Whats your Favorite Midwest beer kit?

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fur_252

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Just kind of curious what kits are good what you would different to the kit. Made Grand cru and Irish Stout. Irish Stout didnt even have a chance it only lasted a couple of wks. Grand Cru gets better as time goes on. I want to try a wheat beer but just dont know which one any commits would be great
 
Amber ale was the first kit I ever brewed and it really was delicious. I imagine it will only be better now that I have more brews under my belt. Plus, it's one of the cheapest kits on the site.
 
kyle6286 said:
Amber ale was the first kit I ever brewed and it really was delicious. I imagine it will only be better now that I have more brews under my belt. Plus, it's one of the cheapest kits on the site.
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When you did the amber ale how long did you let it sit in the primary/secondary and how long did you let it bottle condition? Just wondering because I have it in a secondary right now.
 
Chuckabrewski said:
When you did the amber ale how long did you let it sit in the primary/secondary and how long did you let it bottle condition? Just wondering because I have it in a secondary right now.
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Well it was my first batch ever and I think it's been the best one so far. I brewed it in April and I think I had it in the primary for three weeks, maybe four. I forget. No secondary. I don't do secondaries. It fermented at like 68. I bottled it and let it sit for a week before I tried one since it was my first batch. I was very anxious. It was drinkable, but it definitely got better after 2-3 weeks.
 
Irish Ale was my first-ever batch and is in the primary right now.
I have their Newcastle clone and Hop Scare IPA kits ready to brew this weekend.
 
doublebogey10 said:
Irish Ale was my first-ever batch and is in the primary right now.
I have their Newcastle clone and Hop Scare IPA kits ready to brew this weekend.
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There new castle is really good too
 
kyle6286 said:
Well it was my first batch ever and I think it's been the best one so far. I brewed it in April and I think I had it in the primary for three weeks, maybe four. I forget. No secondary. I don't do secondaries. It fermented at like 68. I bottled it and let it sit for a week before I tried one since it was my first batch. I was very anxious. It was drinkable, but it definitely got better after 2-3 weeks.
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Nice this is my first batch as well... Thanks for the info.
 
Copper Ale was my first ever brew (this past spring) and everyone loved it.

I've since made a few of my "own" recipes either based on or stolen from this site (2 Bavarian Hefeweizens and the 15 minute Cascade APA just bottled).

I will be making the MW Irish Stout this week - got the kit from their Groupon. Hopefully between 90 degree shipping a month ago and loss of power for 3 days due to hurricane the WLP004 is still OK!! I made a starter last night and will put it on the stir plate if power is ever restored. I have high hopes for this one, but may need to visit the LHBS for another vial of yeast.
 
Midwest kits were always good. I hadn't brewed in some time so to get started back up I was buying kits from Midwest. It was then I noticed the price didn't seem right for what was in the kit. I checked it and it seemed they had added about $5.00 over the cost of the ingredients if purchased separately. I emailed them and was told that yes, they did in fact charge extra for the kit.

I have the response from Midwest but basically it was this: "This is because all of the kits are pre-prepared and stocked just as any other product, and they are convenient for our customers."

Now to my way of thinking, if I order it separately they would still have to put the "kit" together.

For some reason this bothered me and I haven't shopped there since and don't plan to ever again. It just seemed they should have posted this somewhere or something. Since then I've moved on and have accumulated the equipment to do all-grain.

I don't wish them harm but thought you should know. I am not aware if other suppliers do the same thing with kits.
 
I noticed that too. However if you get the kit it comes in it's own specific box and instructions. Convenient if ordering multiple kits.
 
kkramer56 said:
Midwest kits were always good. I hadn't brewed in some time so to get started back up I was buying kits from Midwest. It was then I noticed the price didn't seem right for what was in the kit. I checked it and it seemed they had added about $5.00 over the cost of the ingredients if purchased separately. I emailed them and was told that yes, they did in fact charge extra for the kit.

I have the response from Midwest but basically it was this: "This is because all of the kits are pre-prepared and stocked just as any other product, and they are convenient for our customers."

Now to my way of thinking, if I order it separately they would still have to put the "kit" together.

For some reason this bothered me and I haven't shopped there since and don't plan to ever again. It just seemed they should have posted this somewhere or something. Since then I've moved on and have accumulated the equipment to do all-grain.

I don't wish them harm but thought you should know. I am not aware if other suppliers do the same thing with kits.
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I discovered the same thing, so I just started buying the individual ingridients. Plus I have a lot of washed yeast and hops, so I don't need a kit. When I was buying kits I really liked the Liberty Creme. I was brewing extract back then, but I plan on throwing together an AG version of it soon. It's a great lawnmower beer!
 
Stauffbier said:
I plan on throwing together an AG version of it soon. It's a great lawnmower beer!
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I've already done that and it turned out awesome! I brew it every other time and try to always have it on tap. (I made a 2 tap keezer).

It's very simple and I don't use liquid yeast and in this instance to save money, to my taste, it has made no difference.

Cream Ale

9 lbs Pale Male (currently using Great Western I got in bulk from Austin Homebrewing)
1/2 lb Cara-Pils
1 pkg Munton & Fison's premium Gold yeast
1/2 oz Cascade Hops - 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade Hops 5 minutes

1 Whirlfloc tab at 10 minutes

4 days in Primary
4 days in Secondary
then I move it to my fridge until I need to tap it.

To condition it I put 30 psi on it in the keg for 3 days. After the 3rd day I purge the pressure in the keg and put my serving pressure on it. I use about 11 pounds.

It is so good!
 
kkramer56 said:
Cream Ale

9 lbs Pale Male (currently using Great Western I got in bulk from Austin Homebrewing)
1/2 lb Cara-Pils
1 pkg Munton & Fison's premium Gold yeast
1/2 oz Cascade Hops - 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade Hops 5 minutes

!
Click to expand...

Just throw some flaked corn in there and cut back on the pale malt and it will be just like Midwests version...
 
Here's what I've brewed so far:

Autumn Amber Ale (my first, and it was awesome!)
Bavarian Hefeweizen, ready to drink tomorrow, hopefully
Irish Stout (bottling tomorrow)

I'm going to brew their Black Dog Ale tomorrow, and I just ordered their Kolsch kit, and another Amber Ale kit today.
 
jerryteague said:
Here's what I've brewed so far:

Autumn Amber Ale (my first, and it was awesome!)
Bavarian Hefeweizen, ready to drink tomorrow, hopefully
Irish Stout (bottling tomorrow)

I'm going to brew their Black Dog Ale tomorrow, and I just ordered their Kolsch kit, and another Amber Ale kit today.
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I've brewed Black Dog twice! It's very good! As a matter of fact that was my very first brew! I just bottled the Irish Stout two weeks ago. I tried one today. Obviously not totally carbed up yet, but it sure is tasty!
 
Stauffbier said:
I've brewed Black Dog twice! It's very good! I just bottled the Irish Stout two weeks ago. I tried one today. Obviously not totally carbed up yet, but it sure is tasty!
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Everyone really seems to like the Black Dog, so I'm looking forward to brewing it. I also need to check my bottle supply, I've only got enough for 3 batches at a time. I'm probably going to start kegging soon, so I can really get my pipeline built up for the 4th of July BBQ I have planned.
 

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