Delima with a Midwest mixup

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

My wife aka Mrs Claus bought me a kit from midwest. It included an extract ingredient kit which she requested a substitution on since they didn't have what I want with the "kit". Well even though the packing slip clearly stated to sub in a cream ale kit, they shipped an Irish Red Ale kit instead.

Here's my problem. Midwest is making good on it by giving me the cream ale at 1/2 price and letting me keep the Irish red, which I think is a very good deal (the other option was to send the wrong one back etc.). So I will have 2 extract kits....

How long will these keep? I only have enough bottles to do one batch and I don't plan on brewing until Christmas day. Both kits have dry yeast and crushed grains (I haven't received the cream ale yet but that's what she tells me). I wanted to do a cream ale first since most of my friends aren't craft brew drinkers and thought that would be a good introduction, but since I already have the Irish Red should I do it first...and more importantly how do I keep the kit I don't use first fresh? Like I said I only have enough bottles to do 1 batch (plus about a case of saved empties). I'm thinking I might suck it up and buy some more beer and force myself to drink it for the empties and use the secondary to hold my first batch...but I hadn't really planned on going to a secondary on the first one.

I know this is longwinded but I hate to waste a good ingredient kit by letting it go bad before I can use it.

 

[JOHN51277]

Make one on Christmas day. Wait till its ready to bottle. Make the other and let is chill till you hammer down the other brew. Invite over a few heavy drinkers and you are ready in no time!

 

[JMSetzler]

Keep the grains, hops, and yeast in a ziplock bag in the fridge and they will keep for quite a while. Keep them in the crisper down in the bottom.

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

Ok, so do I need to go ahead and do the Irish Red first or can I put the grains, hops and yeast in the fridge and do the cream ale on Christmas day...then do the Red 30+ days later?

 

[david_42]

Ok, so do I need to go ahead and do the Irish Red first or can I put the grains, hops and yeast in the fridge and do the cream ale on Christmas day...then do the Red 30+ days later?

Either way would work. The limiting factor is the crushed grains and a couple months in the fridge/freezer is fine.

 

[Pappers_]

^ What they said (they are very wise).

Not exactly to your question, but sort of -

Get yourself some more bottles! You wants a pipeline o'beer, you needs bottles!

If $ are an issue, it's easy to get free bottles. I've stopped buying new bottles, in part to live more greenly and conservatively. Here's how I get my bottles:

I. Ask my favorite pub for their non screw top bottles.

2. Put a note up on craigslist. Got a case of bottles in exchange for two of my bottles full o'beer, plus made a new friend.

3. Put out a call to my facebook friends/neighbors.

Another option that some folks pursue is to check in at a local recycling center.

In any case, start collecting more bottles do you can brew when you want! Cheers!

 

[techrunner]

talk to other brewers too. my boss brews, and they started kegging. more bottles are always available.

 

[RogueVassar]

I agree with Pappers. Even if you finished your last bottle of the first stuff on the day you bottle the next batch, you will still have a couple of weeks with no beer (and beer is the best way to pass the time until you can try the next batch). I also got some bottles off of craigslist that I've cleaned up. I can do two batches now but hope to be able to do three since I'd like to have more selection in my fridge.

 

[thebigt85]

Slightly off topic but I ordered a kit and the irish red kit as well, and by accident selected the wrong type of shipping. I contracted Midwest and they changed it for me for free hats off to Midwest!

 

[TXCrash]

Get more bottles.

Bars, friends, recycling centers, craigslist or freecycle ad.

 

[FDillon00]

+1 Lots of great advice.

I have made both kits your talking about recently, both are great and Widwest has outstanding customer service.

Store everything properly as discussed above and I would say your right on with doing the Liberty Cream Ale first. (especially since you want to wait until you actually receive the "present" on Christmas.) The Cream ale is pretty mild not a ton of complex flavors to meld/develop so start that and bottle after about 3 weeks then boil up the Irish red the same/next day. I have found that kit gets better with a bit of age and that month-ish time frame it would take to finish it off would do wonders. That is provided you don't show off your new toy to all your friends and end up giving away half of it like I did.

Finally in the mean time get some commercial beers with pop-top bottles that way you'll be able to bottle enough to never run out.

 

[MultumInParvo]

Keep the grains, hops, and yeast in a ziplock bag in the fridge and they will keep for quite a while. Keep them in the crisper down in the bottom.

Due to a mix up at midwest as well (likely my fault) I currently have 3 full recipes in the crisper in my fridge at my parents house. Assuming I can fit my pot in my trip home, I'll brew up my mild first. Then I can let you all know how it is in two weeks or so.

Its been in there for 8 weeks already, grains crushed and all.