Problems with Festival Bitter

[APINTA]

Hi I have brewed a a Festival Landlord finest bitter and on the 8th of April transferd it to a Keg and it told me to leave it for 14 days in a warm place which I did then take it somewhere cool for 3 weeks which I am doing at this moment. I thought I would give it a taste. Firstly it had a large head and took it time to go down secondly the beer tasted very hoppy indeed.The 3 weeks will be up next week I am concerned about the very hoppy taste of this beer should I leave it longer before drinking it and about the froth should I take some pressure out of the keg My Keg has valve so should take some out. I have to say the hopness of this brew at the moment It just tastes of hops at the moment not very nice to drink

 

[Graz]

Hmm, making one of these at the moment...

The froth will certainly release a lot of the hop aroma so maybe this is what you're getting. The hop characteristics will die down over time so maybe it's not to your taste now but in 3-4 weeks it could be spot on.

To be honest the only Festival kit I've made that wasn't quite how I'd like was Pilgrims Hope, the rest of them have been pretty good.

 

[Tanzanite]

Hi I have brewed a a Festival Landlord finest bitter and on the 8th of April transferd it to a Keg and it told me to leave it for 14 days in a warm place which I did then take it somewhere cool for 3 weeks which I am doing at this moment. I thought I would give it a taste. Firstly it had a large head and took it time to go down secondly the beer tasted very hoppy indeed.The 3 weeks will be up next week I am concerned about the very hoppy taste of this beer should I leave it longer before drinking it and about the froth should I take some pressure out of the keg My Keg has valve so should take some out. I have to say the hopness of this brew at the moment It just tastes of hops at the moment not very nice to drink

I had problems with these kits, they had a smell and tasted, intense of nail varnish, so contacted Ritchies. I spoke to Mr Ritchie on the phone yesterday and explained the problem, today i sent a 500ml sample to them . He said it will be investigated and we will speak again next week.

 

[Davemc]

I recently did the Festival Landord and to be honest didn't find it that hoppy. How long did you leave the hops in when fermenting?

 

[APINTA]

I done as instructed after 5 days put the hops in then when it came racking put the muslin sock over the end of my pump and transferred it to my keg I have now left it for near enough 4 weeks Should I leave it until later for it still to settle ?

 

[Clint]

Sorry getting a bit confused...just run us through your brew schedule with this again please....
When you started,your og,how long in primary to get to your fg etc.
I've done a few festival kits and found they take at least three weeks to ferment out fully including the slight difference in fg when they advise adding the hops. The aipa takes nearly a month to get done. I've enjoyed all mine so far...done a second aipa and got the new world saison rattling away now in the brew fridge. If you've primed and kegged to early it could be very busy!

Cheers

Clint

 

[APINTA]

Sorry getting a bit confused...just run us through your brew schedule with this again please....
When you started,your og,how long in primary to get to your fg etc.
I've done a few festival kits and found they take at least three weeks to ferment out fully including the slight difference in fg when they advise adding the hops. The aipa takes nearly a month to get done. I've enjoyed all mine so far...done a second aipa and got the new world saison rattling away now in the brew fridge. If you've primed and kegged to early it could be very busy!

Cheers

Clint

Sorry I forgot the og but I did follow the instructions to the letter I think I might of tried it to early. The other thing is when I have tried to take a sample i get rather a lot of froth.So is it me trying it to early Just looked again the beer is still a bit cloudy

 

[Davemc]

I normally do the primary fermentation, then add the hops as advised in the instructions, then after about another week, transfer to another fermenter, leave for several weeks to fully ferment out. By this time I find they have cleared nicely and the flavour mellowed. It is then ready to bottle or keg. Sounds like you kegged it a little early. I find the festival kits take longer to fully ferment than they say in the instructions. Give it a little longer and it will improve

 

[APINTA]

I normally do the primary fermentation, then add the hops as advised in the instructions, then after about another week, transfer to another fermenter, leave for several weeks to fully ferment out. By this time I find they have cleared nicely and the flavour mellowed. It is then ready to bottle or keg. Sounds like you kegged it a little early. I find the festival kits take longer to fully ferment than they say in the instructions. Give it a little longer and it will improve

Thanks It does seem I have kegged to early But will it clear the beer and the froth come down a bit as when I tried a sample more froth than beer my pressure in the keg is about 4.5 psi so would go down a bit froth wise as well

 

[BeerisGOD]

I had problems with these kits, they had a smell and tasted, intense of nail varnish, so contacted Ritchies. I spoke to Mr Ritchie on the phone yesterday and explained the problem, today i sent a 500ml sample to them . He said it will be investigated and we will speak again next week.

Keep us updated on this thread please mate he interested to see his response

 

[BeerisGOD]

Sorry I forgot the og but I did follow the instructions to the letter I think I might of tried it to early. The other thing is when I have tried to take a sample i get rather a lot of froth.So is it me trying it to early Just looked again the beer is still a bit cloudy

Did u do a FG reading?

 

[APINTA]

Yes I did but I did not keep a record which I know i should of done and now I do keep records now though

 

[Tanzanite]

Keep us updated on this thread please mate he interested to see his response

yes will do :thumb:

 

[BoozeDude]

I've had problems with Festival Suffolk Strong Ale secondary fermentation and conditioning. Loads of gas in the PB but the brew won't carbonate, flat as a pancake. Tasted OK, but it wasn't great.

I'm pretty meticulous, and keep good notes of my brews, but in case it was my mistake I made another kit of the same, with exactly the same results.

Given up on this kit now.

The Festival Oaked Cider kit was very good though, very good indeed!

Be interested to know what answers you get.

 

[APINTA]

I've had problems with Festival Suffolk Strong Ale secondary fermentation and conditioning. Loads of gas in the PB but the brew won't carbonate, flat as a pancake. Tasted OK, but it wasn't great.

I'm pretty meticulous, and keep good notes of my brews, but in case it was my mistake I made another kit of the same, with exactly the same results.

Given up on this kit now.

The Festival Oaked Cider kit was very good though, very good indeed!

Be interested to know what answers you get.

Ithat cider kit sweet or dry if it is sweet can you make it dry?

 

[BoozeDude]

The cider is quite dry, and lightly carbonated. Very nice too. Can't wait to make it again :)

 

[APINTA]

I normally do the primary fermentation, then add the hops as advised in the instructions, then after about another week, transfer to another fermenter, leave for several weeks to fully ferment out. By this time I find they have cleared nicely and the flavour mellowed. It is then ready to bottle or keg. Sounds like you kegged it a little early. I find the festival kits take longer to fully ferment than they say in the instructions. Give it a little longer and it will improve

I wonder do you add the priming sugar when you rack into the second FB or do I wait until it goes into the Keg then add the priming sugar

 

[Tanzanite]

I wonder do you add the priming sugar when you rack into the second FB or do I wait until it goes into the Keg then add the priming sugar

KEG :thumb:

 

[APINTA]

Thank You:thumb:

 

[terrym]

@APINTA
Although I know you have a few recent brews under your belt you might still find this useful in helping you with some of your queries
Basic beginners guide to brewing your own beer from a kit - The HomeBrew Forum