Perfect Brewing Supply's "Ober-Easy" Kit?

Has anybody tried the Ober-Easy kit from Perfect Brewing Supply? It is an extract kit for Bells Oberon. I was thinking of picking one of these up, but I wanted to get some feedback first. Thanks in advance.

Chris

Its great you posted this, I actually brewed it on Saturday. I also wanted to get someone's input on what the taste is. This is the extract version so I'm sure there is a diff, but from what I can see on the internet, Bell's version is a very good beer. I have already made the Amber Ale clone from Mickey's also purchased from perfect brewing and It was great so I trust this should be good.

This was something like the second kit I ever bought. It's been a long time since I had it but I remember it turned out being a very good beer. It was a little too dark for oberon and there was something about the taste being a bit different.

Knowing what I know now, I'd take a guess and say the yeast character was missing from it. If you have a chance to culture Bell's yeast from a bottle, I would use that instead of the WY1010 they provide. If you can't get Bell's yeast I'd probably just use a neutral ale yeast like WY1056, WLP001, SafAle05.

Bell's uses their house yeast for almost everything (including Oberon), and it's definitely not something like WY1010, it's more like WY1056

Bokonon said:

If you have a chance to culture Bell's yeast from a bottle, I would use that instead of the WY1010 they provide.

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I just did this. I used the recipe that is posted all over the net and used a really nice pitch I built up from a 2H bottle.

It's not close. Assuming that the recipe that has been posted all over the net is somewhat accurate, that means it's the yeast.

I would recommend trying 2565 or 3463 and possibly trying it at higher temperatures.

OR - make the kit - somebody else said it made a good beer, whether it's close to oberon or not.

Duster72 said:

I just did this. I used the recipe that is posted all over the net and used a really nice pitch I built up from a 2H bottle.

It's not close. Assuming that the recipe that has been posted all over the net is somewhat accurate, that means it's the yeast.

I would recommend trying 2565 or 3463 and possibly trying it at higher temperatures.

OR - make the kit - somebody else said it made a good beer, whether it's close to oberon or not.

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This is straying off topic from the OP's query, but I'll throw it out there anyways

I've made 3 versions of this beer so far. One with the Ober-Easy kit. One AG with a recipe I found on the net. Then the last was my own design. The last one turned out the best and most like oberon. In fact I shared it with many people that said it tasted more like the oberon from 3-4 years back before they started changing it.

Here is what I did:
10 lbs Crisp Maris Otter Malt (3.0 SRM) Grain 42.11 %
10 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 42.11 %
2 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 8.42 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 15L (15.0 SRM) Grain 5.26 %
8.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 2.11 %
1.00 oz Saaz [4.30 %] (60 min) Hops 9.2 IBU
1.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 27.2 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.30 %] (15 min) Hops 2.4 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.30 %] (0 min) Hops -

This is a 10 gal recipe and I split it between 2 yeasts. One of them was with a cultured Bell's yeast and the other was with the Fat Tire yeast that Wyeast distributed.

The Bell's yeast version was awesome and was gone in no time at all

This is a beer I'll keep making since I don't live in Michigan anymore and who knows if they will ever step up their distribution.

AmberChris said:

Its great you posted this, I actually brewed it on Saturday. I also wanted to get someone's input on what the taste is. This is the extract version so I'm sure there is a diff, but from what I can see on the internet, Bell's version is a very good beer. I have already made the Amber Ale clone from Mickey's also purchased from perfect brewing and It was great so I trust this should be good.

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That was weird reading this at first b/c we just brewed the Ober-Easy kit for the first time on Saturday too. We're looking forward to it. Cheers!

Thanks for the feedback. I put in my order last night, so hopefully I'll have it delivered in time to brew it this weekend.

Anyone try the AHS version?

I would like to give some props to Perfect Brewing Supply. I ordered my kit over the weekend, and it was delivered YESTERDAY (wednesday). I'm in Chicago, and apparently they have a distribution point in Wheeling. Talk about top notch!

Hey, it didn't list them in the instructions...what are the estimated OG and FG for this kit???

I brewed some up last summer. While in Michigan, my friend and I compared them side by side. We both liked the homebrew version better. It had a very pleasant summer flavor without their house yeast flavor.

Perfect brewing also has a store front on rt 176 in libertyville. From I-94, it is the Lambe Farm exit. If you get a chance, stop in. Very cool guys and there is always a sample to try.

Thanks for the heads up. I call the store and calculated it for me:

OG - 1.052-1.055
FG - 1.012-1.016

i might just have to try this one too

Well I bottled last night, and I must say that it did not LOOK like Oberon. It was much darker than I had expected. Hopefully it will TASTE like Oberon in a few weeks.

HuffDaddy said:

Well I bottled last night, and I must say that it did not LOOK like Oberon. It was much darker than I had expected. Hopefully it will TASTE like Oberon in a few weeks.

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I look forward to hearing how it turns out.

What did your OG and SG end up at?

1.056, 1.014

Started the Ober-Easy on Sunday afternoon, and now it's Wednesday. The batch has gone from 1.055-1.020, though it still might need some time to finish fermenting.
What fermentation temp did you brew at? I have mine in a water bucket with ice and a fan for evaporative cooling, so it's sitting at around 66 degrees. Did anyone else cool their primary? Did it help the taste. I have a bottle of Bell's Oberon waiting for me when the batch is done to compare with. Will let you know the similarities when it's done.

If you're not partial to the Oberon yeast, what did you use in it's place?

Thanks

"I have mine in a water bucket with ice and a fan for evaporative cooling, so it's sitting at around 66 degrees. "

I fermented around 72 degrees (the ambient temp of my condo).

I ordered the ober-easy kit from perfect brewing and am just so tempted to harvest the yeast from a 6pack rather than use the WY1010 shipped w/ the kit.

Has anybody done this?

My guess is this will go counter act everything else in this kit that attempts to clone oberon..but I'm new to this and want to see what people's thoughts are.

Cheers!
Jim