Short brewing

[jonnymorris]

I'm looking at doing a Coopers, Woodfordes or maybe a Nog and plan on short brewing it with the sole intention of making a stronger beer.

Assuming a 40 pint kit, how short should I go and what difference in strength might I expect?

Any comments based on experience would be appreciated.

 

[abeyptfc]

i usually brew my coopers kits short to just over 19 litres so it all fits in my cornie and i usually get between 4 and 5.5%, either using a kilo of sugar or kilo of spraymalt. just watch if your doing the woodfordes kits, i think some of them are meant to be brewed to 32 pints anyways and not the normal 40.

 

[Essex_Lad]

I did a Wherry and a Coopers lager to 32pints, both turned out to have a nice kick to them :)

 

[jonnymorris]

I did a Wherry and a Coopers lager to 32pints, both turned out to have a nice kick to them :)

32 is fairly short... I like the sound of that. It's still perfectly printable though? I don't want a barley wine on my hands.

 

[eggman]

If it's a 40 pint kit i would try brewing to 36 pints and see how you go from there. I quite often do 1 can kits and brew to 36pints and they work out just right for me :

 

[shearclass]

brewing a 40pint kit four pints short is only going to increase ABV by 10%.

Therefore a 40 pint kit of 4% abv will become approx 4.4%, which is still not very strong.

 

[Darcey]

If I am kegging in cornies I allways brew kits to 20L rather than use extra sugar and extract. Get the ABV up abit.

 

[jonnymorris]

brewing a 40pint kit four pints short is only going to increase ABV by 10%.

By that logic, brewing a 40 pint kit to 20 pints would only increase strength by 50% or from 4% to 6% rather than doubling to 8%. Either way, I take the point that its not going to make a particularly strong beer.

I think I'll aim for a compromise between suggestions above and short brew to 34 pints. I still want to be able to drink it after all.

 

[shearclass]

By that logic, brewing a 40 pint kit to 20 pints would only increase strength by 50% or from 4% to 6% rather than doubling to 8%.

umm... my 'logic' is flawed... i did that in a rush whilst at work...

 

[Robo1984]

I have considered this, but then looked at the Brewferm kits which are generally shorter and stronger as per the kit instructions. Might be worth considering doing a kit that is intended to be stronger as opposed to changing another kit?

 

[jonnymorris]

Fair point but they seem to be for only 9-15 litres. That's a lot of effort (relatively) for 20 pints.

Am tempted by their Triple though.

 

[Robo1984]

Dont get me wrong, im not on commission for bremferm... but they are 9 quid a tin, so 2 tins to make 18l for 18 quid vers a cooper's kit and spray malt at 17 quid to make say 20l. It's kind of comparable and the brewferm kits get awesome reviews... be worth a comparison either way, i will probably try both at some point...

 

[jonnymorris]

im not on commission for bremferm... but they are 9 quid a tin...

Having looked into this I think I'm with you. An earlier post pointing out that short brewing will only increase the strength by a few percent has persuaded me that maybe a stronger kit (or two) may be the way to go.

Thanks for the tip

 

[eggman]

Yeah mate that's def the way to go. I tweak some kits just to get a better taste or body to it but if i want a strong brew then i do a stronger kit :thumb:
:

 

[shearclass]

brewferm kits are only stronger because they are brewed short and sugar is added, so while i like brewferm kits, you could also do that to a regular kit as well.

 

[PaulCa]

Many people use 2 kit cans per 5 gallon batch, this makes the beer roughly the same strength (or maybe a little over) as the can + kilo.

Thus... if were to use 1 can and 2.5 gallons, it should be fine. Just don't add any sugar.

 

[jonnymorris]

Not sure what you're on about there Paul but thanks for joining in.

 

[PaulCa]

Well, the can is just hopped malt extract. So rather than add 1 can + 1 kilo of sugar to make 5 gallons as per the instructions, you could use 1 can + 1kg of malt extract, or you can just use 2 cans. I'm told it makes tastier beer than the can+kilo.

So taking the recipe, 2 cans for 5 gallons and dividing it by 2 to make a short batch, you would use, 1 can and a 2.5 gallon batch.