anyone use brewhouse?

[BoyScout]

Carrion and others that have tried the Honey Blonde. I have that kit (as my first ever). Any pointers or things to avoid.

I added an extra kilo of honey to it when I made it and it turned out fantastic! You may also want to think about using a different type of yeast, if you have access to it, either Wyeast 1099 - Whitbread Ale or 1272 - American Ale II would be a good match, I think.

 

[Jmac00]

I added an extra kilo of honey to it when I made it and it turned out fantastic! You may also want to think about using a different type of yeast, if you have access to it, either Wyeast 1099 - Whitbread Ale or 1272 - American Ale II would be a good match, I think.

How did you add the honey? to the primary? did you boil it in?

 

[Carrion]

The fermentation was quite vigorous. Use a blow off tube for a few days. I used the Coopers yeast that came in the kit. I used Ozarka water. My tap water is horrible.

 

[BoyScout]

How did you add the honey? to the primary? did you boil it in?

I added the honey to about 4 cups of boiled water. Stirred it until it was well mixed and then stirred it into the wort before adding the yeast.
I called it my Double Honey Blonde and it was the one beer I've made so far that my wife and quite a few others liked the best. I have two bottles of it left that my wife is keeping for a "special" occasion. Likely when I'm not home so she doesn't have to share them.

 

[Memorex88]

The Double Honey Blonde sounds good. I made a note of the recipe

 

[Kronin]

thanks for all the great responses, I will probably pick one of these kits up for my next batch (boiling hobgoblin right now - smeells so good in here!)...
probably the winter spicy one whatever it's called... then leave em until the fall....

 

[FlyGuy]

I don't like the dry Cooper's yeast that comes with these kits. The first thing I always do is replace it with a quality liquid yeast, or a better dry yeast. That makes a huge difference. (Save the packet of Cooper's yeast for an emergency, or boil it up for yeast nutrient for your starters.)

The water you add to these kits is also influential. I like to use bottled reverse osmosis water for convenience sake. Otherwise, if you have good tasting tap water, boil it to remove any potential contaminants and remove the chlorine before you use it. Also note that you can adjust the gravity of the beer by playing with the amount of water you add to the kit -- I rarely add it all.

 

[Jmac00]

I added the honey to about 4 cups of boiled water. Stirred it until it was well mixed and then stirred it into the wort before adding the yeast.
I called it my Double Honey Blonde and it was the one beer I've made so far that my wife and quite a few others liked the best. I have two bottles of it left that my wife is keeping for a "special" occasion. Likely when I'm not home so she doesn't have to share them.

Awesome...sounds easy enough...can't wait to try this in a few weeks....

Thanks.

 

[BoyScout]

On their website they have 5 different ways of tweaking their kits. I'm doing the Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout that they suggested. Was my first time steeping grains. It's got at least another month to go, to finish bottle conditioning, but I have tasted a bottle already and it's tasty! They'll be ready just in time for my 40th (the big F-O). That should make the night a little more memorable.

Your definitely going to have to tell us how this turns out!

Well, we drank quite a few of the Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stouts, on Saturday night. They turned out fantastic! They are seriously drinkable, and finished off at about 9.6% ABV.
Quite a few of my friends brought commercial beers to the party, and left those in my fridge and spent the evening drinking my Oatmeal Stout instead.
I'd definitely recommend this recipe if you're going to try "tweaking" any of the Brewhouse kits.

 

[Memorex88]

Well, we drank quite a few of the Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stouts, on Saturday night. They turned out fantastic! They are seriously drinkable, and finished off at about 9.6% ABV.
Quite a few of my friends brought commercial beers to the party, and left those in my fridge and spent the evening drinking my Oatmeal Stout instead.
I'd definitely recommend this recipe if you're going to try "tweaking" any of the Brewhouse kits.

I take it your 40 now? HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Sounds like this brew is awesome and you had a good time Saturday.

Congrats and tnx for sharing the experience.

 

[Chips]

Brew House kits do always seem to turn out great for me, although I've never tried different yeasts so perhaps that is the next step!

I also use these kits quite a bit: Festa Brew. They're very similar to Brew House except
1) You don't add any water, the kits are a full 23L of wort
2) Every different style of beer comes with the proper style of yeast (as opposed to the 15G coopers yeast that seems to come with Brew House).

Anyways both always seem to turn out great and are super easy!

Anyone done any hacking with the Festa Brew kits?

 

[Kronin]

okay so how does one open the plastic cap on the wort bag!? it is on there like crazyglue and i suspect i will tear the damn bag long before getting that thing to come off......

 

[Chips]

I find using a regular bottle opener and a very firm grip helps. If at first you don't succeed and tear the plastic of the cap (so the bottle opener has nothing to grip to) rotate a few degrees and try again.

They definitely don't make them easy to open so if anyone else has a better way I'd be happy to find out how!

 

[Jmac00]

Vice grips work good too.....

 

[Memorex88]

okay so how does one open the plastic cap on the wort bag!? it is on there like crazyglue and i suspect i will tear the damn bag long before getting that thing to come off......

Make sure you use the box with the cutout to put the cap through and NEVER take it out of the box thinking there is an easier way to pour it. I've tried it and it's always messy. Even cutting a corner of the bag inside the fermenter thinking "no mess" resulted in too much splashing coming out onto my arm and floor

I use the dull end of my Swiss Army knife to pop it and always have the box on a ledge above the fermenter to make it easy to pour.

Another thing is I shake the hell out of the box B4 pouring to get the deposits in the bag out and I add some water/wort in the bag to get the most I can.

 

[Carrion]

I use a bottle opener to open the pouch. I learned to leave the bag in the box too. I have the Mexican Cerveza brewing right now. I used Wyeast 2112.

 

[BoyScout]

okay so how does one open the plastic cap on the wort bag!? it is on there like crazyglue and i suspect i will tear the damn bag long before getting that thing to come off......

I find that if I pull on it really hard and use just the right combination of swear words it comes off with minimal spillage. The problem is, is I never remember what the right combination of swear words to use the next time I'm trying to open one of the them.

 

[Memorex88]

I find that if I pull on it really hard and use just the right combination of swear words it comes off with minimal spillage. The problem is, is I never remember what the right combination of swear words to use the next time I'm trying to open one of the them.

This is why keeping notes is so important

 

[boo boo]

I guess I'm the lone holdout here. I made 2 kits a few years ago and didn't like the results. Could have been the municipal water, but I have used that water for the past 4 years with great results. I did try Barrons kits, which were almost the same and had much better results.

If I were that close to PW, I would try some of their kits. I thought they made 23 liter wort kits. And while we are on the wort-in-a-bag type kits, have anyone tried Festabrew kits? I have had beer made from them a buddy sends me from Nova Scotia and must say they are awesome.

Edit, didn't see Chips post... oh well

 

[Kronin]

well, i used a knofe to loift the edge of the cap and that worked okay... got a bunch on my socks, but whatever , lol


okay im nort correntig my typos.. im a few brews in and am RDWAHAHB....

 

[Anderz]

I was just checking out these kits at Winning Wines Plus and thought i would do a quick search on the site to see the reviews. Looks like everyone is happy with there results so i will try one out.
I think that they were selling them for over $30 as well.

 

[Memorex88]

The Cream Ale is a favorite by many, I would give that a try if you like that style. You can't go wrong.

 

[Kronin]

I bought the IPA and its been in primary for 2 weeks now.... smells great. a bit pricey over here at $38 but still... for good beer, what the heck...

 

[Memorex88]

I bought the IPA and its been in primary for 2 weeks now.... smells great. a bit pricey over here at $38 but still... for good beer, what the heck...

Let us know how that IPA turns out!

 

[FlyGuy]

That IPA kit is a good one, especially if you didn't add all the top-up water it calls for. Adding some dry hops in the secondary really makes it outstanding! Darn, I may have to do one of those soon.

 

[Araxi]

I made the Pilsener kit. After 2 weeks in the bottle I wasn't too impressed so I waited another month and it made a huge difference, turned out to be a pretty good brew.

 

[Kronin]

That IPA kit is a good one, especially if you didn't add all the top-up water it calls for. Adding some dry hops in the secondary really makes it outstanding! Darn, I may have to do one of those soon.

i would like to try this....

what do you recommend? it is in secondary at the moment and i have a couple ounces of Fuggles, and a couple ounces of Goldings... (both pellet)

 

[FlyGuy]

i would like to try this....

what do you recommend? it is in secondary at the moment and i have a couple ounces of Fuggles, and a couple ounces of Goldings... (both pellet)

I like to use American hops, like Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo, etc. But if is a choice between Goldings or Fuggles, I would go with the Goldings. I like the aroma better personally. But honestly, either will improve the beer.

 

[fifafan]

I generally make the BH Red Ale and the BH Cream Ale every year....the cream ale I add 2 1/2 cups of honey at primary fermentation, and it really adds a lot to the ale.

BH is, imho, awesome.

 

[lmaa]

Yes.
That was one of the first I tried. Not impressed. couldn't get a decent head, tasted like brown water. It may have been doing something wrong.
The best results that I have had is with Coopers; but use a wooden spoon when you clean the out the can. There is a white plastic coating on the inside that scrapes of quite easily.