Re: Festival Razorback IPA Review

[Maffa]

Have now chucked the whole lot down the sink.

ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH :sick: :nah:

Such a waste, I bet it was still drinkable

 

[briantrousers]

It was still techincally drinkable but even if it was the only beer left in the house I'd still give the aftershave a go first.

 

[muddy90]

Brian, I'm surprised the yeast survived in that heat. I had a kit on that died
For all those who have brewed this kit, I urge you to leave a few for 6 months or so. I have 3 bottles of Golden Stag left that are now 8 months old & they are absolutely gorgeous. I saved maybe 12 bottles till they were 6 months old & savour them now when I've been a good boy. The trick is to build up enough stock so you're not drinking the young stuff. Get the next brew on as soon as the fv is empty.
Another tip... if you have a second fv, rack into that, add the priming sugar, then bottle from there. Saves so much hag trying to get sugar into bottles & really evens out the quantities so every bottle has exactly the same amount of sugar.
If your beer is a bit lively, it possibly hasn't finished fermenting when you bottled it?
I leave my beers on the trub for an extra week or so to clear out & they all come out fine. Don't rush it :thumb:
I put my Razorback on 2 weeks ago, looking forward to it.

 

[speedycarft]

Hi

I brewed one of these kits, I started it on the 19th June, added the hops on the 24th June and bottled it on the 9th July. The fermentation took much longer than the 10 days. From starting the fermentation to bottling was 20 days. It was still bubbling after 20 days, although only very slowly, e.g. less than a bubble per minute. The final gravity got down to 1.005. The beer was left 2 weeks in the house prior to moving to the garage (end of July). The temperature whilst brewing was constant at 24c.

I tried a bottle after 4 weeks in the garage and also tried one last night, now been in garage for approx 8 weeks. Now onto my question - I am getting a "smokey" smell and flavour, more pronounced on the after taste. Is this expected with this particular kit or is there a problem? Can you please advise me? I did not get this smell and flavour with the previous kit I did which was the Festival Golden Stag, which I very much enjoyed, only got a few bottles of that left now but will be doing another one again.

 

[Monte Cristo]

It was still techincally drinkable but even if it was the only beer left in the house I'd still give the aftershave a go first.

Sorry to hear this Brian, I hope you are going to high tail it down to the LHBS for another one, save the Blue stratos for wowing the ladies! :hat:

 

[Jehoolio]

Hi All
new to the forum, but not new to brewing!

I am just about to bottle up razorback, its been bubbling away for a fortnight- OG 1056 approaching 1008 (and was brewed short).

Sampling the brew it has extremely strong grapefruit taste- really strong hops! I see someone else called it aftershave on here- I agree. :?

My question is, has anyone experienced this taste at bottling stage and did it settle down after 3 or 4 months maturing?? :pray:

Thanks
J

 

[mattrickl06]

If its like the Landlord then yes the hops do settle down after around 8 weeks

 

[Greenland Stinger]

Hi All
new to the forum, but not new to brewing!

I am just about to bottle up razorback, its been bubbling away for a fortnight- OG 1056 approaching 1008 (and was brewed short).

Sampling the brew it has extremely strong grapefruit taste- really strong hops! I see someone else called it aftershave on here- I agree. :?

My question is, has anyone experienced this taste at bottling stage and did it settle down after 3 or 4 months maturing?? :pray:

Thanks
J

See my post earlier in this thread. Very strong taste of grapefruit.

GS :drink:

 

[Jehoolio]

GS,
5 weeks on has it mellowed?
Or are you waiting 2 months for next sup. :thumb:
J

 

[speedycarft]

Not sure if I am getting grapefruit. But there is a definite "smokey" smell and flavour to mine.

Is anybody else getting this "smokey" smell/favour as I am not sure that mine is right?

 

[Jehoolio]

Not sure if I am getting grapefruit. But there is a definite "smokey" smell and flavour to mine.

Is anybody else getting this "smokey" smell/favour as I am not sure that mine is right?

From the couple of swigs out of sample jar I had- no smokiness whatsoever.
J

 

[Greenland Stinger]

GS,
5 weeks on has it mellowed?
Or are you waiting 2 months for next sup. :thumb:
J

Tried 1 over the weekend and the grapefruit taste is still there but I must say I think it has reduced a bit. Its not unpleasant but still a bit to fruity for me. The wait continues, my Wherry stock is getting low!!!

GS :drink:

 

[el gringo]

Had this one bottled for a week now and its clearing nicely. I ended up with a half bottle so I stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours this evening and i've just cracked it. (patience isn't a strong point for me)

Excellent initial carbonation, nice initial head which didn't last long,currently very bitter and very grapefruity. Nice mouth feel even this early on.

This is the first brew i've bottled and it's clear the difference this has made for the carbonation and the mouth feel this gives.

I reckon this is going to be a winner. :thumb:

A quick update to my last post - i'm now not so convinced about the winner part - mines seems to have gone the same way as briantrouser's - very very bitter almost undrinkable.

I did have an issue early on in that i pitch the yeast too hot and it probably fermented too hot all the way through.

Its a shame as everything else about is spot on, the carbonation level i like, it pours really nicely, although i always seem to have a massive head even pouring slowly.

I just hope that it mellows out a lot

 

[Jehoolio]

[quote="el gringo":1fngxfao]Had this one bottled for a week now and its clearing nicely. I ended up with a half bottle so I stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours this evening and i've just cracked it. (patience isn't a strong point for me)

Excellent initial carbonation, nice initial head which didn't last long,currently very bitter and very grapefruity. Nice mouth feel even this early on.

This is the first brew i've bottled and it's clear the difference this has made for the carbonation and the mouth feel this gives.

I reckon this is going to be a winner. :thumb:

[/quote:1fngxfao]

A quick update to my last post - i'm now not so convinced about the winner part - mines seems to have gone the same way as briantrouser's - very very bitter almost undrinkable.

I did have an issue early on in that i pitch the yeast too hot and it probably fermented too hot all the way through.

Its a shame as everything else about is spot on, the carbonation level i like, it pours really nicely, although i always seem to have a massive head even pouring slowly.

I just hope that it mellows out a lot



El Gringo
I don't think its to do with pitching. I think its over-hopped, they infer add hops after 5 days and brew will finish on day 10. My brew is 3 weeks old and down to 1007 and still producing gas. I think it has been hopped for too long. Also instruction tell you not to stir in the hops- I didn't, but has had 16 days with the hop mash on top.

Any other thoughts?
J

 

[Maffa]

El Gringo
I don't think its to do with pitching. I think its over-hopped, they infer add hops after 5 days and brew will finish on day 10. My brew is 3 weeks old and down to 1007 and still producing gas. I think it has been hopped for too long. Also instruction tell you not to stir in the hops- I didn't, but has had 16 days with the hop mash on top.

Any other thoughts?
J

My latest kit is a bulldog kit which comes with a teabag of hops. It says for a weaker taste add the hops at start of of fermenting. For a stronger taste, add them at the end i.e. pretty much when the airlock has stopped bubbling. Now I dont know if this is different as its a tea bag (like making a cup of tea, ferment in a cup with boiling water for 10 mins, then add whole cup to vessel) but they cant be too different.

I bottled mine after 2wks (1 wk with hops) and was great tastewise, just a bit too much sediment in each bottle.

With regards to a smokey taste. No not with this one, but my woodford's wherry was brewed at 26 for about 5 days and was almost undrinkable. It was a struggle but I managed it tho :drink: Cant bring myself to bin anything really :whistle:

 

[el gringo]

El Gringo
I don't think its to do with pitching. I think its over-hopped, they infer add hops after 5 days and brew will finish on day 10. My brew is 3 weeks old and down to 1007 and still producing gas. I think it has been hopped for too long. Also instruction tell you not to stir in the hops- I didn't, but has had 16 days with the hop mash on top.

Any other thoughts?
J

Hmmmm not sure, mine did have rather a long time with the hops in, also a full 16 days. It is very very bitter, i'm about to try another one just to double check.........

Although that seems to be completely the opposite to Maffa's experience

 

[Base]

Hi Guys, sorry to thread jack but thought this is a good place to post as everyone here knows this kit. This is my first beer kit as I usually just do TC.

Started this on the 24th. Pitched at 22c and have kept in a water bath at 20.5c.

I bought this for myself but SWMBO has convinced me that I should give some out as gifts to the family so the pressure is on to get it right. I'm scared to over hop this from reading the above. Today is day 6 and I'm still hesitant to put these it.
I've kept the temp low to prevent any off flavours so thinking that it will take a while to ferment out. Its hard to know what to think as everyone's tastes are different. I favour west coast IPAs. Being from the west coast my self helps :whistle:

I'd like opinions on the below if you could please :ugeek:

1. Should I wait for the gravity to reach a certain point to add them and then after 5 days transfer to a clean bucket to remove the hops?

2. I've also thought about turning up the heat to 23-24 to speed it up and add now. Would these temps be ok and not give off flavours?

3. What are you opinions are dry hopping in regards to strength and time of addition? Does adding them towards the beginning make it stronger/weaker versus adding them late making it stronger/weaker?

4. Does any one know what hops are included in this kit?

Thanks in advance!
:hat:
Base

 

[Maffa]

Hi Base

Personally I wouldn't use this kit as prezzies as almost all of us have found a large amount of sediment left in each bottle. Each bottle does need to be left upright for a few days and poured very carefully in order to leave the sediment in the bottom of the bottle. That aside it is a great tasting beer (my opinion and I do like bitter ales).

I'm no expert (only done 6 or so kits myself so take these with a pinch of salt)
1. I would wait until the gravity is around 1015 to 1020
2. I wouldn't try to speed up the process, beer making is a patient business, keep it at 20c and wait it out
3. I honestly dont know. I would have thought that adding them later would make a weaker taste, but as mentioned above my latest kit says the opposite. Other opinions???
4. Festival Razorback IPA apparently contains Simcoe, Centennial and Summit Hops. What amounts? anyone's guess

Regards
M

 

[Jehoolio]

Finally bottled mine today after leaving it to settle for a week- still very cloudy has the look of orange juice in a clear bottle.
OG 1056 FG 1006, so predicting 7.2% with priming sugar.

1/4 bottle left over so drank it- still like unsweetened grapefruit juice!
Will leave for a good 8 weeks before sampling.
Plenty of stock beer to keep me going. :thumb:

J

 

[Greenland Stinger]

Is it possible this kit is over hopped? They provide 75g in total of Simcoe, Centennial and Summit. My finished product has a very strong taste of grapefruit, although this has mellowed slightly after a while. I am still quite new to home brewing but is 75 grams in a kit a lot?

Cheers

GS :drink: