Re: Festival Razorback IPA Review

[essexjim]

I added the hops after 5 days (as per instructions), 10+ days later I finally bottled it.

Lost the Punk IPA aroma as a result and makes me sleepy even after one bottle. Still nice though, 1/2 way between a Mr. President and Jaipur.

I would recommend waiting until fermentation is mostly finished before adding hops as the time it takes to brew seems a little unpredictable or at least a lot longer than the kit instructions.

Tasty beer though.

 

[BeerisGOD]

ill be bottling this one Friday. due to a holiday vacation last week I had no time to rack, so this will be almost five weeks in FV.
like Jim above mentions I think this one does take a while. I was still seeing a bubble in the airlock every two and half mins before I went away so Im glad in a sense I've given it the extra time.
reminds me of the Belgium beers I was drinking (colour) whilst abroad. be interested to know what malts were used for this kit as it has an orangey/grapefruit appearance. just wish id done this beer a couple of months ago now.
mine seems to have halted at 1.016 but if my calculations are correct it should be about 73% attenuation from the OG of 1.062 making it around 6% abv.
just out of interest did anyone else have a higher than recommend FG?

 

[pms67]

Since I moved the bottles into a colder place about a week ago I thought I would try a sample to see how it is getting on. I wasn't expecting anything great but it is a really nice pint already. For a first attempt I am very happy with it.

Quite a strong grapefruit taste and fairly bitter but I've definitely had worse in a pub and very drinkable. Can't wait to see what this will be like in a few weeks and would definitely make this again.

Here is what it looks like.

Pint looks good mate but I will tell you what,if you took that picture upstairs you better stop brewing for a week and cut down those bushes/trees !!!
You won't get out :grin::thumb:

 

[BeerisGOD]

pleased to say come bottling time the hydro reading was 1.014 which prob given another week would have come down a bit further. maybe the hops woke the yeast up a bit.
the sample was on the bitter side but Im sure with a few weeks conditioning this will be a great pint. I added 10g less priming sugar due to the higher than recommended reading.
be interested to see how this one fairs against the youngs AIPA

 

[Jon75]

Pint looks good mate but I will tell you what,if you took that picture upstairs you better stop brewing for a week and cut down those bushes/trees !!!
You won't get out :grin::thumb:

They belong to my downstairs neighbour so can't do anything about them...

As for the FG question above, my FG was 1.004 I think, it was my OG that was a little low.

 

[lhooq]

Hello - got this kit going (having had some good results from a previous Festival kit).

A question, as a relative newbie: (much) earlier on the thread someone mentioned cooling in secondary to help settle everything - how cold / how long would you do this - assuming you want the yeast alive and well after that for priming and bottling?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[BeerisGOD]

Hello - got this kit going (having had some good results from a previous Festival kit).

A question, as a relative newbie: (much) earlier on the thread someone mentioned cooling in secondary to help settle everything - how cold / how long would you do this - assuming you want the yeast alive and well after that for priming and bottling?

Thanks for any advice!

I believe secondary is a week at ambient temp and then cold crash which is at a minimum of 5c for a day or two to get most of the already dropped out yeast even more so.
There has been tests

http://brulosophy.com/2014/08/12/primary-only-vs-transfer-to-secondary-exbeeriment-results/

thisthis experiment really goes to show there's not a lot in it if done correctly.
For the first time ill be able to cold crash my beer in the primary phase (new place has garage) so hopefully ill achieve the clear beer everyone is on the quest for without the need to secondary.
Ill be honest I'm already pretty over cautious when racking to the bottling bucket without doing an additional transfer.

Maybe try each way to determine what's best for you

 

[Sidthesquid]

Brewed this with a 19 day fermentation. Added hops on day 14. Fg 1005 = 6% abv. Wow what a stunning drink at 60p a pint it's incredible! ! Sharp bitter taste to start but the flavour ends in a beautiful subtle delicate hoppy way. You will not be disappointed brew it as your next kit if you love hoppy beers great in the summer 🍺🍺🍻

 

[BeerisGOD]

Brewed this with a 19 day fermentation. Added hops on day 14. Fg 1005 = 6% abv. Wow what a stunning drink at 60p a pint it's incredible! ! Sharp bitter taste to start but the flavour ends in a beautiful subtle delicate hoppy way. You will not be disappointed brew it as your next kit if you love hoppy beers great in the summer 🍺🍺🍻

Its a top five Kit beer thats for Sure

 

[gezgin]

I've bought this kit, but I think instructions are not really clear. I made a Young's IPA kit before, and it was advised to add the hops at 1010 SG, and bottle at 1008 FG. Also it was said to add the hops 2-3 days before bottling.

But with this kit, it is advised to add the hops after 5 days. Is it really wise to do that? Because as far as I've read here, the fermentation takes longer than 10 days.

Should I add the hops at about 1010 SG as with the previous kit?

Thanks

 

[BeerisGOD]

all depends on the hydro reading. I think they base it on a quick start with hydrated yeast. plus they want u to buy another. its a business at the end of day. they know it will be of a good standard for u to get another, but if ur a bit more patient and give the beer a nice three weeks (including the dry hop), the difference from good leans more to great.
ive got to admit I can be a bit impatient, like laat week I was pretty sure a small batch of beer im making would be ready. got everything ready for bottling, sterilising and sanitising only to find the SG (which I hoped was the FG) was still at 1.016! basically don't assume ive learnt the lesson the hard way

 

[MrL73]

I'm down to my last 4 bottles of this. It's my best brew so far(only done 4, but still, it's bloody good!).

Following the advise of my LHBS, I let it ferment out, then racked to another bucket to get off the sediment and dry hopped then. Left the hops to sit for 5 days and then racked again to my bottling bucket.

I started on it after a couple of weeks conditioning and it was superb then...my last few bottles are now only 5 weeks old but are tasting better each time I crack one.

I think my best move was getting a brew fridge set up with the temperature controller. Nice steady fermenting temp = much, much better beer.

 

[pms67]

Its a top five Kit beer thats for Sure

Hope you have put it in here

 

[Gazaman]

Ayup chaps.
I’ve got this kit chugging away nicely and should be ready for adding the hops later next week.
I have a question though if you don’t mind, regarding bottling.
This is only my third kit so I’m wondering if my bottling method is the way to go or not.
Basically after dry hopping I transferred to a second bucket with my priming sugar and then bottled from that. I read somewhere on these forums though that it’s a good idea to transfer to a second bucket before dry hopping?! And after the 5 days dry hopping,transfer back into the original (and now cleaned) bucket to bottle.
I’m just wondering if this is a preferred method and if so, then for what reason?
Thanks chaps
Gaz

 

[pms67]

I only use one FV now, I dry hop after fermentation is done, usually 3 or 4 days then I drop the temp to 4 degrees, this drops all the hops out and helps clear the beer.
Of course,you need temp control?
It's a good kit though 👍
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43755

 

[terrym]

Ayup chaps.
I’ve got this kit chugging away nicely and should be ready for adding the hops later next week.
I have a question though if you don’t mind, regarding bottling.
This is only my third kit so I’m wondering if my bottling method is the way to go or not.
Basically after dry hopping I transferred to a second bucket with my priming sugar and then bottled from that. I read somewhere on these forums though that it’s a good idea to transfer to a second bucket before dry hopping?! And after the 5 days dry hopping,transfer back into the original (and now cleaned) bucket to bottle.
I’m just wondering if this is a preferred method and if so, then for what reason?
Thanks chaps
Gaz

There is no 'preferred' method, you simply decide what works best for you.
So, for example
- I rack off into another FV, usually after about 10 days, before dry hopping
- I chuck the hops straight in nowadays, I don't bother with a bag, and I dry hop for about six days, and if I have a cold place I will move the FV into that for the last two days to help further clear the beer
- I use a small nylon mesh sock over the end of the siphon tube (in the FV ) to filter out all the hop bits
- and I don't use a bottling bucket, if bottling I prime the bottles direct.
Others will do all, some, or none of what I do.

 

[Gazaman]

Cheers chaps.
‘Preferred method’ probably wasn’t the best way I could of worded it to be honest. I kinda wanted to know if there was any benefits to adding to a secondary fv either before dry hopping or after.
This is my third kit and my problem really is that previously I’ve just followed instructions without fully understanding the reasons for doing things and the effects certain actions have on the final product.
Perhaps I need to do more research:-)
Thanks again
Gaz

 

[MagnusTS]

There are a few benefits (and a few cons) to using extra FVs for dry hopping and cold crashing. But as others have said you just find what works for you, weighing up what level of extra work you are prepared to put in against perceived improvement in beer.

some Pros:

get beer off the trub early and avoid off flavours (probably not noticeable unless you do really long fermentations)

get a nice clean yeast cake if you are thinking of harvesting and reusing your yeast.

get a clearer and brighter beer earlier, as there will be less stuff to settle out in the bottle

I think I read that dry hopping imparts slightly more flavour if you do it in a new FV as the yeast trub absorbs a bit - I might have just imagined that... :-?

some cons:

More work and more hassle

increased risk of infection or oxidation by getting germs or air into your brew

lose a little bit more of your brew left behind at each transfer stage


I just ferment and dry hop in the same FV, and transfer to a bottling bucket on bottling day. I don't think my palate is sensitive enough to detect the benefits of dry hopping in a separate FV, so i don't think (for me) it is worth the hassle of doing it.

But recently I have found that an extra step of transferring to a new FV after dry hopping and doing a cold crash with gelatine has given me much clearer and brighter beer with no haze. This I can detect, and I think (for me) this is worth the extra hassle.

 

[pms67]

Good advice there mate, I used to transfer but found it a hassle, once you have temp control one FV does the lot imo, drop the temp to 4 degrees for 24-48 hours and everything drops to the bottom,clearer beer and no transferring/washing etc

 

[Chance1234]

I actually made this kit last year, but did not have anything to compare it to, until now. This is by far the favourite beer kit I have done. The instructions were well written and the process and final ABV was to the letter. The one minor criticism I have is a slight tap water taste, but you soon forget this after the second pint.