Keither
Active Member
I just wanted to share some good news about the beer kit my wife bought me for christmas.
I just opened a bottle of "St Patrick's Irish stout" that I brewed about six weeks ago. I used the normal 2 cans of malt but also added a package of that "booster" stuff that came with the fermenter as well as a cup of molasses. I always feel the need to screw around with recipes when I'm cooking, plus I wanted to get rid of the "booster", since I will not be using the two recipes that came with the kit.
Anyway, the beer tastes really good. So far I've made the "nut brown ale", the "czech pilsner", the stout, and I've tried another brown ale with maple syrup. There is a "porter" fermenting right now.
It's all turned out really well, but the stout is an incredible surprise. I found the other beers were very good, and compare favourably with similar store-bought beers, but the stout with the "booster" and molasses in it has really turned out well. It's BETTER than many store-bought stouts. My friends, who think I actually "made" the beer (as opposed to using an extract kit) also think it's really good. It has a creamy taste with lots of malt flavour, a little bitter, and a toasty aftertaste..maybe even a little chocolatey. Also, it's good and boozy. I would be careful drinking more than a glass of it.
Anyway, I am all spun up to try using actual grain to make a beer, but frankly I think I will also be making this stout kit again. There is simply no reason not to.
One thing is weird though, I have been using pop-top bottles, and once in a while I encounter a bottle that is flat. I'm hoping I simply forgot to put sugar in one or two of them, but so far two of the pilsners and one of the stouts has failed to carbonate. The good news is, the stout is so tasty my friends wanted to drink it flat anyway, even when I offered to go get a carbonated one.
I'm really enjoying making beer. Soon I am going to order an all-grain kit, because I love to cook and this seems not different than making soup, really, so why not. Just wanted to say my wife did a really good thing buying the Mr. Beer kit. I was not aware that making your own beer was this rewarding.
I just opened a bottle of "St Patrick's Irish stout" that I brewed about six weeks ago. I used the normal 2 cans of malt but also added a package of that "booster" stuff that came with the fermenter as well as a cup of molasses. I always feel the need to screw around with recipes when I'm cooking, plus I wanted to get rid of the "booster", since I will not be using the two recipes that came with the kit.
Anyway, the beer tastes really good. So far I've made the "nut brown ale", the "czech pilsner", the stout, and I've tried another brown ale with maple syrup. There is a "porter" fermenting right now.
It's all turned out really well, but the stout is an incredible surprise. I found the other beers were very good, and compare favourably with similar store-bought beers, but the stout with the "booster" and molasses in it has really turned out well. It's BETTER than many store-bought stouts. My friends, who think I actually "made" the beer (as opposed to using an extract kit) also think it's really good. It has a creamy taste with lots of malt flavour, a little bitter, and a toasty aftertaste..maybe even a little chocolatey. Also, it's good and boozy. I would be careful drinking more than a glass of it.
Anyway, I am all spun up to try using actual grain to make a beer, but frankly I think I will also be making this stout kit again. There is simply no reason not to.
One thing is weird though, I have been using pop-top bottles, and once in a while I encounter a bottle that is flat. I'm hoping I simply forgot to put sugar in one or two of them, but so far two of the pilsners and one of the stouts has failed to carbonate. The good news is, the stout is so tasty my friends wanted to drink it flat anyway, even when I offered to go get a carbonated one.
I'm really enjoying making beer. Soon I am going to order an all-grain kit, because I love to cook and this seems not different than making soup, really, so why not. Just wanted to say my wife did a really good thing buying the Mr. Beer kit. I was not aware that making your own beer was this rewarding.