Hambleton Bard Old English Kit

[rickthebrew]

Has anyone tried this ale kit at all? It is all spray dried malt extract and hop extract - they sell it in my local homebrew shop for 12.99

 

[commsbiff]

Let us know how it is. I've been looking in these, and may do one shortly after I move. I'm thinking there'll probably less of the dreaded kit 'twang' as spraymalt doesn't deteriorate like LME does. What weight is the kit?

 

[rickthebrew]

not sure of the weight of the kit - but just seen it on [THBSTCBN] for 9.78!! says to add 1.5kg of sugar and the reviews on the site are pretty good so gonna get one and start it next week when i`ve bottled m y woodfordes wherry!

I just started tucking into my geordie mild i bottled about three weeks ago - it`s quite drinkable compared to my taster last week so can`t really complain for a 7.99 kit ! maybe it would benifit from some dried hops as the twang seems to have mellowed but it lacks a little flavour - the wherry is really good though!

i`ll keep you posted!

[EDITTED by jamesb as per forum rules]

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[commsbiff]

Hey Rick - cheers. I see the bit about adding extra sugar. I would guess (and happy to be told I'm wrong) that you would want to add dme (spraymalt) to this kit as opposed to any other sugar in order to realise the benefit of having a dme derived kit. As to where you buy your kit from, that's up to you, but there are plenty of websites out there that our members will happily recommend... and some others they won't.

 

[rickthebrew]

cheers for the tip - if i use spraymalt instead of sugar it would cost me about the same as a kit such as muntons premium gold - have you any experience with these? I think i need to buy another FV and sweet talk the missus into setting up more brews in our small kitchen!

I suppose you get what you pay for!

 

[commsbiff]

I suppose you get what you pay for!

I think that this is the main point when it comes to kits and their additives (sugar in this case). You could go for normal sugar, brewing sugar or kit enhancer for example - it just seems a shame to me not to get the best from the kit (esp from a dme derived kit, you may avoid the dreaded kit twang altogether?). I'm still an uber-noob myself - but quite addicted to this website and I've read ALL posts (minus some of the welcome ones :? ) since I've joined and I'm learning all the time. There are plenty of very experienced brewers on here who will help along the way - all you gotta do is ask :thumb: . Good luck :

 

[rickthebrew]

cheers for the help! - your right this site is really good (i`m new to brewing to!) I`ve got a woodfordes wherry nearly ready to bottle (gonna prime the bottles with medium spraymalt) then try a different kit or the hambleton bard - still can`t decide!
Then when thats on i`m gonna try brewing a summer ale that is an extract kit which looks really interesting and pretty good value too, let you know how it all goes!!

 

[rickthebrew]

Just finished bottling another woodfordes wherry - looks pretty cloudy but it always clears up! Primed it with medium DME to see if this makes a difference, but its such a good kit anyway!
So next in the FV probably a woodfordes admirals revenge - gonna keg one and bottle one see how it differs - then on with the summer ale recipe from http://www.brewuk.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - which is a kit made up of dried hops, DME, crushed crystal malt and safale yeast - involves a little more work but will help me along the way to AG!!!
Need to build up a winter stock - however the carrot wine looks pretty tempting already!!