What Brewers Best Extract Kits do you like?
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Daytron3000
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Has anyone done the Belgian IPA yet? Gonna do that over spring break in a few weeks. If so, did it need any tweaking?
I currently have the Belgian golden ale waiting to be brewed looks like it will be good... one thing i've noticed is that their instructions on their website are not updated... my belgian kit has candi sugar not the crystal sugar... the instructions in the box are updated though. Similar experience with the falconer's flight i brewed about a month ago, different hop additions. Still waiting for it to carb and age but def a very hoppy brew.
I noticed the same about their online recipes. I just finished the Belgian Tripel with a 1/2 oz. of Coriander for the last five minutes. Everything went smoothly. Had a OG of 1.085. Changed the included yeast out for Safbrew T58. Should be good. The wort sample I tasted was very nice. Currently in primary with a 1/2" blow off tube.
I used T-58 in my Caramel Wit Double that I put together and it took off like a rocket, but it seemed to hang up at 1.020. Gave the fermenter a good stir and it's taken off again, down to 1.012 now. I'm going to leave it another week now to clear, then bottle.
FermentNEthinG
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Hop Nog 2012 was pretty bad ass with the Centennial/Palisade/Nelson Sauvin hops.
Running_Crazy
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The English Brown Ale is another great one. I've had it in the bottle now for about 6 wks. Definitely another do again.
Was looking at the psa ipa but since i just started drinking the falconer's flight and gave the belgian golden in the fermenter i think i need to go dark for my next batch
DannyboyUSMC
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I only have 3 brews so far and 2 being the Brewers best kits. (3rd is Edwort's apfelwein doing its thing in the fermenter). The first was the BB IPA kit. Not bad for a first time brew but the hops didn't come out as much as I thought. I'm about to bottle the BB Witbier and add blueberry extract at bottling. The Witbier is an intermediate kit I assume because of the specialty grains but I didn't have too much trouble figuring it out (find out in a couple of weeks).
OhReally
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I just took a gravity reading for my BB Imperial IPA, and it's damn tasty already. It's almost certainly ready to bottle. I'm pumped to taste it cold and carbonated. 
One thing I don't understand is where BB gets their numbers from for this thing. According to BB:
OG: 1.075 - 1.080
FG: 1.017 - 1.020
ABV: 8.0 - 8.5%
These numbers don't add up. Doing the math, those gravities yield an ABV range of 7.2 - 8.3%. From my own experience, I got 7.6% (1.076, 1.018 ). Maybe they do some sort of funny Midwest math.
Awesome products, though.
One thing I don't understand is where BB gets their numbers from for this thing. According to BB:
OG: 1.075 - 1.080
FG: 1.017 - 1.020
ABV: 8.0 - 8.5%
These numbers don't add up. Doing the math, those gravities yield an ABV range of 7.2 - 8.3%. From my own experience, I got 7.6% (1.076, 1.018 ). Maybe they do some sort of funny Midwest math.
Awesome products, though.
I have done 4-5 of these kits and I think they are great. When I mis-plan my AG brew/fermentation times, I pick up one of these kits, Whole[Paycheck]Foods has them in stock! I also love the 3 hour brew session and the 2 week brew to glass turn around time.
I have done the Imperial Blonde Ale, I made 4.5 gals not 5 and it was very strong, I usually don't take readings with the kits since they are kinda idiot proof. I also did the American Pale Ale, Dunkel, American Amber and last week I did the Rye IPA (hitting the keg tomorrow!).
I tend not to like Fruit/Vegetables in my beer so I pick classics and haven't been disappointed. Next I will probably pick up the Kolsh and/or Nut Brown.
I have done the Imperial Blonde Ale, I made 4.5 gals not 5 and it was very strong, I usually don't take readings with the kits since they are kinda idiot proof. I also did the American Pale Ale, Dunkel, American Amber and last week I did the Rye IPA (hitting the keg tomorrow!).
I tend not to like Fruit/Vegetables in my beer so I pick classics and haven't been disappointed. Next I will probably pick up the Kolsh and/or Nut Brown.
beercity23
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Has anyone else tried the european bock? I brewed this my first kit, and it came out with a licorice flavor? What did i do wrong?
OhReally
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skipfab74 said:
I made that one last fall. I still have half a case left because it hasn't been the easiest going down. Whatever spices are in the packet, there's too much of it. So much so that it's... I dunno what the word for it is... Not cloying, but it's overpowering. If I ever made it again (not by choice) I'd use half or less of the included spice packet.
The European bock was very good for me, tasted of caramel and a hint of almost coffee... maybe you steeped your grain at too high a temp or scorched your extract. The bock was a pretty good and filling brew
I did the pumpkin spiced porter as my 2nd brew and only thing i can say about that one is use no more than half the spice pack. Even after a year it was still overwhelming spice.
kurzschluss1
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I'm curious how you like the witbeer. I just made that kit and tried it 3 weeks after bottling and was a little bit underwhelmed. Now I'm trying to wait longer to allow the flavors to mesh a little more. Overall I thought it was good but not great. But I'm hoping the flavor will improve with a few more weeks in the bottle.
kurzschluss1
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I just bottled the kolsch a week ago (my very first brew). It was easy to make. I gave it two weeks in the primary and a month in secondary and now waiting for the carbonation is making me insane.
it looked beautiful though.
DannyboyUSMC
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It's still in secondary so I have a while to go. I heard the extract gets better the longer its bottled also, so if that's the case and I decide to make it again ill make a note on how long to leave it conditioning.
there russian imperial stout was good (cold steeped grains over night and 3o min at 155 degrees max) in 3 months was able to drink , there holiday christmas ale was great ( same cold steep grains over night 155 degrees for 30 minutes ) 3 weeks we were drinking
I am a big fan of the oktoberfest. I just boiled a batch last night. I decided to use US-05 ale yeast instead of what came with the kit. I recently picked up a temp controller for my garage fridge so I can lager, but I need to wait for warmer weather so I don't have to worry about it going to cold on me. My next batch I will be able to lager properly :rockin:
I've done the IPA, the Hop Nog and have a fermenter of the oatmeal stout ready for bottling. I was very impressed with both the IPA and Hop Nog, as were my friends and family. I'm skeptical of how the oatmeal stout will turn out. I couldn't keep temps during the steep to convert stage, and then realized I had my water measurements wrong during the boil, so I added a ton of water just prior to pitching. I did a Gravity reading at 3 weeks and it was at 1.030, with the target being 1.018. I'll let yall know how it turns out.
kurzschluss1
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I just tried it again today (now 4 wks after bottling) and it is significantly better ... Very good now. I can't wait to see how the flavor evolves.
I cracked open my first BB IPA today and it is really good. The only thing I did outside the recipe was add 2oz of cascade to dry hop. This was my first time dry hopping and I'm very glad I did it. It smells amazing. I like smelling this beer almost as much as I like drinking it.
drksky
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I did the BB Smoked Porter kit as one of my first brews and it's pretty darned tasty. Smoky and chocolately, but not overwhelmingly so. Going by the samples I was pulling while it was fermenting, I thought the smoke was going to be obnoxious, but it's definitely toned down since being bottled. I'm on the second case after being bottled for about two months and each bottle gets better.
bimmerbill
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My BB Milk Stout came out great! It's almost gone now, but got better tasting as it aged.
I was thinking along the same lines,using the WL029 German ale/kolsh yeast I'm washing. Got one batch of the yeast in the fridge already.
jcam91
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Never used that yeast, or California common for that matter. I just can't lager either so I wonder if fermented with the common yeast. One could make an Oktoberfest that is pretty much to style.
Hi, Ken.
I, like you, have always believed that "bottle conditioning" is, if not a necessity, certainly a desirable component of home brewing.
You (and lots of others) might be surprised by the answer I received from Shawn Croasmun, brand manager at Brewer's Best, when I wrote to ask if "time in the bottle" would create better taste/flavor. Here's what HE said:
" Lastly, the only beers that really benefit from an aging time is darker beers like Porters and Stout, oaked beers and fruit beers. Lighter beers like IPAs, Pale Ales, Wheats etc. are ready to drink as soon as theyre carbonated."
Go figure. I mean, Shawn's not god......but, you'd think he should be speaking the manufacturer's "gospel".
Anyone else have an opinion?
WL029 is a German kolsch yeast (read ale yeast) that ferments best in the 65-69F range. It gives lager-like balance & crispness on the back that's very much like lagers. After carbonating at room temp, I put'em in the fridge for 2 weeks to simulate lagering in the bottles. Works pretty good.
What he says is basically true. But I've had some AP's & IPA's that were a bit better after 4 weeks, rather than the usual 3 at 70F or a bit more.
