Kit Brewers.

[Portreath]

If I'm low on available time to put on an AG brew I'd not think twice about putting a kit on. I get through a lot of beer in my kitchen (not sitting in the corner getting fisshed) for ribs, braised pork, brisket etc etc..and some of the kits have been very enjoyably drinkable too.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I do kits , pimped up kits , extract & extract with mini mash or steeped grains. Some kits are better than others and well if you use chlorinated tap water table sugar and drink early what do you expect? - My first kit (tom caxtons?) turned out well enough to get me to try another. A brewferm abdij and after that I was hooked. I can't afford the extra time ag takes, but i'm happy to try any process apart from the full mash. maybe one day! . An extract wheat beer is a thing of beauty - you can be all packed away in under 2 hours

 

[DethApostle]

I think Pavros hit the nail on the head, if you brew kits to the instructions then you're more likely to be disappointed.
If you apply proper fermentation and conditioning times or tinker with the brew length or even with the ingredients (DME/LME, swap out or increase hops, change yeast) then you can create a very high quality beer.
One of our club members only brews kit beers and her beers easily stand up against the AG beers on show (and the quality of those isn't bad at all!)

I still brew kits now (3 Mangrove Jacks kits in fermenters as we speak!) even though I had a Grainfather and will shortly be returning to a 3V AG setup.
DA

 

[Sandimas]

I still do kits too, even though I'm an AG brewer. Have a Brewferm Oud Vlaams Bruin in the FV at the moment, it's staple here and I do one every 6 months or so. The Bewferm kits really are great. Also do the occasional Wherry when they're on offer in Wilko and Tiny Rebel Cwtch. I even did a Wilko kit last summer (Golden Ale) but supplemented it with a mini-mash rather than brewing sugar, and some late hops - came out good.

I think the vanilla kits with no hops are the trickiest ones to get good. I usually brew short, use the best additions I can (spraymalt or a mini-mash) when required, and add some late hops in the style of the beer e.g. EKG for a British ale or Saaz for a lager.

 

[Linalmeemow]

I only ever got the twang from liquid malt based kits - when I moved to DME brewing the twang was gone, and I've never had a hint of it doing AG. Based on my experience it has to be LME-related.

 

[Banbeer]

I do kits and AG and the kits I do are temp controlled and I generally use a different yeast so get slightly better results than brewing without temp control, AG brews do taste better most of the time but I have made some great kit brews over the years and will keep making them as time is a key factor for me. What I don't like to see on the forum is certain people slagging off kit brewers and trying to persuade them to switch to AG because it is the Dogs 'B's without knowing the persons ability, budget and space needed etc.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't like to see on the forum is certain people slagging off kit brewers and trying to persuade them to switch to AG because it is the Dogs 'B's without knowing the persons ability, budget and space needed etc

I agree, occasionally the answer to a kit brewers question is "move to AG you'll never go back" which may be true but as you say it doesn't take into account their persons ability, budget and space needed so isn't helpful.

 

[aamcle]

I brew kits from time to time, if you do it right :- Good yeast , proper temperature control during fermentation and leave the beer to properly condition not just carbonate the results can be quite good.

This of course depends on not buying the cheapest **** kit you can lay your hands on, kit or AG you need good ingredients.

Aamcle

 

[Kenboy]

As others have said, kits have their place and as a novice learning the game, it's the cheapest, easiest and safest way to learn.

I'm using premium kits and they do me fine as I'm making little tweaks to each one, such as adding cscac nibs a Young's modha porter, mango to an IPA kits.

This week I have a basic 1 can kit that's I've added extra malt, sugar, better yeast. Then added mango puree and extra hops for the last three days. When I'm bottling I'm also going to add about 200g of lactose diluted into water.

This to me is my proving ground where I experiment with a kit so I can eventually graduate to all grain.

Everyone loves my kit made beers.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've just finished reading "New Beer Guide" by Brian Glover, 1988. It's a fascinating survey of the ups and downs of the "real ale revolution" in the mid-80s. What surprised me most is the number of new breweries (I suppose we'd call them micro breweries today) and pub / hotel breweries set up by the mega-brewers who used malt extract. In fact in some areas, malt extract for commercial, small-scale brewing predominates. I suppose, then, although I've never tried them, that those kits which use extract and separate hops rather than those using pre-hopped stuff should be as good as some of the most sought after commercial brews of the day.
Or have I got it wrong, do all kits use pre-hopped extract?

 

[HoppyTommy]

My dad alternates between AG brews with our Grainfather and Coopers Canadian blonde kits (with extra hops added at various stages). He does this to save on time. He was convinced the AG was superior until he got his corny kegs mixed up and was drinking the wrong one for a while.

He had convinced himself it was an AG brew, and how nice it was, how the mouth feel was superior, how the flavours were less harsh etc. Until he checked his spreadsheet and was amazed to discover he was chugging back a kit brew instead.

It is just that the power of suggestion?

One thing to add though is that we now use a temperature controlled fermentation chamber for both types of brew and for crash cooling. We didn't bother with kits only and I think this really helps.

 

[Richie_asg1]

From a beginners perspective I would not have started out at all if it were not for the promise on the kits saying I could brew my own beer. Yes I see them as expensive, but compared to the outlay of a grainfather and other bits of shiny equipment it is just simpler to get going. I see them as brewing with training wheels. The result is good enough for you to believe you can do this yourself and have a reasonable product, but not so good as you want to stay there. So in my opinion it's a good thing that kits are not as good as AG brewing - or nobody would progress if they were.

 

[Sadfield]

Agreed, I don't think AG is necessarily better than extract. In fact I'm pretty sure the best of show winner at last year's Irish NHC competition was an extract beer.

Out of interest, what was the beer?

 

[strange-steve]

It was a weizenbock, pale wheat extract with some steeped grains.

 

[Druncan]

After almost three years doing mainly maxi extract (25kg JC LME/HLME) steeped grains and BIAB. It is mainly availability of time that dictates what I brew. Sold about 3,000 pints and never had one returned! Freshness of ingredients is everything.
I am also sadly obsessive about my sanitisation and technique, as I cannot afford to get it wrong :tinhat:
I did 100litres HLME yesterday afternoon. Now planning a luxury BIAB with Halcyon fine crush malt and challenger hops to liquor back to 46l but it will take most of the day. BIAB does smell nicer as you brew though

 

[Pirate_Pete]

I only ever brew kits and they definitely are not rank.
Generally it's a Coopers kit.
Dry Light Malt Extract.
Extra Hops.
Steeped Grain.
Not the kit yeast.
Temperature control.

By the time I steep & boil the grain. Clean & sterilise everything etc I'm probably looking at a couple of hours to get a brew on.
I have thought about AG brewing but I just can't justify the time at the moment.
Maybe in 5 years time when I retire I might.

If I wanted to drink rank homebrew I'd wander up the road to ****'s house.
He brews "Supermarket Homebrand Bitter" & a kilo of table sugar.
Left in the sun during summer. Ferments in 3 days.
**** is a really nice bloke. Lets me borrow tools, but his beer is rank.
He describes my beer as "Like that craftbrew sh*t they're making these days".

 

[GhostShip]

I'm with you @Pirate_Pete, AG brewing will probably be something I move to come the day I retire. Until then, it's kits for me and with help from the good people on here, I'll just continue to get the best out of them I can. To just describe all kits as 'rank' is definitely not fair. My latest (St Peter's Golden Ale) is the best I've ever brewed and stands comparison with any pub beer. I just wish I could replicate the result with all kits - but I guess that's the challenge!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

GhostShip as a kit brewer who doesn't do AG do you get the "home brew twang"

 

[GhostShip]

GhostShip as a kit brewer who doesn't do AG do you get the "home brew twang"

I have had it, but have also done kits that haven't had it. If I'm honest, it seems to be pot luck, which points to something outside of my control. I think it's the extract, which has either been in the can/pouch too long, or has been stored at temperatures that are too high.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have had it, but have also done kits that haven't had it. If I'm honest, it seems to be pot luck, which points to something outside of my control. I think it's the extract, which has either been in the can/pouch too long, or has been stored at temperatures that are too high.

Its something that is regularly discussed and there are many differing views on what causes it - https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/homebrew-twang.68929/