glockentalk
Well-Known Member
Where did you get the idea for the pepper, and what effect does it have on flavour. I'm asking because I'm starting my first BH mdl next week.
Brewhouse Kits - looking for opinions and reviews. . .
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Where did you get the idea for the pepper, and what effect does it have on flavour. I'm asking because I'm starting my first BH mdl next week.
HighGravity
Well-Known Member
I tried some at a local homebrewing club that used 2Tbsp and it was good. It was a lighter beer so the pepper showed just right, but with the mdl I made you had to look for it bc of the other additions. If you've never had it before you could try it as is, or just add some crystal malt, roasted malt, etc at about 500grams. I sometimes just see whats listed on their grain bill and add more of one to bring that flavour out more.
glockentalk
Well-Known Member
Thx.
HighGravity
Well-Known Member
Thought I'd keep this thread alive for those interested, as my IPA mod turned out way better than I thought. I've had many of their standard IPA's, but this one turned out with perfect carbonation, head, aroma and taste. The only problem was it was gone with 2 weeks of being finished.
600 gr. Carapils
Hop sock
3 oz Zeus (12%?AA)
1 oz Centennial
3 cups LME or DME (yes I'm very scientific)
Nottingham dry yeast
OG=1072
FG=1020 or 6.9%abv
Ferment temps=20-22 C
Steep Carapils in hop sock in one gallon water at 162 for an hour (using an oven preheated to 160 helps if you feel the need to tea bag or stir in during this time). Start boil after extracting as much of whats in the sock as you can, squeeze and run some new hot water through it. Boil for 1.5 hours, add 1 oz zues at 60 min left, another at 30 min left along with the LME, another oz at 20 min. Cool in sink to pitch temp under 20 min by running hot water, use some ice too. If cooling too slow just add clean cold water directly to the kettle, but keep it under 2 canadian gallons.
Rack when slowed down, I did at day 5, and add that 1 oz centennial
Cold Crash at day 15 in fridge or balcony
Bottle at day 16
Put 25% of batch in fridge at day 23, start drinking at day 30
Put remainder of batch in fridge at day 30, at start drinking at day 37
I have to admit that I learned pretty late in the game about proper aging in bottles and then the fridge. The difference in quality is night and day. I could not believe how similar this was to some of the best locals IPA's out there.
I'm going to keep this recipe and try adding more Carapils in the future, say 4 lbs, using a teaspoon of irish moss at the last 10 min of the boil to get all that crap coagulated. Obviously just changing the hops too leads to enough variation.
600 gr. Carapils
Hop sock
3 oz Zeus (12%?AA)
1 oz Centennial
3 cups LME or DME (yes I'm very scientific)
Nottingham dry yeast
OG=1072
FG=1020 or 6.9%abv
Ferment temps=20-22 C
Steep Carapils in hop sock in one gallon water at 162 for an hour (using an oven preheated to 160 helps if you feel the need to tea bag or stir in during this time). Start boil after extracting as much of whats in the sock as you can, squeeze and run some new hot water through it. Boil for 1.5 hours, add 1 oz zues at 60 min left, another at 30 min left along with the LME, another oz at 20 min. Cool in sink to pitch temp under 20 min by running hot water, use some ice too. If cooling too slow just add clean cold water directly to the kettle, but keep it under 2 canadian gallons.
Rack when slowed down, I did at day 5, and add that 1 oz centennial
Cold Crash at day 15 in fridge or balcony
Bottle at day 16
Put 25% of batch in fridge at day 23, start drinking at day 30
Put remainder of batch in fridge at day 30, at start drinking at day 37
I have to admit that I learned pretty late in the game about proper aging in bottles and then the fridge. The difference in quality is night and day. I could not believe how similar this was to some of the best locals IPA's out there.
I'm going to keep this recipe and try adding more Carapils in the future, say 4 lbs, using a teaspoon of irish moss at the last 10 min of the boil to get all that crap coagulated. Obviously just changing the hops too leads to enough variation.
boo boo
Well-Known Member
I have used 3 of the Festa kits last summer and have to say they were excellent. I haven't used Brewhouse in over 5 years now, but am going to give them a try later today if I can get what I want at my LHBS.
When I first tried them, I wasn't too fussy about the taste and after I tried the Barrons kits, found them to be a little better.
Later on when Festa seasonal, Czech Pils, comes back on the market, I'll be picking up 3 or 4. Man were they ever good.
When I first tried them, I wasn't too fussy about the taste and after I tried the Barrons kits, found them to be a little better.
Later on when Festa seasonal, Czech Pils, comes back on the market, I'll be picking up 3 or 4. Man were they ever good.
HighGravity
Well-Known Member
I wish I could try Festa here on the west coast. Seems like shipping across the whole country is quite pricey though.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
Have done a number of BH and FB...although I am now doing AG there are a few kits that I really like and can see myself doing many times over. Probably my favourite is the FB double oatmeal stout. Had a few tonight from my most recent batch and they are just marvelous--highly recommended! Also really liked the FB Brown Ale; it took some time to develop but when it did...great beer. Won a gold medal with that one this year.
glockentalk
Well-Known Member
Any ideas for a BH barley wine? Maybe the Pale Ale with no water, and some extra DME?
Alright, well I havn't posted in awhile, almost ever actually! But I do brew with these kits all the time, and have some feedback. All of these kits were +- a week in primary and +- two weeks in secondary before batch prime with dextrose and bottled 500ml and 1L EZ cap bottles.
1. Cream Ale, my first kit of Brewhouse.. full 23L top up with the included Coopers DIY yeast. Turned out great, a nice light balanced ale. Nothing special, but good drinking for the average ale guy.
2.Honey blonde, full 23 L top up with included Coopers yeast. This was good beer too, a little estery how it turned out, but good for spring/summer. Not my fav.
3. IPA , FULL 23L top up and included yeast. This was basically a pale ale, a decent one, but not hoppy enough for IPA. Would reccomend topping up to 19L or dry-hopping. Very forgettable, but to the layman it was a good pale ale.
4. Winterfest, topped up to 22L, again using the standard included Coopers yeast. Substituted dark brown sugar for 25% of prime sugar. Came out great after carbing, but turned delicious after 2+ months in bottle and still amazing at 4 months. Still 4 bottles in my private reserve! Spicy and sweet.
5. Oktoberfest, topped up to a full 23L, included Coopers yeast. Fiance did this one side by side with me and my Winterfest. After 4 weeks carbing it was okay, just didn't seem quite ready. We decided after the first bottle to keep this until next year, to give it a nice long bottle condition as it is a darker beer and that worked well for the Winterfest.
6. Prairie Wheat, done up to 23L and included yeast. I added a pound of blueberries that i cooked with a cup of water, filtered the juice and added. This turned out okay, but wasn't my favorite. It seemed a little plain to me actually and I was drinking it in the summer time. I found a slight estery quality to it that wasn't quite right. I blame the basic yeast I used. It was okay, but not the best Brewhouse kit by itself. That being said...see #7
7. Prairie Wheat HEFEWEIZEN, this was my hack on the Prairie wheat. Topped up to 22L, and used Weihenstephaner weizen yeast 3068. This went 3 weeks in primary solely, and was primed with the kits sugar and an extra TBSP or so of dextrose to get it extra bubbly and account for my high altitude in Calgary (something I never adjusted for previously. That being said I forgot to adjust that my wort was only topped to 22L. In the end, the beer was beautifully carbed!) This beer turned out great! But it needed 3.5 weeks in the bottle before it hit its peak. I gave some out at work, and the responses have been phenomenal! It is hitting the banana notes now that I wanted but were apsent when it was young. The other spicy notes are there now as well. Beleive it or not, I dropped a lemon wedge in and it just enhanced the falvor, something I was wary to try. The large foamy head reduced to a creamy cap until the very end. You should try this hack, its easy! The only thing I would have changed is that the Prairie wheat kit is pre-hopped with Perle, a german noble hop, and a Hefe should be Hallertau from my experience.
8. Brewhouse Stout. Just started this last night, I topped it up to 21L, and used two packs of the Coopers DIY, in a ignorant attempt to over pitch into the slightly higher OG. Not sure if it will help any, but it seemed right at the time. Very dark, and a definate expresso tang in there when I drank my measuring sample. Then I spilled it all over the floor by hitting the spiggot on my Thief.
So overall, these kits produce great beer, but I reccomend reducing the water intakes, or in the very least try out a liquid yeast. Some beers just need a specific yeast, like the hefeweizen to name one. That being said, alot of these kits were good with the basic yeast. If you like IPA, try the kit but you have to hack it, because the majority says it is grossly under-hopped!
Well thats what I've done so far lads.
1. Cream Ale, my first kit of Brewhouse.. full 23L top up with the included Coopers DIY yeast. Turned out great, a nice light balanced ale. Nothing special, but good drinking for the average ale guy.
2.Honey blonde, full 23 L top up with included Coopers yeast. This was good beer too, a little estery how it turned out, but good for spring/summer. Not my fav.
3. IPA , FULL 23L top up and included yeast. This was basically a pale ale, a decent one, but not hoppy enough for IPA. Would reccomend topping up to 19L or dry-hopping. Very forgettable, but to the layman it was a good pale ale.
4. Winterfest, topped up to 22L, again using the standard included Coopers yeast. Substituted dark brown sugar for 25% of prime sugar. Came out great after carbing, but turned delicious after 2+ months in bottle and still amazing at 4 months. Still 4 bottles in my private reserve! Spicy and sweet.
5. Oktoberfest, topped up to a full 23L, included Coopers yeast. Fiance did this one side by side with me and my Winterfest. After 4 weeks carbing it was okay, just didn't seem quite ready. We decided after the first bottle to keep this until next year, to give it a nice long bottle condition as it is a darker beer and that worked well for the Winterfest.
6. Prairie Wheat, done up to 23L and included yeast. I added a pound of blueberries that i cooked with a cup of water, filtered the juice and added. This turned out okay, but wasn't my favorite. It seemed a little plain to me actually and I was drinking it in the summer time. I found a slight estery quality to it that wasn't quite right. I blame the basic yeast I used. It was okay, but not the best Brewhouse kit by itself. That being said...see #7
7. Prairie Wheat HEFEWEIZEN, this was my hack on the Prairie wheat. Topped up to 22L, and used Weihenstephaner weizen yeast 3068. This went 3 weeks in primary solely, and was primed with the kits sugar and an extra TBSP or so of dextrose to get it extra bubbly and account for my high altitude in Calgary (something I never adjusted for previously. That being said I forgot to adjust that my wort was only topped to 22L. In the end, the beer was beautifully carbed!) This beer turned out great! But it needed 3.5 weeks in the bottle before it hit its peak. I gave some out at work, and the responses have been phenomenal! It is hitting the banana notes now that I wanted but were apsent when it was young. The other spicy notes are there now as well. Beleive it or not, I dropped a lemon wedge in and it just enhanced the falvor, something I was wary to try. The large foamy head reduced to a creamy cap until the very end. You should try this hack, its easy! The only thing I would have changed is that the Prairie wheat kit is pre-hopped with Perle, a german noble hop, and a Hefe should be Hallertau from my experience.
8. Brewhouse Stout. Just started this last night, I topped it up to 21L, and used two packs of the Coopers DIY, in a ignorant attempt to over pitch into the slightly higher OG. Not sure if it will help any, but it seemed right at the time. Very dark, and a definate expresso tang in there when I drank my measuring sample. Then I spilled it all over the floor by hitting the spiggot on my Thief.
So overall, these kits produce great beer, but I reccomend reducing the water intakes, or in the very least try out a liquid yeast. Some beers just need a specific yeast, like the hefeweizen to name one. That being said, alot of these kits were good with the basic yeast. If you like IPA, try the kit but you have to hack it, because the majority says it is grossly under-hopped!
Well thats what I've done so far lads.
Alright, well I havn't posted in awhile, almost ever actually! But I do brew with these kits all the time, and have some feedback. All of these kits were +- a week in primary and +- two weeks in secondary before batch prime with dextrose and bottled 500ml and 1L EZ cap bottles.
1. Cream Ale, my first kit of Brewhouse.. full 23L top up with the included Coopers DIY yeast. Turned out great, a nice light balanced ale. Nothing special, but good drinking for the average ale guy.
2.Honey blonde, full 23 L top up with included Coopers yeast. This was good beer too, a little estery how it turned out, but good for spring/summer. Not my fav.
3. IPA , FULL 23L top up and included yeast. This was basically a pale ale, a decent one, but not hoppy enough for IPA. Would reccomend topping up to 19L or dry-hopping. Very forgettable, but to the layman it was a good pale ale.
4. Winterfest, topped up to 22L, again using the standard included Coopers yeast. Substituted dark brown sugar for 25% of prime sugar. Came out great after carbing, but turned delicious after 2+ months in bottle and still amazing at 4 months. Still 4 bottles in my private reserve! Spicy and sweet.
5. Oktoberfest, topped up to a full 23L, included Coopers yeast. Fiance did this one side by side with me and my Winterfest. After 4 weeks carbing it was okay, just didn't seem quite ready. We decided after the first bottle to keep this until next year, to give it a nice long bottle condition as it is a darker beer and that worked well for the Winterfest.
6. Prairie Wheat, done up to 23L and included yeast. I added a pound of blueberries that i cooked with a cup of water, filtered the juice and added. This turned out okay, but wasn't my favorite. It seemed a little plain to me actually and I was drinking it in the summer time. I found a slight estery quality to it that wasn't quite right. I blame the basic yeast I used. It was okay, but not the best Brewhouse kit by itself. That being said...see #7
7. Prairie Wheat HEFEWEIZEN, this was my hack on the Prairie wheat. Topped up to 22L, and used Weihenstephaner weizen yeast 3068. This went 3 weeks in primary solely, and was primed with the kits sugar and an extra TBSP or so of dextrose to get it extra bubbly and account for my high altitude in Calgary (something I never adjusted for previously. That being said I forgot to adjust that my wort was only topped to 22L. In the end, the beer was beautifully carbed!) This beer turned out great! But it needed 3.5 weeks in the bottle before it hit its peak. I gave some out at work, and the responses have been phenomenal! It is hitting the banana notes now that I wanted but were apsent when it was young. The other spicy notes are there now as well. Beleive it or not, I dropped a lemon wedge in and it just enhanced the falvor, something I was wary to try. The large foamy head reduced to a creamy cap until the very end. You should try this hack, its easy! The only thing I would have changed is that the Prairie wheat kit is pre-hopped with Perle, a german noble hop, and a Hefe should be Hallertau from my experience.
8. Brewhouse Stout. Just started this last night, I topped it up to 21L, and used two packs of the Coopers DIY, in a ignorant attempt to over pitch into the slightly higher OG. Not sure if it will help any, but it seemed right at the time. Very dark, and a definate expresso tang in there when I drank my measuring sample. Then I spilled it all over the floor by hitting the spiggot on my Thief.
So overall, these kits produce great beer, but I reccomend reducing the water intakes, or in the very least try out a liquid yeast. Some beers just need a specific yeast, like the hefeweizen to name one. That being said, alot of these kits were good with the basic yeast. If you like IPA, try the kit but you have to hack it, because the majority says it is grossly under-hopped!
Well thats what I've done so far lads.
Nice reviews! I myself am on my second BH kit. First one was the BH Pilsner. Topped up to 23L, and just bottled last Thursday. Going to leave it to condition for at least another week or two. Sample I had at bottling was nice...quite bitter but I'm sure that will mellow with age.
Second batch that is currently in my primary is the BH IPA. I topped it up to 19L, used the WLP008 East Coast Ale liquid yeast. O.G. was 1.068 and when I tested the SG yesterday it was 1.028. Still has a ways to go but I'm looking forward to the higher abv%! I'm also going to dry hop with 1oz of "7 c's" hops once I transfer to the secondary.
I just ordered some Wyeast 2278 Czech Pilsner to replace the Coopers yeast that comes with the Brew House Pilsner kit. I would like to share my fermentation plan to make sure I'm on the correct track.
1. First off I am going to chill the wart and the additional 8 litres of bottled water down to 14C.
2. Using a primary fermentor (plastic tub with loose fitting lid) add the 8 litres of water and the water conditioning package and stir.
3. Add the wart to the fermentor and stir.
4. Aerate with diffusion stone and air pump for 30 minutes.
5. Chill the entire fermentor contents back down to 14C if necessary before adding the yeast.
6. Prepare the yeast as per the youtube video I watched on how to do so. Then pitch.
7. Leave in the primary fermentor for 3-4 days at 14C for 3-4 days before transfering to secondary fermentor (glass carboy with airlock)
8. Leave in the secondary fermentor at about 16-18C for 20 days before transfering to a keg to carbonate.
Steps 7 and 8 are pretty general as I've never used anything but the Coopers yeast with the Brew House kits and not sure how to handle these stages other than by following the directions that come with the kit. Anyone have any advise or suggestions that might help me brew a nice clean pilsner beer?
1. First off I am going to chill the wart and the additional 8 litres of bottled water down to 14C.
2. Using a primary fermentor (plastic tub with loose fitting lid) add the 8 litres of water and the water conditioning package and stir.
3. Add the wart to the fermentor and stir.
4. Aerate with diffusion stone and air pump for 30 minutes.
5. Chill the entire fermentor contents back down to 14C if necessary before adding the yeast.
6. Prepare the yeast as per the youtube video I watched on how to do so. Then pitch.
7. Leave in the primary fermentor for 3-4 days at 14C for 3-4 days before transfering to secondary fermentor (glass carboy with airlock)
8. Leave in the secondary fermentor at about 16-18C for 20 days before transfering to a keg to carbonate.
Steps 7 and 8 are pretty general as I've never used anything but the Coopers yeast with the Brew House kits and not sure how to handle these stages other than by following the directions that come with the kit. Anyone have any advise or suggestions that might help me brew a nice clean pilsner beer?
If you look at the Wyeast website for that specific yeast strain, 14C is on the upper end of the temperature range for that yeast. I'd go down to 10-12C just to be safe. Also this yeast is a lager yeast, so from what I understand of lager yeasts, and lagers in general, you want to make sure that the beer has fermented completely (usually 5-7 days, but check gravity with hydrometer). Then, you transfer to a secondary and lager the beer for about 4 weeks. i.e. keep the beer very cold (about 4C) for a month in the secondary before kegging. I've never lagered before, so somebody jump in if I'm off base here.
FWIW, I brewed the brewhouse pilsner with the coopers yeast that came with it and it turned out to be a nice beer. I'm very interested to hear how it turns out when actually brewed to style with a proper yeast strain...
Instead of the Pilsner I'm starting with the Brewhouse Munich Dark lager with Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager. So far I have fermented it in a primary fermenter for 12 days at 10C, it has gone from a 1.052 to 1.034 SG in that time. Today I moved it to the secondary fermenter and am now storing it at 4C. I didn't think I should leave it in the secondary fermenter any longer as it just has the snap on lid and is not air tight. (It is now in the carboy.) I thought the SG should be lower but it hasn't really dropped in the last couple of days. I transferred everything in the primary to the secondary including all the sediment that was at the bottom. Not sure if that was a good idea or not. Next time I think will just use the secondary fermenter (carboy with the airlock) from the start. From what I understand is that the primary fermenter is just basically used because the initial fermentation can usually get a pretty good sized yeast cap on it and this would avoid a serious spewing mess. This being the case more so with an ale than a lager? Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm totally out of lunch!!! I hope I haven't completely botched this batch.
You shouldn't drop it to 4C until fermentation is complete, otherwise the yeast will go dormant and will not finish the fermentation process. 1.034 is way too high for a FG. I'd bring the temp back up....even to 15-18C and let the fermentation finish before dropping it to 4C and lagering.
Is it ok to bring the temperature up that high? Wyeast website recommends (9-13° C).
http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=133
http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=133
Since 12 days have already passed and you're still at 1.034, I'd bring up the temps, give the bucket a gentle swirl to re-suspend the yeast, and let it sit for another few days before checking gravity again. The most active part of fermentation has already occurred, so bringing up the temps now won't do any harm. If you had the temps up during active fermentation, you'd definitely have some off flavours. Lager yeast is notoriously slow-fermenting so just give it some more time and let your FG end up closer to 1.010-1.014 or whatever your recipe states before lagering.
fishprowler
Member
Does any one have any tips, or have you had success with making a style of pumpkin beer from one of the brewhouse kits??
I figured I could maybe just add spice to the top off water at the end of it's sanitation boil? Maybe use the American premium lager or red ale kit and a liquid yeast? Many people suggest actual pumpkin isn't necessary in pumpkin ales.
I figured I could maybe just add spice to the top off water at the end of it's sanitation boil? Maybe use the American premium lager or red ale kit and a liquid yeast? Many people suggest actual pumpkin isn't necessary in pumpkin ales.
fishprowler
Member
Would there be any benefit to boiling pumpkin in the top off water?
Hello all, I just bought the equipment and a brewhouse red ale kit. I'm trying to decide if I should rack it to a secondary, or just let it sit for 3 weeks in the primary? Also has anyone had any luck with swamp coolers. Lately its been 30 degrees (high 80's for all you Americans) Any feedback would be appreciated
Hey Mac,
I would say just keep on letting it sit for at least three weeks total in your primary. Also, for that sort of heat, I use a big black "keg cooler" bucket, probably from Walmart for under $20. I use either a half bag of ice every morning or a few trays from the freezer. The first 1-3 days will be the most important anyway... after ferment has slowed down the off flavors from heat are alot less likely.
I would say just keep on letting it sit for at least three weeks total in your primary. Also, for that sort of heat, I use a big black "keg cooler" bucket, probably from Walmart for under $20. I use either a half bag of ice every morning or a few trays from the freezer. The first 1-3 days will be the most important anyway... after ferment has slowed down the off flavors from heat are alot less likely.
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