How do I get the best out of kits? - Page 3

johnnyboy1965 · 03-16-2010, 07:40 PM

Try Muntons Gold Imperial Stout. Twice the price but more than twice the better product

jjones17 · 03-16-2010, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyboy1965

Maltodextrin is sold as "Beer kit enhancer" made by Muntons.
Maltodextrin is 50% dextrose an 50% dried malt extract.

Sorry mate, but Maltodextrin is a not 50% dextrose and 50% DME. It is a complex sugar, that is not very fermentable. A google search will reveal, or this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltodextrin

On topic, maltodextrin tends to add body to beers and i like using it quite a bit. If I have it on hand, I add the beersmith reccomended amount to every batch of beer I make.

PT Ray · 03-16-2010, 08:49 PM

I think if you want to get more out of a canned kit, down size your batches and skip the sugar. Just for giggles I'm looking at buying a Coopers kit (1.7 kilo) to make a 12 liter batch. I'm interested to see how well of a brew a canned kit can make without adding anything other than some good yeast and using proper fermentation temps.

danlad · 03-16-2010, 09:28 PM

For improving kits I did a kit not long ago, used a standard bitter can with either 1kg of dry extract and 500g brown sugar, or it might have been 500g dry extract and 500g brown sugar. Used Safale 04 instead of the kit yeast and it came out pretty well as a decent light ale once it had a couple of months bottled up. Annoyingly at my beer festival party it was one of the favourites!

GWF · 03-17-2010, 05:03 AM

I'll give those premium kits a go, they're twice the price but I'm sure they'll be twice as good.

johnnyboy1965 · 03-17-2010, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjones17

Sorry mate, but Maltodextrin is a not 50% dextrose and 50% DME. It is a complex sugar, that is not very fermentable. A google search will reveal, or this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltodextrin

On topic, maltodextrin tends to add body to beers and i like using it quite a bit. If I have it on hand, I add the beersmith reccomended amount to every batch of beer I make.

Sorry my bad. Muntons Beer Kit Enhancer is 50% spray dried dextrose and 50% spray dried malt extract.

jjones17 · 03-18-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyboy1965

Sorry my bad. Muntons Beer Kit Enhancer is 50% spray dried dextrose and 50% spray dried malt extract.

Too funny, since I had a hunch that was just a typo after I wrote my message

Sounds like the Muntons is a decent product, given the ingredients. I can see why people seem to like it

jjones17 · 03-18-2010, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PT Ray

I think if you want to get more out of a canned kit, down size your batches and skip the sugar. Just for giggles I'm looking at buying a Coopers kit (1.7 kilo) to make a 12 liter batch. I'm interested to see how well of a brew a canned kit can make without adding anything other than some good yeast and using proper fermentation temps.

I have done this using Coopers Wheat Kit (the Premium or 'selection' version, not the standard kit), which is just hopped malt extract in a can. I did 1 can, 10 litres of water. I boiled some hallertau hops in a few liters of water for 20 mins, then added my can. I waited for hot break, then topped it up with enough cold tap water to make about 10 litres. I used coopers yeast (not the kit, bought some fresher stuff)

This beer turned out pretty much like Budweiser, or Coors, except with more malt flavor. It was actually very refreshing, and the BMC crowd said "This is the best homebrew I have ever had", though nobody had ever tried any other homebrew.

I did it again using 1 can, 1 kilo light DME, and 20 litres of water and the same hallertau hop method above: It was even better.