New Wilko kits

[stevey]

Mine went to 1.010, but I swapped the yeast for nottingham. I didn't think 6g of yeast would be enough.

 

[Spike101uk]

Finally got round to doing the chocmeister with 1kg of medium dry malt, made to 23 litres, minus a but as had tap on bottom of fv open, oops, on fridge at a 20 for the next 2 weeks at least

 

[bobukbrewer]

woodefords wherry 3 kg kit £17

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/woodfordes-wherry-real-ale-kit-3kg-makes-40-pints/p/0207610

 

[Scaggs]

My 'Feeling Hoppy' fermented very slow, even at a constant 20c, and finished at 1.012. I added Muntons Brew enhancer and a bit of honey at the beginning and so the final abv was about 4.5. It's our favourite drink at the moment so it's disappearing fast.

 

[AXW123]

Mine was also very slow but seemed to increase when I added the hops. I added 1200 g of sugar because that’s all I had. Eventually brewed out to 1.000. This was my first brew (I used to make quite a bit of wine) and I was really impressed with it. No twang or cider after taste just decent ipa. Would certainly make again and after a month is clear and very tasty.

 

[AXW123]

Sorry to be absolutely clear it was a feeling Hoppy wilko kit.

 

[Nicks90]

Upper mine to 22c and it's got a foam on the surface so seems to be active again.
However as the hops and my own hop addition has been in 5 days, I've taken them out.

 

[Nicks90]

It's finished at 1010 for the past 3 days so bottling time.
Done 15 bottles using grapefruit juice as the priming sugar, worked out I needed 30ml of pure grapefruit juice to make an equivalent of 2.5gm sugar.
Had a sneaky pint of uncarb'd with the juice as a taster before proceeding and it's really rather good!
Rest was done as per normal as a comparison

 

[Nicks90]

Here's my initial review of the Wilko hoppy kit primed with grapefruit juice....


Bloody brilliant!
It's got a real bitter front taste on the tongue, followed by the hoppy pale ale from the base beer. After that you get the grapefruit after taste and lingering citrus flavour.
Definitely unusual, definitely not your usual IPA but infinitely drinkable.
The non modified kit that I bottled is quite nice, a sessionable IPA but generally nothing to shout about. Pleasant but unremarkable

Incidentally the grapefruit IPA hasn't cleared very well and is a bit cloudy. Doesn't bother me, but might bother the visually analy retentive

 

[Scottyburto]

Did u boil and reduce the grapefruit juice or straight from the carton?

 

[Nicks90]

Straight from the carton

 

[Luvabeer]

Grapefruit juice I’m a novice so this as really pricked my eyes up. I’ve been buying Carbonation drops (expensive) to say the least! What amount would you say for a 568ml bottle?
Cheers

 

[Nicks90]

Depends on the juice. But for the carb level I wanted, I needed 2.5gm sugar per bottle.
The ingredient declaration on the bottle will tell you the amount of sugar per 100ml. So bit of maths and it was 30ml for what I bought in Asda.
Check if the juice is pasteurised or you should boil it first before adding it.
Just supping another one and it is really good.

 

[GhostShip]

I love reading about how some of the cheaper kits can be pimped. It really whets the appetite. The grapefruit IPA sounds great!

 

[Spike101uk]

Had a taster of the chocmeister after 2+2+2 just to see how it improves and initial tasting, it's thin, really thin and not a lot else, brewed to 23 as per instructions .hopefully some flavours come out soon

 

[terrym]

Had a taster of the chocmeister after 2+2+2 just to see how it improves and initial tasting, it's thin, really thin and not a lot else, brewed to 23 as per instructions .hopefully some flavours come out soon

If you made this kit according to what I understand are the instructions which only call for an additional kilo of sugar, I am not surprised it's turned out thin. One can kits nearly always require extra malt either as malt extract and/or a partial mash and brewing short is a good idea too. I often brew Coopers stout and always add 500g DME minimum to these plus other adjuncts and flavourings, have recently started to add a chocolate malt steep as well, and brew to 19 litres, and they turn out fine.

 

[Spike101uk]

If you made this kit according to what I understand are the instructions which only call for an additional kilo of sugar, I am not surprised it's turned out thin. One can kits nearly always require extra malt either as malt extract and/or a partial mash and brewing short is a good idea too. I often brew Coopers stout and always add 500g DME minimum to these plus other adjuncts and flavourings, have recently started to add a chocolate malt steep as well, and brew to 19 litres, and they turn out fine.

Definetly not according to instructions I subbed 1kg of sugar for 1kg medium dried malt

 

[terrym]

Definetly not according to instructions I subbed 1kg of sugar for 1kg medium dried malt

Ah well. What can I say? You did the right thing. In addition to the DME and brewing short I add golden syrup, coffee, dark muscavado sugar and now chocolate malt to mine. Maybe that's the difference. Nonetheless I hope yours comes good after all.

 

[Rog.T.B.]

Went in my local Wilko yesterday (hoping to find a cheap Sundew tbh) but had neither that nor these new kits. I don't think the price is unreasonable given they come with hops for dry hopping (except the stout). A kilo bag of brew enhancer (50/50 split of dme & dextrose???) is £6 so we're talking £22 total. I'm OK with that for a 20-23L ferment.

the B&M kits are great imo a bit of a bargain, especially @£6 a go, but are unlikely to be around for long. Get them while you can.

Hi, what is B&M short for. Cheers Roger.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Hi, what is B&M short for. Cheers Roger.

It was initially known as Billington & Mayman - a name which derived from the man behind the business, Malcolm Billington - but was shortened to B&M, short for Bargain Madness.

The first store opened that same year in Cleveleys, Lancashire, and Malcolm remained company director until October 1996.

In December 2004, the retailer was bought by Simon and Bobby Arora from Phildrew Investments, at which point B&M's mini empire had expanded to 21 stores.

In the following two years it continued to go from strength to strength, with the business taking on the GlynWebb chain of DIY stores, and converting them into the popular B&M Homestore format.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/4711430/what-bm-stands-for/