St Peters Ruby Red Ale review

[BeerisGOD]

s-04 has a nice fruity yet clean taste about it. going by my stout a few months back. the ruby already seems fruity so maybe would have been a bigger flavour profile.
who knows.
but sounds like the kit yeast did a good job. I like the fact it left a nice solid trub. always reassuring when I rest the auto syphon on top

 

[Rickster]

I'm tempted to get a stock of these, so when I get another on I'll give the s-04 a go and report back! First attemp at AG tomorrow I'm sure I'll want to stick with some kits though due to simplicity compared to AG.

 

[BeerisGOD]

good luck mate. its def on my to do list but with limited space etc etc...
can you get Ur s-04 locally? the best I can get is gervin but not complain. as its done me proud since using it

 

[Rickster]

Cheers, looking forward to tomorrow :) I have bought s-04 from Amazon, I seem to have a stash of random bits and bobs that I've picked up (hops, bottle caps, acid (!), bags, grain and a couple of yeasts), dangers of saved bank details and being off work for a couple of months!

 

[BeerisGOD]

.. I was gonna say ud need a day off doin AG. im dithery enough doing steeped grains with hop boil phases with kits!
I got myn too from amazon. although I did call up the brew shop and got it slightly cheaper direct.
you doing a 23 litre?

 

[Rickster]

My pan takes 6 litres, which should work with this beginners thread I saw: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779&highlight=Crystal+malt

I have some crystal malt as well, never used, but may start with just grain to see what comes out. The only kit mods I've done are hops (wet/dry), I haven't boiled anything yet, so big jump to AG! Favorite so far is the ruby red though :)

 

[BeerisGOD]

I had a tweaked coopers tonight but only two and bit weeks in bottle (three weeks primary) followed by the ruby (five and bit). it made me realise beer conditioned longer the better. I didn't right the coopers off- I just thought in a couple more weeks time this will be of equal brilliance. and that's the beauty of time and beer.
well it sounds you've gone for a good realistic starting point. keep me updated, especially with the final outcome

 

[Atait]

Still a few weeks to go on my Ruby but I have picked up a Wherry kit for my next batch.. any tips?!

No sign of Eny fermentation two days have passed it know this is still early but told fermentation super is already in the mix but it said nothing on the box and no reference to adding super in the instructions

 

[BeerCat]

Do you mean the hop sachet? You should add it at the start. Its not too late.

 

[BeerisGOD]

this kit doesn't come with extra sugar but you could add about 80grams boiled then cooled water (around 200ml).
pour it thru a funnel on an angle into the wort to avoid splashing. give it a gentle stir, from the bottom.
make sure everything is sterilized then sanitized.
if you have some yeast nutrient you could add this with the sugar during the ten min boil.

but id check Ur hydro reading first

 

[terrym]

No sign of Eny fermentation two days have passed it know this is still early but told fermentation super is already in the mix but it said nothing on the box and no reference to adding super in the instructions

Have you taken a peek under the lid to see if there is any krausen (yeasty foam) or bubbles on top? Don't rely on your airlock for signs of bubbles if you have one fitted. FV lids often don't fit very well and that allows gas to leak and bypass the airlock, giving the impression that the fermentation is not underway when it is.

 

[GhostShip]

Popped into the home brew shop in Cambridge (Mill Road) on Saturday and all of the St Peter's kits were on offer at £17.99. Picked up the Ruby Red and now wishing I'd also got the Golden Ale.

Still, really looking forward to brewing this one in the new year - all of the positive reviews have made me very optimistic!

Incidentally, for anyone in the Cambridge area, the home brew shop is moving to new premises in a week or two, somewhere around Histon. More space means they will be carrying more stock and the guy I spoke to was very helpful so will definitely be back!

Will report on the Ruby Red when I get going on it next year!

 

[Scottl86]

Receivedy kit today but no sugar in it, have looked online at wilko and people are saying the Geordie enhancer is good to use instead of sugar, will that be OK for this kit? If so when would I add it?

 

[Kman]

No need to add anything it is an all malt kit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BeerisGOD]

You could add a couple of hundred grams of table sugar to up the abv. I did with myn along with some left over specialty grains. Came out amazing.

 

[GhostShip]

After a busy day in the office yesterday, it's so nice to spend Saturday morning doing some home brew. That's my Ruby Red in the FV. Underbrewed to around 21L, but haven't added anything other than the supplied hop powder and kit yeast. Used Tesco's Ashbeck mineral water (£1.10 for 5L), rather than tap water, to see if it makes any difference. My Wherry has a slight home brew 'twang' so it will be interesting to see how this compares.

Really looking forward to drinking this one.

 

[BeerisGOD]

After a busy day in the office yesterday, it's so nice to spend Saturday morning doing some home brew. That's my Ruby Red in the FV. Underbrewed to around 21L, but haven't added anything other than the supplied hop powder and kit yeast. Used Tesco's Ashbeck mineral water (�£1.10 for 5L), rather than tap water, to see if it makes any difference. My Wherry has a slight home brew 'twang' so it will be interesting to see how this compares.

Really looking forward to drinking this one.

kepp us updated. i used tap water for my last batch, no twang so will be interested to see how urs turns out. might put another beer myth to bed:-?

 

[GhostShip]

Bottling day has arrived for my Ruby Red! Just waiting for the wife to go to London so I can make as much mess as I like.

I'm going to prime each bottle with brewing sugar, simply because I want to try doing it that way.

I reckon half a teaspoon per 500ml bottle. Does that sound OK to everyone? I'd like to see a bit of carbonation as my Wherry was a bit flat but I'm putting that down to the barrel. I've never bottled before so this is a new experience for me!

Any advice on the amount of sugar greatly appreciated.

 

[Bodleigh Head]

Bottling day has arrived for my Ruby Red! Just waiting for the wife to go to London so I can make as much mess as I like.

I'm going to prime each bottle with brewing sugar, simply because I want to try doing it that way.

I reckon half a teaspoon per 500ml bottle. Does that sound OK to everyone? I'd like to see a bit of carbonation as my Wherry was a bit flat but I'm putting that down to the barrel. I've never bottled before so this is a new experience for me!

Any advice on the amount of sugar greatly appreciated.

I work on 4gr of sugar per litre of brew to be bottled. I make up a sugar syrup, which means it has been boiled hence sanitized, and then dose the syrup accordingly for each bottle. Basically it comes down to 35 table spoons of water to 105 gr of sugar for 35 x 75 cl bottles. I then add 1 tbs of syrup to each bottle ... which gives me 3 gr of sugar per 75 cl bottle. You could always use an old cough syrup syringe if you want to be a bit more precise.

Back in the evil early days, I just used sugar lumps, one per bottle ... I was lucky, I didn't get any bottle bombs. :thumb:

 

[GhostShip]

Disaster! I didn't check the connection for the Little Bottler and it won't fit the tap on the barrel. Looks like I needed to change the tap - how stupid is that? You'd think all of these connections/ taps etc., might be standard!

I guess I'll just have to siphon straight from the top of the barrel. You live and learn I suppose.