"Modding" Brewer's Best Kits

**Revvy** · 01-02-2008, 03:47 PM

Hi Board,

I'm new to this forum, and still relatively new to home brewing.

I took a couple of recipes into my LHBS over the holidays (One was a sweet stout and the other was Yooper's Fat Tire Clone.) Due to the hops shortage I wasn't able to get any of the hops for either recipes nor any of the " recommended subsititute" hops on their chart. (Of the 14 varitieties they had recently ordered, only one of the came in.)

The owner of the shop told me that he was suggesting that people go with buying the BB kits for a particular style and modding the recipe. At least that way you were getting the hops you wanted for your particular brew.

I ended up deciding to attempt making a sweet stout using the Brewer's Best 1023 (Irish Stout) which had Fuggles and Nothern Brewer Hops in the kit and chucking in a pound of Lactose.

I took a taste of it after I did a gravity reading yesterday and it seems like it will, in time, be a fairly decent approximation of the taste I was looking for in a sweet stout. I'm going to rack it into secondary tomorrow and leave it for a couple weeks before bottling it. Then I was planning to batch out the bottles and taste one every couple weeks (I've got 8 16 ounce fliptops I'm going to use as the "taste test" bottles) until I get a beer I like before cracking the 12 ouncers.

So I was wondering if other people were hearing the same thing from the LHBS about buying the BB kits and modifying or supplanting the kit ingredients?

And wondering also if anyone's been playing with the kits and has any interesting recipes to share.

~Cheers!

KevinWP · 01-02-2008, 04:03 PM

Well at least your kit had everything in it...

I Modded the hops schedule and extract timing on a BB Bold American Brown Ale...

The full tale is here

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/brown-ale-kit-short-hops-i-had-improvise-2nd-batch-49762/

**Revvy** · 01-02-2008, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinWP

Well at least your kit had everything in it...

I Modded the hops schedule and extract timing on a BB Bold American Brown Ale...

The full tale is here

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=49762

Good reading and a good lesson for anyone regardless of distance to LHBS.

OPEN THE BOX BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE STORE!!!

I wouldn't be surprised if BB and other kit makers are adjusting their kits and/or scrimping on the hops or even not making certain kits due to the shortage.

trabus · 01-02-2008, 05:45 PM

I've brewed 2 batches of the IPA so far and modded both with a little extra hops during the boil and dryhopped them as well (the second batch is still in primary, but will be dry hopped when I transfer). I was very pleased with the first batch, it turned out quite well. The second batch is still fermenting, but so far so good.

Ol' Grog · 01-02-2008, 06:15 PM

I have added lactose to some of my BB kits. I also have shortened the boils and finishing hop schedule.

**sTango** · 01-02-2008, 06:39 PM

im big into adding honey to my Brown Ale kits. here is a thread of mine on it.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/what-would-my-max-o-g-reading-48781/

**Revvy** · 01-02-2008, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sTango

im big into adding honey to my Brown Ale kits. here is a thread of mine on it.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=48781

Funny, I remember reading that thread yesterday. I remember noticing all the cool Lovecraftian refrences. I hadn't even realized it was a BB kit you were using.

Have you taken another gravity reading on it? Has all the honey fermented yet?

**sTango** · 01-02-2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revvy

Have you taken another gravity reading on it? Has all the honey fermented yet?

Right now, it is holding at 1.009 in the secondary.

It looks a bit cloudy which I believe is due to the amount of honey in it. Im fine with that and have taken to calling this batch a Braggot style of ale.

I brewed it on 12/15 and will probably start keg conditioning it in a couple of weeks. It tastes REALLy smooth already so I have a feeling this will be a nice one. I probably should bottle some so I can have it long after the keg is empty.

cheezydemon · 01-02-2008, 10:30 PM

My LHBS has had all of the hops I have needed. They always apologize about how the price of some hops have gone up, but from what I hear here, I am glad to pay it.

experiment626 · 01-03-2008, 05:00 PM

I usually do this and throw in extra hops and flavoring stuff. It's quick and easy... I've done an Irish Stout, Steam Style, English Style Ale, Irish Red, and Holiday Ale by modifying BB kits.