wanting to get rid of stock to get them gone.

 

[MattL]

That is very cheap!!

 

[Drzava]

I tried another of my 'long term' (6 months in bottle) Milky Stout bottles a week or so ago. Still crap..... They are very cheap now though.....

 

[MattL]

Wonder why it's soooo bad? The Vienna Lager isn't that bad... I did add extra sugar to it to try and pep up the % .....

 

[MattL]

Bought a Gozdawa Canadian IPA from The HomebrewCompany for around £16 delivered (2 can kit..) as it was soooo cheap! The Vienna Lager was not as bad as I feared so let's see how this one turns out.....

 

[Jackal.]

Have just brewed a Gozwawa Burton Pale Ale and shouldn't have bothered. It will be going down the drain and I won't be bothering to brew the next can. Sweet, insipid, should have saved myself the sugar.

 

[dcbrookes]

I had one of their IPA kits - it was terrible and went down the drain.

 

[foxy]

An old thread I know, it was when David Heath first started brewing, have you tried Woodfordes Headcracker?
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/newbie-with-woodfordes-headcracker.51998/