Philip1993
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2007
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At the recommendation of my LHBS, I decided to try one of those "Brew House" pre-made wort kits. I figure he's an AG guy who brews excellent beer, so if he says they are pretty good, might as well see. Besides, I had no time to brew this weekend and I really wanted to put something in the fermenter. So, I picked an Ocktober fest kit and dragged it home ($35).
The "brew" went well, and the wort looked and smelled great. I really only had two negatives, both technical. First, the packets of "pH balancer" and "priming sugar" were unlabeled. Having brewed before, it was obvious by size/weight which was which, but for a novice that would not be true. Second, the seal was a pressed on/pry-off top. Not too bad for a hard jug, but a bit tricky to remove on a 4 gallon bag of liquid. Especially without stabbing the bag with a butter knife.
Also, up until now I thought I was a liquid yeast guy. This kit may have changed that for many of my beers. Even without a starter, the dry yeast was going in 4 hours and fully involved in 12hrs. Also, the fermentation got so vigorous that at 24 hours my air lock was starting to clog (6.5gal carbuoy). But that wasn't the wild part. The wild part was that when I affixed a 3/8" blowoff, the bubbles were coming at a rate of 15-20 per SECOND. It was like I had put an aquarium pump hose in my blowoff vessel. I normally put Star San in my airlocks, and I had to dump that and use water because the foam was starting to fill up my ferm cabinet.
Final thoughts
BrewHouse Kit: On look and smell alone - 4/5 stars. Ease of use - 5/5 stars.
Dry yeast: So far, 6/5 stars. If is tastes as good as well, liquid may be a thing of my past for most brews.
I'll keep you guys posted on how this thing tastes.
The "brew" went well, and the wort looked and smelled great. I really only had two negatives, both technical. First, the packets of "pH balancer" and "priming sugar" were unlabeled. Having brewed before, it was obvious by size/weight which was which, but for a novice that would not be true. Second, the seal was a pressed on/pry-off top. Not too bad for a hard jug, but a bit tricky to remove on a 4 gallon bag of liquid. Especially without stabbing the bag with a butter knife.
Also, up until now I thought I was a liquid yeast guy. This kit may have changed that for many of my beers. Even without a starter, the dry yeast was going in 4 hours and fully involved in 12hrs. Also, the fermentation got so vigorous that at 24 hours my air lock was starting to clog (6.5gal carbuoy). But that wasn't the wild part. The wild part was that when I affixed a 3/8" blowoff, the bubbles were coming at a rate of 15-20 per SECOND. It was like I had put an aquarium pump hose in my blowoff vessel. I normally put Star San in my airlocks, and I had to dump that and use water because the foam was starting to fill up my ferm cabinet.
Final thoughts
BrewHouse Kit: On look and smell alone - 4/5 stars. Ease of use - 5/5 stars.
Dry yeast: So far, 6/5 stars. If is tastes as good as well, liquid may be a thing of my past for most brews.
I'll keep you guys posted on how this thing tastes.