New kit from Mangrove Jacks - 2.5% !!!

GhostShip · Wednesday at 2:15 PM

A new kit from Mangrove Jacks - Session Amber Ale. The ABV is 2.5%, which would leave you thinking it's going to be really thin, but apparently, there has been some 'ingenious blending of special low alcohol malts and standard malts'.

Makes 40 pints of easy drinking Amber ale at just 2.5%. Perfect for a 'school night'!

Rwilts · Wednesday at 2:48 PM

They must see a market for it , but personally I don't , lets ee how long it lasts!

peterpiper · 2024-11-22T20:36:40+0000

Low alcohol malts??
I guess that they're roasted malts. And that 'ingenious blending', is a marketing term to persuade you, to fork out for a weak beer.

fluketamer · 2024-11-22T23:16:51+0000

this looks like a joke.
i am not buying the ingenious malt nonsense.

basicaly it looks like they just took any old kit and changed the instructions to say no extra fermentables needed.

still not buying it . lol

thats not session ale btw thats small beer or low beer or whatever you guys call it over there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_beer

a great fruit radler at 2.5 % is shoeferheoffer grapefruit.

i havent had or seen small beer since the early 80's in the midwest,

Bitter_Dave · 2024-11-23T11:52:54+0000

I think there probably is a market for tasty lower ABV kits, but I don't think they have invented something called 'low alcohol malts!' Maybe if they created malt extract that was mashed on the hot side and provided a relatively low fermenting yeast and a load of hops it would taste fuller than than the achohol suggests. But there is no suggestion this is what they are doing. I've had Kernal Table beer which is 3% ABV and I thought was decent, but it takes real skill to make low ABV beers.

Larse · 2024-11-23T12:10:20+0000

fluketamer said:
basicaly it looks like they just took any old kit and changed the instructions to say no extra fermentables needed.

still not buying it . lol

I think you're spot on with that.

Bitter_Dave · 2024-11-23T12:10:28+0000

Just did a Google of it. They have kept the ibu bitterness fairly low and provide empire ale yeast with it (which is less less fermentable than a lot of yeasts), so it should have some balance. It has some dry hops. You would have to adjust your expectations a bit but it might be ok. 2.5% is ambitious though. You could always add a bit of medium DME to nudge it up a bit and add a bit more body.